In trying to please everybody else by being the perfect mom, wife, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, employee, and everything else I thought I needed to be, I wasn’t honouring, respecting, or loving myself. I had allowed society, culture, religion, family, and friends to tell me who to be. Because of that, I was always looking outside myself for happiness – in possessions, titles, degrees, positions, relationships, experiences and appearance. Through the practices and principles I now speak, write, and coach about, I came to understand that true happiness resides within us. It is not something we finally earn through achievement, approval, or perfection. It is something we reconnect with when we return to who we truly are, honour our inner wisdom, and begin living in alignment with our authentic self. That season of my life became the foundation of my work today. Learning about the immense unconditional love that resides within me helped me realize that instead of being my own best cheerleader, I had been my worst critic and biggest enemy. Once I made the decision to go inward and work on myself, my life began to change from the inside out. It all starts inside of us first.