Find Your Thing... Then Do It!

Have you ever met someone who starts talking about something they love, and you can practically see them light up?

Their energy changes. Their voice gets a little more animated. They start talking faster. And if you let them, they'll keep going long after everybody else has mentally checked out of the conversation.

Well, I've become that person. And the funny thing is, for a long time, I wasn't passionate about much of anything. Don't get me wrong, I had interests and hobbies. There were things I enjoyed doing. I worked hard, took pride in my accomplishments, and wanted to be successful. But that feeling of being genuinely excited about something eluded me.

Until I discovered leadership development.

I can't pinpoint the exact moment it happened, but somewhere along my professional journey, I became fascinated with the art of influencing people, developing potential, and creating environments where people can thrive. And once that interest took hold, I couldn't get enough.

I started listening to leadership audiobooks during my commute. I read books about leadership, organizational culture, communication, and human behavior. When I attended conferences, I found myself gravitating toward every leadership-focused breakout session I could squeeze into my schedule. For the first time in a long time, learning didn't feel like an obligation. It felt like an opportunity.

I've been blessed to work with leaders who saw potential in me before I fully recognized it in myself. They challenged me, encouraged me, invested their time, shared their knowledge, and created opportunities for me to grow. They didn't just tell me I had potential. They helped me develop it. And I will forever be grateful for that.

But I've also worked with leaders who taught me some equally valuable lessons. Just not the way they may have intended.

They were the leaders who slowly destroy the very teams they were supposed to be building. I've seen talented employees lose confidence, enthusiasm, and motivation because of the environments their leaders created. I've watched people go from excited about their jobs to simply trying to survive the workday.

The most frustrating part for me was that some of those leaders never seemed to recognize that they were contributing to the problem. In their minds, the employees were the issue. The attitudes were the issue. The lack of accountability was the issue. Everybody was the problem except them.

Those experiences stayed with me because I began to realize that the quality of someone's leadership experience can dramatically affect the quality of their everyday life.

Think about it. Most working adults spend a significant portion of their waking hours at work. The way they're treated, supported, challenged, and led doesn't magically disappear when they clock out. It follows them home. It affects their confidence, their stress levels, their relationships, and sometimes even how they see themselves. And somewhere along the way, that realization made my interest in leadership development become something much bigger.

It became personal.

I realized I didn't just want to become a better leader. I wanted to help other people become better leaders, too. Because I've seen what good leadership can do for people. And I've seen what bad leadership can do to people.

I wanted to do my part to make work life better. One leader at a time. One team at a time. One workplace at a time.

I made it my mission to become what I call a leadership development multiplier.

Because if I can help one leader become more intentional, more self-aware, and more effective, that growth doesn't stop with that individual. It reaches every employee they supervise. Every colleague they influence. Every future leader they develop. And those people go on to influence others.

That's the beauty of a multiplier. The impact extends far beyond the original investment.

Now, when I develop a workshop, facilitate a leadership session, or have a conversation that helps someone see things differently, I get excited. Sometimes ridiculously excited.

I'm the person who gets an idea for a training activity and immediately starts figuring out how to bring it to life. I'm the person who can turn a simple conversation into an impromptu leadership lesson. And yes, I'm probably the person who has to remind herself that not everybody wants to talk about leadership development over dinner.

But here's the thing. I know what it feels like to find something that makes me want to keep growing. And I want other people to experience that feeling, too.

I realized that at the same time I found my passion, I also discovered my purpose.

My life wasn't bad before. I had a career I was proud of, people I loved, and plenty to be grateful for. But discovering my passion and my purpose added another layer of fulfillment I didn't even realize was missing. I wasn't just going through the motions of a pretty good life anymore. I had found something that made that life feel even more meaningful.

And maybe that's what I hope someone takes away from my story. Passion doesn't have to turn your world upside down to make a difference in it. Sometimes it simply gives you something to look forward to, something to pour yourself into, and something that reminds you there's always more of yourself to discover. For me, that something is leadership development. For you, it might be something entirely different. But whatever it is, I hope you find it. And when you do, I hope you give yourself permission to pursue it.

Because there's a difference between having a good life and finding something that makes you feel truly alive.