Protect Your Magic - A Love Letter to Women

Something I witness time and time again—brilliant, visionary, powerhouse women in leadership stretching themselves thin, pouring every ounce of their energy, brilliance, and care into their organizations. You give late nights, early mornings, and your whole heart. You carry teams on your back, fill in gaps no one else even sees, and do it all with a grace that almost makes it look easy. Almost.

But let’s be real for a moment. Just because you can carry it all, doesn’t mean you were meant to.

I see you because I have been her—the one who volunteers to take on the extra project because “no one else will do it right.” The one who’s mentoring new staff, running departments, soothing tensions on the team, writing strategy, cleaning up chaos, and still somehow finding time to plan the office birthday parties. I see how much you hold, and how little of it is truly seen.

And it breaks my heart a little every time. Because I know what it costs.

The magic you bring to an organization—your creativity, your intuition, your bold ideas, your empathy, your steady presence—that’s your magic. It didn’t come from the job title. It didn’t come from a paycheck. It was never born out of an org chart. That brilliance came from your lived experience, your ancestors, your resilience, your values, your soul. And just because you bring it to a space doesn’t mean that space owns it.

Let me say that again for the ones in the back: just because you share your brilliance doesn’t mean anyone else gets to claim it.

Far too often, we give until we’re depleted. We lead through exhaustion, hoping someone will notice our sacrifices. We stay late, show up early, hold our tongues, and take on more than our fair share—not because we don’t know better, but because we’ve been conditioned to believe that this is how we prove our worth. We’ve been taught that good leadership looks like martyrdom. That rest is earned. That boundaries are optional. That being the “go-to girl” is the badge of honor we should wear proudly.

But sis, I want to flip that script.

What if the badge of honor was honoring yourself? What if rest was your birthright, not a reward? What if boundaries weren’t walls, but bridges back to your wholeness?

You don’t have to burn out to be brilliant. You don’t have to overextend to be effective. You don’t have to prove your value through sacrifice. You are enough, right now. Your wisdom is enough. Your presence is enough. Your being is enough.

And more than that—you are needed. Not just the overworked version of you, not just the people-pleasing version, not just the "fix-it-all" version. We need the whole you. The rested you. The clear-minded you. The joyful, free, radiant you.

Protecting your magic isn’t selfish. It’s sacred. It’s strategic. Because when you protect your energy, you model something powerful for the women coming behind you. You show them what it looks like to lead with alignment instead of anxiety. You show them that excellence doesn’t have to come at the expense of well-being.

I know it’s not always easy. Sometimes protecting your magic means disappointing people. It means saying no. It means choosing rest over recognition. It means walking away from spaces that don’t honor you. And that can feel risky, especially in a world that’s gotten used to you being everything for everyone.

But trust me, the most revolutionary thing you can do as a woman in leadership is choose yourself. Again, and again.

So if no one has told you lately, let me be the one to say it: Thank you. Thank you for all the invisible labor, all the brilliance, all the moments you chose to rise. And thank you, in advance, for choosing to protect your peace, your body, your joy, and your magic from here forward.

You don’t have to do it all to be amazing. You already are.

Promise me this: the next time you feel like you're about to pour from an empty cup, pause. Breathe. Put your hand on your heart and say, “I am the magic. And I will protect it.”

With love,

Your sister in this journey💛