The Story Behind the Story

Saying YES! Wow, this has been an incredible week with this story going live. It has been so exciting to hear from friends and colleagues old and new and from folks I don't even know who find my journey inspiring.

Here is a little bit about how this story came about: It all stems from saying YES to opportunities. A few years ago, I pitched an idea for a project and it became my full time job. Wanting to pay that forward, I created a "Think Tank" event with our Women In Operations group for women to bring ideas to our leadership for sponsorship. One of the ideas was a "Real Women, Real Talk" event for women of Microsoft to share their stories (think TEDx). That idea became a reality last June. A week before the event, I learned they were short speakers and because doing a TED talk is on my vision board, I volunteered ("I'll do it") with only a week to prepare. I decided to tell my story of Pathfinder.  It was well received (even though I got a little weepy!) and led to this MSW article and to me taking my story into the local TheMoth storytelling competition and winning a Story Slam. In short, it has led to all kinds of new experiences and growth. Thank you #MicrosoftLife for featuring me and I hope my story inspires people to say YES, get uncomfortable and embrace YOUR story. I'm sure you all have some incredible ones to tell. 

Thanks to: my Microsoft champions and WIO posse including - Mary Ellen Smith, Marjorie Coismain, Fred Jordan, Bob Curtis, Paul Redmond, Jennifer Warnick, Becca Yang, Donna Warton, Lisa Erickson, Natalie Singer-Velush among others. And all my buddies from Pathfinder including Miguel San Martin, Glenn Reeves, Becky Manning, Michelle Bell, Jennifer Trosper, Guy Beutelschies, Dave Gruel, Dankai Liu and the rest of the gang. And a special shout out to Michael Gervais and his team for teaching me about the Growth Mindset. I am eternally grateful and changed.