It's been three years of twelve-hour days and money spent, with no return yet in sight. An industry that rewards trends over substance. Customers who love what we stand for, but still get pulled toward the cheaper, faster alternative. People who believe in what we're building, but don't always stay engaged long enough to help see it through. And Meta, which controls so much of what gets seen in the first place. Even people who choose to follow you may never see what you share, while the algorithm rewards the messages that stop the scroll: louder, more shocking, easier to consume. A small company trying to say something true can get buried under a big company spending millions to say something easy.

None of this is anyone's fault. It's just the landscape, and I see it clearly now in a way I didn't when Foxtale started.

There comes a time in almost every life when we are confronted with the question, "Should I continue?" Perhaps you've asked this of a job, marriage, friendship, house-project, a hobby, or an artistic pursuit. Those moments give you three choices: do nothing, change focus, or dig deeper.

For me, to "do nothing" is resignation for the next 20 years (assuming my life-span). To change focus is like a drug…you become addicted to jumping for new experiences, every time the current situation feels hard. And to dig deeper, by this season of my life, is the last thing I want to do. I've dug deep on so many things across these years, and I'm tired.

But then there is that voice…that deeper truth that says, "If you do dig, you'll find truer life, and a lot more joy." How can that be?! In digging deeper, there is always pain, even a kind of death.

But what if we were created to dig deeper? Despite the landscape, I cannot ignore an inner voice that says I was made for different, that I am not done. That, to know deeper life, to grow, I must experience the pain … maybe the dying of something … and prepare for that life and fight for it. This inner voice is giving me one option … dig deeper.

Of course, I would love to (and plan to) travel, enjoy grandbabies, garden, read, volunteer, pickle ball, lunch…that’s all very appealing. But I'm not done digging yet. Not until something outlasts me.

That's what IMPRINT is.

While Foxtale fights its way toward a profitable business, IMPRINT makes sure the effort counts for something that lasts when all is said and done. IMPRINT is about leaving a mark on a young life at a vulnerable, formative time. A mark that changes their life for the better.

I could go into all the details about the program, but you can find that on my and Foxtale's social pages. It's on the Foxtale website. You can easily find it, if you want. Here, I simply want to share why I continue.

It might be one young girl or thousands. I have no idea, but making a mark on their lives is my WHY …always has been. My constant question: "Am I building this in a way that, when all is said and done, something will last? Has there been an IMPRINT on another person for good?"

So IMPRINT is not just a program name. It is a life theme. So, I keep digging.

• Explore Raising Girls
• Learn more about Foxtale's mission
• Learn more about our IMPRINT program