What started this personal development journey anyway? Read on to learn how Shatter It started. How I took a dream and turned it into action. Discover how overcoming fears can finally push you into starting things you have been putting off.

I’ve always had a desire to help people. Perhaps this is what drove me into the field of nursing in the first place. That, and my parents saying “it’s job security”. Once I realized that healthcare was less about helping people, I decided I needed to pursue avenues that would give me the satisfaction I wasn’t getting at the bedside. Over the 10 years I spent in direct patient care, I tried many different departments and facilities, but nothing really fed my hunger to help. It wasn’t filling me with a sense of purpose. If anything, it was frustrating and disappointing. Frankly, it was making me bitter and extremely jaded. In the back of my mind, I always thought I would be going on mission trips to less fortunate countries or something like that, but at this point in my life it never panned out. My empathy was swirling the drain quickly. I had to get out before I made a mistake I could never take back. 

Honestly, it was terrifying.

As I moved myself away from the bedside, I started to realize that maybe I needed to help myself first.
I was working as a utilization management nurse consultant for the corporate world. If it taught me anything it was how to make the system work for me. I took advantage of everything my employer offered me. I did not leave money and opportunity on the table. I’ve always been known for looking at the long-term and thinking ahead. I started to do this aggressively because I had the support of my company and those around me. I entered a masters program (paid in full by my company), and I started to make my goals happen. Despite the negativity, poor management, and setbacks I experienced, I did what I set out to do. I immediately received a higher position when I finished my informatics degree within the same company that paid for it. The new position came at a point in my journey where I thought I would be stuck in a job I hated. But I persisted. I ended up getting the call while I was on vacation that I was being offered this incredible position. I was popping champagne bottles immediately with my friend Liz. Literally opening them while I was finishing the call. Let’s just say, I was confident enough that we had these bottles in anticipation of the offer.  

Getting to this point in my career didn’t happen overnight though. 

This was over 10 years in the making with more failures than successes. But I didn’t stay down for long. I learned, I adapted, I took the word “no” as an invitation to keep trying and improve my approach. I entered mentorship programs, I interviewed for positions I wasn’t qualified for, and I networked to get my name out there. I met some fantastic women along the way that guided my path and shaped my career and my life.

Now I felt like I was in a position to make a difference and start helping others. 

I started to realize that I could specifically help women do what I did. To reach their career goals and shatter what’s holding them back from doing so. To feel fulfilled and actually enjoy what they are doing. Although my specific experience is healthcare related, what I have to share is beneficial to any woman who needs to recognize their own fire, forge their own path, and break their own barriers. 

This idea has been deep-rooted since a trip to California in 2017. 

Long story short, I tagged along with a friend who was going to a monthly meeting with a few other women. Turns out they met through a local chapter of an organization where the concept is building a safe place for women to be vulnerable, to connect with each other, to network, to learn and grow, and to share interests. The most beautiful thing happened while I was there. I saw the power of empowerment and what it can do for us if we lift one another up. Here were women from all backgrounds discussing everything from family and new romance to business successes and failures. I loved almost everything about it. The support, the encouragement, and the sense of community and belonging. What I didn’t love was the exclusivity of it. That part reminded me too much of a potential Mean Girls scenario. All it needed was some time and a few sassy egos. 

Then we fast forward to the beginning of the year we don’t like to talk about. 

Like everyone else at the start of quarantine, I was enjoying my fair share of Tiger King and new movie releases. But then my husband and I were watching some kind of documentary (we watch so many, I honestly can’t remember what it was called) and this community was doing something they called “breaking bread”. These members of the community were also from all kinds of backgrounds. They all had their own history, their own struggles, and their own story to tell. But they all came together, and they shared a meal. They mingled, and they talked, and they grew as a community. I felt drawn to this experience yet again. Another little seed of inspiration to squirrel away for later. 

And then comes 2021. 

The year that was supposed to be the light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Only it wasn’t that at all. It felt more like a continuation of our hopelessness. I was not working bedside nursing during any of the pandemic. Luckily, I got out of there long ago. If it sounds like I’m speaking as if I was released from prison it’s because that’s what it feels like. A literal jail sentence to be working bedside anymore. I felt a sense of pride though, to be part of a profession that took their oath to help, protect, and heal to another level. Watching my friends and former colleagues kick-ass and be praised for doing so was amazing. Finally, the respect and admiration we deserved. I cheered on from the sidelines. Ya’ll were rocking it, and you are truly superheroes. 

But then it all stopped. 

Burnout hit. Firings happened by the thousands in some places. Suicides, strikes, breakdowns, everything. But wait. How did you just go from essential to non-essential? To loved and hailed, to abused by both administration and the people you are caring for. To feeling like the only way out was to permanently remove yourself from this world. My heart was heavy for my profession.

And it wasn’t just nursing. 

I watched those close to me be faced with challenges they never saw coming. They were constantly wondering what was next and if they were next. Would they have a job tomorrow? What if they fell into the non-essential category? How will they do anything without an income? No one was prepared for it. Really, how do you prepare yourself for what happened. 

Oh, and let’s not forget the adjustments women in general had to make. Not only were they either burnt out at the bedside or feeling the strains of impending unemployment, but add on top of that having a family and running a household. The toll on mental health is something I can’t even fathom. We are all just barely surviving in the world of a new normal. 

I was lucky. 

My job wasn’t going anywhere. If anything, I made out just fine overall. It’s when I advanced in my career and took my current position. This isn’t said to brag or to infuriate anyone. This is to show you that I had a plan. In fact, I had plan A, B, and C. I had been slowly building myself up to fit that word “essential” without even knowing it for a long time. It paid off for me. I had the skills, the experience, and the determination to get where I am and my employer and leadership wanted it. And the women in my life saw this and they sought me out. From close friends and family, to their acquaintances, they came to me looking for advice on how I did it. 

During one of my many daily exchanges with my friend Heather, I remembered my little seeds of inspiration planted in my long-term memory, and my idea started to sprout again. She has been my biggest fan and continues to show me unwavering support. I shared my idea for Shatter It and she was instantly sold. With that encouragement, I decided to go for it. For those who are reading this and know me, you know I act on things with an intense level of “go big or go home” mentality. Which, more often than not, requires reigning in by my husband. I’m the dreamer and he’s the practicalist. It’s a necessary balance. 

So, I started fleshing out Shatter It.

I’m helping all these women get over their mental roadblocks and change the way they think about themselves and situations in their lives. To break through glass ceilings, societal expectations, and self-doubt. I bought a domain, started working on a website, and then I got in my own head. Just like many of you do, I started negative self-talk and asking myself questions. Could I do this? Why would anyone want to listen to me? There are so many people out there who do this? What value could I bring? I gave into it. My balloon was being deflated rapidly. I started to busy myself with other activities. Because if I stayed busy, I had something to blame for not getting Shatter It up and going. 

But then I stopped that thinking, and I pointed my finger at the only cause of my inaction. 

ME.

I was literally catching myself doing what I was trying to help other women stop doing. It took me a while to get over my own fears of just starting. To take accountability for my self sabotage. I focused on all the times I succeeded and what behaviors led me to those successes. I changed the direction I was heading, and I got out of my own way. And I thought about how my experiences could help others that feel like I do. Others who maybe need encouragement, a reminder, a place to let learn and grow. A platform to normalize what they are struggling with but also place some accountability back on them. 

I want to provide that for you. 

I want Shatter It to be something that helps you move forward in your life. To inspire you, to connect you, and to help you break through whatever is holding you back. Naturally, I have a rather large vision of where this is headed. But at the encouragement of my husband and friends, I’m starting small and bringing Shatter It to life. 

Now here I am. Finally in late 2022, introducing you to how Shatter It came to be. 

So buckle up because we’re about to go on an adventure together.