The Woman on the Ferry

Preface

Enjoy this free chapter from The Woman on the Ferry: A Journey of 1,000 Miles to Redefine Success and Discover Joy.

“YOU SOUND DEFEATED,” my friend messaged. And yes, “defeated” perfectly described how I felt. My word of the year was “blockbuster.” My book was supposed to be a bestseller. Colleges would line up for my speeches, and my summit would kickstart an EcoWealth movement. Instead, here I was in May, feeling utterly defeated. My book was nearly invisible, I had one paid speaking gig, and most campuses had “ghosted” me. The summit? A complete disaster by the numbers.

As I sat questioning everything, having poured my heart into projects that hadn't yielded the desired results, I wondered: Is success really about the degrees, the titles, the dollars, and the likes? Or is there something deeper?

Just four years ago, I had traded my suburban Virginia house for the RV life, crisscrossing the country and experiencing sights I had only dreamed of. I found joy hiking in mountains, watching sunsets, and waking to birdsong. The move paid off spiritually, mentally, and physically—but not financially. Last fall, I had slowed down, setting up an RV home base in southern California.

Turning 60 in December hit me unexpectedly hard, made worse by a badly sprained ankle in Death Valley National Park the day before. The reality was clear: if I couldn't make entrepreneurship work, I'd need a job. The thought of losing the flexibility of running my own business saddened me.

But then something shifted. What if this defeat was actually an opportunity? A chance to redefine success on my own terms? The catalyst came when a dear friend sent me “Squatter” by Yolanda Deloach, about a woman's journey on Wisconsin's Ice Age Trail. Having grown up in Wisconsin, I felt deeply connected to the story. The book's “1,000-miler” concept sparked an idea: What if I hiked 1,000 miles in five months? For four of those months, I'd be traveling the western United States in my RV, seeking new trails in its diverse landscapes. This wasn't about thru-hiking one long trail—it was about discovering new places, one day hike at a time. The goal of 200 miles per month, about 6.5 miles daily, would push my limits on the wilderness trails I planned to explore.

Around the same time, I launched a Substack newsletter—Nature Listening Points—featuring my 60-second nature videos. It was meant to be a side project while I pivoted my financial coaching business. Then I discovered Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. The book captivated me. What if, instead of relying on research and analytics to create income, I gave myself permission to be a writer, an artist, a creative?

I committed to Cameron's 12-week program, diving into her “Morning Pages” practice. Revelation after revelation emerged. When I started this journey, I thought it would focus on modern measures of “success” and finding different meaning through introspection. But as I embraced The Artist's Way philosophy, viewing myself as a vessel of the universe, I let the journey shape my book instead.

This book isn't just about hiking 1,000 miles—it's a quest to unravel deeply ingrained societal definitions of success. By immersing myself in nature, I aim to find clarity and reconnect with joy that's been obscured by the relentless pursuit of external validation. It's time to listen to the wisdom of the wilderness, rediscover what truly matters, and redefine success on my own terms.