Updating My LinkedIn Today
As I update my LinkedIn profile, I want to take a moment to reflect on my journey and share my story with anyone standing at their own crossroads. If you’re established in your career and wondering if it’s too late to start over, I hope this gives you the encouragement to take that first step - whether that means reimagining, reinventing, or simply giving yourself permission to explore what’s next.
The Breaking Point
In 2020, during the height of shelter-in-place, I was stretched impossibly thin. I was a mom to two little kids deep in the terrible twos and fearsome fours, a full-time management team member, and a less-than-great wife. Work bled into every corner of my home. I was constantly in meetings, with my phone and laptop always within arm’s reach (yes, even in the bathroom 💩 and in bed 😴), never fully present anywhere.
During work calls, my biggest concern wasn’t always solving the problem. It was making sure no one could hear my kids crying and screaming in the background. One call is seared into my memory. My daughter was crying, tugging at my pajama pants (the official Zoom uniform), begging for my attention, just wanting her mama. But the call was about an outage caused by my team. So I had to ignore her. I chose to ignore her. That guilt didn’t just break me. It shattered me.
I had to make impossible choices every day:
🔹 Comfort my kids or focus on an outage call?
🔹 Cook for my hungry little ones or support my team through uncertainties?
🔹 Put my overtired kids down for a nap or plan the next quarter’s projects?
And in this exhausting "this or that" debate, my husband wasn’t even a factor, not because he didn’t care, but because my mental load was so overwhelming that I didn’t have the capacity to even think about how our marriage was holding up.
Leaving Behind What I Loved
In 2021, after 20 years in tech, I resigned. No backup plan. No next move lined up. Just an urgent need to reclaim my life.
The hardest part? Aside from walking away from a stable tech income, I walked away from the people. I was lucky to work with some of the most brilliant, kind, and driven individuals. My senior management team was nothing short of incredible - leaders I deeply respected, who challenged me and supported me in equal measure. Leaving them was painful. But I knew that if I stayed, I would lose myself.
An Undisturbed Life
For the first time in two decades, my life was quiet. Unrushed. Undisturbed. My kids were still knee-deep in tantrums, but this time, I was there for all of it. Every meltdown, every big feeling, every small moment I would have otherwise missed.
I wasn’t waking up to an avalanche of Slack messages or mentally running through my never-ending to-do list while pretending to be present. I wasn’t consumed by planning the next quarter’s roadmap or praying to the PagerDuty gods that we'd be incident-free that day.
Instead, I had space. Space to think. To breathe. To be with my family. And eventually, space to dream about what was next.
Starting Over
I started from scratch in an industry I had no experience in. No roadmap. No framework. Just a willingness to learn and a belief that I could figure it out.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d last or if I’d even make it work. I was back to being a beginner, fumbling my way through something entirely new. But for the first time in years, I was fully in charge of my schedule.
Along the way, I met more brilliant and driven people who shaped my journey, proving that reinvention isn’t just about finding a new path; it’s about finding the right people to walk it with.
It Was So Scary!
Making a major career change is terrifying. Here are some of the fears I faced, and how I learned to navigate them:
🔹 Fear of Financial Instability – Walking away from a steady paycheck was terrifying. But I realized financial security doesn’t have to come from just one source. I built a safety net, explored new income streams, and gave myself time to figure things out without panic. Along the way, I discovered that the right investments, both in myself and in real estate, could create stability sooner than I expected.
🔹 Fear of Losing My Professional Identity – For years, my job title was a core part of who I was. Without it, I felt like I had lost a piece of myself. But I slowly realized my value wasn’t tied to a role; it was in my ability to adapt, problem-solve, and keep learning.
🔹 Fear of Starting Over – The idea of being a beginner again, of not knowing what I was doing, was overwhelming. But then I reminded myself: Every skill I have today started somewhere. I just had to take the first step.
The truth is, fear doesn’t disappear; it just becomes something you learn to walk alongside.
Today
Three years later, I’m in a career that challenges me in different ways. I’ve built something real - acquiring new skills, growing as a real estate professional, and proving that starting over doesn’t mean starting from nothing. And as I continue to grow, I’m excited for the opportunities ahead, especially those built on shared vision and partnership.
The best part? Success is no longer tied to constant urgency. I get to design my own schedule. I get to be present for my family while still pushing myself to grow.
This isn’t a story about chasing your passion or finding your “true calling.” It’s about making a change when something no longer works for you. It’s about letting go of a version of success that no longer fits, and having the courage to redefine it.
Can You Relate?
If you’re at your own crossroads, wondering if it’s too late to make a change, I hope this gives you the push to take that first step. Reinvention is always possible. Drop me a comment or a DM if you want to share your thoughts.
