For years, I dreamed of a fulfilling career but had no idea what to do or how to get there.  I made the typical excuses like it’s not the right time, I don’t have the money, or it’s too risky. Until finally, after 25 years in the corporate world, the thought of the status quo was worse than the thought of change and I said, “Let’s go for it!”. Now I’m a coach helping people find career fulfillment and I love what I do!  But the road to get here wasn’t easy.

I grew up in Chicago (Go Cubs!) and early on, I fell into the traditional mindset that you go to a good college, get a good job, work hard for someone else, save some money and hopefully you can retire at some point to REALLY start enjoying your life.  But working in the corporate world was turbulent at best.  For 25 years, I endured what seemed like endless layoffs, restructuring, downsizing, reorgs, companies being bought and sold—you name it.  Everyone thinks that working for a company is so secure because you have a “steady” paycheck—well, so much for security!  Despite all that, I managed to get my MBA and my work allowed me to live in some beautiful places and travel internationally.  When I finally got the VP of Marketing job, making more money than ever, I thought, wow, I’ve made it. I knew something was wrong when everyone around me was so excited for my success and I was miserable.  I didn’t have the freedom, flexibility, or creativity that I craved and felt suffocated.   It got to the point where I stared at the four walls of my office and thought, “Is this it?”, “Is this all there is?”, there must be MORE!