We spend so much of our lives building networks. But what if what we’re really craving isn’t another connection on LinkedIn, but the feeling of being truly connected? Last Monday, a group of women reminded me what can happen when we stop talking about what we do... and start sharing who we are.
Last Monday, I hosted the very first Momentum Mondays gathering for the HigherRelevance™ Collective.
I had an agenda, slides (of course!), reflection questions and a plan of how this was going to go! But of course, to kick things off, I had tech difficulties. Because apparently no meaningful moment in life can happen without technology reminding me that I am not actually in control! LOL
But somewhere between the agenda, the reflections, the stories, the laughter and the tears...something happened that I could never have put on a slide.
A group of women—many of whom had never met before—began to connect.
Really connect.
Not the kind of connection that comes from exchanging LinkedIn profiles or asking, “So, what do you do?” The kind that happens when we stop talking about what we do...
and start sharing who we are.
We spend a lot of time building networks.
Especially as professional women. We attend events. We make connections. We collect contacts. We build our personal brands. We introduce ourselves by our titles, our companies, our accomplishments and our expertise.
And there is absolutely value in all of that. I’ve spent over 25 years building a career and a network I am incredibly proud of.
But lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the difference between being connected and actually feeling connection.
Because you can have thousands of connections...
and still feel alone.
You can be surrounded by accomplished, impressive people...
and still wonder if anyone really knows you.
You can spend years building a successful identity...
and one day realize you’re no longer sure who you are without the title, the role, the company or the expectations that came with it.
I know that feeling.
In fact, so much of what I am creating now began with five words someone once said to me:
“You’re grieving your identity.”
Which is what I reflect on in my previous Five words that changed everything post.
Because I realized how much of my identity had become attached to what I had accomplished, where I worked and the role I played for everyone else. I had spent so many years becoming who I thought I was supposed to be that I had somehow lost connection with who I actually was.
And maybe that is why what happened during Momentum Mondays felt so meaningful to me.
For a little while, we weren’t there to prove who we were.
We were there to remember.
The wisdom was already in the room.
One of the things I believe deeply is that every woman carries wisdom.
Not just knowledge.
Wisdom.
The kind that only comes from living: succeeding, failing, starting over, losing people we love, changing careers, raising families, taking risks and questioning ourselves.
From becoming someone... and sometimes realizing we need to find our way back to ourselves again.
That wisdom doesn’t always show up on a résumé.
But it showed up in that room through the stories and reflections. And unexpectedly, it showed up in the music.
I asked each woman to share a song that meant something to her.
Honestly, I thought it would be fun ice breaker. 🎶
I had no idea what would happen next.
Each song carried a story.
A memory.
A person.
A season of life.
There was laughter. There were tears. There were goosebumps.
Women who had never met before were suddenly discovering pieces of themselves in one another. And that’s when I felt it.
The room had shifted.
We were no longer a group of women attending an event.
We were becoming a community.
The first Momentum Mondays gathering of the HigherRelevance™ Collective — July 6, 2026. 💕
Maybe that’s what so many of us are missing.
Not another networking event or place where we have to introduce ourselves by what we do and feel pressure to be impressive.
Maybe we need more spaces where we can simply be real.
Where one woman can share what she has learned and another woman can say:
“I needed to hear that.”
Where women across generations can come together—not because one of us has all the answers, but because every one of us has something to contribute. Some of us come to learn. Some of us come to share.
And at our first Momentum Mondays - we all did both!
Because sometimes another woman sees something in us that we have forgotten. Sometimes her story gives us language for our own and her courage reminds us of ours.
And sometimes, in hearing who she is...
we begin to remember who we are.
This is where a HigherRelevance™ life begins.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what it really means to live a HigherRelevance™ life. It isn’t about proving your relevance to the world. It is about remembering that you already have it.
Remember who you are.
Not who the world told you to be or who your title says you are.
Not who you had to become to survive a certain season of your life.
Who you actually are.
Align with your purpose.
Use your experiences, your gifts, your voice and your wisdom in a way that feels true to you.
Not because you have every step of the plan figured out.
Trust me... I certainly don’t. 😂
But because you are willing to follow what feels meaningful and pay attention to what keeps calling you forward.
Rise into your power.
Not power over anyone else.
The power that comes from finally knowing who you are.
The power to make different choices, boldly use your voice.
To live a life that feels like your own.
Because when a woman remembers who she is, something changes.
She shows up differently - how she leads, loves, raises a family, mentors or creates.
And she gives another woman permission to do the same.
That creates a ripple.
A ripple that reaches our families, workplaces, communities, and generations we may never even meet.
That is what living a HigherRelevance™ life means to me.
Remember who you are.
Align with your purpose.
Rise into your power.As when one woman rises, generations rise with her!
I don’t know exactly what this will become yet.
And for once in my life... I’m learning to be okay with that!
I don’t have every part of the HigherRelevance™ Collective figured out, but I realized that as women, we tend to put everyone else before ourselves. Many of us are searching for more meaning or purpose … or shall I say a “higher relevance” in life :)
So what I do know is that I want to create spaces where women can bring the wisdom of who they have been, the truth of who they are and the possibility of who they are becoming.
A place where we don’t have to perform our relevance.
A place where we remember it.
Because maybe relevance was never something we had to earn in the first place but it was always there.
And maybe, every once in a while, we just need the right room...
and the right women...
to help us remember.
Maybe we don’t need more networking.
Maybe we need more connection.
Because connection has a beautiful way of reflecting us back to ourselves.
And when one woman remembers who she is...
generations rise with her. 💕✨
I’d love to hear from you...
What kind of connection are you craving more of in your life right now?
Maybe it’s deeper friendships. A community of women who understand the season you’re in. More meaningful professional relationships. Or perhaps... a deeper connection with yourself.
Share in the comments. I’d love to hear what connection means to you. 💕
Want to join us?
If you’ve been craving this kind of connection—a space to reflect, learn, share your wisdom and grow alongside women across generations—I’d love to welcome you to the HigherRelevance™ Collective.
Momentum Mondays is our monthly gathering to pause, connect and create momentum for what comes next. Because sometimes the next step isn’t another answer. It’s finding the right room.
💕 Let me know if you are interested in joining us for the next Momentum Mondays.
I'm so glad you had a wonderful event! Here's to many more opportunities to create connection and community. Thank you for leading the way.
Yes! I need to attend!