What were you most afraid of as a child? Spiders? Monsters under the bed? As a young girl, fear took many shapes for me. My father kept glass boxes filled with spiders and roaches in the next room—a collection that both fascinated and terrified me. I’d lie awake, imagining those creatures enlivening themselves and taking over our home. And that wasn’t all! I feared things that were big and overwhelming, like homelessness, being kidnapped, and even a dystopian world of endless trash after my trip to Kills Dump, in Staten Island.
These childhood fears followed me into adulthood, until a life-changing near-death experience in 1995 forced me to confront fear head-on. That moment changed everything, tugging at my soul to replace fear with compassion – to harness that energy, rather than fear, to drive me forward. It’s this shift that gave me courage to build a thriving, eight-figure business focused on humane pest prevention—a career that’s helped millions of people eliminate their fear of costly damage from pests, fear of confronting and killing the pests, fear of poisons’ impact on pets and family.
Yet, I realize how much fear still grips society. At VeeCon in LA this August, Gary Vaynerchuk observed that nearly everyone he spoke with was paralyzed by fear in some way. His words prompted me to give a talk with Andrea Sullivan, President of vYve by Vayner, about fear at HOW Design Live conference in Denver. The response from the audience was overwhelming. People shared how deeply the message resonated, how their lives were changed as a result. I knew then that I needed to talk about fear in a much broader way.
Gratitude: The Antidote to Fear
This month, I want to offer my favorite antidote to fear: gratitude! Gratitude lifts the spirit like nothing else, drowning out the chaos that fear spreads and replacing it with peace and self-confidence. My father used to say, “FEAR: false evidence appearing real.” I remind myself of this often, decades later, because it’s true. There’s not a human alive that hasn’t been caught in fears’ snare.
For anyone grappling with fear, I highly recommend ‘The Awe of God’ by John Bevere. This book has helped tens of millions of people manifest wisdom and healing to their lives. Putting fear in its proper place is a life-skill I believe many of us need today.
A Personal Journey in Gratitude
This November, I’m taking a 21-day break from the noise of modern life—work, social media, TV, coffee, even processed foods. I’ll be eating raw foods and juices, taking long daily walks, taking cooking classes, reading and journaling. At 61, I’ve never detoxed like this before, and I’m looking forward to nurturing body, mind, and spirit- and breaking any old patterns standing in my way of the future I envision. My addiction to coffee, chocolate croissants, and 12+ hrs. a day on my device may cause a few toddler-style temper tantrums. Good thing I’ll be deep in the countryside, with birds and trees and butterflies to help me stick it out when my heart pulls at me go help the NC hurricane victims, work on a brand refresh, or anything else I can do with coffee and chocolate croissants in hand.
Thanksgiving holds a special place in my heart, and not just because of the holiday itself. As a former farmer, with a lineage of farming in my family, I deeply appreciate the work farmers do to nourish our lives, and economy. This month, I’ll be sharing social posts that thank farmers and honor the incredible effort they put into feeding us. I’m also still raising funds for Israeli farmers who suffered devastating losses on October 7th, with profits from our Whole Home Pest Prevention Bundle going to support their recovery.
Let’s Grow in Gratitude Together
As we move through November, I invite you to join me in embracing gratitude. Let’s draw from its rich soil where good things grow – lifting our spirits above fear and filling our lives with compassion and purpose. With gratitude, we can all find the strength to face our fears and create a world that’s a reflection of our hearts.
