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The Long Version

I led a sit-down strike in nursery school

Of course, I was only four years old, so my memory of it comes from my mother’s retelling of it. Apparently, one day I stayed seated when my class was instructed to stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance. By the end of the week, the entire nursery school class at St. Paul’s Methodist Church was sitting and refusing to comply. My mother got a phone call from the school asking if something was wrong at home. My mother asked if they had explained to me why we say the Pledge. After they explained it to me, I stood and recited the Pledge and the whole class joined me. I still don’t like the Pledge of Allegiance. I do value freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of creativity. But I don’t pledge muy allegiance to a fictitious corporation.

At age 8, I decided there was no God

Sitting in a school assemby in the gymnasium, singing Silver Bells, I decided there was no God. I was raised with the Old Testament God and had a picture of an old man in the clouds with a white beard, judging and intervening in the affairs of men, women, and children from afar. My mother had been bed ridden with back pain since I was 4 years old and surgeries only made her worse. I decided that if there was a God, he wouldn’t allow my mom to suffer so much. So, naturally there couldn’t be a God.

This left me to fend for myself in a cold, uncaring world.

Armed with my rebellious nature and fierce determination, I went to the University of Virginia, and received a double major in Cultural Anthropology and International Relations with a focus on the Middle East. I moved to D.C. and worked for two U.S. Senators. I did marketing for a computer training firm. Then I decided to shift into strategy consulting so got my MBA in finance from Carnegie Mellon, partially financing it with a scholarship, “The Best Woman Student in Finance”.

I got married and was making six-figures by the time I was 27. I worked for two strategy consulting firms and started a logistics company, with an impressive board, including the formed COO of the worldwide 7-eleven chain.

But happiness and contentment eluded me. I followed society’s recipe for success and happiness, and while I was a “success” by society’s values, I was not happy. I felt empty inside. It felt like my inner fire was about to be extinguished. I had my mid-life crisis early.

Creating a Life in Alignment with My Values

I decided to start a consulting firm with two other women to help companies create healthy cultures. I’d seen enough of the misery of Fortune 50 companies. At this time, in 2000, I got certified as a professional and personal coach by the Newfield Network. I did it for personal growth as I was determined to grow through a divorce. I didn’t expect that coaching would come so naturally to me or that it would be so invaluable.

When you tear up the foundation of your life and re-build it on your own values, it is a scary and exhilarating experience. Whenever I saw my Carnegie Mellon friends, they would tell me that I looked and seemed a lot different. My inner fire was burning strong. I dedicated myself to helping mission-driven companies grow and business owners and leaders thrive.

Having Children Changed Everything

I never would have gotten into homeschooling and then building alternatives to school if I hadn’t had two beautiful daughters. I decided when I was pregnant with my first child, that I didn’t want her to suffer through school like I had. God has a way of guiding us and I read John Taylor Gatto’s acceptance speech for NYC teacher of the year while pregnant. I didn’t know until then that unschooling was an option.

Over the course of the past 20 years, I home educated my oldest daughter K-12 and she got a free ride to the college of her choice. She tried it for a semester, decided it was a waste of time, and is now building her own business.

I co-founded a Sudbury school in North Carolina, started a self-directed learning center in California, consulted to SelfDesign for 10 years and co-created a global coaching program for homeschooling families. I also tried to start two self-directed education charter schools in California for SelfDesign and got $500,000 in start-up grants from the U.S. Department of Education but couldn’t get them authorized.

Learning a New Way

You might notice that most of my story up until now was about me and mine. I was still operating as if I had personal power. A traumatic divorce to a man with no empathy and impaired conscience (narcissist and psychopath) made me get on my knees and seek guidance from Source, Infinite Wisdom and Love. I won’t go into details, but my daughters, 9 and 13 at the time, chose to take my maiden name when I got divorced. As I broke into a million pieces and struggled to put myself back together again, I realized that I couldn’t do it without a strong, intimate relationship with my True Creator.

As I wrote the books and created the online courses that you find on this website, I was continually attacked by negative forces that I have determined are demons. I would be overcome with despair and apathy as I wrote and got ready to offer something new to the world. Continual prayer and supplication to God and Jesus drove away these invisible demons. It was intense. Now, when a demon attacks me by going after my mind and imagination, I simply do not consent.

We all need to protect our minds and hearts during this intense spiritual battle. I am here if I can be of service in any way.

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