Have you ever had someone believe in you so much, you felt there were no limits to what you could achieve. At a young age of seven, I can remember my dad telling anyone who would listen that I was gonna grow up to be a fighter pilot, or a submarine warfare commander. Now, this was the 1980s.

And these jobs weren't even open to women. But it didn't matter because his ultimate goal was to inspire me to do or be anything I wanted. All I had to do was work hard labor enough, and I can achieve my dreams. When you remove societal barriers, it's amazing what you can imagine for yourself. That was extremely powerful for a young girl. His guidance gave me the drive to seek out challenges. And to actually think that I could be a combat pilot, a leader and military commander, a mother and wife, and also an academic, I didn't have to choose. However, my first attempt at integrating the person I wanted to be with the person I could be in reality, was a complete failure.

You see, a few years ago, I was leading a flying training unit while my husband was deployed to the Middle East for a year and we had a two year old daughter at home, I felt the intense pressure to be the best pilot, the best leader, the best mother, the best military spouse that I could be. And that was while I was navigating a whole host of other stressors like managing a house, and a dog, and to high maintenance parents. Does anyone else have those? I love you, Mom and Dad. My Drive took me to the point where I was giving to everything and everybody. I was embodying servant leadership trying to be the perfect role model in every facet of my life.

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