A few weeks ago, I had to sit down and make a series of major decisions about my business.

Should I hire a professional podcast producer—or not? Hire a marketing director—or not? Hire a publicist for my book launch—or not?

I was fighting a nasty summer cold and my brain wasn’t cooperating. I felt thick, tired, and heavy-headed. And I felt anxious.

I pride myself on running a lean, mean operation with very low business expenses. Would it really be smart to hire all of these new people? Would it pay off? Damn. It’s a lot of money…

I coughed into my computer screen for a few hours and then decided, “I need a break from all of this.” I felt so ill. So I decided to rest for a few days. Then I got a powerful Reiki session. Then I felt even sicker, almost like my body was releasing all kinds of old beliefs, grime, and crud from the past.

Then all of a sudden, I felt clear.

The clouds parted and I realized, “If I want to scale my business to $5 million… if I want to have a bestselling book… if I want to reach millions of women with my message of self-love, confidence, and body-positivity… if I want to take my work to a whole new level… then I can’t run my business in the exact same way I’ve done things in the past. To get to a new level, this requires new risks, new systems, and new people on my team.”

Once I realized that… Boom. I was ALL IN. I hired all the peeps. I paid all the deposits. My anxiety burned away. I felt great about each decision.

And then, the voice of Beyoncé came into my head.

As Queen Bey once said:

“I don’t like to gamble, but if there is one thing I’m willing to bet on… it’s myself.”

That’s what I’m doing. I’m betting on myself.

I am betting that I can conquer the challenges ahead of me… that I’m smart and talented enough to grow in the ways I want to grow… that I can lead my business to a new place. I am betting on me. That’s the one gamble I’m willing to make. Because I trust myself. Because I’ve been victorious in the past and I know I can do it again. If I was a horse at the Kentucky Derby, hell yes, I’d bet on me to win.

Think of all the reasons why YOU could confidently bet on yourself. All the reasons why the odds are stacked in your favor. All the reasons why you can trust yourself. All the ways you’ve been successful in the past, which means you have everything it takes to be successful again. I bet there are a lot of reasons why YOU are a solid bet. And so, if you’re gonna gamble on anything this year…

Bet on yourself.