As a former Fortune 500 corporate diva, I spent more than 20 years in the trenches, alongside my partners, directing and managing successful businesses worth in excess of $100 million. As you can imagine, this was an extremely high-pressure environment! Still, I truly believed that the pressure was worth it and, if I followed all the “rules” and played it like the “boys”, my “ticket to ride” would be earned and life would be oh so sweet…

How wrong I was!

One day, while sitting in my office overlooking the Empire State Building, I found myself feeling completely lost and wondering, ”Is this what I’m really here to do? Is this really my sole purpose in life?” This in spite of the fact that I was living life at a level of success many only dream about.

Every successful woman asks herself this question, or variations thereof, more times than she’d care to admit. Many just ignore the question. However, it is only in finding the answers that you can define your spirit and determine your truest, deepest desires and purpose.

A few years earlier the breakneck pace I was living, and working, at had completely taken its toll. Eighty-five hour workweeks will do that to you! Trust me. The real journey wouldn’t begin, however, until I came terrifyingly close to a near-total physical and emotional collapse. It was time to stop, breathe and rediscover the important things in life.

I journeyed to the majestic state of Utah to reclaim myself. The jagged red rocks and vast scenery called out to me, instilling in my soul a peace long forgotten. In a moment of pure revelation I realized I had not been respecting who I was – as a woman, as a leader, or as a spiritual being. It was time to take a leap out of my “comfort zone”, out of the security I had worked so hard to attain. I was finally ready to dive head first into the unknown and follow my heart.

That was my first journey in a series of many that would set my true inner voice and allow me to follow my passions in life. A passion that now sees me helping successful entrepreneurial women reclaim their ability to lead, while also introducing and celebrating a new class of leadership. A type of leadership that bridges the gap between the harsh practicalities of business and the introspective, intuitive nature of a highly creative woman.

As this new breed of women leaders, we don’t need to discount strategy and tactics, but rather find joy in emphasizing and leveraging our greatest strength – a woman’s intuition. After all, we are women, not men in skirts! It is important that we, as women, learn how to lead and create new, more effective ways of doing business by being who we really are rather than bowing to the antiquated image of societal norms in years gone by.

I believe in passion.

I believe in massive change emerging from untapped sources deep within the soul.

I believe that women can change the face of the business landscape.

Finally, I believe that this collective change will enable us all to leverage our resources and create massive, and exceptionally positive, change around us: in our economic standing; in our community; and all around the world.

I am proud and privileged to be a part of your life in this exciting new journey that begins with YOU! It’s time to step into your power, put on your big girl shoes and play EVEN BIGGER!

The direction of your life, and the world, is counting on you.

To your success,

Maria Gamb