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Do you need help breaking through blocks such as fear? Do you need help creating and sticking to a success plan? Have you started and stalled several times? Maybe you need a success coach to help you break through these blocks, create a viable plan and to help hold you accountable to this plan so you can achieve ultimate success and joy in your life.
Contact me TODAY to get started! dr.cutts@cuttsconsulting.com or (202) 568-8546
A word on overcoming societal challenges…
Contact me TODAY to schedule a FREE 30 min consultation. dr.cutts@cuttsconsulting.com or (202) 568-8546
Over the past several months, I’ve noticed a recurring theme in my success coaching practice.
As many of you know, much of my work as a psychologist and success coach centers on helping women clarify their vision, navigate major life transitions, and create lives and work that are deeply aligned with their values and purpose.
Over the past several months, a recurring theme has emerged in many of my success coaching conversations. More and more women have stepped into entrepreneurship. Some have pursued businesses they’ve dreamed about for years. Others have found themselves reimagining their careers after organizational restructuring, layoffs, or discovering that the traditional path no longer offered the opportunities or fulfillment they were seeking.
Although their stories are different, many eventually arrive at the same place: navigating the psychological challenges of building something entirely their own.
The numbers suggest this isn’t an isolated experience.
The Numbers Tell an Interesting Story
Women now own more than 40% of all businesses in the United States.
Approximately 14.5 million women-owned businesses generate $3.3 trillion in annual revenue and employ nearly 12.9 million people.
Between 2022 and 2025, the number of women-owned businesses grew by 12%—nearly twice the growth rate of businesses owned by men.
Women entrepreneurs were responsible for nearly 49% of all new businesses created between 2019 and 2024, representing a 69% increase in new business creation.
Growth has been especially strong among women of color, with Black women-owned businesses experiencing particularly significant gains in recent years.
At the same time, workforce changes, including reductions across portions of the federal workforce and a more competitive job market, have prompted many professionals to rethink not only where they work, but how they work. Because Black women have historically been well represented in public-sector employment, many have been disproportionately affected by these shifts, leading some to explore entrepreneurship as one path forward.
As I listen to the women I coach, I find myself thinking less about business plans and marketing strategies and more about mythology. Over the years, I’ve found that one of the most powerful ways to help people make sense of major life transitions is through the lens of the Heroine’s Quest.
In both my therapy and success coaching practices, I often use the Heroine’s Quest as a framework to help clients understand personal and professional transformation. It reminds us that growth rarely comes from following an established path. It comes from leaving the familiar, navigating uncertainty, and returning transformed.
The entrepreneurial journey has much in common with the Heroine’s Quest. Both begin by leaving the familiar behind. Both require us to forge a path where no roadmap exists. Both are filled with unexpected twists, setbacks, discoveries, and moments of profound growth. And in both journeys, success depends less on avoiding uncertainty than on learning to navigate it.
The Ordinary World
Every Heroine’s Quest begins in the Ordinary World. For entrepreneurs, that world often consisted of a job: established organizations with job descriptions, a defined career ladder, performance evaluations, promotions, paychecks. In other words, someone else had already built the framework. Even if that world wasn’t perfect, its rules were familiar.
Then something changes.
The Call to Adventure
For some women the call has always been there, a desire to create something of their own, to build a business aligned with their values, passions, and vision. For others it arrived unexpectedly through layoffs, restructuring, or changing opportunities. The realization that the path they expected to continue on no longer feels available, or no longer feels right.
The call doesn’t promise that the journey will be easy.
It simply asks whether we’re willing to answer it.
Crossing the Threshold
The moment you commit to building something of your own, you cross a threshold.
For some women, that threshold feels exhilarating.
Freedom.
Creativity.
Autonomy.
Finally creating work that reflects who they truly are.
For others, particularly those who have spent years succeeding in structured organizations—the transition feels much less comfortable.
Without realizing it, they’ve also left behind familiar systems, established expectations, and someone else’s roadmap.
The threshold into entrepreneurship isn’t simply a business transition.
It’s a psychological one.
The Road of Trials (and Temptations)
This is where many entrepreneurs discover that building a business also means building themselves.
Every day presents new questions.
How should I price my services?
Am I marketing effectively?
Should I pivot?
Why isn’t this growing as quickly as I expected?
Am I spending my time on the right things?
For women who have always craved independence, these questions can feel like fascinating puzzles.
For others, they can feel overwhelming, frustrating, and deeply unsettling, creating a temptation to retreat to the safety of the Ordinary World.
The challenge isn’t simply uncertainty.
It’s learning to function well without certainty.
And then there are the emotional trials that few people talk about.
Loneliness.
Many women leave collaborative workplaces where colleagues were just down the hall, ideas could be tested together, and successes and setbacks were shared with a team. Entrepreneurship can be surprisingly isolating. The freedom to make every decision also means carrying every decision.
The loss of structure.
No one tells you what to prioritize today. No one establishes your deadlines. No one evaluates your progress. The very freedom that attracts many entrepreneurs also requires a level of self-direction that can take time to develop.
The loss of status.
This may be one of the least discussed transitions of all.
If you’ve spent years in a respected leadership role, people immediately understood what you did. Your title carried credibility. Your organization provided instant legitimacy.
Entrepreneurship often asks you to let go of that borrowed status while your own reputation is still being built.
Friends (and sometimes even family) may not fully understand what you’re creating. Some may quietly wonder when you’ll return to a “real job.” Others may not recognize the significance of what you’re building until long after you’ve begun.
Learning to derive confidence from your own vision rather than someone else’s title can become one of the greatest psychological transformations of the entrepreneurial journey.
Threshold Guardians
Every Heroine encounters Threshold Guardians.
Entrepreneurs do too.
Sometimes the guardian is self-doubt.
“Am I really qualified to do this?”
Sometimes it’s perfectionism.
Sometimes it’s comparison.
Sometimes it’s the expectation that success should happen much faster than it does.
Many women begin entrepreneurship after years of excelling in organizations where hard work produced relatively predictable rewards. Entrepreneurship rarely works that way. Progress is uneven. Growth isn’t linear. Setbacks are inevitable.
That mismatch between expectations and reality can become one of the journey’s greatest psychological obstacles.
Another common Guardian is visibility.
Many women have spent decades becoming exceptionally good at their work.
Running a successful business requires something different.
It requires allowing both yourself and your work to be seen.
Perhaps the greatest threshold guardian, however, is identity itself.
When someone asks, “So, what do you do?” it can feel much easier to answer with the name of a well-known organization than with the name of a business you’re still building.
During this stage of the journey, confidence can no longer rest primarily on a title, a recognizable employer, or external prestige.
It has to come from something much deeper:
A growing belief in yourself, your vision, and the value you are creating—even before the rest of the world fully sees it.
The Ordeal
Nearly every entrepreneur reaches a point where external validation disappears.
No supervisor is telling you you’re doing a good job.
No annual review confirms you’re on the right track.
No one can guarantee that your next decision is the correct one.
The deepest question becomes:
Can I trust myself enough to continue anyway?
For many entrepreneurs, this, not a financial setback, is the true Ordeal.
And on the other side of that ordeal lies something far more valuable than certainty:
Self-trust.
The Boon
When we think about entrepreneurial success, we often think first about revenue.
Revenue matters.
But many entrepreneurs discover that the greatest rewards run much deeper.
The confidence that comes from solving problems you once thought impossible.
The freedom to build work around your values rather than someone else’s expectations.
The excitement of creating something that never existed before.
The realization that you are capable of creating opportunities instead of waiting for them.
Sometimes the greatest gift isn’t the business you’ve built.
It’s the person you’ve become while building it.
Helpers Along the Way
Every Heroine’s Quest includes Helpers. In mythology they appear as Mentors, Guides, or Supernatural Aid. Entrepreneurship is no different. As a psychologist, success coach, and fellow entrepreneur, I’ve had the privilege of serving as a Helper for many women as they build businesses and lives that reflect their values, strengths, and vision. I can’t walk the journey for my clients. But I do help them navigate the uncertainty, challenge the beliefs that keep them stuck, reconnect with their vision, and continue moving toward the life and work they want to create.
Returning with the Elixir
In mythology, the heroine returns with The Elixir—the wisdom, transformation, or gift earned through her journey.
For entrepreneurs, that elixir may take many forms: a thriving business, financial freedom, meaningful work, creating jobs, solving important problems, mentoring others, or inspiring another woman to believe that forging her own path is possible.
Whatever form it takes, the elixir is never meant to be kept for ourselves alone. Its greatest purpose is what it allows us to contribute to others.
A Final Thought
Many entrepreneurs, myself included, possess the Huntress Spirit.
A huntress doesn’t wait for opportunity to wander into camp. She goes looking for it. She ventures into unfamiliar territory. She studies the landscape. She adapts when conditions change. She solves problems because her survival depends on it.
Entrepreneurship demands that same spirit. When your business is your livelihood, there is no one else responsible for finding the next opportunity, serving the next client, or creating the next solution. In a very real sense, entrepreneurs eat what they hunt.
That reality can feel intimidating. But it can also be exhilarating. For many entrepreneurs, there is a unique satisfaction in earning our livelihood through our own ingenuity, persistence, and willingness to venture into the unknown. Every conversation holds possibility. Every challenge becomes a puzzle to solve. Every setback teaches something. Every success is earned.
Whatever first brought you to this path, I hope you won’t become so focused on reaching the destination that you forget to appreciate the adventure itself. The Heroine’s Quest was never meant to be comfortable. It was meant to transform us. If we’re willing to embrace both the trials and the triumphs, we may discover that the greatest reward isn’t simply the business we’ve built—it’s the life we’ve created and the person we’ve become along the way.
Whether your next chapter involves entrepreneurship, a career transition, or another important life change, every meaningful journey begins with a vision. If you’re ready to take the next step on your own Heroine’s Quest and would value a thoughtful guide along the way, I’d be honored to walk beside you as you bring your vision to life.
What if the challenges, transitions, and uncertainties in your life are not random setbacks — but part of a deeper journey of transformation?
Dr. Nicole Cutts and author Shawn Pearson-Dingle explore the concept of seeing your life as a Heroine’s Quest — a powerful framework for understanding growth, resilience, purpose, and personal transformation.
Series Introduction
Rather than viewing adversity as meaningless suffering, the Heroine’s Quest invites us to see life’s challenges as part of a larger journey toward insight, courage, and becoming.
This is a multi-part video series exploring the stages of the Heroine’s Quest and their connection to emotional well-being, meaning-making, and personal growth.
Follow along for new videos each week as Dr. Nicole Cutts and Shawn Pearson-Dingle discuss stages of the journey including: • The Ordinary World • The Call to Adventure • Refusal of the Call • Crossing the Threshold • The Road of Trials • The Ordeal • The Ultimate Boon • Return with the Elixir
Through personal stories, reflection, and discussion, this series explores how the Heroine’s Quest can help us better understand the challenges, transitions, and possibilities within our own lives.
Part 1: The Framework
Part 2: A Conversation on Stages I and II
Part 3: Refusal of the Call & Crossing the Threshold
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and this year’s theme is More Good Days Together. I appreciate this theme because it reminds us that mental health is not just individual. It is deeply relational. The quality of our relationships with family, friends, partners, coworkers, and community members profoundly impacts our emotional well-being.
One of the most common themes I see with both my psychology and success coaching clients is difficulty setting and maintaining healthy boundaries. Many people fear that setting boundaries means they are being selfish, difficult, disloyal, or uncaring. They worry that prioritizing their own needs will somehow make them a bad partner, family member, friend, leader, or community member.
But in reality, healthy boundaries are often one of the foundations of healthy relationships.
Without boundaries, many people eventually experience resentment, emotional exhaustion, burnout, chronic overcommitment, loss of self, or the feeling that they are constantly pouring into others while neglecting themselves. Ironically, when we consistently abandon our own needs, we often become less emotionally available, less grounded, and less able to show up well for others over time.
Healthy boundaries are not walls. They are not punishments. They are not about controlling other people. In many cases, boundaries are simply the ability to remain connected to yourself while also being in relationship with others.
Recently, I revisited a thought-provoking boundaries exercise adapted from the work of David Richo in The Five Things We Cannot Change: And the happiness we find by embracing them. As you review the examples below, notice where you tend to fall most often in your relationships with others. You may identify strongly with some examples and less with others. The goal is not perfection or self-judgment, but greater awareness. Often, the first step toward healthier boundaries is simply recognizing the patterns that may be contributing to emotional exhaustion, resentment, imbalance, or loss of self.
When you give up your boundaries in a relationship, you…
When your boundaries are healthier and more intact in a relationship, you…
Feel as though no matter how much you give, it is never enough.
Give generously, but also recognize your own limits and needs.
Fear rejection, abandonment, or punishment if you disappoint someone.
Trust your ability to tolerate disappointment, conflict, or even loss without abandoning yourself.
Hide your real feelings in order to protect others from discomfort.
Communicate your feelings, needs, and truth honestly and respectfully.
Suppress anger, hurt, or resentment in order to keep the peace.
Allow yourself to acknowledge hurt, express concerns directly, and address what needs to change.
Say yes to things you inwardly resent because you feel guilty, obligated, or unable to say no.
Help and give from genuine choice rather than fear, guilt, or pressure.
Rearrange your life and commitments whenever someone important to you suddenly becomes available.
Make space for others while still respecting your own plans, priorities, and commitments.
Become so focused on enduring or surviving that you lose touch with whether you are actually happy.
Regularly check in with yourself and recognize when something is emotionally unsustainable.
Continue overfunctioning while receiving less and less in return.
Invest your time and energy where there is reciprocity, growth, and meaningful movement.
Base your self-worth heavily on approval, validation, or acceptance from others.
Receive feedback or criticism without losing your sense of self-worth.
Tolerate behavior from certain people that you would never accept from anyone else.
Maintain standards and accountability consistently, even in close relationships.
As you read through these examples, you may notice that boundaries are not simply about saying “no.” Often they are about self-awareness. They are about recognizing where fear, guilt, obligation, avoidance, or the desire for approval may be quietly shaping our choices and relationships.
For many people, weak or inconsistent boundaries are rooted in very understandable experiences: fear of abandonment, cultural expectations around caretaking, family dynamics, conflict avoidance, trauma, perfectionism, or a deeply ingrained belief that love must be earned through self-sacrifice.
At the same time, healthier boundaries can create more honest relationships, more emotional clarity, greater peace, and ultimately more sustainable connection with others.
Importantly, when we model healthy boundaries, we also give the people around us permission to develop healthier boundaries themselves.
If this topic resonates with you, I highly recommend exploring David Richo’s work further. His The Five Things We Cannot Change examines several difficult realities of life that human beings often struggle to accept or control, and how acceptance, self-awareness, and healthier relational patterns can contribute to greater emotional freedom and well-being.
And if you are currently struggling with burnout, overcommitment, people pleasing, emotional exhaustion, codependent relationship patterns, or difficulty setting healthy boundaries, I offer a complimentary 20 minute phone consultation to explore whether coaching or therapy support may be helpful. Contact me
Here’s to creating more good days together — including with ourselves.
In honor of Women’s History Month and Women-Owned Business Wednesday, I’ve been reflecting on the women who helped shape the technological world we live in today.
While researching my recent article on artificial intelligence and leadership: AI, Identity Threat, and the Future of Professional Work, I found myself thinking about the broader history of technology—and the women whose vision and innovation helped build the foundations of modern computing, communication, and digital entrepreneurship.
Their stories are reminders that women have always been part of technological progress, even if their contributions are not always widely recognized.
Ada Lovelace (1815–1852)
Ada Lovelace is widely regarded as the first computer programmer. Working with Charles Babbage’s proposed Analytical Engine in the 1800s, she wrote what is considered the first algorithm designed for a machine.
Even more striking, Lovelace predicted that computers might one day create music, process symbols, and perform tasks far beyond calculation—an insight that anticipated modern computing by more than a century.
Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000)
Known to many as a Hollywood actress, Hedy Lamarr was also an inventor. During World War II she co-developed frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology designed to prevent signal interference in torpedo guidance systems.
The principles behind that invention later became foundational to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS technologies.
Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson (1946– )
Physicist Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson became the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from MIT.
Her research in telecommunications helped advance technologies behind caller ID, call waiting, and fiber-optic communications, tools that are now embedded in modern telecommunications systems.
Radia Perlman (1951– )
Computer scientist Radia Perlman is often called the “Mother of the Internet.” She invented the Spanning Tree Protocol, a technology that allows computer networks to function reliably without collapsing from data loops.
Much of today’s internet infrastructure still depends on the concepts she developed.
Beatriz Acevedo (1971– )
Technology entrepreneur Beatriz Acevedo co-founded Mitú, one of the largest digital media platforms for Latino audiences, and later founded SUMA Wealth, a fintech company focused on financial empowerment in Latino communities.
Her work highlights how technology can expand access and representation in business and finance.
Whitney Wolfe Herd (1989– )
Entrepreneur Whitney Wolfe Herd founded Bumble, the dating platform where women make the first move. The company quickly grew into a global technology business.
When Bumble went public in 2021, Wolfe Herd became the youngest self-made female billionaire at the time.
Looking Forward
As artificial intelligence and new technologies reshape industries, the question of who participates in building those systems becomes increasingly important.
The women above helped shape computing, communications, digital platforms, and entrepreneurship. Their stories remind us that innovation has always depended on people willing to challenge assumptions and imagine new possibilities.
If the next generation of technological breakthroughs is to serve everyone, more women will need to be part of designing, building, and leading them.
Long before access was expanded or equity was legislated, Black women were building businesses, acquiring property, structuring distribution networks, and creating financial institutions in the United States. In the face of legal exclusion and systemic barriers, they developed enterprises that did more than generate income — they built infrastructure. From banking and manufacturing to real estate, hospitality, and investment, these women created economic pathways that sustained families and strengthened entire communities. In addition to Maggie Lena Walker, Annie Turnbo Malone, Clara Brown, and Mary Ellen Pleasant, figures such as Sarah Breedlove (Madam C.J. Walker), Sara Spencer Washington, and later pioneers like Alonzo Herndon’s daughter Adrienne Herndon in the insurance sector contributed to this tradition of ownership and institution-building. Black women business owners have consistently leveraged entrepreneurship not merely for personal advancement, but to construct systems of collective economic resilience.
Below is a small sampling of four women who exemplify that legacy of ownership, strategy, and structural impact.
Maggie Lena Walker
Banking | 1903
Chartered and led the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903, becoming the first woman in the United States to found and serve as president of a bank.
She built financial infrastructure for Black communities during segregation, creating systems of economic stability and collective advancement.
Annie Turnbo Malone
Beauty Manufacturing | 1902
Founded the Poro Company in 1902 and built a multimillion-dollar haircare enterprise serving Black women nationwide.
She trained tens of thousands of women as sales agents and entrepreneurs, developing one of the earliest large-scale distribution networks in the country.
Clara Brown
Real Estate & Investment | 1860
After gaining her freedom, she moved to Colorado around 1860 during the Gold Rush and began investing in land, laundry businesses, and mining claims.
She became one of the first Black female property investors in the American West, building wealth through ownership and reinvesting in community
Mary Ellen Pleasant
Hospitality & Finance | 1852
Arrived in San Francisco in 1852 and built wealth through boarding houses, catering, and strategic investments during the Gold Rush era.
She used her capital to fund abolitionist causes and civil rights litigation, quietly financing structural change while operating as a sophisticated investor.
These women did not wait for permission to participate in the economy; they shaped it. Their enterprises remind us that access often follows infrastructure — and that ownership remains one of the most powerful tools for building lasting change.
Success without contribution is incomplete. At Vision Quest Retreats I work with women who are ready to define their life’s work in a way that builds impact — not just achievement.
This year, I marked my birthday with a journey of remembrance and reconnection—a pilgrimage to Ghana to walk in the footsteps of my ancestors and honor the strength they carried across oceans and generations. From the haunting stillness of the slave dungeons at Cape Coast and Elmina to the sacred waters of Assin Manso where the “Last Bath” was taken, this was a soul-stirring return to the source. But it was also a celebration of freedom and resilience—standing in Accra’s Black Star Square, visiting the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial, and bearing witness to Ghana’s bold emergence as the first independent nation in sub-Saharan Africa. This blog reflects on that sacred and layered journey—part history, part healing, all a big beautiful adventure!
My visit to the Assin Manso River (pt 1)
My visit to the Assin Manso River (pt 2/4)
Part 3/4
Part 4/4
Cape Coast Dungeons Part 1/6
Cape Coast Dungeons Part 2/6
Cape Coast Dungeons Part 3/6
Cape Coast Dungeons Part 4/6
Cape Coast Dungeons pt 5/6
My Visit to the Cape Coast “Slave Dungeons”: The Final Episode (pt 6/6)
In art such as literature and film, the Threshold Guardian is a common archetype or trope in a classic and prevalent narrative: the hero’s journey. This can be found anywhere from Homer’s Odyssey to The Wizard of Oz to Black Panther.
In real life we can embark on our own heroine’s quest to obtain what I call your Vision of Success.
Next time you are feeling afraid to continue or even embark on your heroine’s quest consider this! The heroine encounters a “threshold guardian” at the entrance to the zone of magnified power. This guardian stands in the way of the heroine moving on to the next level!
In literature, the Threshold Guardian’s job is to ensure the protagonist is worthy of passing the threshold, and thus they act as part of the tests the protagonist must face in the journey. A heroine who depends on her strength might attempt to overcome Threshold Guardians, while a heroine who depends on her wits might evade, bribe, learn from and even convert the Guardians to her cause. Needless to say, running away from a Threshold Guardian is not a successful way of dealing with one.
Then a ploughman said, Speak to us of Work. And he answered, saying:
You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth. For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life’s procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.
When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music. Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?
Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune. But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth’s furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born, And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life, And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret.
But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.
You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary. And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge, And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge, And all knowledge is vain save when there is work, And all work is empty save when there is love; And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.
And what is it to work with love? It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth. It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house. It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit. It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit, And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.
Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, “He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is nobler than he who ploughs the soil. And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet.” But I say, not in sleep but in the overwakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass; And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.
Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy. For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger. And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine. And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.
Gibran, K. (1923). On work. In The Prophet (pp. 25-27). Alfred A. Knopf.
