I'm a quirky "multipotentialite"* with a passion for teaching so many subjects, it might make your head spin (Google me. You'll see! 😂). But my biggest passion is the arts.

 

It makes me feel the best (even with some elements that aren't strengths—such as the visual arts!).

 

It's absolutely fabulous for my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health if I dance, sing, or do any kind of drawing/painting.

 

I noticed a few other “A-has” on that journey that gave me some ideas and found out that the research (not only anecdotally, but academically) supports it and Purposeful Play was born! Some of these "A-has" include having more mental clarity, productive capacity, confidence, and creativity, to name just a few. This is what happens when you play with a purpose--especially with others!

​

*A multipotentialite is a terminally curious person with multiple interests and talents. Some of those interests and talents may or may not overlap.

​

So why did I create Purposeful Play?

​

There's a long version below, but if you want the shorter version:

I created purposeful play because it's a way to use all of my gifts and transform lives at the same time, and this way I could also have fun, be MYSELF, and bring some fun as well!

​

A side benefit to all of this is that it has also helped me anchor my goals and create strategies and tactics to achieve them in a joyful environment with quirky folks like myself who would otherwise be plagued with self-doubt more often than not. Plus, I believe that personal development is woefully missing an element of play. When all is said and done, people just want to feel good mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. 😃

​

You know how sometimes the idea factory goes off like a big explosion, and you can't sort out which idea to prioritize and work on first? There’s excitement in that, even if you’re feeling a bit scattered about it all.

​

But sometimes you’ve got… Nothing. No ideas or a happy medium.

​

Instead, you have a whole lot of frustration, self-doubt, and gnashing of teeth. I always get my groove back with those extremes when I’m in a room full of like-minded people who think outside the box. And if you are anything like me, then I believe this environment would be fabulous for you as well!

​

The long answer:

As mentioned above, my overall health was the initial selfish motivator. I used to be a ball of anxiety and suffered from insomnia, aches and pains. I constantly waited for the other shoe to drop. That was no way to live, and I knew it even as I was going through it for years.

​

Continuing on that path was clearly affecting my quality of life mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And life is meant to be enjoyed!

​

I also realized that there is a massive imbalance between how people show up in the world and what I know they are capable of, all because they didn't fit into what society calls acceptable.

​

If you are a multipotentialite like I am, society may show you some scorn, but often it's our own self-judgment of not fitting in the box that gets in the way. That was true for me most of my life and still creeps up each time I play bigger.

 

I was this gal who had a tug-of-war between what society thought was acceptable and my own wiring. I went with society’s—and other loved ones’ (because I love and respect them)—expectations of me: I went to college, used my math brain, got math-based degrees, got prestigious jobs, made good money at a few of them working 8-5 or longer, and so on.

​

The problem with following those expectations is that I’ve always been wired for more autonomy, flexibility, variety, and CREATIVITY. I fed my creative outlets on the off hours. But I believed that any creative pursuit was only a hobby for me, whether it was fiction writing, composing, or performing. And I did that 8-5—being-told-what-to-do-grind from 1993 to 2006. 13 very restless, unfulfilling years. 😩

​

For a long time, I’d taken my gifts for granted. I don’t want that for you.

​

I’d been hiding for a long time because I was afraid to show people who I really was. Little did I know, I was actually afraid to show the BEST parts of myself.

​

For example, I tried different business ventures that weren’t really a fit for me over the years because someone ahead of me in the game suggested it. So I wasn’t trusting my intuition at all… I didn’t really trust myself. But I also tried other ventures that I thought were a fit… but at the same time, didn’t think I was good enough for. Lots of bad timing along the way, for sure.

​

I had some successes but also plenty of failures, and I took rejection VERY PERSONALLY. It often threw me into analysis-paralysis and negative, "disempowering" self-talk. I was the queen of giving away most of my power.

​

I’ve hired coaches over the years immediately after starting coach training myself in 2004 because having another qualified set of eyes and ears would objectively teach me a number of things about myself and help me be a better version of myself.

​

My first coach was AMAZING, but I was not. I was a resistant client. She was one of my best advocates, but I kept sabotaging things unconsciously. She never said it out loud, but I’m pretty sure she was frustrated with me after a while. And I don’t blame her.

​

Then I had a few in between that had their own agenda and placed me in these confining boxes. Because I didn’t trust my intuition, I followed this blueprint and that blueprint even if it didn’t feel right for me (but might be better--even great--for others).

 

Don’t get me wrong. I learned something and got value from each and every one of them. So I don’t feel like I wasted any time during that journey even when I felt like the timing itself was off for me more often than not.

​

Then I finally landed on a mentor/coach in 2016 who saw me. I mean, really saw me. It was then that I finally felt it was okay to be a little weird and quirky.

​

So after quite a bit of work on my inner and outer game, stumbling quite a bit along the way, and hiring those mentors and coaches, I’m finally getting compensated for using all of my gifts, all while feeling a lot more peaceful, productive, and prosperous.

​

I made it my mission in life to inspire and “wake up” folks (including myself) through creative and authentic expression so that they (and I!) can feel more peace, joy, and fulfillment. Plus, I just want to bring more light and fun to the personal development world!

​

After all, playing can help us be more of who we are because we are strengthening our strengths in a synergistic, joyful manner that—as mentioned elsewhere on this website—can help us with some practical, day-to-day things like improving cognitive function, mental clarity, productivity, peace, and much better sleep.

​

And when that is your new normal, it makes accomplishing your big, hairy, audacious goals a matter of inevitability! 😊