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what's important to me, and over time that's become more clear and new things become apparent. It's about puing boundaries around what's sacred. My k ids are sacred to me. I am at ever y event, I tr y to have dinner with them most evenings, and spend whatever time I have on weekends with them. You have to prioritize. I am a grow th-oriented person. I've been growing the firm—but the secret is growing my k ids and my family. ree or four years into the business, I identified that the purpose of the firm was to help other people prosper in a healthy, sustainable way. I feel so grateful to k now my life's purpose, and I want to help other people figure out their purpose—that is my goal. We are all uniquely talented. Tell us about your family. I met my husband shortly aer graduating college, but we dated for quite some time. He took his time making sure I was the one! I got married at 27. Marriage is hard—one of the hardest things you can ever do. It's a Pandora's box involving every part of our ourselves that we're not in touch with. My husband is an absolute rock. We are definitely yin and yang. A nd he is supportive of whatever I want to do, and that makes a lot of things work. When I made the decision to start my own firm, he was so crazy supportive. Ultimately, when the firm started taking off, he stayed home for six years. He just went back to work in April. He's definitely been an equal partner—we share in the responsibility of everything. I find that now "my best life" is different than it was two years ago because I have more of a pull to be there for my kids. I feel a desire to be there with them, but the pockets I have with them are smaller. My daughter is dancing five days a week, my son is more social with his friends. I don't have the same windows of opportunity. Do you have any advice for younger women? ank you for asking me that. My perspective is that they start out in their career and then at some point they say, "oh my gosh, how can I possibly stay on this road… have a career, and be married, and have kids?" So they get on a different track, a sidetrack. ey could 've had it all, and they can find it all—whatever "all " is for them. ey have to figure out what is core to them and create sacred spaces for themselves. It's not so much balance as leading a fulfilled life—we can help younger women create a fulfilled life for themselves. I love being 40. When you get to 40 you just want to live. In your 20s you think about what your life is going to be like and wonder if you'll get married. en in your 30s you're trying to build a career, be married, buy a house. en at 40 you realize, I'm just going to live. It's all good. at's my feeling—it's liberating. As a leader, what do you think women bring to the table? I think women are more able than men to have transparent conversations about everything that we deal with as human beings and what's important to us. We can have authentic conversations and in some cases we don't have the same ego needs…we are more connected. Of the 12 people in my office, 10 are women. ey range in age from 30 to 50 and are all about new career challenges. ey want a dynamic job to challenge them, with new opportunities to learn and grow and have other interests. Sometimes it can be a struggle to manage our ambitions with our personal goals. Do you have a favorite quote? "Obstacles do not block the path, they are the path." What might seem like a hard path is actually an amazing opportunity. A while back I thought, what am I doing in this man's world? Is this my calling? Now, six years later, I see that as the obstacle. I am totally meant to be here. D Obstacles do not block the path, they are the path. LEFT: Tom, Brooke, Kyer and Emery. RIGHT, FROM TOP: Emery, Brooke and Kyer in Breckenridge. Brooke and Tom at the Kentucky Derby, 2014. Brooke's dad, mom, Emery, Brooke, Kyer and Tom. Subscribe at GravitasMag.com | 29

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