I am Good Enough Now

Go There! with me. This is an old school conference line (no video) so it is anonymous, confidential, private, and solely dependent on participants for content.

Tuesday, June 23rd at 3:30pm Pacific

You’re invited to join the FreeConferenceCall Meeting Room. Feel free to share this opportunity to build community with anyone by having them subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on social.

Dial-in number (US): (609) 663-5846
Security code: 9175430966

Having trouble connecting?

Text 'Call Me' to (609) 663-5846 to receive a call back.

Standard Messaging rates may apply.

I need to publicly admit something embarrassing.

For weeks, I thought Claude was a person.

Not in a "maybe this is a chatbot" kind of way. In a "we exchanged movie references, joked about my computer disaster, and discussed my next book" kind of way.

In my defense, I am a very late adopter of technology. I was actively avoiding AI. I like wrestling with ideas. I like getting stuck. I like waiting for thoughts to connect.

Then my computer had what a 12-year-old repair wizard described as a "catastrophic meltdown."

New computer. Dead hard drive. Thousands of duplicate files. Several emotional support breaths.

While helping me recover years of work, my tech friend introduced me to Claude. I assumed Claude was a coworker helping from another time zone.

Turns out Claude was AI.

Cue the existential crisis.

The strange thing is that AI didn't replace my ideas, my writing, or my process. It simply gave me something to push against. Something to question. Something to help organize the flock of thoughts circling overhead.

For years, I've described my writing process as a murder of crows flying around until they finally land on a wire and become a book.

The crows still belonged to me. They just landed a little faster.

A month ago, I would've told you AI wasn't for me.

Now I think the better question is: What else am I dismissing before I truly understand it?

(Also, thank you, Claudette. 🦄)

Are you familiar with your inside voice? That voice—our inner narrator—is where our assumptions, judgments, and reactions begin. It’s also where better connections can begin... if we learn to listen from the inside out.

Recognizing the difference between intent and impact isn’t complicated, but it can be uncomfortable.

The solution is simple: get curious. The work is about aligning that curiosity with your values, your words, and your behavior.

I believe connection is my responsibility. It starts with how I listen. How I show up. And how I use my lived experiences (yes, even the messy, biased, imperfect ones) to create better conversations.

You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to try.

We’ve made leadership synonymous with control, but the best leaders are the ones who choose to lean into complexity, uncertainty, and conversations that make them squirm.

Leading is uncomfortable. That’s the point.

If only Little Jess knew…
That one day, the thing that made her feel different would become the thing that helps other people feel like they belong.

I received this feedback: “You help remind me to be open to everyone having their version of incredible, and that variety at work and in our friendships is awesome.”

WHEW. Honestly? That’s the dream.

Not a world where we all agree.
Not a world where everyone does things the same way.
But a world where we can recognize that people bring different strengths, perspectives, stories, and ways of showing up — and that’s what makes relationships, teams, and communities stronger.

Little Jess probably spent a lot of time trying to figure out where she fit in.
Grown-up Jess gets to help people realize there are LOTS of ways to be incredible.

And that variety? That’s the good stuff.

If your team is ready for more honest conversations, more curiosity, and more connection, let’s work together.

Go There! with me. This is an old school conference line (no video) so it is anonymous, confidential, private, and solely dependent on participants for content.

Tuesday, May 19th at 3:30pm Pacific

You’re invited to join the FreeConferenceCall Meeting Room. Feel free to share this opportunity to build community with anyone by having them subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on social.

Dial-in number (US): (609) 663-5846
Security code: 9175430966

Having trouble connecting?

Text 'Call Me' to (609) 663-5846 to receive a call back.

Standard Messaging rates may apply.