Many of us seek permission.  Permission to be ambitious, permission to be tender, permission to use our voice.  Dolly did not need permission to love rhinestones and hard work.

She grew up without much, went through health battles in the 80s, and  heartbreak after losing Carl last year.  After a lifetime of Grammys, she still choose generosity over bitterness.  That’s why her death feels personal.

She wasn't just a singer.  She was proof that a woman from a tiny cabin could build a whole world and then give it away.  As I was growing up, I enjoyed listening and dancing to her music.  Now I admire her business heart, her giving, the way she stayed so kind when the world can be so harsh. 

Dolly was hospitalized on August 21st and passed peacefully on August 25th at 80, surrounded by loved ones after a brief battle with cancer. 

The lessons I learned from her;  

• Don't wait to be taken seriously to do serious good. Be kind, be flamboyant, be hardworking, and be generous - all at the same time.
•  It is possible for you to be soft and strong, deeply spiritual and deeply business-smart.  
• She taught us curiosity doesn't retire.  At 80, days before her passing, she said she still had so many things she wanted to achieve.  

She often said, "Find out who you are and do it on purpose."  to encourage people to embrace their individuality, stay true to their own values, and avoid copying others.  For you to glow, that's the heart of perseverance and consistency.  Dolly kept working, kept giving, kept dreaming into the corner and then building a door.  If my younger me knew that, I would have stopped apologizing for wanting to S.O.A.R.

Dolly never shrank. And she never stopped being curious.

Do not shrink.  Keep dreaming. Rise!