Purpose Isn’t Something You Find. It’s Who You Are.
There are moments in life when everything looks right on paper, yet something inside you knows you are no longer aligned.
By 2017, I was deep into what many would call a successful chapter. I had spent three and a half years working full-time while studying part-time for my MBA and CPA, CMA. I was surrounded by exceptional leaders who were compassionate, fair, and genuinely invested in my growth. I had strong mentors. I had participated in a Women’s Mentorship Program. I had support, opportunity, and a clear trajectory.
And still, my body was asking for my attention.
I was fatigued.
Disenchanted with life.
Disconnected from myself.
My nervous system was completely out of balance after years of sustained stress, pressure, and constant mental output. I was doing everything right, yet I felt further away from myself than ever before. Beneath the exhaustion was a quiet but undeniable knowing.
What I was here to create was far bigger than what I was doing.
At the time, I did not have the language for purpose. But I could see the signs clearly when I slowed down enough to listen.
How Reclaiming Flow, Hydration & Emotional Intelligence Transforms Your Life and Leadership
If someone had told me a decade ago that water, not a promotion, not a new strategy, not a certification, would change my life… I would’ve politely smiled and kept working late at the office.
Like so many ambitious, impact-driven women, I was raised to believe that success was earned through hard work, logic, strategy, and achievement.
I earned my MBA, CPA climbed the corporate ladder, managed teams, and held space for everyone but myself. I had no idea my body, my emotions, were quietly screaming for attention.
It wasn’t burnout that woke me up. It was the absence of flow.
And that flow started with something as simple as water.
The Reset That Reconnected Me to Myself
In 2017, I made a decision that did not make sense from a traditional career perspective, but made absolute sense in my body.
I took a sabbatical.
I went retreat hopping.
I stepped away from performance and into presence.
This was not about leaving my career behind. It was about resetting myself as a human being.
During that time, I became certified as a Holistic Wellness Coach. Not as a strategic move or a new professional identity, but because I wanted to understand myself again. My energy. My nervous system. My emotions. My inner world.
I believed this would simply make me a stronger leader.
What it actually did was reconnect me with my purpose.
Because purpose is not something you find outside of yourself.
Purpose is not something you earn.
Purpose is not something you add on top of your life.
Purpose is who you are when you stop abandoning yourself.
Purpose Through a Different Lens
This lived experience is what shaped Purpose 360, the starting point of the Wellness 360 framework and the place we always begin inside the Legacy Leader Collective.
Purpose 360 does not ask, “What should I do next?”
It asks:
Who am I now?
What lights me up in this season of life?
What actually feels fulfilling?
Where am I being authentic, and where am I still performing?
Purpose is explored through three interconnected layers.
Knowing Your Passions
This is the external expression of purpose. The things that energize you. The work, environments, and experiences that naturally draw you in. The moments where time disappears.
Passions are not random. They are signals.
When women ignore this layer, leadership can start to feel heavy and uninspired. When they honour it, creativity and vitality return.
Feeling Fulfilled
Fulfillment is not the same as achievement.
This layer invites an honest look at how life actually feels on the inside. Your relationships. Your routines. Your sense of presence and satisfaction.
Many high-achieving women look successful while feeling quietly empty. Purpose 360 brings the focus back to internal alignment, not external validation.
Living Authentically
This is the deepest layer of purpose.
Authenticity is about congruence. When who you are, how you lead, and how you live are aligned.
It is about being in spaces where you can let your guard down.
Being surrounded by people who see you beyond your output.
Leading without contorting yourself to fit an outdated identity.
This is where purpose becomes embodied rather than conceptual.st timeline. When you let go of control, you allow space for intuition, pleasure, and aligned decision-making.
From Personal Purpose to Collective Legacy
As my own relationship with purpose deepened, my work naturally evolved.
What began as a personal reset grew into LUXE Club Retreats and the Legacy Leader Collective. These are not programs designed to push women harder. They are spaces created for women who know they are here to make an impact, but no longer want to do so at the expense of their well-being, values, or authenticity.
Inside the Collective, one truth surfaces again and again.
Purpose flourishes in the right environment.
Not in isolation.
Not in pressure.
Not in constant striving.
But in connection.
When women place themselves in rooms where depth, honesty, and conscious leadership are the norm, something shifts. Decisions become clearer. Energy stabilizes. Leadership feels grounded again.
This is the work I am most excited about in this next evolution.
An Invitation to Lead With Purpose
If this resonates, if you recognize yourself in this season of reflection, you are not alone.
This January, we begin the year with Purpose 360, and I am especially excited to invite you into our upcoming Luminary Exchange: Lead With Purpose, guided by Gemma Lea Edelman, one of our Founding Partners inside the Legacy Leader Collective.
Gemma’s work centres on values-based and conscious leadership. She brings depth, clarity, and warmth to the spaces she facilitates, creating room for honest reflection and meaningful reconnection.
This Luminary Exchange is not about strategy.
It is about remembering who you are.
And leading from that place.
Luminary Exchange Details
January 14, 2026
4:00 to 6:30 PM CET
Live via Zoom
Join here:
Non Members £47
https://legacyleadercircle.com/january-2026-gemma-lea-edelman
If you feel the quiet nudge, trust it.
Purpose does not arrive through striving harder.
It reveals itself when you create space to listen.
With love,
Retreat Designer | Life & Business Strategist
