I was clearing out some items at the office the other day and opened up the Top Secret envelope that my niece made for me years and years ago, which hangs on my wall so it’s always in view. No matter how many times I’ve opened it, as I unfold the intricate cutout rainbow cake that declares me the best, it perks me right up.

Later in the week I was in New York, prepping for a talk late in the evening as the restaurant closed up around me. The waiter saw me working and on my way out shouted, “You got this! It’s gonna be great!” 

A tiny part of me thinks, I am the grownup, I am a professional. Of course I’ve got this. I don’t need encouragement from people 20 or 40 years my junior.

The larger, truer part of me thinks, thank you. I really needed that.

Dear ones, it can be an uphill sort of time out there.

Let’s cheer each other on.