I’ve been drawing these mountains since 2017.
Well and Willing was a calling, long before it became a company.
(I tell my story, so maybe you can see some of yours here too.)
Early leader me. I wish I could go back and give her a hug.
Sometimes helpers believe that service means self-sacrifice.
Professionally, I shined. My team and I designed innovative programming for children with medical and developmental needs, even winning local and state awards.
Personally, I was a secret mess. I coped with the constant exposure to suffering in ways that harmed me and others. Eventually, challenges became too big to ignore, and I found my way to therapy. I learned I did not have the tools I needed to sustain myself.
I’d placed my own needs on the back-burner for so long, that I didn’t even recognize them as legitimate anymore.
I had to prioritize myself, with integrity.
At 41, even after some therapy, my identity seemed to be mostly the sum of roles I played for other people—at work, at home, everywhere. Others were used to me performing my duties, and there was always too much to hold.
I felt a nagging discontent, but this time, instead of numbing it away or powering through, I listened to it. The phrase ‘well and willing’ had been on my mind as an aspiration, for weeks. Willing people that also felt well—what a dream! So I bought the web domain on my lunch break for twenty bucks. I didn’t understand why. I just wanted to figure it out.
Sometimes we need permission to pause and ask some deeper questions. As silly as it sounded, I needed a quest.
I had to trust my inner knowing.
With a lot of support from my boss, my team, and my husband (shoutout to JK), I enrolled in an intensive coaching certification in Vancouver, BC. I worked remotely, lived alone, and learned for an entire month. It changed me. I felt the best I had in years, but this was nothing like my actual life…eeek! It was kind of scary to feel the stark contrast.
I had a big divide to cross from my current self to the one I wanted to be. I sat on a beach my last day and sketched out the first version of these mountain peaks. Awareness to Alignment.
Returning home, to a city I love, where social determinants of health are undeniably obvious, I was extra aware of my privilege. Everyone needs access to well-being.
The truth of inequity troubled my spirit and informed my next steps.
I had to find my core values.
Positive change means uncomfortable work. I settled into changing me, while everything else stayed the same—job, family, responsibilities.
For the next three years, I said YES to every request to coach people and teams. I co-wrote a new coach training for leaders at our hospital system.
I got more curious about my own privilege, social conditioning and the ethical imperative of transformational leadership.
I finished my PCC credential with the International Coach Federation and joined the Harvard Institute of Coaching.
In March of 2020, I presented my first keynote and was getting reach to launch! Whoohoo!
Sometimes, things work out…
…very differently than we plan.
The next week, the world shut down, and I stayed put.
A global pandemic was definitely not the time to leave my healthcare team. Those years were much harder for some folks than they were for me, and still, they were so hard. The well-being of WE, depends on a whole lot of ME’s doing our parts.
At home, we balanced—keeping careers and kids afloat.
At work, we led well—keeping people as safe and sustained as possible.
Inequity surfaced everywhere, and we didn’t look away. We learned more. Division spread but so did Accountability. We showed up, over and over, practicing integrity.
I had to reckon with hard things…
…and discover true joy.
This part feels especially personal. I did the COVID-times 100% sober. (Only because I started pre-pandemic. Believe me, I would not have chosen that timing—but I’m so grateful it happened that way.)
Everyone needs joy to feel alive.
I was surrounded by heavy stuff at home and work. I needed to remember myself, in order to keep serving. So I committed to personal mini-retreats. Some were as simple as taking a walk on a work call. Others more adventurous, like hiking and camping alone for the first time.
Six-year-old me was really happy. (She loved outdoor adventures.)
Again, I felt the privilege of accessing these experiences. I couldn’t unsee the things I’d learned to notice, and I didn’t want to. I became even more certain that if I was going to work with well-being, it had to center equity.
Have you ever had something just within reach but couldn’t grab it? For years? It sucks.
Don’t get me wrong - practicing felt amazing. I just wanted to stay there, and I couldn’t, yet. In hindsight, I see those years strengthened me and the work, in very necessary ways. In the moment, Ugh. Transformation takes time.
Unfortunately—Every time I got ready to leave my job, more hard stuff happened. I lost a colleague unexpectedly and started covering her load. My mom’s cancer came back, and she died. Husband got laid off. Kids moved out. Change after change, grief and love.
Fortunately—A dear friend/mentor helped me point this work back to my clinical profession. I got to travel to Universities and Conferences, speaking on the ethical imperative of personal well-being in human-centered professions. I got brave enough to let my mountains process be seen (by some really smart people). Awareness—Accountability—Alignment
I had to practice what I preach.
I have almost accepted that I’ll always be just practicing—what a relief, actually.
Life is 100% uncertain. We control, accept and discern, without knowing how much time we have.
In 2025, I finally left my full-time role. It was harder than I thought it would be. My leadership role was a huge part of my identity, so much that I threw it a funeral. (A story for another day—but I highly recommend grieving in joyful community, with fried chicken and a karaoke choir.)
I took the winter off. Full stop. (a massive privilege) The only other time in my adult life I wasn’t at work, was when I was recovering from childbirth—and that was work. So I savored it. Everyone needs rest and space.
In the spring of 2026, I was ready to begin again. Well and Willing.
I had to make an end to make a beginning.
Dearest internet reader,
If you got this far, I hope it helped you, somehow.
We are all just practicing; connecting our heads, hearts and guts to do something that matters to us.
Take care of yourself, Danielle
Ready to see what’s possible for you?
Send me a quick note, or schedule a free call.