At the launch of this web site (May 2008), I'm your typical career woman living in the Greater Toronto Area juggling a full time career, a long term relationship with my significant other, caring for my four children (furry ones with tails), paying the never ending onslaught of household bills, keeping on top of housework, grocery shopping and laundry, eating healthily and exercising regularly... and at the end of the day looking for a few minutes of down time just for me. Sound familiar?

Until recently, my main focus was on building my career. I worked long hours, took on extra projects and continued my education to add a university degree and a couple of college certificates to my resume. I was so busy focusing on my career path I didn't realize I had in effect put the rest of my life on hold.

However, after some deep soul searching I've come to realize I want more from life than just a career. I also want to enjoy the fruits of my labours, better appreciate and spend more time with my partner, broaden my circle of friendships and learn to take time out just for me on occasion. I want the freedom to explore life's many opportunities and possibilities to see where they may lead. But most important of all, I want to be able to look back on my life one day and believe that in some small way I made a difference in this world.

Out of this sincere desire to make a difference came my inspiration for Positive Impressions, a support site for women from all walks of life who, like me, want to experience life to the fullest. I've kicked around this wonderful planet for a good many years and picked up plenty of valuable life lessons along the way. It would be a shame for all this knowledge and experience to go to waste, and so with the encouragement of my friends and clients I have decided to share all the things I would tell my daughter (if I had one) about how to live a happy, productive and personally fulfilling life.

Positive Impressions is not about self-improvement, it is about self-empowerment, which is an entirely different animal. Self-empowerment is not about "fixing yourself" (as self-improvement implies), it is about understanding that while you are absolutely wonderful just the way you are, a few "tweaks" here and there could better ensure your life is as happy, complete and fulfilling as possible. Self-empowered people take responsibility for their own happiness and success by continuously "tweaking" their life to move it forward in the direction they want it to go.

Although this site contains many "how-to" articles, please understand that I am most definitely NOT about telling you what to do. Egotistically dispensing advice with the expectation that it be followed verbatim is not what "empowering women to empower themselves" is all about. True empowerment, in my opinion, lies in giving someone the knowledge and the tools that will allow them to make their own informed choices about what is right for them. So in the spirit of that philosophy, please take from this web site only that which is relevant for you, and discard the rest.

If there were only one thing I was able to impress upon you it would be this: Life is not necessarily about where you've been, but rather about the possibilities of where you can go, provided you possess an unwavering trust in your ability to take yourself there.