Last weekend, I drove to Evansville, Indiana to spend a weekend with an exquisite group of women. My Clear Coaches group is the brainchild of my mentor and friend Susan Hyatt (yep, there she is again — just can’t keep this gal out of my blog — but that is such a good thing).

We are 13 women from across the country; the landscapes of our lives are varied in many ways, but we all share the common thread of weaving life coaching into our current careers or creating something entirely new with coaching as the foundation.

For two and a half days, we shared dreams, told stories, created awesomeness, enjoyed meals, talked until we couldn’t keep our eyes open in hotel rooms, and segued from laughter into crying like a perfect symphony. I knew in my bones that we were always supposed to be together in that space and time.

The group isn’t just about having a successful career; it’s so much more than that. I thought it would be hard to describe until I remembered something Saturday night when we went around the dinner table thanking Susan for her leadership. When it was my turn, I recalled that I turned in some work on my career plans / vision to Susan months earlier where I made a reference to the movie Jerry Maguire. If you haven’t seen it, a big piece of the story is about the friendship and struggles of a professional football player and his sports agent.

The scenes I love best refer to the football player’s quest for “The Quan.” For him, it not just about the money, but earning respect, finding community and love (family, friendships, self-regard). To me, that’s what my Clear Coaches are about; we don’t want to keep The Quan to ourselves; we want it for each other and for the people we serve in our work.

Jerry Maguire — “The Quan”

I want to create something like that for other women and it’s in the crock pot of my brain right now, so stay tuned. My best friend who shares my first name is the mix of this, and well…we have high expectations and standards. And we deliver.

To all of my girls across the country this weekend who witnessed my Cuba Gooding, Jr. “wooo hooo!!! I love everybody!!!” moments, thank you for being who you are. There is so much good yet to come.

I love you Katie, Stacey, Michelle, Kimberly, Louise, Kanesha, Nancy, Kari, Nicole, Carla, Diane, Becky and Susan. Straight-up ambassadors of Quan.