Vulnerability = Sharing what’s REAL. It’s that simple, though it’s not always easy. It takes a lot of courage to be vulnerable with the people in our lives. And sometimes it’s hardest with the people we are closest to. Are you truly vulnerable with your partner? Your friends? Your family? Your co-workers and team? This was the theme in our Wealthy World Changers mastermind call last week, and at first, many of the women shared that they were worried about complaining or “dumping” their emotions and problems on others. But true vulnerability is simply sharing what’s real. No drama necessary. 😉 Here are 4 ways you can practice more vulnerability: 1. ACKNOWLEDGE someone for how they contribute to your life, or something they have done lately that has supported you. This doesn’t need a lot of words. It does need to be genuine and from the heart. 2. SHARE what is present for you. What’s on your heart? What are you celebrating? What are you feeling challenged by? Remember: Share what’s real, and leave the drama at the door. 3. ASK for what you want. Are you communicating your true desires? Or are you holding back – or sharing what you DON’T want, instead of making a clear request? 4. ASK for help when you need it. Take off your superwoman cape for a while. You’d be surprised at how much the people around you want to support you, if you only ask. The beautiful thing about vulnerability is it opens a door to deeper connection. Where would you love to have deeper connection in your life? Start there. 💗

Let me tell you a story… When I was 17, my mom was praying for a writer who could help her translate her work as a coach and trainer into the written word. The online marketing world was just starting to come into being, and she saw the wave coming. But who would help her catch it? One day, as I was sharing one of my latest essays with her, she had an aha moment: “Makena could be that writer.” I had been a voracious reader since I was four years old, and my love of words had blossomed into poetry, essays, and more. Next thing you know, we were sitting around our kitchen table, brainstorming her new website copy and branding. The brand that emerged revolved around the MUSE. We came up with all sorts of fun play-on-words: “aMuse News” was her newsletter, for example. Fast forward to 2023: As I started doing research for our book and interviewing women my mom has coached and mentored over the last 5, 10, or even 15+ years, an interesting theme began to emerge… I looked for parallels between their stories (and mine – as I have been one of those women) and I saw a pattern: I realized she wasn’t just teaching us communication skills, business skills, and lifestyle design. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨… A way of consciously creating our lives, relationships, success, and fulfillment with more EASE, FLOW & FUN. A way of dancing between “go mode” and “flow mode” to create results with energy & aliveness. A way of having clear intent about what we want and going for it, while also “listening” to what life is telling us about what wants to happen, and responding accordingly. These women’s lives have 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥 in beautiful ways. They have built business empires, power couple relationships and deeply connected family dynamics that continue to grow and evolve... They have stepped into their bigger purpose, and the impact they are called to make in the world... They have softened, and strengthened... 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘐. That’s when it came to me. I knew what we needed to call this way of approaching life: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐞™. (Continued in comments...)

Let’s be honest… When your cup is empty, it doesn’t only impact you. Everyone around you feels it too. And when your energy & vitality is overflowing? You can’t help but share it with the people you love. You naturally pour yourself into the ideas and projects your soul is calling you to create. Your desire to give back grows, because you are truly RESOURCED to do so. This is how we make a difference. This is how we change the world. By you stepping into your radiance. By you filling up your cup. By you confidently creating your biggest dreams. ✨ What lights your heart on fire? ✨ What are the deepest longings of your soul? ✨ What are you yearning for? ✨ What is your “something more?” These are the kinds of questions we guide our clients to explore. It’s time to awaken to the Muse within you. The wise, brilliant, creative, passionate woman you’re meant to be. Are you ready?

Allow me to re-introduce myself… I am the Muse of Self-Expression. I am here to awaken the Muse within you. To inspire you. To trigger some of you. To wake you up to your own longing for something MORE. Because your longing for something more is actually a longing for SOMEONE more. A version of you that lays dormant inside of you. A part of you that is whispering to you, “I’m ready to emerge.” But in order to discover her… you have to forget who you think you are. All the stories you’ve told yourself about your personality, and your limitations. What if you are something so much more RADIANT than you could ever imagine? What if you are a priceless diamond buried inside a rock… and you’ve spent your whole life thinking that is who you are? I spent decades thinking I was: Serious. Structured. Not creative. Not a risk taker. … a little boring, really. I looked around at other people who seemed so VIBRANT. So creative. So self-expressed. And I cried. I cried because I wanted to celebrate them, but I couldn’t shake the secret envy inside of me. The deep longing. The insecurity. But instead of breaking down, I let my longing break me OPEN. And I became someone I never knew that I could be – someone I now recognize as the TRUE me. Bold. Brave. Creative. Unleashed. So ask yourself… “Who am I, really?” I’ll give you a hint: The clues lie in the people who inspire you…. and the people who trigger the sh*t out of you. Because both of them are a part of you – the unawakened part. The unknown parts that are longing to see the light. And when you find them, you won’t be able to unsee what you see. Mirrors of your own divinity. . . . . . . . . . . 📸 by @inherimagephoto

This man. This love. I can’t even begin to explain how thankful I am that eight years in, we are more in love than ever. He brings out the best in me — my goofy, fun side. My deeply loving and compassionate side. He handles the worst in me beautifully — The days when I’m an emotional roller coaster. The days when I’m under-resourced and feel like a hot mess. He loves INTO me with such passion and devotion, I’m in awe. (It took a few years but I eventually learned how to graciously and even delightedly receive!) Our love is like a battery pack that fuels every other part of my life. ✨ I am stronger, happier, and more radiant because I am quite literally overflowing with love. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 🙏 PS: I often wish that EVERYONE could have a love like this — their own version of it. Unconditional. Securely attached. Deeply nourishing. Imagine how different the world would be… 💗

Today was super stressful, but also full of so many beautiful moments — and one particular experience that touched me deeply. Let’s set the stage: It’s my last weekend in Costa Rica as my mom and I wrap up our “creation month.” (And boy, have we created! More on that soon…) We rented a car with my hubby Sunny to look for potential places to host our next retreat. We decided to drive from Coco Beach area to check out an area called Nosara about 3 hours south, then slowly make our way back up the coast. All was smooth sailing until midafternoon. The cute little beach down was enchanting at first, but then… 🤯 DEEP pot holes everywhere, filled with water from the recent rain. Literally the worst roads I have EVER experienced anywhere in the world! 🌧️ Major downpour for over an hour, flooding the roads even more — and getting Sunny completely drenched when he heroically went to get our car 😍 😰 The slowest, bumpiest car ride of my life. 30 miles took 2 hours, and at one point we had to cross some pretty deep water! (Thankfully, the locals showed us how.) My nervous system was on high alert for hours! We were SO happy and thankful to make it safely to Tamarindo tonight. Which is where the magic moment happened. We chose a dinner spot “randomly” and within a few minutes, a woman walked up to me saying, “Makena?!” Turns out, we knew each other! We met over four years ago in Austin when she had first moved there from Venezuela. One single meeting, and we hadn’t talked since. Except — she recently commented one of my posts to tell me she would be in Costa Rica soon. But because we were in different areas I didn’t think we’d be able to connect. (We had no plans of being in this town until we decided on our route yesterday. By then I had forgotten all about our comments back and forth.) Yet synchronicity brought us together in the exact same restaurant at the exact same time. I met her family, and I felt so touched by our conversation and some of the things she shared. 💗 (Continued in comments…)