I’ve wanted to live in California for most of my life. It always seemed like something nice, but impossible, until August 2022 when my husband and I drove up in our grey Prius with a loaded car and two camp chairs and a tiny table.

It all started in January when I was hiking in the redwoods with my friend, Julia Sullivan. The day before I had been walking in a beautiful park at sunset. Looking out over the mountains, I made a commitment to myself that I would live somewhere just as stunning. I didn’t where, but I knew it would happen. Before it was always a wish, but in that moment it was a YES!

As I walked along the dirt path I said to Julia, “I want to live in the mountains.” She asked me how far to the mountains? I thought for a moment. “I don’t know about the Smokies, but I think to drive to the Rockies it’s about 24 hours. Wow, that’s really far!”

I’d always come to California for business, to take or give a workshop, but never just to see what it would be like to actually live here. Mark and I decided to rent an Airbnb for five weeks and check it out. Plus, I could spend time with my 90 year old uncle, who I loved.

We put a deposit on an apartment the first weekend were there, and the rest is history.

The apartment served us well for a while. I loved my little balcony which I loaded with plants. The weather was gorgeous most days, with a redwood tree outside our window. But, gradually our little 850sq ft space started feeling really small and constricted.

“Hey Mark, look at this Zillow listing I found in Evanston.” I missed my friends and I missed having space. The bay area is incredibly expensive. The three-bedroom condo we sold in Evanston for $425,000 would probably be at least $1.5ml here. We started looking for homes to rent, but found nothing. I kept checking out Zillow in Illinois. He wasn’t interested in moving, but house seemed impossible here.

Then one day, I realized I was limiting the universe by assuming that the only way to live in a house was to move somewhere other than California. I set a clear intention for what I wanted. I started seeing a kitchen that looked out on an expansive back yard. I didn’t know where it was, I just knew I would be living there.

In September, we were offered to rent an apartment thousands of dollars below market. We didn’t even have to look for it! Stepping into the kitchen, it was the one I had seen in my visualization. It has a stunning expansive back yard with numerous fruit trees and flowers. It is in a part of Los Gatos that has rolling hills and views of the mountains. The first thing I said when I saw the house is, “I guess God wants us to stay in California.”

How are you limiting yourself from what is possible by assuming that what you really want is impossible? As my friend, Susan Kerby, says, “God doesn’t have a limit on miracles so why should you?”

When you open the door to possibility and let go of how it comes, anything can happen. I didn’t assume that the place we were meant to be was California. I just knew that the universe gives you what you think is possible, no more. When I opened the door to allow the universe free reign I got exactly what I wanted and more.

You are more powerful than you know!

Head’s up. The Portugal retreat has been postponed to April 10-17, 2026. There are still a few more spots. If you want to open the door to flourishing and thriving, this is the place to make it happen. Check it out here.