Why Community Matters More Than Success: Reflections on AI, Sobriety, and Building a Small Business

Today started off well. I was up bright and early for a 6am SCORE webinar called AI for Marketing and Content Creation: Smarter Strategies for Today's Business. If you're a small business owner, I can't recommend SCORE enough. They offer so many free webinars, and it's been a great resource as I've been growing my business.

Today's webinar was all about helping small business owners harness the power of AI, and I have to admit, marketing has probably been one of the hardest parts of owning my own business. I absolutely love coaching, hosting sound baths, writing, researching, and creating, but getting all of that in front of the right people has definitely been a learning curve.

I've hired someone on Fiverr before, and it just wasn't the right fit. More recently I've been doing a trial run with Feedbird, a social media marketing agency, because I do see the value in having someone help get my content in front of more people. Marketing has just never been my natural skill set, so I'm trying to learn where it makes sense to outsource and where I should continue learning myself.

I've always loved technology and staying up to date on what's new, so webinars like this always leave me feeling inspired. There was actually another webinar later in the day about legal changes for coaches that I wanted to attend, but unfortunately it was happening during my Pilates class, and I wasn't about to skip Pilates.

Pilates, Matcha, and a Busy Workday

At lunch I headed over to Honor Pilates in Kearny Mesa for another Power Pilates class with my girl Morgan.

She's one of the sweetest instructors there. She's only in San Diego temporarily because she's headed back south for medical school, so I've been trying to catch as many of her classes as I can while she's here. Every class leaves me sweating, but in the best way possible.

After class I stopped at Starbucks and tried the new Coconut Matcha Latte. You already know I'm always looking for new matcha, and I have to say it was actually refreshing. Definitely a nice little afternoon treat before heading back to the office.

Celebrating Friendship and the Sober Community

After work I met up with one of my good friends, Maggie, for her birthday.

Maggie is one of the founders behind Mocktail & Mingle, an amazing San Diego community that's all about creating connection without alcohol. They recently launched Mocktail & Masks, which is a mobile bachelorette experience for people looking for a fun alcohol-free celebration, and I love seeing other women building businesses that align so closely with their values.

As someone who's sober myself, these communities mean so much to me.

My sobriety anniversary is actually coming up on July 26, and every year I like to celebrate it because every year represents growth, healing, and choosing myself over and over again. If you're sober, sober curious, or in recovery, I encourage you to check out Mocktail & Mingle. They host so many fun events around San Diego, and it's such a welcoming community.

Talking with Maggie also got me excited because Camp Sober Fest is coming up in August, and this will be my third one!

Last year was transformational. I ended up writing a poem while everyone else was out playing the camp Olympic games, and on a whim I entered it into the talent show a few hours later. To my surprise, it won first place in the written word category.

Looking back, I think one of the reasons that weekend was so impactful was because there was no cell phone service. My phone was pretty much a brick the entire time. No internet. No social media. No emails. It forced me to be fully present with the people around me, and while I've never had trouble talking to strangers, it reminded me just how healing real human connection can be.

It was also around that time that I really fell back in love with writing. After a difficult breakup in the fall of 2024, poetry became one of the ways I processed everything I was feeling, and I honestly haven't looked back since. Now some of my poems are being turned into songs, and I'll be working with a producer to bring them to life, which is something I never would've imagined even a year ago.

This year at Camp Sober Fest I'll be offering tarot readings and leading a Yoga Nidra meditation for the group, and I'm looking forward to giving back to a community that's given me so much.

Birthday Dinner at Chef Jun

For Maggie's birthday we went to Chef Jun, one of my favorite sushi restaurants in San Diego. They have locations in Bay Ho and Point Loma, and if you're looking for great sushi, I highly recommend.

We started with the garlic edamame and seaweed salad, then I ordered the Hawaiian Roll while Maggie got the Bay Ho Roll. Honestly, everything was a 100/10.

More than the food though, I loved sitting there for over two hours catching up. We're both sober, we're both women running small businesses, and we both care deeply about creating spaces where people feel seen and connected. It's always refreshing talking with someone who understands the highs and lows of entrepreneurship because there are definitely days where running your own business can feel lonely.

Friends like Maggie remind me just how much sobriety has given me. I don't know that I would've been ready for friendships like this before I got sober. The connections I've built over the last several years have been some of the most genuine relationships of my life.

Finishing One Book and Starting Another

When I got home, I finally finished Everyday Dharma by Suneel Gupta.

It's always bittersweet finishing a book that you've really connected with. That book has been such a beautiful reminder that purpose isn't necessarily one giant moment. It's something we choose through our daily actions, the people we help, and the way we show up in the world.

As soon as I finished it, I started reading Mind Magic by Dr. James Doty.

I'm only a couple chapters in, but one idea has already stuck with me.

We spend so much time thinking about how to get what we want. The dream job. The dream house. More money. More success. But we rarely stop to think about what life looks like after we actually get those things.

Dr. Doty talks about becoming successful and making millions, yet still finding himself unhappy because he hadn't really thought about how he wanted to live once he'd achieved those goals. He was chasing the destination without imagining the life that came after it.

That made me stop and think.

I think having nice things is wonderful. I think it's okay to want success and financial freedom. But I also don't think any amount of money, beautiful homes, fancy cars, or private islands can replace community, friendship, family, or connection. You can have everything the world tells you to want and still feel empty inside.

For me, fulfillment has never been about collecting things. It's about collecting experiences. It's about building meaningful relationships, creating spaces where people feel safe, spending time with the people I love, and doing work that feels aligned with who I am.

By the end of the night I got my apartment cleaned, finished getting the guest room ready for my brother, and started getting excited because my family will be visiting soon. As much as I love building my business and dreaming about the future, days like today remind me that the best parts of life usually aren't the accomplishments themselves. They're the conversations over sushi, the friendships we build, the books that shift our perspective, and the memories we make with the people we love along the way.