I am Good Enough Now

I am Good Enough Now For more than a decade, Jessica Pettitt has been educating people to support and embrace a more diverse environment.

Jess Pettitt, CSP delivers captivating speaking programs, powerful workshops, and game-changing group coaching to ignite, inspire, and equip teams with essential tools for elevating leadership, strengthening culture, and driving change. Her social justice and diversity curricula are used nationwide. This background uniquely qualifies her to educate employers on building welcoming, productive, and innovative teams. The ability to communicate, listen, learn, take responsibility, acquire and retain talent and resources will lead to and maintain a welcoming, and dare we say, fun workplace environment. This has a direct impact on your bottom line NOW.
👇 CLICK BELOW FOR ALL MY LINKS👇
https://linktr.ee/JessPettitt

Go There! with me. This is an old school conference line (no video) so it is anonymous, confidential, private, and solel...
08/17/2026

Go There! with me. This is an old school conference line (no video) so it is anonymous, confidential, private, and solely dependent on participants for content.

Tuesday, August 19th at 3:30pm Pacific

You're invited to join the FreeConferenceCall Meeting Room. Feel free to share this opportunity to build community with anyone by having them subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on social.

Dial-in number (US): (609) 663-5846
Security code: 9175430966

Having trouble connecting?

Text 'Call Me' to (609) 663-5846 to receive a call back.

Standard Messaging rates may apply.

I know the saying is, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” and I think it is wrong.I get the point. It’s hard to cha...
08/14/2026

I know the saying is, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” and I think it is wrong.

I get the point. It’s hard to change when old habits are formed. When I think about me and new technology—or even when my book club changed from 1pm to 10am and I am STILL always late—I get it.

Leo (18) and Sky (16) are the longest I have ever had pets and, really, they’re our children. Magic is our baby child at 8. All ages are guesses because they’re rescues. Our vet looks at their teeth, gives us a number, and we shrug and say, “Okay.”

If the “old dogs” are actually the old dogs here, they learn new things all the time.

Leo is almost completely deaf and basically blind. He navigates the house and backyard every day, bumps into things, learns new routes, and knows which places require extra caution because his parents are busy people and one of them owns a lot of bicycles.

Sky has started having seizures. I’ve watched her learn to go to her couch biscuit (one of MANY dog beds) when she isn’t feeling well. She also eats somewhere different now because her back legs can’t handle the slick laundry room floor.

Old dogs can learn new tricks.

And we’re learning too.

Leo is very social but mostly sleeps now. Sometimes he makes horrible noises that I interpret as loneliness, so I lie down on the smelly, hair-covered dog bed with him and we take afternoon naps.

Sometimes Leo and Sky don’t make it outside in time anymore. We’ve learned to look down when we wake up and clean up whatever we find without discussion.

Magic, meanwhile, is technically a senior dog and recently decided she doesn’t like lamb. One day she stopped eating her food. I tried another bag, and she was much happier. The Feed Store now has notes about Magic’s preferences.

They had to learn new things too.

If you are trying to teach someone something, bring that same understanding to the interaction. Learning new things can be hard because they are NEW. You probably won’t be good at something you’re just learning. That doesn’t mean you can’t learn it.

Old dogs can learn. Old dogs can teach.

This is a high standard, but we can learn.

Picking up where I left off:Sh*t—what am I gonna wear?I should probably have done this in a different order, but I find ...
08/12/2026

Picking up where I left off:

Sh*t—what am I gonna wear?

I should probably have done this in a different order, but I find if I know what I am wearing, and really what shoes I will have on, it seems to ground me.

This has been the case for a long, long time. Why break the track record?

We all did things during COVID while sheltering in place that may have seemed odd, and they usually helped us get through that period. Mine was window shopping and buying A LOT of sequins.

No? You didn’t do this?

I think (again, thank you therapy) it was both the novelty and the idea that someday I would be outside of my home again, on a stage, so sequins now have their own clothes rack in my spare bedroom.

I have this lovely silver piette dress that I wore to the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus last year, where I was told it was “too loud” because all the lights were reflecting off it.

Ha ha.

Then there is this dress that I have been watching since COVID, and plus sizes haven’t been available.

After several visits to NYC, I purchased what is known as dead stock at Mood: a soft tulle with silver polka dots.

Duh.

So, what if these two had a baby?

I could wear the dress that looks like nickel-sized mirrors under the polka-dot tulle dress to save people’s eyes—I generally listen to gay men’s fashion commentary—while also being a little warmer in a cold ballroom.

And extra bonus, I can wear a bra so body parts are in the right hemisphere and stay there during pictures.

It took me a while, but Sarah at Mend, my local tailors, made me my dream overdress.

So the big question was almost answered.

Creepy algorithms answered the shoe question by presenting me with chrome strappy platform sandals for elderly women, as well as my trusty Birkenstock coming out with a silver tennis shoe.

I am set!

At some point, I had conversations with a few Hall of Famers who found out or figured out, guessed, or knew about my secret, which was mostly welcome to figure out how to get through the 110 days between knowing and sharing.

One of these resulted in me borrowing this fabulous pair of earrings.

As a Southern woman, it was too good to pass up the opportunity, so I went the extra mile and wore blue bike shorts under the dress for comfort and post-banquet prom dancing!

Almost forgot, I got one of those tuxedo T-shirts too for dancing so I would still be dressed up.

Something old, something new.
Something borrowed, something blue.

What could go wrong?

Oh, I almost forgot, the biggest question I got asked: “What color is your hair going to be?”

I usually defer to my stylist’s choice, but for this, I knew immediately. I wanted MAGA red hair.

Last bit of the outfit: I found a metal chrome clutch that reminds me of a flask that was big enough for my phone, lipstick, and a few other things (stay tuned for a later post).

Twenty years in business correlates pretty closely with being fired a third time and deciding to stay sober. Twenty years ago, I met Loren, found NSA, started my first business, I am… Social Justice, and committed to never drinking again.

Everything came together so that all of me would be getting this Lifetime Achievement Award from my colleagues.

Now I had to figure out how to tell the people I loved without breaking the rules. Because apparently the Hall of Fame also comes with an advanced course in keeping secrets.

There are moments you think you’ll know exactly how you’ll feel when they finally happen. Turns out, not so much.Early A...
08/11/2026

There are moments you think you’ll know exactly how you’ll feel when they finally happen. Turns out, not so much.

Early April, I got the call.

I am going to call this the YES call because for nine years it has been the NO call.

The Chair of a secret committee of my professional organization reviews hundreds of nominations; the top fifteen or so are then discussed, and up to five a year, with consensus, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

For the National Speakers Association, this is called the Council of Peers Award for Excellence, and it is like an Oscar or Lifetime Achievement award, reviewing an inductee’s entire career.

I have been nominated for ten years of the 20 years I have been in business, and it is truly an honor to join this year’s group of inductees: Allison Shapira, Peter Katz, Manley Feinberg, and Anton Gunn.

This is me taking a picture of the moment because I wanted to remember it.

After decades of therapy, I wanted to remember the moment I felt deserving, worthy, a sense of approval vs. being a diversity hire of some sort, while also holding a sense of grief that some very important people, including my parents, wouldn’t be with me to accept the highest honor I will likely get in my career.

Humility and ego are always at play together, so I would be lying if there weren’t at least a few folks that made me smirk at the idea of them hearing the news.

I can be petty too!

I let these folks run their course in my mind, and then I put them aside and focused on those that raised the bar, and I felt forced to meet it, if not surpass it.

Those are my real supporters.

The tricky part now is that the tradition is to keep this a secret from other association members for 110 days, until the last day of the next annual conference’s awards banquet—or prom, as I call it.

So, it’s a secret, and you can’t tell anyone, while I also want to invite people to attend, sit at my prom table, attend a dinner or breakfast with me for more one-on-one conversations during a busy conference.

This is a secret that isn’t for a trusted circle.

I am an excellent secret-keeper and a big-time rule-follower despite my reputation as a disrupter.

This was an isolating balance for me.

Sh*t—what am I gonna wear?

And that, apparently, was the next completely reasonable question.

More on that next.

08/05/2026

This is me getting a filling. Not exactly the glamorous "first post after being inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame" you were expecting, huh?

This was me at my six-month cleaning with Dr. Awaad Victoria Place Dental Center in Eureka, California. We caught a cavity early enough to avoid a root canal.

Please get your teeth cleaned if you can. (Also, yes, I continue to believe it's ridiculous that we treat eyes and teeth as optional body parts when it comes to health insurance... but I digress.)

Thank you, Dr. Awaad, for helping me keep the smile I earned after nine years of braces and a memorable 24-hour-a-day relationship with headgear.

Now about that Hall of Fame thing...

Last week I received the Council of Peers Award for Excellence (CPAE) from the National Speakers Association—the highest career honor in our profession.

You might think that's what this post is about.

It isn't.

Well, not exactly.

The award is incredible, and I'm deeply grateful. But walking into my dentist's office a few days later reminded me of something even more important:

You never know what someone is carrying.

The person in your chair, the person in line with you, the person who "stole" your parking spot, the person answering your email... they may have just experienced the best week of their life. Or the hardest.

Treat people like Hall of Famers anyway.

As we were chatting, Dr. Awaad mentioned he's president of a dental association. By the end of the appointment, we were talking about keynote speaking.

Connections really are everywhere.

Someone at lunch today said, "You never know who you need to know until you ask someone who might know them." I love that.

So here's today's assignment:

Reach out. Make the introduction. Offer the warm referral.

Celebrate someone before you know their story.

07/30/2026

How do you get to hall of fame level… Franklin did it!

How do you be the best mentor and support? You watch and you cheer and you let the up and downs of the journey teach them.

Last night, I had the privilege of being inducted into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame® as part of the Class of 2026.The C...
07/28/2026

Last night, I had the privilege of being inducted into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame® as part of the Class of 2026.

The Council of Peers Award for Excellence is the National Speakers Association's lifetime achievement honor, recognizing a career of impact, professionalism, and service. To even be considered is humbling. To be selected is something I'm still trying to wrap my head around.

But here's what keeps running through my mind...the real win has always been the people in the room.

Not just the audiences I've been lucky enough to learn with over the years, but the people I now get to call fellow inductees.

Congratulations to Allison Shapira, Anton Gunn, Manley Feinberg, and Peter Katz. What an extraordinary group of humans. Your work, your generosity, and your commitment to making a difference have inspired so many, and I am honored beyond words to celebrate this milestone alongside each of you.

Thank you to the National Speakers Association, the peers who made this possible, and everyone who has trusted me to be part of your conferences, organizations, classrooms, and conversations over the years.

There will be plenty more to say in the days ahead. For today, I'm simply celebrating an incredible class and feeling deeply grateful to be among them.

Congratulations, Class of 2026. What a joy to share this moment with you.

If your audience needs another motivational speech...I'm probably not your speaker.If your team is navigating change, ha...
07/23/2026

If your audience needs another motivational speech...I'm probably not your speaker.

If your team is navigating change, having hard conversations, struggling with communication, or trying to build a healthier workplace culture, then let's talk.

Whether I'm standing on a stage or showing up in a little square on your screen, my goal is the same: create an experience where people actually engage, think differently, laugh a little, and leave with something they can use immediately. My virtual programs aren't watered-down versions of an in-person keynote, they're intentionally designed to be interactive, customized, and memorable.

The best feedback I receive isn't "That was inspiring."

It's: "We had conversations after your session that we've been avoiding for years."

If you're planning a conference, leadership meeting, association event, or company-wide virtual session, I'd love to help create something your audience will still be talking about long after the Zoom window closes.

Let's build an experience together. https://jesspettitt.com/virtual-solutions/

Hiring an emcee is easy.Hiring someone who can manage the clock, read the room, support the speakers, recover from the u...
07/22/2026

Hiring an emcee is easy.

Hiring someone who can manage the clock, read the room, support the speakers, recover from the unexpected, keep the audience engaged, and make it all look intentional?

That takes a little more thought.

As an emcee, I am part host, part facilitator, part timekeeper, part energy manager, and occasionally part highly professional chaos coordinator.

Because events are live. Technology misbehaves, sessions run long, energy dips, plans change, someone forgets the instructions they definitely received three times.

My job is to keep the audience connected, the program moving, and the planning team breathing.

I do more than introduce the next speaker. I create continuity across the event, reinforce the ideas that matter, and help every moment feel like part of one thoughtfully designed experience.

So, yes, I can hold a microphone.

I can also handle the egos, awkward transitions, last-minute changes, dead air, and metaphorical dumpster fires that sometimes come with it.

Planning an event that deserves more than a name-reader? Let’s talk: https://jesspettitt.com/emcee

07/17/2026

Anxiety and curiosity can’t coexist.

When the world feels overwhelming, polarized, or “at the end of its rope,” the first step isn’t solving everything. It’s asking:

🤔 What if that were to happen?

Curiosity opens doors where anxiety builds walls. It’s how we reconnect, rebuild, and approach difficult conversations even with people we’ve lost touch with years ago.

Address

New York, NY

Telephone

+19175430966

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when I am Good Enough Now posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category