“I don’t think I can give it a fair assessment,” I replied. “I was so miserable back then.”

If you had met 10-years-ago Blaine, I’m not sure you’d recognize her as the same person I am now.

Sure, I looked like a 10 years younger me, but my vibe was intense.

I was fiercely competitive, relentlessly comparing myself to an impossible standard, managing large teams of people to meet aggressive work deadlines, living in gyms, hotels, boardrooms and bars, pushing myself through 25 hours a week of exercise as an Ironman athlete and drinking booze as my way to cope with it all.

My life expectancy was not good.

Eventually, I realized I had to burn that life to the ground and plant the seeds for a new one.

I’m using the seed metaphor intentionally here. Because, when you plant seeds, all you can do is care for them and trust that they will grow.

When I finally decided that I needed to put “body before business” (a mantra I created for myself) and overhaul everything, I had no idea what would happen.

What I did know was that I was willing to bet on ME.

When you’re going to start your own business, everyone says to reflect on what you’re passionate about and for me that was easy.

I’ve loved women’s health (ironically) since I was a teenager and I’d kept a side gig as a fitness instructor, trainer, coach and mentor for decades. Also, my entire corporate career had been in healthcare up to that point.

I had already started practicing and studying meditation and yoga and through those practices I gained the courage to quit life as I knew it and completely start over.

I could have opened a gym, a cycle studio or a running and triathlon coaching business – those all would have made perfect sense.

I decided to open a yoga studio.

I had this soft, internal whisper inside and she told me that I was embarking on a great transformation. That I should build a place where I could transform in front of others and eventually support other women when they’re ready to change too.

That message was vague and fuzzy and scary as hell but I couldn’t ignore it.

Of all the businesses I was contemplating at the time, opening a yoga studio made the most sense to obey this whisper because a yoga studio provides a wonderful platform for transformation.

Last summer, after five wonderful years, I sold that studio and now my audience is much larger.

The whisper is more prominent now too. Not as soft. Sometimes even yelling when I try to ignore her.

Today, I look back at that previous Blaine with deep compassion, love and admiration for the metamorphosis she experienced.

How many lifetimes can we live in one lifetime?