51 lessons in grief, gratitude, and giving back

LIFT Newsletter 019

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Content: birthday and gratitude

Yesterday, I turned 51. We kept it simple, just a quiet dinner with my family.

This year felt different. I was deeply grateful, perhaps more than ever, yet the joy I usually feel wasn't quite there. And I know why.

It's the first year without my Mum's birthday call.

Every year, she would call to bless me, wishing me health and happiness. She passed away last December. A few days ago, while praying, it struck me: I will never hear her voice wishing me a blessed birthday again. Even now, as I write this, tears fall.

So I remind you gently: treasure your loved ones. Call them. Hug them. Let them know how much they mean to you. Tomorrow is never promised. What we truly have is today.

This birthday also felt heavier as I watched the suffering around our world: injustice, oppression, failed leadership. It is painful to witness, yet it has strengthened my conviction.

From this year forward, 10% of all revenues from LIFT and COMB (our B2B brand in learning and development) will go to Yemen, facing one of the worst humanitarian crises on earth. We used to give 5%. My heart knows it is still not enough, not when children are dying from hunger, not when families are torn apart by conflict. But it is what we can do right now, and we will find ways to do more.

Because when we have been blessed with abundance, how can we not share it with those who have lost everything? When I think of my Mum's voice that I'll never hear again, I think of the mothers in Yemen whose voices have been silenced forever. Their children deserve more than our thoughts and prayers: they deserve action.

Every act of growth through LIFT must ripple outward into something greater.

At the same time, I hold gratitude close for my family's love, for the gift of life, and for the small ways I've cared for myself more intentionally this year.

And I want to thank you.Thank you for being part of this community. To those who have joined the mastercourse and coaching: you are our pioneers. You have chosen the path of inner clarity, to pursue your professional and personal goals with groundedness and confidence.

Your courage gives LIFT its heartbeat.

This is why LIFT exists, to remind us that we are not alone. That others have walked this path before us. And that no matter what we face, we too can rise, overcome, and become who we are meant to be.

Lead Beyond Yourself. Rise Beyond Limits.

With blessings and gratitude,

Cassandra

LIFT website