Sparks That Shaped the Story

Hey everyone, it's Sabine So it feels a bit strange standing here alone without a guest. Usually I'm the one that's holding space for someone else's story. I'm asking questions, connecting the threads and reflecting back on what I hear. But today it felt important to pause, to go back to where it all started. When I began writing Beyond the Ladder, I didn't set out to write a manifesto or yeah, motivational book.

I wanted to create a guide, something that met women exactly where they were. Not at the top of the ladder, not at the bottom, but somewhere right in the middle of the climb. When you start to ask yourself, is this really the life I wanted? I wanted the book to be honest, but also hopeful. Something that would hold you accountable and hold your hand along the way. Something that said you're not broken, but maybe you're ready to grow.

And when I wrote it, it was a time when I needed those same words myself. Because if I'm honest, Beyond the Ladder wasn't just written for other women, it was a mirror for me as well. I was writing to find clarity in my own story. What mattered, what didn't, and what I wanted to leave behind. So when the book was finished, I thought, wow, I was done. Woo hoo! Big celebrations. But what I realized is that clarity doesn't end when the writing stops.

The moment you share something true, it asks you to keep living it. So after the book came out, I signed up for a course to write a TED Talk. And although I've never given the TED Talk on stage, the process changed everything for me. It forced me to strip away words, to think about explanations, and to get rid of that armor and get to the heart of what I really want to say. So that's how the Ripple Talk was born.

It wasn't about just presenting. It was about the heartbeat behind everything that I do. It's about clarity and courage and connection. The talk became my reminder that ideas don't create impact that people do. And when we live our ideas and we say them out loud, they ripple. And it was through that process that the ripple network started to take shape. It wasn't a strategy or a big grandiose plan. It was a pulse. I had spent so much time talking about clarity and purpose and alignment, but I wanted to live it and I wanted to live it with others. So to build a space where women could stop performing and start practicing. A place where they can ask real questions, get imperfect answers and honest conversations. Because that's what I've learned is that leadership isn't about titles. It's about seeing what's missing and about daring to create it. And it's about the moments when something just tugs at you, you know, that little, that niggling feeling and that you can't look away. So that's how you know your work still has to be found. So today's episode isn't really about the book or the talk or even the Ripple Network. It's about what happens when you stop waiting to feel ready and you start following what feels real. It's about giving yourself permission to change even when nobody's asked you to do that. So if you're listening to this, maybe you're standing in that same space between what's known and what's unknown and what's calling you. And maybe you've outgrown something that once felt like it fit perfectly. Or maybe like me, you're realizing that your next chapter won't look anything like the last one. So if that's you, I suggest that you keep listening and keep going, write those words, ask those questions and build your thing. You don't have to have it all figured out. You just have to take that next step and...

because that's where the clarity lives in that motion and that movement. That's where courage grows in the community. And that's where your ripple begins. So keep listening to hear my ripple talk.