*I wrote this post September 17th, but due to technological difficulties paired with procrastination, it didn't get published until December.

Unicorns are awesome.

In fact, the more I ruminated on the awesomeness of unicorns, the closer I came to changing my logo.

Unicorns are symbols of purity, love, magic, wisdom, healing, mystery, wonder, and divinity. Seeing past illusions, so that the truth is revealed. All interwoven with massive awe-inspiring power. Don’t even think about messing with a unicorn. It will fuck you up.

Unicorns also transform the world around them. Poison into cures. Wounds healed. A trail of magic and flowers wherever they step.

Infinite possibilities.

I went through a major unicorn phase as a kid. I was a collector. I had figurines, pins, and a jewelry box that danced. Prismatic pictures framed on my bedroom walls, and I taught myself how to braid on a My Little Pony. I was so obsessed with the movie “The Last Unicorn” that I would scour the TV Guide every single week (for months!) looking for when it might come on tv. The only doll I really played with was She-Ra because she was awesome and rode on a freaking winged unicorn.

I can’t remember what it was about unicorns that drew me into this fanaticism, but I do remember that I was definitely not alone. I pretended I was a unicorn at recess with my friends. There was a whole herd of us. I exchanged unicorn stickers with my pen pals, and engaged in regular lengthy discussions with the neighbor about the distinctions and finer nuances between the unicorn, the pegasus, and our personal favorite - the unipeg.

Maybe the craze was just something that came along with the late 80’s, like fanny packs and those glow-in-the-dark shoelaces. But I think that there’s something timelessly captivating about the magic, the possibility, and the quiet power of the unicorn.

As an adult, it’s easy to dismiss the unicorn as a sidekick to magical thinking, dreamy wanderers who never actually do anything, and naive children. I even came upon a graphic in an article by a business coach warning about the dangers of those who follow the unicorn.

But as an adult it’s just as easy to have real appreciation for the unicorn and what it represents. There’s a reason it’s one of the most common inhabitants of historic family crests and folklore. There are plenty of schools who still use the unicorn as their mascot. I’m surprised that unicorns don’t play a larger role in Game of Thrones.

As a coach, I’m totally behind the power + possibility combo. These are two of the big topics I examine with my clients. I even love that unicorns have a bad rap in our collective consciousness among modern adults. It parallels one of the tenets of coaching so beautifully - that it is often our personal interpretation of the thing that holds us back, not the thing itself. There’s always an opportunity for looking through a new perspective, developing a new relationship, writing a new empowering story - that will shift how it goes for us. You can see through the illusions and gain access the truth of the matter.

Like the unicorn.

This week* I rediscovered unicorns.

Unicorns are awesome.