The $528 billion opportunity 💰 I am the study.

May 29, 2026, Letter #22

Dearest,

Last week's letter stirred something in many of you. The response was overwhelming.

Women feeling seen and ready to stop performing and start building. And this is what I want to remind you: Lethal is not loud. It is not force. It is not the hustle you perform so people can see you working.

Lethal is presence.

The quiet moments when no one is watching. The difficult decisions that may break your own heart but you make them anyway because you have this inner knowing that what you are building, however quietly, however slowly, however imperfectly, is going to be so good and so specific and so fully yours that when it finally arrives, it will serve in a way nothing generic ever could.

I spent decades playing roles that were never mine.

And I vividly remember the feeling in my body when I knew I couldn't do that anymore. So in that moment, I made a decision. I stopped performing the version of myself that kept everyone else comfortable.

I chose myself even when it disappointed people who preferred the old version.

And everything, the clarity, the creativity, the capacity to build without destroying myself in the process, followed that one decision. I became my own study.

That is the data point. And I am not the only one. Women are doing this every day and being shamed for it. So I am here to tell you, you deserve to build and live a life that feels damn good in your body. And if it only makes sense to you right now, that's the point.

🤳🏽 And my body is learning something new. I am in week two of a VIP creator cohort I joined to build the muscle of consistency. I have posted on Instagram every single day. (please clap for me, it's harder than it looks)

To show myself that I can keep a promise, and to show you what building in public actually looks like from someone who is not waiting until it's perfect. (this post only took 30-minutes to make)

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My friend and I end every night texting each other our wins. The small ones from, I saw a hummingbird, I drank water, to the ones that happened between 9am and 9pm that no one else sees.

Because what you celebrate you repeat.

The women who are going to win this summer are the ones practicing that ritual right now. Send this to a friend you want to do this with. (Another friend, beside me 😉)

One of my wins this week? I redesigned The Table sales page and I think you should go see it.

The Table is where lethal gets built in real time. Every woman who has come through it walks out the version of herself that's deeper than her vision board. Come see what we built for you.

​Join The Table — June 18th →​

What's Moving
​The economy, the data, and what I'm paying attention to so you can become lethal.

💰 The K Economy and why you need to understand which side you're on.

The economy is splitting in two and most people don't realize they have a choice about which arm they land on.

Picture the letter K. The upper line curves upward. The lower line curves down. That's the economy right now, splitting into two completely different realities happening simultaneously. 80% of Americans recently said fast food now feels like a luxury. At the same time, luxury goods are selling out within 24 hours. The stock market keeps hitting new highs. AI is making a small group of people extraordinarily wealthy while not creating meaningful income for anyone who doesn't already own assets.

The wage gap for women sits at 81 cents for every dollar a man makes, and it's significantly wider for women of color.

My read: the K is not just happening to you. You can decide which arm you're on. Ownership, assets, and revenue streams you control are how you move up the curve. Not a bigger salary from someone else's company. The women in my world are choosing the upward arm, deliberately, strategically, one decision at a time.

💸 The creator economy is a $528 billion opportunity and women are driving it, just not always owning it.

In 2024, 72% of influencers were women. The global creator economy is projected to grow from $191 billion to over $528 billion by 2030. Women are building the audience. Not always capturing the revenue. The pay gap follows us into the creator economy too.

My pov: The shift is ownership. Your newsletter. Your event. Things you own that build equity, that don't disappear when an algorithm changes. The creator economy rewards the ones who stop renting attention and start owning it. If you were looking for a sign to get paid to be you, this is it.

🤑 In-person is not dying. It's becoming the most valuable thing you can offer.

66% of marketers say in-person events generated the most revenue in 2024, and 70% of planners expect in-person events to increase by up to 20% in 2026.

The golf course was always a place where real value was exchanged. We just weren't invited. So we're building our own.

This is why Thrive and Lead exists. This is why The Table exists. When women operate in the same room together, we get deals done. We hold each other accountable. We stop being each other's best-kept secrets.

What have you wanted to ask me? I'll make a social post for it. I'm posting every day during this cohort because consistency is the most underrated competitive advantage. @vanessasantosleon​

Until the next letter,

Vanessa

P.S. Glow Up is June 11th - live brand reviews and a special guest walking you through how your astrological Big 3 reveals how you lead, recharge, and show up in business. Sign up here. (if you’ve signed up before, you should already have the calendar invite)