[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
tell your daughter to marry a doctor or
lawyer tell her to be one that was the
plaque above my bed when I grew up
although this plaque was a mantra of
strength and confidence as a woman it
also sent some messages to me that took
me a while to overcome I didn't become a
doctor a lawyer but I did become a CPA I
grew up with stories of my grandfather's
success as a CPA and my mom's
disappointment that she had not
fulfilled dreams of one day taking over
his accounting practice so I decided at
12 years old to become a CPA and one day
fulfill the legacy throughout our lives
it's not uncommon to believe that we
want something that maybe is not what
inspires us or what we truly value
instead many of us ignore what's deep
inside and never connect with our
Authentics we all have defining moments
in our life and my moment was when I was
32 years old that was when I was
promoted to being a partner in a CPA
firm I had worked so hard for that day I
kept driving my thumb and never ever
questioned whether it was right for me
that day my managing partner came into
my office to congratulate me but it was
his next line that changed everything he
said I just love like who I'm gonna
retire with one day I was 32 years old
this sent me into a tailspin what do you
mean there's nothing else to work toward
I have no more goals I'm stuck here for
thirty more years so instead of being
overwhelmed with excitement I was
actually really unhappy
so rather than celebrating that night
with my husband and my children I called
my therapist and we uncovered that I
wasn't on I wasn't happy because I was
living somebody else's dreams and not my
own but where did that leave me I had
worked years being a CPA thinking about
being a CPA it's not that I didn't love
my job or love working with my clients
but something in my life was leaving me
unfulfilled and I needed to understand
why did I really want to quit what I was
doing and all the time I didn't invest
in it and start over I didn't know the
answer but what I did do was stop and
disconnect from the pressures around me
and go on a journey to see if I could
create better work-life harmony and I
did it in three ways first step was to
go to try something new that I had fear
to do before and for me that was yoga I
had tried yoga in the past and I had
chalked it off - it's not really for
someone with a type-a personality like
me but in hindsight I think I had fear
of it for one I always thought I had to
be the best at something in order to do
it and when I began yoga I was clearly
not a natural also I was racing around
all the time driving toward my goals
that I never allowed myself space to
actually think and clear my mind and
what I soon found with yoga is you can't
escape from yourself during a yoga
practice you have to be completely
present in your
mints your thoughts and your mind and it
took an incredible amount of courage to
stick it out but Yoga created a
connection to my true self that I had
never allowed myself to have before the
second thing that I did was think about
when I was a child what made me really
happy that I gave up when I started my
career and that was music I had played
viola in the Cincinnati Youth Symphony
Orchestra and although I don't play
anymore
I wanted to rheic splutter music so my
son at the time was starting electric
guitar so I thought why can't I learn a
new instrument and play with him so I
signed up for bass guitar lessons and
played in a band with other adult
beginners and today my family plays
together as the vet inators the third
step was creating a community that would
support me and my journey of
self-discovery I went to my husband and
my children to discuss with them things
that I wanted to try and whether we
could adjust our lives to accommodate it
and everything was not a guess however
as I became happier and it affected the
family in a positive way it was easier
to make those adjustments if I had not
gotten their support I could not have
gone on this journey I did end up
leaving the CPA firm however I decided
to pivot my career and use the CPA
skills I hadn't invested in in another
way by working with small so in
accounting practices nationally and
internationally I also became a yoga
instructor and open my own yoga studio I
did this as a way to give back to a
practice that had transformed me so that
other people could access it
when I received my teacher training
certificate someone close to me said
you're not gonna tell anyone about this
argue and at that moment I step and
realized this was the first thing I had
ever done out of my own personal desire
that no one told me to do so rather than
hiding it I put it up right with my CPA
license it was just as much of a
personal accomplishment because it
transformed my life to create better
work-life harmony so tonight we all have
moments that are defining for us but
what I'd like you to think about are
what was that moment for you and whether
you took action on it and if you put a
plaque up above your bed
or your child's bed let it read have the
courage of a life true to yourself and
not what others expect of you thank you
you
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