Finding purpose

Intentional Living
The muse didn’t show up today

Happy Sacred Sunday!

They say that when it comes to writing, you must sit your butt in a chair every day at the same time so the muse knows where to find you.

Well, I’ve had my butt in the chair all morning like I do every Sunday morning, but today the muse hasn’t shown up. And yet, the other side to that coin is that if you are committed to your craft, then you must carry on, with or without the muse.

This week on the podcast I’m talking about the difference between designing your life, surrendering to it, or drifting within it. As I sit here feeling kind of stuck, it occurred to me that I have designed my life to write to you every Sunday.

But there are Sundays when the words don’t come.

To me, drifting would be having AI write the email for me so I can just check the box. Not that there’s anything wrong with using AI to get a task done faster. I do it all the time. But I know this letter is more than a task. It’s a calling.

Drifting would be writing only when I feel inspired and skipping the weeks I don’t. Drifting would allow every vacation, late night, or “special” circumstance become the reason I couldn’t send the letter.

But then there’s the third thing. The surrender. It’s the part where I push past the excuses because I’m committed to the design. Where I’m willing to sit in the discomfort and go beyond the task to look for the significance, the meaning, the direction.

Surrender is about trusting the process, and noticing where the process is pointing you.

Maybe I’m sitting here with a thousand thoughts and no letter because what you need to hear is on the podcast.

Maybe design and surrender go hand in hand…

So take a listen and reply to me to let me know what landed with you.

[Listen here]

Sending love today and always,

July 19, 2026

Purpose & Meaning  ·  Resilience & Overcoming Adversity  ·  Stories of Inspiration
Are you living with purpose on purpose?

Happy Sacred Sunday!

First and foremost, thank you for all the emails and well wishes you sent me this week about my sister and the very scary surgery she was facing. I’m thrilled to report that we’re on the other side of things, and she is recovering flawlessly. Other than the expected pain and discomfort of a procedure of that magnitude, she has had no complications, which we are extremely thankful for.

A friend of mine sent me a message earlier that said, “I hope you feel supported, Caro. Because as caregivers, we need to receive a lot in order to give a lot.”

I just want you to know, that I do feel so supported by this incredible community we have created together. Your messages, well wishes, prayers, and acts of kindness fill my soul. So does having you to show up for. I take this work very seriously and do it with deep purpose. Knowing you are waiting for this love letter and podcast each week keeps me going. Thank you for that.

I’ve been thinking about purposea lot this week.

My students often tell me they’ve lost their purpose. They can’t find their purpose. They’re waiting to figure out what their purpose is before they really start living.

Even my sister, hours after being extubated, whispered to me, “I know I’m still here for a purpose. I just don’t know what that purpose is yet.”

Here is what I responded to her, and what I teach to everyone that comes to me with a purpose question because I believe it so strongly.

Your job is not to find your purpose. Your job is to live purposefully.

Those are two very different things. The former often feels like an open loop you can’t seem to close, consuming you with thinking energy but little progress. The latter is a choice to take the next right step with the information you have right now, trusting that the path will reveal itself along the way.

People treat purpose like they treat happiness, clarity, and many other things in life: as this destination they have to arrive at like an ending to a Hollywood movie.

But what I’ve learned from the people I admire most is that they don’t find their purpose and then start living. They started living with purpose, and their purpose became stronger and clearer along the way.

Usually in hindsight. Because that is when our vision is the clearest.

Just like I shared last week that waiting for good things or bad things keeps us from enjoying the present, waiting to find our purpose wastes the opportunity of living with purpose today.

Which brings me to my friend Jeff.

Jeff Bud is the owner of Apocalypse BBQ, one of the hottest restaurants in Miami, which is saying a lot in a city full of hot restaurants. From the outside, his story looks like a fun one. A guy who loved barbecue, started smoking ribs in his backyard, and built something incredible. But that is not the whole story.

At what he thought was supposed to be the peak of his life, Jeff was diagnosed with leukemia … twice. That journey led him to becoming the kind of person who refused to waste a single day he was given. But overcoming that diagnosis wasn’t the end of his struggles. Much of his success has been built one uncertain step at a time.

Jeff didn’t find his purpose. He kept moving forward until he looked back and realized he was living his purpose.

We went deep and personal in this conversation. Into the parts most people overlook.

If you have ever felt like life threw you a curveball and you’re not sure where your current life is leading you, this episode is for you.

[Listen to my conversation with Jeff here.]

And if it moves you the way I think it will, share it with someone who needs to hear it. That’s the best gift you can give a guest who showed up this honestly.

Sending you so much love today and always,

May 17, 2026

Intentional Living  ·  Personal Growth & Family Life  ·  Personal Growth Journey  ·  Personal Storytelling
I feel weird sharing this

Happy Sacred Sunday!

Greetings from the sky! I am currently on a plane flying to Austin, Texas to surprise my son.

Do you ever do something that feels like the truest expression of yourself?

Last night, as I packed my carry-on for a one-day trip, a visualization popped into my mind. I saw myself entering the airport, going through security, and boarding the plane. It was like replaying a movie I have watched many times before.

But the vision stirred something deep in me.

A spark of bliss.

You’d think the joy was because I was going to see my son. And I am so excited to surprise him. But that wasn’t it.

It was genuinely coming from the travel itself. Which, at first glance, makes no sense.

So I asked myself: where is this feeling coming from?

There is something about traveling alone that feels deeply, unmistakably like me. Maybe it’s because I grew up with a father who traveled solo so much of his life. Not sure, but I do know that my soul recognizes this as an important part of my human experience. The freedom to jump on a plane. The choice to honor that desire. Every step of the process feeling authentically mine.

I feel independent. I feel at peace. I feel at home.

What fascinates me is that I am such an extroverted person and I love people. I do not consider myself a loner in any way. And yet, that movie of walking into the airport, going through security, and boarding the plane alone feels the most like me.

I realize I may have just shown you how weird I am 😬

But here’s why I’m sharing it. One of the practices I have in Living with Intention is to choose a theme for the month (for myself and our Bliss’n Up Community). The theme is one tool we use in re-aligning each month and making sure we are heading in the right direction. This month, I chose the theme: Ask April.

Ask April is dedicated to the questions worth sitting with, getting comfortable with, and worth asking.

Here’s one: Notice when you preview a moment about your life that sparks a deep emotion. Then ask yourself: what is it about that moment that is provoking that feeling? Because the more you notice those moments and name them, the more you can nurture a life that feels authentic and true.

That is what I want most for you. A life that feels like the truest expression of your soul.

And it starts by asking good questions.

This week on the podcast I’m sharing three questions that may be keeping you stuck and how to reframe them. I’ll give you a little hint: if you’ve ever struggled with finding your purpose, this episode will meet you right where you are. Listen to it, then come back to this email. I think you’ll see these true expression moments differently.

As for me, I’m signing off to go give my boy the biggest hug and kiss and enjoy one more adventure in his teenage life.

Sending you so much love, today and always.

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P.S. This month I’m offering complimentary Life Audit calls, and the first round filled faster than I expected. More dates are coming later this week. If you want to be first to know when they open, comment LIFE AUDIT below and I’ll make sure you hear about it before anyone else.

April 12, 2026