I’m as free as a bird now!

I have a confession: I was looking forward to sending my kids off to college. 🫢

All the parents around me were getting upset, and it didn’t matter if they worked full-time or not — they were having a hard time letting go. They were quick to label themselves “empty nesters.”

Not me — I couldn’t wait.

Not having to manage my kids? Yes, please! After all, I’d been training them to be independent. The goal was never to keep my nest full forever. I was excited to watch them fly off and be on their own.

That isn’t to say I wasn’t sad when they left. When my oldest went to college, I felt bereft for a month. Regardless of how you view this transition, it’s a big change. It’s emotional!

But I said to myself, “I’m going to embrace being a free bird.”

From “empty nester” to “free bird” is a powerful mindset shift. The truth is, I saw my kids’ entering the next phase of their lives as a good thing — for me and for them.

I was proud I created a beautiful nest and nurtured them. But I always knew they’d fly off — that’s the expectation, isn’t it? We WANT our kids to go out and live wonderful, fulfilling, exciting lives.

I knew I’d feel a mix of emotions, so I committed to not rushing through this liminal state. It can be tempting to rush forward, to distract from all the feelings with a shiny new object.

But I’ve learned to treasure liminal spaces and treat them with respect. These spaces give meaning and structure to change, which helps manage the uncertainty. (Will they stick to their budget? Will they go to class? Will they come home for the holidays?)

It doesn’t mean there aren’t roadblocks and learnings along the way.

In hindsight, I wish we’d done some things differently. I wish we’d taken our son to college, rather than putting him on a plane. With my daughter, we actually took her. The ritual of moving her into her dorm room was important and a key part of the transition — one we didn’t anticipate for our son.

But still, both were valuable transitions for our family. I was ready. Becoming a “free bird” was something I looked forward to. I couldn’t wait to try new things (like buying an RV 😂) and focus on new adventures!

Because that feeling of our kids flying off to wonderful, fulfilling, exciting lives? Parents get to feel that, too!

– Charlene

My Latest:

• Echo chambers, rabbit holes, and “hallucinations” — oh my! There’s a lot to unpack in the Brave New World that is ChatGPT. In Leading Disruption, I share some surprising insights on AI tools and trust issues.

• On my next livestream, I’ll be discussing neuroscience or attention AI to better understand users. My guest will be my PA Consulting colleague Scott Siegel who has been working in the space. Join us on April 4th at 9am PT / 12pm ET.

• I’m speaking at Tony Robbin’s Business Mastery II virtual event about disruption and innovation, including how to think about the new generative AI tools. Hope to see some of you there!

• Join me for Bill Gallagher’s Scaling Up podcast airing live on Friday, April 7th at 11am PST / 2pm EST to discuss how to develop a disruption mindset.

Good Things:

Podcast I’m listening to: The Marketing AI Show. With the many changes happening in the AI space, this podcast has been helpful in keeping track of AI’s impact on marketing.

What amazed me: Superhuman: What AI can do in 30 minutes. A Wharton professor wanted to see how much work at GPT4 could do in 30 minutes to help launch and market an educational game. It proceeded to do market research, write an email marketing campaign, created a website, logo, and hero shot graphic, create a social media campaign, and scripted/created a video. In 30 minutes.

Book I’m reading:Wonderhell by Laura Gassner Outing is finally out! I really resonate with this book because it describes the fear and messy middle you must navigate on the road to success. It’s available April 4th and you can pre-order now.