Hey Reader,

This past Saturday I went to see David Sedaris in Philadelphia.

David Sedaris is a humorist and essayist. He is so smart, and witty, and fantastic and I simply adore him. ADORE. Seeing him was on my must-do-in-this-lifetime bucket list. I had visions of us becoming besties, heading out to explore the City of Brotherly Love together after the show. Of big, glorious writing convos. Of him stepping in as my writing mentor, my sophisticated friend, always willing to respond with his delightful snark.

So of course, it was appropriately (for me) mortifying.

First, I walked around with toilet paper stuck in my pants (which feels like an extremely on-brand tribute to David Sedaris).

Then, when I finally got to meet him?

Total middle-aged-lady-having-a-hot-flash energy.

Zero coolness. No witty quip. Just the weird, sweaty small talk of a woman who knows she should’ve been cooler but could not deliver.

I wish I could say this was totally unlike me and that I’m usually the essence of cool.

But it’s not.

The fact is that like many of you, I want to show up polished. Clever. Ready.

And sometimes I do.

But other times, I’m showing up messy. Unprepared. Hauling baggage both literally and figuratively.

(Like, say, the baggage of 25,000 emails, which I helped my husband remove from his inbox so he can send an actual professional invoice for his new business. Or navigating economic uncertainty while wondering if I should be stockpiling canned goods and chickens.)

And honestly? The messiness, and feeling not quite 100% (or even 85%) ready?

It's there in launching a podcast.

It’s there in launching a business.
It’s there in launching a life.

We wait for the moment we feel ready — polished, clever, certified cool.

But that moment almost never comes.

We build in the messy middle.
We lead while our voice shakes.
We show up anyway.

I’ve been reading How We Learn to Be Brave by Bishop Mariann Budde. Bishop Budde believes that bravery looks a lot less like big heroic speeches or singular occurrences and a lot more like...showing up anyway.

That feels about right.

And that’s what Roar is about, too.

It’s a podcast about women who aren’t waiting to feel ready. They’re speaking up. Building things. Leading — awkwardly, imperfectly, bravely.

Episode 1 of Season 2 is live — and it’s exactly this energy.

Listen here.​

Maybe listen while emptying 25,000 emails from your inbox. Or walking around with toilet paper stuck to your pants. No judgment here.

We show up anyway.

Stay messy (sans the toilet paper),
Danielle

P.S. Around here, we don’t wait for perfect. We hit send. Spill coffee. Show up anyway. If something in this newsletter landed for you—I’m so glad.

P.P.S. If you want to fuel more words like these (written between real life and coffee refills), you can ​buy me one here​. ☕ Always appreciated.

P.P.P.S. And if you’re building something bigger—a business, a voice, a vision—The Odyssey Plan​ is how I help women map it out.

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