P38: Finding an Iron-Sharpens-Iron Friend and Making Renewal Your Superpower

Welcome to Just One Pivot, a focused pause to spark your next best move. This week, we’re learning from a rare friendship and a woman I deeply admire, someone whose story has shaped my own, and whose pivot might just illuminate your next move too.

For years, I longed for the kind of friend I call an “iron sharpens iron” friend.

You know the type: The one who challenges you and lets you challenge her. Who cheers when you succeed and stays close when you fall. The one who won’t let you wallow in self-pity, but sits in the mud with you when needed—then reminds you it’s time to stand up again.

A friend who holds space for your growth. Who lets you make mistakes, and still sticks around. Who infuriates you sometimes, and fills you with deep pride and delight at others. A friend who never lets go.

That’s the kind of friend Karen Hinds has been to me. And it’s the kind I hope for you.

We met years ago at a business mastermind. I knew right away we’d be friends, though she didn’t yet, and I like to remind her of that often. What began as a strategic partnership turned into something more lasting: a friendship rooted in truth-telling, prayer, growth, and shared purpose.

Through the years, we’ve prayed each other through wins, losses, leadership transitions, and personal reinvention. And today, Karen is helping women “step boldly into their greatness and succeed on their own terms—without losing their soul in the process.”

Her journey holds vital lessons. Let me introduce you.

Meet Karen Hinds

Karen is the founder of the Workplace Success Group and The RENEW Experience, a retreat and movement designed to help high-performing women release burnout, reconnect with purpose, and rediscover themselves.

But before RENEW existed, there was exhaustion.

A question from her aunt and mentor became the catalyst:

The honest answer—No—was the first domino.

At the time, Karen was thriving on the outside. But her pace was unsustainable. And success felt increasingly disconnected from peace. So she made a small, brave pivot: she took time for herself. Then another: she got still. She asked deeper questions. And slowly, she began to trade hustle for congruence.

What Karen’s Story Teaches Us

We often see surrender as weakness. But what if surrender is sacred and a super power?

Karen started by redefining her value, not just in dollar signs, but in her sense of identity. She asked, Who am I without the titles, the striving, the expectations?

She began to speak with vulnerability, first to liberate herself and then to liberate others.

That realization changed everything. She began telling the truth, from stages and in conversations with women who were secretly suffocating behind their success.

Her vulnerability became a catalyst.
Her stillness became a strategy.
Her surrender became a superpower.

Stepping Boldly into One’s Greatness

“Turning boldly into your greatness,” is Karen’s mantra. For her it happened when she chose authenticity over appearances, and alignment over ambition.

Her life today isn’t smaller—it’s fuller.

Today, her list of goals and dreams include time. Time to walk barefoot in her garden, time with her family, time to build meaningful community with other women who are ready to grow whole, not just bigger.

She created The RENEW Experience to hold space for that kind of transformation for women who are ready to take off the mask and show up as their whole selves, a place where women can find the kind of iron-sharpens-iron friends that we found in each other.

Your Move

This week, ask yourself:

• Where in my life am I still chasing a version of success I’ve outgrown?

• What am I clinging to that may need to be surrendered, so something better can emerge?

• Where do I need to get still so I can renew and hear the voice within?

• Do I have an iron-sharpens-iron friend or do I need one?

Try this:

Set aside one hour. No phone. No input. Just stillness.
And ask: What does success mean for me—now?

Because as Karen shows us, your pivot might not begin with a leap. It might begin with letting go and the right friend to support your journey.

P.S. Want to learn more about Karen and The RENEW Experience? I hope you will. I will be one of the speakers, and I would love to see you or someone you love there! You can follow Karen’s work here or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Until next week,

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