Happy September, beautiful people!
I hope August was as good to you as it was to me. I felt blessed to spend time with my mom in the San Francisco Bay Area, hang out with my CASA youth, work on my second book, carry out some important consulting and board responsibilities, engage with the amazing Dollar General field leadership team at their conference in Nashville, TN, celebrate honorees at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement, participate in Pro Sports Assembly “The Assembly 2026,” and serve as a panelist for the Dallas Wings inaugural Executive Forum. I also had the pleasure of visiting Chime’s incredible New York City office.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve also been checking things off my list, including sending care packages to cancer patients, checking in on a number of people, and cleaning out my closet. It looked as if a mini hurricane had passed through. Anyway, I loved how I spent my time last month. It was a busy and a different kind of August.
So, August is over, and we are transitioning into a new season. Fall is around the corner. I have many fond memories of this particular seasonal change, when I spent time sending my children back to school and then tidying up the house over Labor Day weekend, inspecting fall decorations, updating the house calendar to incorporate school events, preparing work conference agendas, etc. It’s different now.
I’ve noticed that the activities I engage in as the seasons change are dictated by the season of life that I’m in. And while I do take time to reflect on the joy that the former things brought me, I’m learning to embrace my current season. I’m determined to enjoy and find meaning in every season of my life.
Like snow falling in winter, flowers blooming in spring, campgrounds filling up in summer, and leaves changing color in fall, there is so much joy in every season of life: Instead of decorating dorm rooms, I’m making cancer care packages. Instead of planning to go to college family weekend, I’m preparing to attend an alumni takeover of a Cal Golden Bears football road game. Instead of working on an agenda for AT&T’s Officer’s conference, I’m helping my mentees navigate their personal and professional agendas and helping my clients transform their companies. I find happiness in ALL of it and I’m encouraging you to do the same.
Don’t miss the seasonal moments. Embrace them. Change can be good. It’s constant. You can always count on it.
What’s on your Labor Day weekend “to do” list? What things and memories will you pack away from summer? What will fall like tree leaves in fall to make room for new and exciting things? How will you empty nesters take advantage of the time that was once consumed with the kids’ activities? How will you retirees embrace your new season? And for those of you who find yourselves making a purposeful pivot—voluntarily or involuntarily—how are you preparing for the fabulous opportunities that await?
We can rely on four seasonal changes each year. Life will present many more. Embrace your current season. Be present in it. Find joy in it. And one day, carry the lessons from it into the next season. But….don’t rush this one. Your season of life is exactly where you are supposed to be right now: today.
Embrace the season. Just like the four divisions of the calendar year, each of life’s seasons has unique timing and characteristics. Find meaning in every moment. Support those who are navigating a difficult season. Seek help if you are in a tough season. Someone has experienced a similar season. If you’ve read my book, You’ve Been Chosen: Thriving Through the Unexpected, you know I’ve had bad seasons. Didn’t always enjoy them. Had help pulling through them. Learned from ALL of them. Those lessons grounded me in future seasons.
Tis the season! Embrace it. Happy September!
Cynt