Inflection Point

Gently preparing for winter dream time

I’m writing this note to you from Japan. It’s 4 am, my California jet lag is fresh, and I’m wide awake. I’m using the notes app on my phone while I sit on the tatami floor sipping tea by candlelight. I won’t crack open the computer - that seemingly benign act would squelch the luminosity of this morning’s precious clarity. And yes, my phone, because the dimly lit candles don’t cast enough light for me to see if I were to address the blank page in my journal. Not that I plan to go back to sleep. But the candles set the tone for magic.

This is my third attempt this month to write the year’s final newsletter. A year-end recap felt too surface and insufficient. Not that it hasn’t been a big year, it certainly has. I’ve had the privilege of coaching exceptional leaders 1:1 and in group settings for executive teams in both tech and healthcare this year. My first book: Somatic Intelligence, is now complete and getting ready for release in February of 2026. Over the past few months, I’ve been working behind the scenes on exciting AI-driven technology that will make the book’s teaching accessible well beyond my 1-1 coaching practice. In addition, I will reach my visibility goal of 100 LinkedIn posts by December 31st. Each of these milestones is both exciting and scary because it requires me to keep expanding in ways that don’t come easily.

When I was a little girl, I received a lot of unwanted attention. I learned to play it safe by becoming less visible. A few years ago, someone asked me if I wanted to see my face on a billboard someday, and I immediately blurted, “Hell no!” I loved the idea of seeing my client’s faces shining in the spotlight, but definitely not mine. So when a former client and beta reader of the book said, “You on the cover of your book! It says: Rebecca is taking up space!” I wondered if she knew how much my chest still flutters - not romantically or pleasingly - when I see my bold red blouse and smiling face on the cover.

In Somatic Intelligence, I describe coaching as an ongoing game of self-disruption. When we disrupt an old pattern and embrace discomfort, we expand our range. Here’s a visual to illustrate. We don’t become someone different; we broaden our options so we aren’t stuck in limiting patterns. The book guides us to embody who we are becoming. For me, embracing expansion feels risky, even dangerous at times, so it requires gentle, conscious effort. It means stepping out of my silent ninja 🥷 stance and actively embracing the spotlight. Being big is happening in real time, thus it’s authentic, even if it’s not entirely familiar yet. Luckily, as I practice the book’s promise, my body leads, and my mind follows.

For my clients this year, embracing expansion has meant slowing down to work smarter, not harder. It looks like embracing conflict and holding the tension of seemingly opposite truths. It means allowing others to do what they need to do without attaching oneself to a forced or fixed outcome. It also means exploring and enjoying the strengths that they bring to the table and amplifying their potency because they are aware of them and how and when to use them. Many of my clients have discovered that it’s not just what you do, but when you do it. When to deliver a message, when to push, when to hold back and wait. There’s a beauty in the nuance and discernment that happens when you’ve embodied the habit of self-reflection. Each of these shifts can seem subtle, but the ripple effect is profound.

As I type and craft these words, the morning light is beginning to surface. In just a few hours, work in the US will be quiet, and APAC will start to hum. Since I don’t have any APAC clients right now and EMEA won’t be awake until this evening, I’ll don a scarf and gloves and go for a stroll, basking in the end of fall. The last tenacious red maple 🍁 leaves are curling into brown, and even they must release their grip on the trees.

And let go.

Before I make like a leaf and detach from the digital world and enjoy my December dream time, thank you for being a source of inspiration and support this year. Many of you have shared stories and feedback with me via email, phone calls, LI messages, and comments that shape the book’s launch and my coaching practice in the year ahead. I’m excited to be on this journey with you and can’t wait to step into some significant shifts in 2026.

Happy holidays and many blessings to you and yours,