When we meet someone new, our default icebreaker is almost always the same: “What do you do?”
It feels harmless enough, yet that single question quietly boxes us into our current job title or daily role.
I used to dread being asked that when I had just had my babies and was a full-time mum, or while waitressing around having small children. I can still remember answering, “I’m just a mum.” (Oh, how I wish we weren't conditioned to treat staying home with young children as something to avoid or rush through—though that’s a story for another day.)
There is a question from my recent conversation with Cherie Mylordis that I haven’t stopped thinking about since we spoke:
What do you dare?
If someone had asked me “What do you dare?” during those years, I might have been caught off guard—but I know I would have answered with far more confidence. That question opens a completely different door. It asks what we care about, what we’d love to contribute, and what we might try if we gave ourselves permission to imagine bigger. Think about how much richer our conversations could become if we started there instead.
The Weight of the Choices We Hold Today
Cherie’s own family history makes that question feel even more urgent. When her mother got married, she was forced to leave her job because of the Marriage Bar—it was simply what women were expected to do at the time. Years later, watching Cherie build her career, her mum wondered aloud what she might have achieved had she been born in Cherie’s time.
That reflection carries both grief for the opportunities denied to the women before us and a quiet responsibility for the choices we hold today.
Yet, as Cherie pointed out in our conversation, many women still wait until they feel 100% ready before stepping forward. We tell ourselves we need one more qualification, one more piece of experience, or one more sign that we’re allowed.
What if we didn’t have to see the entire path before taking the first small step?
How to Use the “Dare, Ditch, and Dial” Framework
If you feel stuck at the starting line, Cherie shared a simple, practical way to create momentum without needing a ten-year plan:
Dare: Name what truly matters to you. Give yourself permission to say it out loud without immediately talking yourself out of it.
Ditch: Let go of something that is holding you back or no longer serves you—whether that’s perfectionism, an outdated expectation, or an obligation draining your energy.
Dial: Turn up the support, habits, or opportunities that will move you forward, even by an inch.
It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. Sometimes the bravest first step is simply admitting what you want.
Join the Conversation at Project Emerald Collective
At Project Emerald Collective, we exist to amplify women’s voices and help us recognize the agency we have in our everyday choices—sharing collective wisdom, trusting our inner guidance, and learning from one another's lived experiences.
My hope is to grow the Collective into an independent media platform where women’s ideas can be heard, shared, and carried further. We’re still building, and I’d love for you to help shape what it becomes.
So, what do you dare?
Send me a message via our Contact Page (or email hello@projectemerald.com.au) and share what you’d love to do, change, create, or contribute—even if you have no idea how you’ll get there yet. Or tell me about a moment when you took a small step before you felt ready. (With your permission, I may feature your story in an upcoming piece to encourage someone else.)
Share this post with a woman in your life who would love to sit with this question today.
Until next week, go well,
Eve x
