I was raised by two amazing parents who truly taught me that I was capable. Capable of whatever needed to be done, capable to figure out solutions to problems and capable to dream big and work hard. They never let me use excuses.

I will never forget a time in middle school, it had snowed and my mom woke me up and told me to get dressed and come help her shovel off the deck. I whined and complained why couldn't she make my brother do it? And her response was simple, but powerful, "Why? you are perfectly capable of shoveling too." And she's right, I was (unfortunately).

But that simple line has embedded itself into my brain and creeped into my life in more ways than I could have expected.When I began this journey, I started by making hand painted signs that were created from scratch. However, at the time I had never used a table saw before so I would have to ask (read: beg and nag) my husband to help me any time I had signs to make. This got old fast. And that line started creeping out again "you are capable". So I asked for lessons. My dad taught me the ins and outs, all about safety and off I went. My dad was more than happy to teach me about tools and it has become an awesome thing we share now. He now jokes that I have nicer tools than him! But he also believed in me. He never once said anything to make me feel like I wasn't capable to use them. He prepared me and taught me what he knows just like everything else in life. You are more than capable.

The saying 'She can and she will' means so much more to me than you probably think. There is this incredibly empowering feeling that comes with achieving something, once you've convinced yourself you are capable of it. I will never forget the first signs I made all on my own, or the first item I built. My husband always jokes that his friends give him a hard time about all the tools in this house being mine, but in reality he is not ashamed. He is confident in who he is and he knows that me using tools doesn't take away from him. I also know that me being proud of building as a woman isn't my way of putting men down but rather building other women up. You are more than capable!

You are capable of doing big hard and scary things. And everyone has their own version of that. You are capable of using power tools. You are capable of raising five babies. You are capable of teaching young students. You are capable of running your own company. You are more than capable.

People will always have their preconceived notions on certain stereotypes and I have to tell you, it's kind of fun to break them. Don't get me wrong sometimes it gets very annoying. Like when I don't get taken seriously or get looked down on, but I just keep reminding myself of that simple line "you are more than capable" and I let my work speak for itself.

So whatever it is that you want to pursue, remember this mantra. Make it a part of your story and who you are.