Life has a way of throwing curveballs, often when we least expect them. For me, it was a year of extreme highs and devastating lows that ultimately reshaped my life, my business, and my understanding of what really matters. My love and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary, I turned 60 and we decided to elope at year’s end while on a spiritual journey in Costa Rica. While we were on our honeymoon in Costa Rica on day three we watched in horror the heart-wrenching destruction of our entire community in the Palisades Fire. Our schools, library, the coffee shop, shoe maker, pizzeria, my office building and my home. It is all burned to the ground.
But through it all, one constant remained—my incredible family, friends, and community who are holding me up as my knees buckle under the burden of this crushing loss help me to stay on purpose. This is my story of loss, growth, and reinvention.
A Honeymoon That Changed Everything
Last year was challenging, I was more than ready to step away from the demands of business and take some much-needed time for myself and my husband. We decided to go to Costa Rica for a spiritual retreat—something that promised peace, reflection, and a break from the constant noise of everyday life.
In Costa Rica, the beauty of the land and the serenity of the retreat environment worked wonders on my mind and spirit. I found myself reconnecting with a deeper sense of self. I heard the voice loud and clear that showed me what I needed to do next with my work. As I recognize patterns that no longer serve me I got three messages. Rest, Letting Go and Stepping Into Wisdom. I am to recognize when to rest, when to facilitate, when to participate and when to observe. I realized that I wanted my future to be about creating lasting impact, not maintaining the status quo and definitely not continuing what I was doing.
But just as I was finding clarity in Costa Rica, fate had something else in store.
The Devastation of the Palisades Fire
We got married in a beautiful ceremony on January 3rd. On the 6th disaster struck. The Palisades Fire ravaged first my office and then my home, leaving nothing behind but ashes. I cannot describe this to you. Your brain just can’t process it. It looks for something it can compare it to and there is nothing. Even for me a 7 time disaster survivor this beats all the other ones by a far margin. All the work I had poured my heart and soul into, the office where I had built my business, my white fluffy chairs, my art, the photographs given to me and my podcast studio along with the tangible memories that make up my personal history. It was all gone in an instant. In moments of such immense loss, it’s easy to fall into despair, to feel that your identity has been erased. And if I didn’t do so much mindset work I don’t think I could be as calm as I am today.
Part of this I attribute this to the time I spent in Costa Rica. The spiritual journey I had begun there taught me the importance of letting go and trusting in the flow of life. The fire, as devastating as it is, is a hard marker in the road. I think about it this way. Everything is borrowed anyway, when you die you take nothing. This is like the death of everything material but you are still alive. Now what are you going to do with that?
The Strength of Family and Friends
In the aftermath of the fire, I am still overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from my family, friends, and our community. The people I had spent years nurturing relationships with were now showing up for me in ways that moved me beyond words. They didn’t just offer sympathy—they offered help, warmth, and compassion. And they brought me underwear, socks, jackets and Alice Kao, the CEO of climbing gym SenderOne even brought me a copy of my own book, Happy Woman Happy World. Her note outlined that it was a good book with some very good advice!
As my family rallied around me, even my niece who is still in medical school donated to our GoFundMe page it became clear how much the relationships I had built over the years mattered. People want to help me. I had spent decades cultivating connections with incredible people, and now those relationships carry me as I can barely stand on my own. One of the most profound moments during this time was when people, some of them strangers, reached out to offer anything they could—clothes, food, support. Wearing my emotions on my sleeves is not my style, but this is too big for me. I cannot do this on my own. I am moved by the power of my community, and I realize that the new area that is being built must be a community where we can catch each other when we fall.
Finding Resilience in the Face of Loss
The fire took away a lot from me, but it is also a teacher. Let’s call it Letting Go Extreme Version. Just today I found out that my car also is totaled as are my husbands. What the heck is the lesson here? This is everything. Not a little bit. But all of it. There’s nothing left. As a business strategist, I focus on creating systems and frameworks to help others achieve their goals. But now, I had to turn those strategies inward. I have to reinvent my business, my career, and my identity.
In the wake of the fire, I remember that I had given a box of workbooks I had created over the years—materials I had developed to teach people how to become business strategists, coaches, and consultants to a friend of mine to look through. These workbooks are the only thing that survived the fire. A sign? Perhaps. I am not rebuilding what I had before. It must evolve, I must share my knowledge in a new way that builds a community so that together we can make a bigger impact.
Reinventing My Business
When you face the absence of everything you have, you ask yourself what you really need? Do I really need four computers? I’ve been simplifying everything. I want to share my strategies in a way that are easy to understand and implement, to make them accessible to more people. Not just telling you what it is but giving you the entire suite of materials I have created and showing you how to do what I do. In a world that often overcomplicates things, I know that I can teach others how to build sustainable businesses without getting bogged down by unnecessary complexity.
So, I am making the decision to take everything I have learned, all the tools I have developed, and share them with you. I no longer want to keep them hidden in my office or in my mind. I wanted to make them available to anyone who could benefit from them. It’s been a bumpy road getting here and we have to find a way to turn this biggest crisis of my life into a phoenix that rises out of the ashes of my life.
The Power of Community and Connection
Looking back, I realize how much my community has been a guiding force. Without the support of my family, friends, and clients, I don’t know how I can get up. We are all in this together. Success is not achieved alone. It’s the people around us—the ones who believe in us, who support us, and who stand by us and carry us when we can’t walk on our own.
As I rebuild, I am not only focused on creating this community for all business coaches and consultants but also on nurturing these relationships. I am committed to creating a platform that not only serves others but brings people together. My journey has shown me that the true value of business is not in profit or growth alone; it’s in the connections we make and the impact we have on the lives of others. That not giving alone is where it is at but also asking and receiving. That is what closes the infinity loop.
Moving Forward
The road ahead is still uncertain, but I am more determined than ever to move forward with a sense of purpose. The lessons I’m still learning from Costa Rica, the fire, and my incredible community are slowly shaping my vision for the future. I know that I have something important to offer, and I’m committed to sharing my knowledge in ways that can help others thrive. How? I don’t fully know yet, but if you want, you can help me shape it the way it makes the most sense for you.
If there’s one thing this experience has taught me, it’s that resilience isn’t really the lesson here. We are all resilient. We bounce back from hardships; rather it is understanding that we are part of something else and should not operate in a vacuum. That togetherness is what helps you to evolve into the person you are meant to become. I’m excited to see where this journey will take me, and I can’t wait to continue sharing it with all of you.
Thank you for being a part of this community, for supporting me, and for allowing me to support you in turn. Together, we’ll make a lasting impact.
Let’s grow!
Beate
