My life is full of rejections, and I’m tired of it.
I hear this often.
So let me tell you an inspiring story from today’s LIVE masterclass guest.
A woman who almost gave up.
Her name is Colette Jane Fehr from The Vim Life. She’s a therapist, writer, mother of two, and someone like many of us: a woman with a calling so big it scared her.
Colette is hosting a LIVE masterclass just for you at 3pm EST today!
🔥 How To Trust Your Voice and Speak With Confidence on a TEDx Stage
🎤 with Colette Fehr, TEDx speaker + upcoming Penguin Random House author
📅 Link for members. + Zoom link in the member chat. (Replay available.)
Not a member yet?
Pssst..! We’ll meet 15 minutes before our Zoom via Substack LIVE!
Here’s our podcast interview, and this is what you need to know:
In early 2024, she set a goal:
“Book a TEDx talk by December 31st.”
She submitted one pitch. Rejected.
Then another. Crickets.
Then five more. Nothing.
It wasn’t until December 20th—eleven days before her deadline—that the yes finally came.
But it didn’t play out like she dreamed. Not even close.
The TEDx moment that went wrong
Colette stepped onto the red dot, the night's first speaker, adrenaline pumping. She had rehearsed her talk hundreds of times and shared her journey on Substack Notes.
She had chosen every slide with care and visualized this moment for months.
And then…
The mic didn’t work.
The clicker was off.
A TEDx staff member tried to “help”—and started clicking through her slides out of sync with her words.
“Slides were showing up at the wrong times, revealing things I hadn’t said yet, skipping over key moments, and completely disrupting the flow I had so carefully crafted,” she told me.
She lost her place. Blank. A full mental glitch.
She wanted to scream. Cry. Maybe walk off stage.
But instead?
She put her head down. Breathed.
And kept going.
She didn’t wait to feel fearless. She let fear move with her.
“You can’t stop your feelings anyway,” she said. “So go for it—and let the fear move with you.”
And yet, that wasn’t her biggest “no”
Years earlier, Colette was married with two daughters. On paper, everything looked perfect—a happy family, a good life.
But she felt something deeper:
“I felt very alone. I didn’t yet have the language for it. I didn’t know about attachment science. I just knew something was missing—and when I tried to share it, it didn’t land.”
Eventually, it all fell apart. She got divorced.
That could’ve been the end. But instead, it was her beginning.
“That divorce brought me back to myself. It made me a therapist. It made me honest. And now, helping others navigate their own relationships—whether that means staying or letting go—that’s my life’s work.”
🎙️ MASTERCLASS: Today Colette is teaching YOU how to rise
All masterclasses, and Substack LIVES, are free to paid subscribers!
Colette Fehr is on national TV, soon publishing her book “The Cost of quiet” and also seeing her clients.
She cleared her calendar for members of The Online Writing Club and is meeting us today inside for a special masterclass.
If you’ve ever felt rejection—
If you’ve ever been the one who almost gave up—
If you’ve ever asked: “What if I’m not enough?”...
Colette is hosting a LIVE masterclass just for you at 3pm EST today!
🔥 How To Trust Your Voice and Speak With Confidence on a TEDx Stage
🎤 Hosted by Colette Fehr, TEDx speaker + upcoming Penguin Random House author
📅 Inside the Online Writing Club Zoom room:
You’ll learn:
How to bounce back when life doesn’t go to plan (Colette’s TEDx story is just the start)
Why your story matters—even if you feel broken or behind
How to pitch your next big opportunity (book deal, TEDx, new chapter in life) before you feel “ready”
How to get and talk on a TEDx stage
“Sometimes we don’t know what we’re made of until the clicker doesn’t work.”
This masterclass is about rediscovery.
It’s about remembering who you are—even if the world keeps telling you “no.”
Come join this week’s masterclass. Be in the room with us at 3pm EST.
Colette is ready to share everything she’s learned… and everything she once thought would break her.
We have so much coming this summer!
Masterclass with Casandra Campbell - Earn Money on Substack in 2025 and Convert Your Free Subscribers Into Paid (With Data and FUN!)
Google and AI Bootcamp - for the first time ever, I’ll host a Google and AI Bootcamp with the world authority on AI digital brand intelligence (not included in the membership but 40% off for annual members)
Substack Kickstarter Bootcamp with yours truly - yes!! My signature Bootcamp will come back this summer, featuring some WOW-worthy alumni bootcampers (not included in the membership but 40% off for annual members)
+ meet (almost) all my interview partners inside the Club to ask questions, learn, grow, and connect!
See you in our LIVE in about 3 hours!
PS: This is our podcast interview.
PPS: Here’s the video podcast.
PPPS: Make sure to subscribe to The Vim Life from Colette
Thanks for sharing
Thank you for all you do, Kristina!