The beauty of the 31 Days of Celebration exercise is that it gives you exactly what you need at the time you do it.

The first time I did this exercise, last year, what I got out of the experience was greater peace and happiness, as well as an up-tick in my income. I was still working through all the gunk I had accumulated during an unhappy marriage and was experiencing some financial stress brought on by the emotional stress. 31 Days of Celebration gave me exactly what I needed at the time.

This year, I’m pretty happy and my income is decent. So the exercise gave me something different.

This year, I’m re-branding and working on developing the courage, strength and chutzpah to be fully authentic in my business. I’ve been feeling the calling for three years, but have been resisting. In many ways I feel like a butterfly struggling to get out of a chrysalis. I know, on the one hand, that I am as beautiful as a Monarch … but at times I feel more like the ugly duckling.

I’m sure many of you have felt this way, too. That’s why I share. People often see me in the world and think that I’m much bigger and more brilliant than I feel that I am. This is very common for people who are modest. Stepping into our power and fully owning our Awesome can be challenging.

But trust me … it is so worth the journey. Walk your hero’s path to greatness, for you indeed have greatness. You wouldn’t be taking up space and using up air if you didn’t. You just need to discover your own brand of greatness, the brilliance you were meant to shine on the world.

So what did 31 Days of Celebration give me this year?

• A greater sense of my purpose and a clearer idea of how to achieve it. As I step into my role as the Own Your Awesome Business & Life Coach (my new brand), I finally feel that I’ve hit the nail on the head. Finally, my business feels like it is perfectly tailored to fit me … not just some “one size fits all” outfit I pulled of the rack at a bargain store. It is scary, but it feels good. Kind of like the first time I tried zip-lining. I was terrified to step off the platform, but once I did, the exhilaration was so powerful, I can’t wait to go zip-lining again!
• More acceptance of all the quirky parts that make up me … and more commitment to share my facets with my tribe. My tribe gets me. They are just as eclectic and quirky as I am and love me for it. Those who think that my mish-mash of cooking, science fiction and belly dance is strange, just aren’t members of my tribe. And that’s OK. They need to find their tribe and I lovingly allow them to do that, knowing that “losing” their business is really not a loss at all.

If you’ve been following along and doing your own 31 Days of Celebration, take a look at your record of celebrations. What do they say about you? Does a theme emerge? This could be the gift the exercise gave you!

Also, take a moment to reflect on how you feel and the experiences you noticed over the 31 days. Have things gotten better? What things got better? Did you grow? Did you learn? Are you more happy? Did your business improve? Did your relationships improve?

Trust me, if you’ve been doing this diligently, something positive happened and you are a stronger person now than you were 31 days ago. Look for that gift and be thankful for it.

Now continue to find things to be grateful for every day!

Please share your insights, “a ha!” moments and wisdom in a comment below. Share with the tribe — your tribe — what you have learned through this exercise so we can all gain awareness through your words.