Your heart is the key.

I did something last Friday, I wasn’t sure I’d actually ever do. I got a tattoo.

I’ve been talking about doing it for years, but was never quite sure of what I wanted and the timing never felt quite right. But that changed at the beginning of last week. I suddenly had this strong desire to mark this time in my life.

Historically, August and September are always a co-mingling of beginnings and endings for me. Last month I kicked off the dearheart community and this week I’m returning to Columbus, Ohio for my 3rd time at the Summit of Greatness. The week after will bring the 15th anniversary of me leaving home and moving to LA, in search of myself and what I wanted to create with my life. Perhaps the culmination of these things is what spurred on this tattoo.

When I think back on the decisions I’ve made that have been fruitful in my life (meaning they’ve helped me grow, even when it wasn’t pretty or easy) they have always come from listening to the desires, whims and curiosities of my heart.

Following my heart and learning how to decipher the language it speaks has unlocked the life I have always dreamt of: a life of freedom, love, joy, beauty, wonder, play and adventure—a life where I get to be myself out in the open. A life where I don’t have to hide my dreams or the lens I view my experiences through.

Whether in large decisions like uprooting my life and moving to LA & Nashville, or seemingly smaller ones like going to a self-development conference in Ohio, following my intuition has led me to so many incredible friendships and experiences that I could never have predicted. My heart’s divine intelligence is always leading me where I need to be.

Through these last 15 years I have finally come to rest in this: my heart is not a liability to manage, it’s the key to unlocking my magic, to helping me build a beautiful life. I have laid to rest the lies that my deep feelings, sensitivity, and empathy are a burden. I know them now to be my strengths and what allows me to connect deeply to others and experience the beauty and pain of life in a profound way.

And now, on my left inner arm there is a skeleton key in the shape of a heart to remind me of all this—to mark all these years of following my heart and to celebrate doing so. It’s purposely placed on the left side of my body, where my heart is, to remind me to always lead from my left.

Soren Kierkegaard says, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

And so, I’m writing all this down as a remembrance for myself, but also as an offering to those who need it. Those who need to believe in their heart, in its spirit and intuition, in its ability to guide with kindness and gentleness, day after day leading us to a life we want to be living.

Dearheart,

May you allow your heart to speak, to guide, to surprise & to delight.

May you trust its light within you to open you up and reveal treasures you’ve yet to see.

May you believe in your infinite and inherent worthiness as a human being.

And may you allow yourself to build, brick by brick, the unique heartchitecture to support your dreams.

You are exquisite.

You are ready.

Where is your heart leading?