Herman Hesse once wrote:

“My story isn’t sweet and harmonious like invented stories; it tastes of folly and bewilderment, of madness and dreams—like the lives of all people who no longer want to lie to themselves.”

When I left the corporate world, I had no idea the twists and turns my life would take. Would it have been easier if I had stayed at the bank and put my kids in daycare? Maybe. Or, more likely, I would have faced a different set of challenges. The truth is, there’s no one perfect path—only the one that’s right for you.

My journey wasn’t always easy, and neither will yours be. But if you’ve made it to this point in the book, I hope you now see that there is another way forward. That financial freedom and time freedom aren’t just dreams—they are possibilities you can create.

I want this book to inspire you, but I also want you to know that hard moments will come. The path to designing a life that gives you both financial security and autonomy isn’t always smooth. But even in the hardest moments, there is a force working on your behalf.

Years ago, in a moment of exhaustion and doubt, I received an email from my former Kundalini yoga teacher, Guru Singh. He wrote about a dragonfly called the wandering glider—a creature that has set the record for the longest insect migration, traveling over 11,000 miles.

What makes this dragonfly unique is that it doesn’t fly it glides on thermals at altitudes of 20,000 feet, feeding on aerial plankton along the way. It doesn’t arrive at its destination exhausted and depleted—it arrives energetic and ready because it rides the winds that carry it forward.

When I read that, I cried.

I had spent so many years working, striving, and believing that sheer effort alone was the key to success. It’s how I had always operated—the bootstrap kid from Philly who started working at fourteen; who got on a plane to Hong Kong without knowing a soul on the other end in search of something bigger, the woman who built a business while raising two kids, determined to carve out a life on her own terms.

But at some point, I started wondering: Was I making it harder than it had to be? Could there be another way—one where I didn’t have to push so hard just to keep going?

I didn’t have the answer at that moment, but I had a vision—a belief that I could find a way to arrive well-rested and well-fed, not drained and depleted. That I could create freedom and financial security without burning myself out in the process.

So, I got a tattoo of a dragonfly on my arm as a reminder. And now, whenever I feel myself slipping back into a frantic, fear-based push to make things happen, I look at it and remind myself:

There is another way.

This Is My Wish for You

I don’t know the exact reason you picked up this book. Maybe you’re tired of feeling stretched between work and family. Maybe you want more freedom, more security, more time. Maybe you want to build a legacy that allows your kids to grow up watching their mother fully own her choices.

Whatever brought you here, my wish for you is this:

I don’t want you to feel trapped between financial survival and the life you want.
I don’t want you to feel stuck in a job that drains you.

I don’t want you staying in an unfulfilling, dead or abusive relationship because you feel economically trapped.
I don’t want you to feel like you have to choose between being there for your children and building wealth for your future.

I hope that, through this book, you’ve seen that you do have choices.

You can take control of your time.
You can build something that gives you both freedom and security.
And you can do it without burning yourself out in the process.

I also wish we lived in a world that didn’t put women in these hard places to begin with. This isn’t that world yet. But I believe we can change it—one woman, one family, one business at a time.

And until that time comes, always know this:

Regardless of what the world hands you, you can always make the choice to be free.