There was a time when your contact list was full but your cup was empty.
Plenty of brunches, panels, group texts—but no one you could truly call when the night got heavy. You were the one everyone leaned on, the fixer, the connector, the strong one. And quietly? It was wearing you down.
So you did something radical. You started to reimagine what your circle could be.
Not just who showed up for the wins, but who sat with you through the questions. Not just the women who applauded your success, but the ones who could hold your complexity. Who didn’t need you to be a brand. Who let you be a person.
Now? Your circle is small but solid. Intentional. Layered. Made of women who challenge and cherish you. Women who ask, “How are you, really?” and wait for the answer. Women who bring soup, not selfies. Who know the name of your mother and the weight of your silence.
You don’t build circles for visibility. You build them for vitality.
Your circle is a reflection of who you are when you’re not performing. It’s the friend who reminds you to rest. The mentor who gives feedback with grace. The younger woman you pour into because you see something familiar in her fire. It’s laughter over wine and deep talks on the porch. It’s checking in and following through.
You know that soft power isn’t about being liked. It’s about being trusted. And that kind of power? It doesn’t come from titles or proximity. It comes from consistency.
You’re not collecting people—you’re cultivating belonging.
And you’ve learned this: if your presence is always nourishing others, your circle must also nourish you.
So you audit. You release. You re-root.
Because being known, deeply and fully, is a kind of wealth no platform can measure.
That’s your circle. Built on care. Strengthened by softness.
And it makes everything you touch more whole.
XO,
Krystal Phillips