From C-suite to Second Act
I created a successful communications career after landing my dream job in my early thirties.
By my late fifties, my children were mostly grown and I was divorced. Deep down I also knew I was tired of promoting organizations and managing crises.
There was someone else inside who yearned for a different kind of life, to make a different kind of impact.
Antacids and a heart procedure pushed me to
create the life I wanted.
But I didn’t think I had any options. After all, I was nationally known as a leader in my field. So when I was recruited in my 60s to upgrade another communications department, I jumped in.
It was a 24/7 slog. The enormous stress translated to physical symptoms. I lived on antacids and even needed a heart procedure. But I felt I had to keep going. I figured this would be my last job.
One day I told a very wise friend (who happened to be a coach) how unhappy I was. She asked, "If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?"
I remembered how much I had loved learning coaching as part of a master’s degree program years before. I’d been using coaching techniques in my professional and personal life ever since.
Just imagining living life as a coach lit me up inside!
That’s when I started to create a blueprint for my Second Act.
I did the research on what it would take—including how to swing it financially. I updated my coaching training while still at the job.
And when I resigned, it was with a sense of purpose and clear direction—not to mention excitement.
