Hi {{ first_name }},

In June, I stood on a stage in Toulouse, France, speaking at an international women’s conference. It had always been a dream of mine to speak internationally, and while I was there, I had so many pinch-me moments as I realized that many of the things I had quietly asked for had come true.

I was speaking at an international women’s conference.

I had built a global audience and community.

I was teaching about reinvention and the power of claiming your next-level identity in midlife.

As I sat there taking it all in, one thought kept coming back to me:

I created this.

Not by accident.

Intentionally.

And what I learned while I was there is something I knew I wanted to share with you because it reminded me how our biggest dreams actually come to life.

One of the things I teach inside The Bold Life is the power of making bold moves. But what I realized while I was sitting there in France is that I didn’t end up on that stage because of one bold move. I ended up there because years earlier, I allowed myself to have a desire.

Every extraordinary experience begins there.

It begins with giving yourself permission to want something before you have any idea how it will happen.

Around the same time that desire was growing inside of me, I heard my intuition—my Higher Self—say something that completely changed the direction of my life.

“You’ve outgrown this home.”

It wasn’t really talking about my house.

It was talking about my life.

I’ll be honest, that was confronting because, for the first time in a long time, I finally felt comfortable. My first thought was, “Wait a minute… I just got comfortable.”

But we didn’t come here to be comfortable.

We came here to expand.

We came here to live our boldest expression, to discover what we’re truly made of, and to create a life that blows our own minds.

Standing in France, I realized that’s exactly what had happened.

See, I teach about creating a life by design, not by default.

For many of us, the first half of life is built by default. We make decisions because we think we should. Because our families taught us to. Because we wanted to make our parents proud. Because society handed us a blueprint and told us what success was supposed to look like.

Then, somewhere in midlife, something shifts.

Maybe a relationship ends.

Maybe your career no longer fits.

Maybe you become an empty nester.

Maybe you’re just beginning a family.

Whatever the catalyst, you eventually find yourself asking a different question.

“What do I really want now?”

I believe that is one of the most profound and powerful questions you can ever ask yourself because answering it requires radical honesty. It requires you to become quiet enough to hear your own voice instead of everyone else’s.

The truth is, many women are too afraid to ask that question because they’re afraid of what the answer might require of them.

But I’m taking a stand for you.

If you’re here reading these letters every week, something inside of them is speaking to something inside of you. That’s why I want to gently ask you the same question.

What is it you really want?

Could you give yourself permission to have it?

Could you give yourself permission to become the woman who has it?

And could you even give yourself permission to want it enough to go after it?

I know I’ve been talking a lot about permission lately, but that’s because it’s been the thread running through this entire season of my life.

When I sold my home, I made a commitment to God. If you’re not a God girlie, simply replace that with whatever speaks to your heart. But I remember saying, “I’m letting You lead.”

For so much of my life, I had been in the driver’s seat. I had been making every decision, trying to control every outcome, believing it was all up to me. But something shifted, and I decided I no longer wanted to force my way through life. I wanted to be guided.

That meant waiting.

That meant not taking action the moment uncertainty appeared.

Because when we’re uncertain, every part of our humanity wants to create certainty. We want to know what’s next. We want the entire roadmap before we take the first step.

But I’ve learned something.

When you’re asking for greatness, you’re rarely shown the full picture.

Not when you’re asking for your dreams.

Not when you’re asking to become all of who you were created to be.

You’re simply given the next step because, more often than not, the full picture would scare you.

So I waited.

I sat in the discomfort of uncertainty and kept asking, “Where am I supposed to go after Mexico?”

Eventually, the answer came.

France.

I listened.

And because I listened, I had the extraordinary experience at Sacré-Cœur that I shared with you in last week’s private letter.

→ [Read that letter here.]

Then I was led to attend a women’s conference.

Then I felt the nudge to reach out and ask whether they happened to have an opening for speakers.

At first, they said no.

Then they came back.

They had an opening after all.

And they would love to have me speak.

That is how I ended up standing on a stage in France.

PART 2

I want to tell you that all of this happened because I trusted my intuition. I stayed patient. I remained present. I stayed connected to the guidance I was receiving. But just as importantly, I had planted the desire long before the opportunity ever arrived.

That’s something I hope you’ll remember.

When you place a desire on your heart, trust that it isn’t there by accident. It may not happen tomorrow, and it may not happen the way you imagine it will, but every desire is inviting you to become the woman who can receive it.

Looking back now, I know I wouldn’t have been ready years ago.

I wouldn’t have gone because of my mom. I was exactly where I was meant to be during that season of my life.

I also wasn’t yet speaking about the work that truly lights me up. I was still talking about weight loss instead of what was really on my heart. I hadn’t yet stepped fully into the message I believe I was created to share.

Had I stood on that stage back then, I don’t think I would have impacted the audience the way I did. I certainly wouldn’t have given the keynote that I’m now being invited to share in other parts of the world.

That didn’t happen by accident.

My desire led me.

I trusted my intuition.

And little by little, I became the woman who was ready to receive what I had been asking for.

I think that’s my greatest takeaway from this entire experience.

When I walked off that stage, I wasn’t thinking about the applause or the fact that I had finally accomplished a dream. I walked away knowing, once again, that my greatest gift is being fully myself.

Trusting myself.

Trusting my intuition.

Staying connected to the power that already lives within me.

And I believe that’s your greatest power, too.

My hope with every one of these letters is that they gently guide you back to yourself. My hope is that they encourage you to ask the questions you’ve been afraid to ask, to trust yourself a little more deeply, and to see what’s possible for your own life as I continue sharing mine.

If this letter spoke to you, would you share it with another woman who needs this reminder today? My greatest hope is that these stories continue reaching the women who are ready to stop living by default and begin creating a life by design.

All my love,

Rewrite the Rules.

xx,

Melissa Kathryn

P.S. If you missed last week’s private letter about releasing the people who are no longer meant to stay in your life, I think you’ll really enjoy it.

→ [Read last week’s private letter here.]

And if these letters have been speaking to you, would you share them with a friend? It means so much to me, and you never know whose life might change because you decided to forward one simple email.

I’ll see you next week.