Living a life of bold delight
A workshop on vision and empowerment
I am absolutely delighted that you’re here!
When I was in high school - either a junior or a senior - I read Walden by Henry David Thoreau for a literature class. Literally the only thing I remember about that book (maybe even the whole class?) is this quote:
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
I distinctly remember feeling horrified that he would make that observation about society. I thought, surely this old-timey author with his old-timey book is so far out of date that there's no current truth to it.
Oh, there is.
This quote has followed me around like my own personal poltergeist, making sudden appearances in my awareness and pointing out very real, very current examples of the quiet desperation that enshrouds so, so, so many people.
This quote has horrified me for four reasons:
Desperation is a form of despair, which means a complete loss of hope.
This desperation is quiet. That means it's resigned. It has given up. It's not just that we can't see a light at the end of the tunnel, it's that we've just sat down and we're not even looking for the light any more.
This quiet desperation is not a one time event. It's a way of life.
This phenomenon is pervasive. It's not just some of us who live in "quiet desperation," it's a majority. That's alarming.
I'm not judging. I have definitely lived chapters of my life in quiet desperation. The most severe of which is probably shortly after the birth of my first daughter. With post-partum depression and my sudden (although expected) identity shift, I remember days (weeks, months) in which I felt like I was just the "lunch lady." I felt like I served no other purpose. I was a shell of a human, doing only what needed to be done, finding little joy or fulfillment. I remember looking in the mirror and seeing myself squarely in that "mass of men" and thinking, you were right Thoreau, you were right.
With a lot of work, therapy, and medication, I eventually emerged. First, I was less quiet about my desperation and then, slowly, I was in despair less. It was a process. It took years.
Fast forward to December 2024. I was conducting my annual self-reflection journaling exercise on my birthday at a local Starbucks. I had my noise-cancelling earbuds in and listening to ambient music to help me focus (I am insatiably curious and I easily ear-hustle other people's conversations, unabashedly, to my own distraction). When my task felt complete, I looked up.
Having not noticed who had come in and sat around me, I began to take them all in. Still unable to hear their conversations, I was struck by the body language, demeanor, and energy of those people. Thoreau pointed his ghostly finger and whispered, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation."
Unacceptable.
With my journal still before me and pen in hand, I wrote down Thoreau's awful observation. I immediately struck through "quiet desperation" and began to brainstorm what I would like to observe about society. I asked myself, if I could cultivate any version of this quote, what would it be?
Maybe you'd choose a different version, but "BOLD DELIGHT" struck me hard and I thought, YES.
So there you have it:
My mission is to encourage and inspire my community to live a life of bold delight.
Through a series of soul-searching events, I was led to this idea of hosting a workshop to cultivate this observation instead of Thoreau’s. This all starts with a creating a vision of what that life looks like and distilling that vision down into actionable tasks and mindset shifts to bring it into your reality.
Here’s the thing: This workshop is a result of me going through this very process.
I took the time to get super clear on the life that I wanted to live, then I looked at what was standing in my way, and then I took action. Has it been scary? Yes. Have I wrestled with doubt? You bet. Have I been mighty uncomfortable? Absolutely.
Has it been worth it? Hell yes.
Because shifting into who I want to be, doing the work that I most feel called to do, and living a life in alignment has felt like I am simultaneously stepping into my power and settling into my place in the Universe. It’s been nothing short of magic.
This magic is totally available to you. Whether you’re looking for big shifts in your life or little tweaks, I’ve designed this workshop to make those changes.
The Workshop
Living a life of bold delight does not require alchemy, but it does require thoughtful creation of a vision, removing what's in the way and taking deliberate actions to shift our lives.
The workshop will be delivered via zoom, live! I’ll cover the content in three parts:
1. Define
2. Defeat
3. Do
In each part, I’ll chat about why it’s an important element, provide journal prompts to guide you through your journey, and establish a framework for creating actionable tasks and mindset shifts to make it real.
After I cover the three parts, I’ll open the door for a little Q+A.
Once the workshop is over, you will receive two emails. The first will contain the slides from the workshop as well as a workbook, so you can get started right away. The second email will come later in the day with the replay.
The Details
When: May 2, 2025
What time: 11 AM, MDT
What’s included: A 1 hour workshop + up to 30 minutes of Q+A, a PDF Workbook, all the slides from the presentation, and the replay
Price: $49
Can’t make it live? No worries! You’ll still get the replay and all the post-workshop goodies!