Hello beautiful people! Happy August! Summer is in full swing and I can’t believe we have a few more weeks before it’s over. I’m hoping that your summer has been going well. July had two personalities, and I lived inside both of them. The first half was slow and intentional. I was planning, dreaming, mapping out what I wanted the second half of 2026 to look like. Then Mexico City happened. Six days of late nights, good food, and no agenda. When I came home, I had to rebuild my momentum again. But here’s the thing: I wouldn’t change any of it. July was the month I found joy in the journey. Not in the results, not in the metrics, but in the actual act of building the life I want while I’m living it. This is how it all unfolded.

The Job That Finally Feels Like Mine

Work in July picked up in a real way. Our organization finally landed on some direction, which spun out three major initiatives. I got tapped to lead a key feature on one of them, working in close partnership with the architect on my team. That kind of visibility does something to you. I was meeting new people, stretching into technical territory I had no prior awareness of, planning ahead, and anticipating needs before they were even named out loud.

It was a lot. And if I’m honest, it was scary. But by the end of the month, something clicked. A new confidence settled in, the kind that makes you realize you belong in every room you walk into. I started speaking up more. I let my thoughts drive technical decisions. I stopped waiting to be asked.

And I started talking about money. This month made it undeniably clear how much of an asset I am to my organization. I looked at the scope of what I’ve taken on, compared it to my peers, and realized it is time to get paid accordingly. My promotion didn’t go through last cycle for reasons outside of my control. Apologies were made. But apologies don’t pay the bills. I have a sense that they plan to make it right, and I’m going to make sure we are all on the same page. I will not be caught slipping again.

Despite the frustration, I am genuinely grateful for my job. It funds the life I’m designing, and the work-life balance I have is something most people would dream of. I hope it stays that way. And if it doesn’t, I’m glad I have other pillars I’m actively growing.

Teaching Yoga and Loving Every Second of It

I am really a yoga instructor. It still feels surreal to say out loud. September marks one year since I began Yoga Teacher Training, and what a year it has been. I’m on the official schedule at Y7, I’m starting to get regulars in my classes, and teaching still does not feel like work. I’ve been intentional about protecting that feeling by setting clear boundaries around how and when I teach.

But becoming a studio instructor has been more than just adding something to my schedule. It’s been a full lifestyle shift. Between using my brain at work and using my body to teach, I have to keep myself healthy and rested to do both well. That means being ruthless about my calendar. The only free weeknight I have is Tuesday. One night. So everything else has to earn its place.

I had originally planned for this goal to shift from a grow goal to a flow goal once I achieved it. I was wrong about that. There are still meaningful areas where I want to grow as an instructor, and I’m approaching that with real optimism. I’m excited to see where this takes me.

Building the Creative Business, One Post at a Time

Let’s start with the win: I wrote three times more in July than I did in June. That matters. Momentum is momentum, even when it doesn’t feel like enough yet.

I got into a decent rhythm with TikTok, but my writing patterns kept shifting. I posted on my blog five times last month and only wrote on Substack twice. My habits are not currently aligned with my content goals. That’s just the plain truth. Things have to change. I’ve got to be more serious about putting in the time to make my dreams real.

On TikTok, growth has been slow but I finally understand why. At the end of last quarter, I reviewed my analytics and identified the gaps. I’m using the rest of this month and next to close them. What changed is the way I’m thinking about it. Every post no longer feels like something I have to do. It feels like one step closer. That shift is worth more than any follower count.

And then there’s the thing that made my whole month: I got my first paid Substack subscriber. Having someone invest in seeing the behind-the-scenes, the messiness behind the success, is a reminder of why I keep going on as a content creator. While slow growth is still growth, it’s time to be more intentional about closing the gap.

When the Life You’re Building Meets the Life You’re Living

Mexico City was the clearest proof of concept for everything I’m trying to build. Six days of late nights, incredible food, and zero agenda. No writing sessions. No structured mornings. Just presence. That trip reminded me why I do any of this in the first place.

What July made clear is that creative work is the most vulnerable of my three pillars because it runs almost entirely on protected time and internal motivation. Engineering has deadlines. Yoga has a schedule. Writing has neither. That’s not a failure. That’s data. And the question I plan on answering in August is how do I protect the build without resisting the living?

Closing

July was a month of proof. Proof that I can lead at work and still fight for what I’m worth. Proof that teaching something I love doesn’t have to feel like a job. Proof that slow, consistent creative work adds up. Proof that rest and presence aren’t the enemies of ambition. They’re part of it. August is here, and it’s time to execute.