Hey everyone!!

I am writing to you now as an official Rapport Leadership International Leadership Breakthrough One graduate!! WOOOO!!! I know you don't understand what the heck I'm talking about, but trust me when I say I EARNED that graduation status. I have just been through the most challenging and intense class I have ever had in my life, but it was also the most rewarding.

I had heard bits and pieces about the class from my friends who had aleady gone through the process last week, so in my mind I thought I knew what to expect. I have to be honest with you, I was extremely excited about it. I knew going into it that I was a confident woman who was pretty comfortable speaking in front of large groups and making a complete fool of myself. With this in mind, I was confident I could breeze through it.

WRONG.

I don't think it was POSSIBLE to breeze through this. The class was composed of 6 modules, and in each one we performed a set of processes that pushed you so far out of your comfort zone. It wasn't about public speaking, and it wasn't about the content of your speeches or performances. It was about letting go, relying on the support of your team, and breaking through your personal walls to leadership. I was extremely privaleged to see the personal development and progression of individuals of my team. The quiet introvert who stood up the first night and said she was wanting to gain confidence was the same girl who stood up and projected with so much passion and enthusiasm that she was dancing and jumping and could hardly speak and catch her breath at the end of her speech the second day.

It's impossible for me to explain how impactful this training was to me individually. I came in so confident about my own personal abilities, and left completley humbled. I was so caught up in being first to lead, and how I was going to do things, that I didn't take the time to sit back and take it all in. It's almost like being aware of the unaware. I realized that being a leader (for me) is not always about being the first one to take control. It's not always about how I can improve. It's about truly listening and responding to others in order to build their capabilities. I always felt like I had to be the first one to take action because people EXPECTED me to. People see my personality, and automatically assume that I should be the one to lead all the time. In reality, I WANT to be a follower sometimes, because I learn so much more about myself and am truly inspired through listening to others.

I decided after the first night that I was going to turn my attitude around from what I was personally going to benefit from this experience, to raising the bar and pushing myself on my support and encouragement for every single one of my teammates. And what I found was the realization of how much I was overlooking in my life, in even the smallest of details. I see what I want to see, and not necessarily what is really there. And to me, this class opened my eyes to that. I'm not saying I'm a completley changed person overnight. But I am saying that I know now what's holding me back, and what it is that I need to take steps in improving. It's all about baby steps.

I know I touched on it before, but I can't express the emotions I felt throughout the progression of the two days. I saw and felt individuals fall flat on their face, and when they didn't think they could do any more, they dusted themselves off and got right back up. Not only was this the most powerful part of what went on, but it was truly beautiful. I feel incredibly blessed to have had each and every person in my team, and thank God for that. They showed an endless amount of support for each individual, and without that, I don't think I would have made it through and met my full potential. I never thought I could be so close with 22 people in just 2 1/2 days.

I don't even know what else to say. I guess the fact that I'm sitting here after about 6 hours of sleep total in the past 2 1/2 days with absolutley no voice pretty much sums it up: I gave it my absolute all.

Yay for being a LEADER!!!!