Growing up, I spent summers with my grandfather—a man who moved through the world with equal confidence whether piloting a plane through clouds or navigating his boat through open waters. I remember clinging to the railing of his boat, salt spray on my face, as dolphins danced alongside us, cutting through the waves with effortless joy. In those moments, watching those magnificent creatures completely in their element, I felt something I wouldn't recognize until decades later: the pure exhilaration of freedom.

But like many women, I lost sight of that feeling as life's responsibilities pulled me under.

Lost at Sea

I came from humble beginnings where education wasn't valued. Despite this, I persevered and carved my own path, often feeling like I was navigating uncharted territory without a map. This early experience taught me something powerful: society's expectations don't define your potential.

As my career progressed, I witnessed firsthand how women were treated in the workplace—paid less, heard less, valued less. I responded by working harder, achieving more, until work became my entire identity.

My children noticed before I did. "Mom's always working," they'd say, and they were right. Between motherhood and career, I had completely lost myself—anchored to responsibilities and others' expectations, forgetting the woman who once stood breathless watching dolphins leap alongside her grandfather's boat.

When my children began leaving home, that hollow feeling I'd been ignoring expanded into a void I could no longer fill with busyness. My career felt like it was leading nowhere meaningful. I smiled through the chaos while feeling completely empty inside.

The Moment of Breaking Free

The breaking point came after multiple attempts to change roles in my company were rejected. Frustrated and exhausted, I did something completely out of character—I took a solo road trip to the ocean. I needed to see the horizon line where water meets sky, to remember what possibility felt like.

Standing on that shore, waves washing over my feet, I heard my grandfather's voice from decades past: "Patricia, you can't control the wind, but you can command your vessel."

That's when I realized the "I'm fine" lie I'd been telling wasn't protecting anyone—especially not me. Those habits that once made me a "good woman"—staying quiet, putting everyone first, hiding my true feelings—weren't virtues at all. They were old survival patterns keeping me anchored when I was meant to sail boldly forward.

Finding My Crew

The most profound breakthroughs came when I discovered I wasn't meant to voyage alone. Joining coaching masterminds connected me with women on similar journeys—women who understood the disorientation of losing yourself to roles and responsibilities, who were equally determined to chart new courses toward lives of impact.

With their support, guided by my core values of integrity, honesty, and continuous learning, I stopped waiting for "someday" to live authentically. That was the moment everything changed.

I watched these women transform from feeling weighed down to becoming unstoppable forces in their own lives. And I noticed something powerful: the women who made the most progress weren't just receiving guidance—they were sailing forward together, a fleet supporting each other through calm seas and storms alike.

The Birth of LaunchLifeMom

Working with my own clients, I recognized the missing piece: community. Women had friends and family, but rarely connections with others voyaging through these same uncharted waters of redefinition and renewal.

LaunchLifeMom was born from this realization. Not just as a program or a service, but as an identity—a way for women to recognize themselves not as lost, but as Captains of their own destiny.

The Captain's Manifesto

Mission: To transform women from feeling anchored by expectation to becoming unstoppable forces of purpose and meaning, especially in seasons of transition.

Vision: A world where women refuse to accept that their most significant contributions are behind them—where the second half of life becomes the most meaningful because women have the community and courage to launch it.

Core Values:

• Boundless Determination: We move forward with integrity, breaking free from limitations rather than accepting them

• Collective Power: We believe in the exponential impact of women supporting women through every sea change

• Courageous Exploration: We embrace uncertainty as the birthplace of possibility

• Continuous Learning: We remain forever curious, mastering the skills to command our own vessels

• Meaningful Impact: We understand that when one woman breaks free from her anchor, she creates pathways for others

Who We Include: Women who refuse to remain tethered when the open sea calls. Women who may feel lost but sense there's more horizon ahead than behind. Women ready to stop saying "I'm fine" when they're anything but.

Our Non-Negotiables:

• No postponing dreams "until someday"

• No permission-seeking to prioritize your own journey

• No voyaging alone when a supportive fleet awaits

• No settling for safe harbors when adventure beckons

• No accepting invisibility when your wisdom and experience are needed now more than ever

Despite decades of fighting for equality, women still earn just 82 cents for every dollar men make. And as we age, society works even harder to make us invisible. I've learned that the only way to truly change this reality is to change ourselves first—to stop playing small, to stop waiting for permission, to stop saying "I'm fine" when we're anything but.

That's why I created LaunchLifeMom—because I've seen what happens when women stop postponing their dreams and start launching them instead. We don't become less relevant with age—we become more powerful, more wise, more capable of creating meaningful impact.

Like those dolphins swimming alongside my grandfather's boat, there is indescribable joy in moving through life with purpose, in your element, surrounded by others doing the same.

Are you ready to move from Anchored to Unstoppable? To join a fleet of women commanding their course with confidence and creating waves of impact?

Your captain's wheel is waiting.