When Resource Management Becomes Your Secret Weapon

When was the last time you took control of a challenging situation and transformed it by recognizing exactly which resources were needed?

You've been juggling multiple aspects of your business—time, energy, money, attention—often feeling like there's never enough of any of them. But the energy of Gate 21 brings something different—a powerful ability to understand, value, and respect all your resources. It's not about random hustle, but about mindfully taking charge, controlling circumstances, and knowing exactly what power to apply where.

A Personal Story of Control & Surrender

I left home at the age of 16. Things were a little bumpy at home, so I decided to take my last two high school classes in summer school so I could graduate a year early and travel to South America. My dad didn’t think this was a great idea, but I was so sure about it that I moved out and did things my way. We didn’t speak again for six months, but that’s a story for another time…

After 8 months teaching English in Colombia, I returned home to juggle three jobs and full-time college classes because I had decided to live life on my own terms. That single year was marked by extreme highs and lows. From the excitement of international travel, to the death of my oldest sister, and being robbed at knifepoint. Let’s just say that my journey to adulthood was challenging, and (at times) tons of fun.

This rebellious and tenacious spirit has sometimes served me well, although it would be easier (and more boring) to do things the easy way. But that wouldn’t be my style.

Let’s just say that I am a firm believer in “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” If we really want something, we will make the hard choices that others may not always be willing to make. The tricky part is always knowing exactly how far you can stretch things without it all falling apart.

More than two decades later, after my divorce, I found myself back in the old familiar pattern of pushing myself to the absolute brink of exhaustion. I was 100% solo parenting two toddlers while slowly using every last resource I had built up from my previous business, because my ex had gone off the deep end, and I had practically zero income. 

After all, I had waited until I was in my 30s and had a stable home and business before having kids so I could stay home with my babies while they were young. It made no sense to me to work full-time just to pay a stranger to have all those precious moments with them. I certainly didn’t want to have to throw out the childhood I wanted for my kids because my ex had chosen alcohol and benzos over his family.

I was no stranger to hard choices and sacrifice, so I pushed myself and held my standards. I made just about everything homemade. I homeschooled. I did dog sitting and housesitting. I took on tax prep and marketing clients to make side income in every way possible. I even began building my own alternative school. I did all of this while squeezing in moments for personal development and trying to recover from the PTSD of everything we had been through.

After about six years of going nonstop, something had to give. I was out in the yard one day while we were dog-sitting, and I noticed a strange spot on the top of my left foot. I probably noticed it because a friend of mine had been battling melanoma for the last year. A little voice told me to get it checked out, so I listened.