What happens when the career you worked so hard to build no longer aligns with the life you need to live? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell with Carol Lin, former CNN and ABC News anchor, award-winning journalist, and author of When News Breaks: A Memoir of Love and War, to explore the personal reckoning that led her to leave corporate news and discover a new purpose.
Carol shares the pressures of navigating a highly competitive industry, the loss of her husband, and the decision to prioritize motherhood over a prestigious career.
This episode is a powerful reminder that you do not have to be defined by your greatest grief, your worst mistakes, or the expectations others place on you.
What You Will Learn:
- How women can navigate the pressures of high-achieving corporate environments.
- How major life transitions, including grief, motherhood, and changing personal priorities, can reveal when a once-successful career no longer aligns with the life they want to lead.
- How to turn personal experiences and challenges into purposeful work by identifying meaningful problems to solve and finding new ways to serve others. Why career transitions rarely follow a straight line and how to remain open to unexpected opportunities, professional connections, and new directions when an initial plan does not work out.
- How to approach a new industry or community with humility, curiosity, and a willingness to build trust before offering solutions or expertise.
- Why taking calculated risks and betting on yourself can open doors to opportunities that may not have seemed possible within your previous career.
- How reflecting on your personal story and lived experiences can help you identify your next chapter, reconnect with your purpose, and create a more meaningful definition of success.
If this episode has you thinking about leaving corporate to start a consultancy, begin here.
Assess the timing signals and readiness factors that may indicate it is time to begin planning your transition.
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