Kate Byrne - Where the journey started

---

I suppose it's because I myself was born a “surprise”, on Friday the 13th no less, which I truly believe explains the extraordinary life I have experienced. 

I was born in Marin county California, the youngest of four with a 9 year gap between my closest sibling and myself. I always felt as though I didn’t quite belong as if the stork dropped me off at the wrong house. I was wired a little differently. I spent a majority of my childhood around adults. It made me quite precocious and very observant. Even as a child, I was good with people, I could enter a room, read it and contribute, much to the surprise of those around me. I was great with adults but always felt a little different than those my own age.  I was always trying to make myself bigger (I even walked on my toes to be taller!), and as years passed I often felt that I needed to prove my worth to make up for the expense that my parents endured given the cost of education etc.  Mind you, this was my own perception - my parents showered me with love and I cherish the bond I have had with them throughout my life. But it did a real number on my sense of “enoughness” as I was forever being underestimated.  It affected my self esteem, and my relationship with money.

I lived the first forty years of my life thinking I should make my parents happy.  I worked hard to be a successful business executive, fabulous hands-on mom, good marriage, active in the community - it all looked great from the outside but felt so empty on the inside. My inner voice had begun to get alarmingly louder screaming at me to ‘pipe down!’ that this was life and my life was ‘GREAT’ so I had better stop being a baby. 

Then my mother passed away, and I found myself realizing that I had a choice:  I could spend the rest of my life living it for others or embrace what was truly - MY life. 

So I lit the fuse and blew my life to smithereens!  I started by leaving my husband, buying a house completely on my own (despite receiving no child care or alimony) and began my reset. Life on my OWN terms with only what mattered to me as a compass guide. I stopped  listening to the doubters and thank God I did!  I married a man who felt like a soulmate from the get-go and now we have a blended family of 5 children (3 are his, 2 are mine) and 6 bonus ‘grandkiddoodles’ via his kids. My life is so much more than I had thought it could be.

My career shifted into one rooted in doing well by doing good.  I was a natural! I embraced Purpose Driven Leadership and impact investing.  I became a transition point between the old and the new, transforming old school outdated thinking leaders into intentional guides - this is where the Business Alchemy comes in. Call me a human API!  I am a natural nexus point, a transitional thinker with the power to “Orchestrate and Project”.  I am a visionary with an eagle-eye view and a lens that reflects the inner kaleidoscope of those I am closely engaging with.

It took a while to understand my personal power, authority and unique purpose.  I’ve made some very conscious trades:  fear for courage, failure for curiosity and learning, accountability for victimhood.  I’m still working on patience…that’s a tough one! I am a sucker for potential and growth.  I ORCHESTRATE work and play into close intimacy to ignite the divine spark of creativity and then I TRANSFER IT!  This is my Superpower.