Last night I kicked off the 2nd Cohort in a program I launched earlier this year. It helps  Canadian women leaders build a relevant network in Silicon Valley and grow their business.

Now what is super cool about this is the fact that 40 companies applied and nine ended up joining me for 3.5 days in Silicon Valley.  Most didn’t even know me … Had no idea what the program was about!  But thankfully, through the network I’ve built, heard something that resonated and decided to take a leap of faith – and a significant amount of time out of their personal and startup life to join me.

Day two was a fabulous reminder of the seeds we plant and where things can grow to.

Having grown up on a farm, my father would go out in the spring and plant various kinds of seeds on many plots of land — all with the “hope” that the rain would come to water it, and the sun would bring it to life, and that enough time would pass before the snow would fall so he could harvest and not only enjoy the fruits of his labor, but quite literally be able to afford the next year for his family (which included me!).

A year ago I planted the seed of my initiative I call the Canadian Women’s Network. I designed it to support women in tech in Canada gain access to Silicon Valley to grow their business and drive economic value back to Canada.

I didn’t know if it would be successful. Heck, even though day 2 of program #2 kicked off great, I can’t be 100% sure of its future success.

But what I did witness is something coming to life and impacting people who otherwise might not have access to this kind of opportunity at this early stage in their company’s growth.

I hope to only grow this program and drive deeper impact into a world I care about very deeply.  What ultimately results from it all will, of course, be determined over time.

But it speaks volumes to listening to one’s inner intuition and sometimes simply starting.

You might not know where it is going to lead … Heck, I promise you that you won’t.  But if you can embrace the journey (as hard as the unknown is) … then I do believe you’ll go to bed with a smile on your face and a warmth in your heart that is unlike any job you had or gift you’ve been given.