This past weekend I found myself in a room where the word “accomplished” felt like a pedestrian phrase. The Exceptional Women Alliance isn’t your average gathering. Picture this: one moment I’m deep in conversation with a fellow EdTech exec, the next I’m swapping stories with an astronaut. (Yes—an actual astronaut. You know when you talk about a moon shot? That’s not figurative for her where space really is her workplace environment.)

Inventors, scientists, Fortune 100 execs, government leaders, entrepreneurs bending reality into new businesses – everywhere you turned, another powerhouse. It’s enough to make your imposter syndrome sit up straight and take notes.

But here’s the thing: you eventually realize success doesn’t come easy for anyone, no matter how dazzling the résumé. Every woman there had a story of struggle, mentors who carried them through, and a moment when giving up looked a little too tempting. That’s what makes the conversations rich. That’s what makes the sisterhood real.

Because at a certain point, paying it back (through mentoring, championing, opening doors) stops being a “nice to do.” It becomes the joy. The privilege. The only way forward.

So yes, the weekend was inspiring. But not just in the glossy “wow that was cool” kind of way. More in the “this is what it looks like to drive impact, build legacies, and raise each other up while doing it” kind of way.