This morning, I was on a content planning call with the 99 Walks’ team and this question came up: what does it mean to “step into your own power?” Wow, what a good question. Though this list is certainly not complete, stepping into your own power includes:

Occasionally, fear is awesome. Occasionally, it keeps us from doing really, really stupid things. But more often than not, fear keeps us from doing really, really awesome things.

I was afraid to quit my lawyer job, move to the beach and start a business (what if the business failed which, by the way, the first business did, spectacularly). I was afraid to have a baby (I can’t even begin to list my becoming-a-mom fears).

We’d like to think we know a thing or two about walking. But we also know how to have fun! Put them together, and what do you get? Nine of our favorite fun facts about walking!

The 99 Walks’ theme for September is Be Bold so we thought we’d kick off the month by featuring six of the boldest women we could think of. Women who bucked convention, took chances, did extraordinary things and changed the world.

I'm writing this from a very uncomfortable seat in the New Orleans Airport at 7:00 a.m. I've already been here for close to an hour because the airport shuttle service insisted on picking me up more than three hours before my flight. Across the way from me are two men whose heads keep bobbing as they fall asleep and jerk themselves awake.

We’ve all heard them. All of the myths, stories, and instructions about drinking water. How much you need to drink. When you need to drink it and what you need to drink. Well, we’ve done some research for you and here are the top five myths about drinking water.

Most days go like this. Wake up at 5:00. Flip coffee pot to “on.” Let dog out. Empty dishwasher. Sit for a 10-minute meditation. Move to the kitchen table, make an entry in my gratitude journal, read five pages of whatever book I am reading. Write a minimum of 600 words. Text my dad. Make my daughter’s lunch for school, blend up a morning smoothie, wake the kids, and see them off to school.

Wake up. Repeat

When we launched 99 Walks in January, we were concerned that people weren’t going to be up for walking in the cold. But we’ve heard from so many members that walking in the heat of summer the real challenge. But hot weather is no excuse to sit home! Read on for our five tips for summer walking.

Everyone needs a personal playlist. Whether you keep it on Spotify, Apple Music or let Alexa house it, you need a playlist of tunes that has the power to change your mood, rock your workout and get you dancing while you dust the living room. 

Joy is a choice. Now I know that we all know a couple of people who seem to be happy pretty much all of the time and for sure, some people have a higher happiness baseline than others. But the most current research on joy and happiness has proven that we truly have the ability to make choices in our lives that will bring more joy to our days and happiness to our hearts. While there are many tactics that can work, here are our top nine.

Okay now, when was the last time you did something nice for yourself? When did you last take the time to cook yourself a healthy breakfast, pack yourself a great lunch, make a date with a girlfriend, read a good book or do something active and fun (I’m thinking tennis with a friend, take a long walk, hit the gym, take a Zumba class ... you get the idea).

And now I ask you: why do we take such good care of our families while we treat ourselves like an afterthought?

Two years ago, we were looking for a new office. Our old office building had been sold and the new landlords were … well, let’s just say we needed a new office and fast. We signed a lease on garage space and were scheduled to begin moving in the next day when I woke up in a sweat and realized the space would not work. There was no parking and no storage. It was too small. Trucks would never be able to make deliveries. It was dark and it was going to be a disaster. We couldn’t move in there.

I was panicked.

So often we write about, talk about, preach about ... big goals. Dream big. Live large. Seek happiness. Choose joy.

Elevating your life to move you closer to those things comes as the result of a million small decisions, baby steps and modest actions.

My dad was a sprinter and from him, I inherited a love of going fast and going all out for a short time. Digging deep into a project, working incredibly hard and racing to the finish, out of breath and spent. When I lace up my sneakers and head out the door, I usually walk. But sometimes, I run. On those days, I will jog for a bit before I feel the itch to run, and I’ll set a finish line in my mind. I will sprint to that driveway, I’ll think and off I go, running as fast as I can.

What is your kryptonite? What is the one thing that you do that regularly that you know you shouldn't? Something that is self-defeating or self-sabotaging your fitness, your wellness, your health or your happiness?

Yesterday, I solved a major hurdle in bringing the next phase of 99 Walks to life. It was a problem I’ve been struggling with for five months. I’ve had a dozen calls, spent hours researching, asked a hundred questions and got a hundred different answers. Yesterday, I found a solution.

I should have felt fantastic. I should have taken the afternoon off or, at the very least, taken a long walk in one of my favorite places. But I didn’t. Instead, I checked it off my list and asked myself “what’s next?”

We want to strengthen your heart, improve your mood, fuel your creativity and foster real connections with others. Walking can do all of that and more. All you need to do is lace up your sneakers and get out the door.

Here at 99 Walks, we count walks, not steps.

When I was a kid, studies came out that suggested that the artificial sweetener saccharin was a possible carcinogen. It was just what the sugar industry needed to launch an extensive advertising campaign aimed at winning back those customers who had abandoned sugar for the stuff in the little pink packages.

I love deadlifts, a deceptively simple exercise where you bend over, grip a barbell that is resting on the floor, and stand up.

I have hurt my back six times doing deadlifts over the course of the last three years. Each time, I feel my lower back strain with awful pain at the very start of the lift, just as I’m trying to lift the bar off the ground. That night will find me on an ice pack and during the ensuing three days, my entire back will go into spasm. It is difficult to sit, impossible to drive and utterly miserable. At some point, I manage to find my way to my chiropractor or acupuncturist who manages to get me back on my feet. Then in about a week, I head back to the gym, treating each move carefully, slowly and mindfully. Months go by. I get stronger and move faster. And then I get arrogant and sloppy. And then boom.

After college, Eric (99 Walks co-founder and my husband) taught skiing for three winter seasons while he figured out what he wanted to do with his life. One of his favorite stories is about a group lesson comprised of a bunch of eight-year-olds on a snowy Saturday morning. Just before lunch, Eric led the group to the top of a big, open trail. It would be challenging for them but not beyond their abilities. Most of the group took off, whooping and hollering as eight-year-olds are known to do when skiing.