I am Good Enough Now

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.

TODAY April 21st 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

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I just got home from a Memorial Service, Catholic Mass style, and my brain did the thing it does—connecting two seemingly unrelated experiences.

Stick with me.

I didn’t grow up with religion as part of my life, but faith has always been part of who I am. Over the years, I’ve visited mosques, synagogues, temples...spaces filled with meaning, history, and rituals I didn’t fully understand.

And honestly? Part of the beauty is not knowing.

Sitting in that unfamiliar space this week, I was open. Curious. Respectful. Not always how I’ve shown up in the past—but something I’ve learned.

At the service, the Deacon said something that stuck with me:
We’re not “part of a whole” that we build together.
The whole already exists… and we each find our place within it.

That subtle shift centers belonging.

Now—same week, totally different setting.

I was appointed to serve as a Board Trustee for my local school district. A press release went out… and the comments rolled in. Most people didn’t read the article. They reacted to a picture.

My purple hair → assumptions.
Assumptions → stories.
Stories → conclusions about who I am and what I’d do.

None of it rattled me.

But what surprised me? People stepping in to defend me. That’s not something I’m used to.

Those commenters are part of my community. Part of the whole. And the image they saw didn’t fit what they expected.

That discomfort? That’s disruption.

Later that week, I attended my first Board meeting. Not a single critic showed up.

Meanwhile…I sat through an entire Catholic Mass—no disruption, no assumptions, no need to “fix” what I didn’t understand. Just openness. Curiosity.

And that’s the connection:

I’ve been the person who disrupted unfamiliar spaces before. Who made jokes instead of seeking understanding. I regret that. Because I was trying to make them fit into my version of the world instead of recognizing the whole already exists. I already belong.

So when do you become disruptive instead of curious?
What fear is driving that reaction?
And what would happen if you replaced it with openness instead?

Every time you choose curiosity over judgment, you move in the right direction. I have faith in that.

I love an association of associations, vendors, and suppliers that are friends and family first, and business partners later. Having a great time at the Associations West Elevate Conference in Newport Beach!

Being authentic at work doesn’t mean being unfiltered. Yes, be yourself. But also: Know which “self” is showing up. Is it your present self? Your reactive self? The self who skipped lunch and is projecting?

Awareness matters more than rawness.

Jess Pettitt will take the stage as the 2026 United States Bartenders' Guild - USBG Bar Summit Emcee.

Jess is known to deliver captivating keynotes, powerful workshops, and impactful coaching—equipping teams with the tools to elevate leadership, strengthen culture, and drive meaningful change.

Register TODAY → barsummit.usbg.org

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.

TODAY March 17th 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.

During my unexpected, unannounced hiatus, I found myself leaning into craft.

I worked with a local seamstress to alter clothes.
Hired a contractor to fix a doorway threshold.
Ate dinner at a restaurant that sources everything within 50 miles of my house.
Bought my partner a seasonal microbrew.
Enjoyed homemade red velvet cookies a friend sent.

Handmade. Locally sourced. Intentional.

There is craft in craft.

And somewhere in the middle of yet another AI conversation, it hit me: there’s a parallel here. The Industrial Revolution and automation reshaped blue-collar work. AI may very well reshape management, leadership, and knowledge work next.

I saw President Obama put it simply when asked about AI:
Anything repeatable or predictable… AI can do it faster.
It doesn’t need sleep, vacation, or mental health days.

There was another part of the conversation that stuck with me, though.

If you are the very best, there will always be a market. Human creativity still matters. And I think there is a lot of space between average and exceptional that will still matter in an AI world.

Mass-produced cabinets don’t make handmade cabinets less valuable. They make them more meaningful.

Over the past few months, I volunteered with a local organization producing The Va**na Monologues as a fundraiser. Twenty years ago, I performed a monologue on stage. This time I kept the books.

Spreadsheets.
Expenses.
Donations.

Not glamorous work.

But it was the work that needed to be done — and it helped raise over $18,000.

AI can process numbers.

But it can’t greet someone at the door.
Make eye contact.
Remember someone prefers an aisle seat.
Help a performer calm their nerves backstage.

Those quiet, human moments matter.

The hand-carved wooden frog on my desk — made for me decades ago by a student in Kenya who laughed at my terrible “gribbit” noises — will never be replaced by a mass-produced version.

Because the memory, the moment, the human connection matters.

I’m here for guardrails and off-switches when it comes to AI. I support tools that help us calculate patterns faster than humans ever could. But I’ll also be here doing the other thing...being human.

Gribbit.

Uncertainty makes us crave clarity.
But sometimes clarity doesn’t bring comfort, it just brings sharper edges.

Here’s a thought: The antidote to uncertainty isn’t clarity. It’s solidarity.

Being together in the mess of it.
Holding space for each other’s truths.
Being willing to be wrong and still be connected.

What if we focused less on proving we’re right, and more on staying in relationship while we learn?

Our lived experiences shape everything—how we listen, what we say, how we interpret others. These experiences create bias. And that bias can block connection... or it can deepen it.

But only if you’re willing to do the work.

💡 Notice the similarities and differences between Person A and Person B.
💡 Choose to be conscious, not just comfortable.
💡 Remember: people (and stakeholders!) are always watching. They’re comparing how we show up with how others do.

We don’t have to be perfect. We just have to try.

I’m excited to share that I’ll be speaking at Associations West ELEVATE in Newport Beach, April 12–15, 2026. ELEVATE brings together 300+ attendees to explore bold ideas, strengthen partnerships, and spark new inspiration.

See you there!