My Story
I’ve been where you are. And…I’ve done what you’re probably thinking of doing.
I was just three years into my marketing career, and I knew that it was not what I wanted to be doing for the rest of my life. And yet (well, not including a 1.5 year break to run my own dog walking/pet sitting business), I ended up doing it for 18 years.
Why? Because I felt like it was what I had to do and what I was supposed to be doing. The truth is, I didn’t know I had options.
A good chunk of my career was spent leading marketing initiatives for global companies like Unilever, Intel, McDonald’s, and Sony Pictures. The projects I worked on were glamorous and fun, and some even included working with celebrity clientele.
Was I Being Ungrateful?
These jobs were good jobs! In fact, they were the types of jobs some people dream of having, but something was missing and this path just didn’t feel right for me. I felt like my soul was being sucked dry, but I continued to chase job titles, brands, companies, and climb the ladder because, again, it felt like that’s what I was supposed to do.
After being laid off from Sony, I set out to use my powers for good. I designed a plan to transition into the nonprofit sector thinking that would be the missing puzzle piece.
I Set and Achieved My Goal of Pivoting Careers…Again
After months of networking coffees, job applications, and interviews, I landed a marvelous nonprofit job where I served as the marketing director for an organization that gives second chances to underserved youth while enhancing the communities of Los Angeles.
The experience was life changing and life affirming! The heart-centered work I was doing was fulfilling and made a real impact on other people’s lives. Each day, I was personally inspired and moved by the strength and resilience of our young people as they worked to overcome issues of street violence, incarceration, abandonment, homelessness, and more.
Still, there was this lingering feeling that something was missing from my life. Uh oh…
Time to Finally Figure Out That Missing Piece
As I began to dedicate time toward figuring out what was missing and what I wanted to do next, I thought about a concept that a friend previously introduced to me – becoming a life coach.
When the idea was first presented to me, I thought, "Really? That’s a thing?" I mean, I wanted to do something different, but maybe not that different. It felt so New-Agey, you know? Plus, at the time, the thought of making such a huge shift into something that I knew nothing about felt super overwhelming.
This time was different, though. I just felt like I had had enough, you know? So, through working with my own coaches to figure out what that missing piece was, I realized that coaching might actually be the right next step for me to take.
In September of 2016, I started my coaching certification program and knew instantly that this new path was the perfect fit for me. I graduated as a Certified Professional Coach in May 2017 and immediately launched my coaching business while still working full time as a marketing director.
This was the perfect arrangement…until it wasn’t.
The Point of No Return: A Health Scare
Fast forward to April 2018, when my side hustle was peaking, things in my personal life were incredibly intense, and it was the busiest and most stressful time of year at my full-time job. All told, I felt like I was suffocating.
One morning while writing a simple email, I began to experience numbness on the left side of my face, head and arm. I was terrified.
Initial signs pointed to a stroke, but as it turned out, it was a panic attack. Whoa. After extensive conversations with my doctor, who informed me I was doing way too much for one person to handle, he advised me to get my stress under control ASAP…or else.
This, combined with my values being challenged daily at my full-time job and realizing that my private coaching clients served as a mirror for me, I made the spine-chilling yet exciting decision to leave my full-time job to focus on building my coaching business.
For the first time in years, I am living and working on my own terms. I design my days, and am excited to get out of bed and take on whatever the day brings.
While I’m so glad for the leap, for the opportunities that have come my way, and for the tremendous personal growth I’ve experienced and continue to experience, there are still some really hard days, lots of discomfort, and sacrifices that I’ve had to make that might have been prevented if I had an action plan.
If you’re experiencing this right now and want to talk to me directly about my experience of the walls closing in on me, shoot me an email!
Don’t Quit Your Job…At Least Not Yet!
Thanks to my personal experiences, I am not AT ALL advocating for anyone to quit their job in the way I did. I am, though, strongly advocating for the fact that you do not have to keep working a job that at best, is no longer a fit for you, and at worst, you hate.
You CAN pursue the career of your dreams, do what YOU want do, and do it WITHOUT making massive changes to your life all at once.
But you have to get out of your head and decide that you’ve had enough.
How I Help You Call The Shots In Your Life
Using a unique blend of my extensive marketing, branding, and project management expertise, having to rebrand myself for my own pivots, my entrepreneurial experience, and my coaching skills and successes from working with women who were where you are, I teach you how to:
Get clear on what’s making you miserable, what you want to do next, and why.
Understand and better deal with what’s keeping you stuck and feeling overwhelmed.
Make the best of where you are right now.
Confidently brand yourself for what you want to do next.
Create a career makeover plan that is a strategic and a personalized action plan (with realistic steps) to get you from where you are to where you want to be.