WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.620 Welcome to the deep dive. Today, we're really 00:00:03.620 --> 00:00:06.419 digging into professional resilience. You know 00:00:06.419 --> 00:00:09.419 how those high growth tech careers, they almost 00:00:09.419 --> 00:00:11.259 never go in a straight line. That's right. We're 00:00:11.259 --> 00:00:13.480 looking at one specific journey today. It's got 00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:17.239 startups, corporate life, acquisitions, and yeah, 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:20.679 pretty decent dose of what felt like sudden career 00:00:20.679 --> 00:00:23.859 ending doom at the time. Yeah, exactly. And what 00:00:23.859 --> 00:00:27.000 we want to do is pull out the mindset, the sort 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:29.500 of operational thinking needed to navigate that, 00:00:29.539 --> 00:00:31.600 not just survive it, but actually use those setbacks. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:33.799 Use them as building blocks, really. We're trying 00:00:33.799 --> 00:00:36.679 to pinpoint those moments where, you know, anxiety 00:00:36.679 --> 00:00:39.579 got turned into action, profitable action, strategic 00:00:39.579 --> 00:00:41.759 action. There's this philosophy running through 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:44.880 the whole story. It's simple, but kind of sums 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:47.340 it up. The good days bring you happiness. The 00:00:47.340 --> 00:00:49.420 bad days give you experience. And we're trying 00:00:49.420 --> 00:00:51.460 to figure out how you cash in on that experience. 00:00:51.460 --> 00:00:53.619 Right. how you make it work for you. Because 00:00:53.619 --> 00:00:57.079 often from the outside you see this like multi 00:00:57.079 --> 00:01:01.000 -million dollar venture, but inside it can feel 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:04.040 like pure anxiety. The source material actually 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:06.900 uses this great Tina Fey quote. It captures that 00:01:06.900 --> 00:01:10.420 tension perfectly. Something like, my ability 00:01:10.420 --> 00:01:13.760 to turn good news into anxiety is rivaled only 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:16.579 by my ability to turn anxiety into chin acne. 00:01:16.819 --> 00:01:20.200 Huh. Yeah, that nails it. Especially when success 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:22.939 depends so much on, you know, funding and corporate 00:01:22.939 --> 00:01:25.359 buy -in. Totally. It sets the stage for these, 00:01:25.359 --> 00:01:27.739 like, anxiety mazes we're about to walk through. 00:01:27.739 --> 00:01:29.680 Okay, so let's start with that initial leap. 00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:32.760 This person, she had that classic itch, right? 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:35.579 Restless in her day job. Yeah. Didn't just want 00:01:35.579 --> 00:01:37.099 to work for a great company. She wanted to build 00:01:37.099 --> 00:01:40.180 one. That entrepreneurial fire. Which naturally 00:01:40.180 --> 00:01:42.959 led straight to needing capital. Money. And that's 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:45.780 where this, uh, surprisingly stressful little 00:01:45.780 --> 00:01:47.879 story comes in. to get funds, she's selling her 00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:51.519 own car. And she describes meeting the potential 00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:54.900 buyer in this neutral spot, a bowling alley parking 00:01:54.900 --> 00:01:57.340 lot of all places, because she was genuinely 00:01:57.340 --> 00:01:59.659 worried about giving out her home address. Felt 00:01:59.659 --> 00:02:02.540 unsafe. Wow. OK, so she's sitting there on the 00:02:02.540 --> 00:02:05.359 curb, stressed out. Totally stressed, terrified 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:07.019 the guy's going to just drive off with her car. 00:02:07.319 --> 00:02:10.569 And right there, that's the aha moment. Really? 00:02:10.629 --> 00:02:13.289 How so? It just solidified the need for a better 00:02:13.289 --> 00:02:16.990 way. A trusted C2C consumer to consumer platform, 00:02:17.430 --> 00:02:20.889 specifically for cars. You know, like eBay or 00:02:20.889 --> 00:02:23.930 Poshmark. But secure enough for high value stuff 00:02:23.930 --> 00:02:26.909 like vehicles. Gotcha. So that sparks the venture. 00:02:27.110 --> 00:02:31.370 And they launch with like intense prep. Oh yeah. 00:02:31.750 --> 00:02:34.729 Meticulous. Legal. Check. Real estate check. 00:02:35.370 --> 00:02:38.129 Recruiting. Ops manual. Check, check, check. 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:40.860 Ready for the big picture challenges of scaling 00:02:40.860 --> 00:02:43.580 this thing nationally. But launching is always 00:02:43.580 --> 00:02:46.259 different in reality, isn't it? There's always 00:02:46.259 --> 00:02:48.699 something. Always something. After all that prep 00:02:48.699 --> 00:02:51.000 for the huge stuff, the very first car they sell? 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:53.680 They realize they forgot the most basic tool 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:56.020 imaginable. Don't tell me. A screwdriver. No, 00:02:56.120 --> 00:02:58.280 no, to change the license plate. Exactly, a simple 00:02:58.280 --> 00:03:00.620 screwdriver. It's such a perfect little example. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:03.300 You can prepare for the giant regulatory nightmare, 00:03:03.620 --> 00:03:05.960 but miss the tiny operational detail right in 00:03:05.960 --> 00:03:07.840 front of you. So the lesson is, prep isn't everything. 00:03:07.939 --> 00:03:09.680 You just got to jump in sometimes. You got to 00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:11.800 start. Absorb those little lessons, the micro 00:03:11.800 --> 00:03:13.840 learnings, as they happen. OK, so the business 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:16.939 gets going. It scales fast. And then this Fortune 00:03:16.939 --> 00:03:20.580 750 company takes notice. They acquire it. Well, 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:23.199 they absorb the venture. She ends up co -founding 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:26.919 the car buying operation within this huge publicly 00:03:26.919 --> 00:03:29.939 traded company. Ah, so inside the beast, which 00:03:29.939 --> 00:03:31.919 sounds stable, but you said it brought new pressures. 00:03:32.020 --> 00:03:34.419 Huge pressure. She called it riding a speeding 00:03:34.419 --> 00:03:37.080 train while simultaneously laying the track. 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:40.340 They were moving at startup speed, innovating, 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:43.080 but inside this massive corporate structure with 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:46.120 all its rules. Compliance reporting. All that 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:48.360 fun stuff. Exactly. Bootstrapping, essentially, 00:03:48.740 --> 00:03:50.639 but under a public microscope. But it worked. 00:03:50.819 --> 00:03:54.300 I mean, the results. Undeniable success. Within 00:03:54.300 --> 00:03:57.599 just a year, 12 months, this internal group scaled 00:03:57.599 --> 00:04:00.039 nationally. They became the engine behind some 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:02.020 of the country's biggest car search websites. 00:04:02.379 --> 00:04:04.379 Wow. So everything's looking amazing, like a 00:04:04.379 --> 00:04:07.219 huge win. Looks like it. until it wasn't. Yeah. 00:04:07.319 --> 00:04:09.620 The success story hit a pretty abrupt wall. Okay, 00:04:09.719 --> 00:04:12.419 what happened? So fast forward five years. She's 00:04:12.419 --> 00:04:14.419 deep into running this operation. She's also 00:04:14.419 --> 00:04:16.620 heavily pregnant with her second child. She's 00:04:16.620 --> 00:04:18.600 at a conference in San Francisco. Actually looking 00:04:18.600 --> 00:04:21.560 forward to Sheryl Sandberg's lean -in keynote. 00:04:21.819 --> 00:04:24.180 Maybe get some inspiration, you know. And mid 00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:27.079 lecture, her phone rings. Oh boy. Not good news, 00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:29.430 I'm guessing. It's a parent company. The boards 00:04:29.430 --> 00:04:31.670 decided they want to change a direction, which 00:04:31.670 --> 00:04:33.629 basically means they need to start winding down 00:04:33.629 --> 00:04:35.769 this incredibly successful, thriving business 00:04:35.769 --> 00:04:38.509 she built. Wait, wind it down while she's listening 00:04:38.509 --> 00:04:41.910 to a talk about leaning in. An irony is just 00:04:41.910 --> 00:04:44.709 brutal. Right. Getting the message to effectively 00:04:44.709 --> 00:04:47.189 get out while hearing how to push harder in. 00:04:47.329 --> 00:04:50.269 So why? If it was so successful, why shut it 00:04:50.269 --> 00:04:53.410 down? Was it losing money suddenly? No, that's 00:04:53.410 --> 00:04:56.310 the fascinating part. Operationally, it was solid. 00:04:57.240 --> 00:05:00.000 Profitable. The source suggests the real problem 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:02.160 was structural. It was about how they had to 00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:04.660 report revenue. Ah, the accounting. Yeah, the 00:05:04.660 --> 00:05:06.639 methods they were using. Totally fine for private 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:09.680 company, but they just didn't mesh with the really 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:11.639 rigid reporting requirements of the publicly 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:14.519 traded parent company. So organizational fit 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:17.160 basically killed a successful operation. Pretty 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:19.959 much. It always trumps operational success when 00:05:19.959 --> 00:05:21.560 you report to a public board, doesn't it? Yeah. 00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:25.410 Wow. OK, so that call triggers... Well, I can 00:05:25.410 --> 00:05:27.730 only imagine an emotional crisis. A huge one. 00:05:28.050 --> 00:05:30.709 She's six months pregnant, facing, as she put 00:05:30.709 --> 00:05:34.350 it, impending business doom and impending diaper 00:05:34.350 --> 00:05:36.730 duty. And she still has to go to some professional 00:05:36.730 --> 00:05:39.569 dinner that night. Oh my god, just juggling that 00:05:39.569 --> 00:05:42.689 massive weight. And the stress, it hit physically, 00:05:43.329 --> 00:05:45.889 immediately. On the flight back home, she gets 00:05:45.889 --> 00:05:48.449 incredibly sick. Symptoms like a heart attack, 00:05:48.910 --> 00:05:53.340 just intense stress -induced illness. Jeez. That's 00:05:53.340 --> 00:05:55.040 terrifying. Yeah, the person next to her, some 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:57.699 tech guy, was apparently horrified. It shows 00:05:57.699 --> 00:05:59.779 you the real cost of running that hard when your 00:05:59.779 --> 00:06:01.839 whole system is just flashing red lights. And 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:04.779 then she gets home to face this impossible task. 00:06:04.860 --> 00:06:07.800 Totally impossible. Liquidate everything. And 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:10.480 somehow convince her team, the people who are 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:13.339 about to lose their jobs, to stay on and help 00:06:13.339 --> 00:06:15.040 shut it all down. Well, she's getting closer 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:17.139 and closer to her due date. Right. She knew the 00:06:17.139 --> 00:06:19.100 whole wind down process would take her right 00:06:19.100 --> 00:06:21.240 up to nine months pregnant. Unbelievable pressure. 00:06:21.470 --> 00:06:23.410 So what happens next? Does she just collapse? 00:06:23.810 --> 00:06:26.970 Not externally, not right away. And this is where 00:06:26.970 --> 00:06:30.209 that fear trap really kicks in. It's so relevant 00:06:30.209 --> 00:06:32.850 for anyone, you know, facing a big professional 00:06:32.850 --> 00:06:35.430 blow. How so? Well, she'd proven herself right. 00:06:35.610 --> 00:06:37.810 People knew her work. Industry colleagues were 00:06:37.810 --> 00:06:40.069 calling wanting to meet, discuss future roles. 00:06:40.269 --> 00:06:42.310 OK, so opportunities were there. They were starting 00:06:42.310 --> 00:06:45.170 to appear, but she just kept pushing, flying 00:06:45.170 --> 00:06:48.750 across the country for meetings driven by this 00:06:48.750 --> 00:06:52.120 fear stricken Anxiety, she called it. Terrified 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:54.879 of losing momentum. Running on fear. Totally. 00:06:55.420 --> 00:06:57.420 Until her doctor basically had to step in and 00:06:57.420 --> 00:06:59.259 say, you need to slow down or you're going to 00:06:59.259 --> 00:07:02.100 have this baby in another state. Wow. A literal 00:07:02.100 --> 00:07:05.240 wake up call. You mentioned her compass for decision 00:07:05.240 --> 00:07:07.540 making was malfunctioning. What did that look 00:07:07.540 --> 00:07:10.240 like practically? It meant she was just saying 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:12.240 yes to everything. Taking meetings, interviewing 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:16.220 for roles. But out of panic, not strategy. Reactive, 00:07:16.339 --> 00:07:19.069 not proactive. Exactly. She realized she was 00:07:19.069 --> 00:07:21.129 bombing these meetings because she was just running 00:07:21.129 --> 00:07:24.329 on fumes, making choices purely based on fear, 00:07:24.470 --> 00:07:27.829 fear of being unemployed, fear of becoming irrelevant, 00:07:28.149 --> 00:07:30.209 instead of looking at it like, is this actually 00:07:30.209 --> 00:07:32.930 a good opportunity? That immediate pressure to 00:07:32.930 --> 00:07:35.889 just do something, anything, blinding her to 00:07:35.889 --> 00:07:38.230 the need to do the right thing. Precisely. OK, 00:07:38.230 --> 00:07:41.649 but wait. She's a successful executive taking 00:07:41.649 --> 00:07:44.850 a full pause, stepping back. That feels like 00:07:44.850 --> 00:07:47.209 career suicide sometimes, doesn't it? How did 00:07:47.209 --> 00:07:49.889 she justify hitting pause? She reframed it. She 00:07:49.889 --> 00:07:52.290 realized the pause wasn't stopping. It was recalibrating. 00:07:52.310 --> 00:07:54.970 It was necessary. OK. So she deliberately stepped 00:07:54.970 --> 00:07:57.850 back, started reading, listening to podcasts, 00:07:58.290 --> 00:08:00.470 seeking inspiration. But critically, she also 00:08:00.470 --> 00:08:02.110 got really clear on what she actually wanted 00:08:02.110 --> 00:08:05.050 next. She built a framework. Ah, the three -legged 00:08:05.050 --> 00:08:07.529 stool. This sounds important. It was her filter, 00:08:07.910 --> 00:08:11.009 her way to fix that broken compass. For any future 00:08:11.009 --> 00:08:13.189 entrepreneurial thing she'd consider, it had 00:08:13.189 --> 00:08:16.139 to meet three specific criteria. No exceptions. 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:18.620 Okay, what are the three legs? Right. Number 00:08:18.620 --> 00:08:21.600 one, the market timing had to be right. Is the 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:23.959 world ready for this idea now? Makes sense. Number 00:08:23.959 --> 00:08:28.139 two, the dollars. Real funding. Enough to actually 00:08:28.139 --> 00:08:30.600 support sustainable growth. Not just keep the 00:08:30.600 --> 00:08:32.980 lights on for six months. Crucial. And number 00:08:32.980 --> 00:08:35.720 three. The right team. The right people to partner 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:38.879 with. Skills, vision, temperament, the whole 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:41.820 package. Market, money, team. If any leg was 00:08:41.820 --> 00:08:45.919 wobbly. The opportunity was out, instantly disqualified. 00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:48.519 It gave her this objective way to evaluate things 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:50.779 instead of just reacting out of fear. Smart. 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:52.879 So armed with this new filter, she doesn't jump 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:55.720 into a permanent job. No. Instead, she makes 00:08:55.720 --> 00:08:58.259 this really strategic pivot into short -term 00:08:58.259 --> 00:09:01.120 consulting, even taking projects a bit outside 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:04.100 her usual wheelhouse. Consulting. After running 00:09:04.100 --> 00:09:06.200 a national operation, did that feel like a step 00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:08.299 down? You might think so, but it was actually 00:09:08.299 --> 00:09:10.820 brilliant. She said she started networking like 00:09:10.820 --> 00:09:13.460 it was her job. Ah, using it as intel gathering. 00:09:13.820 --> 00:09:15.580 Exactly. Consulting let her expand her skills, 00:09:15.700 --> 00:09:18.139 test the waters in different areas, meet potential 00:09:18.139 --> 00:09:20.240 partners, see who was doing interesting things, 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:22.779 all without the long -term commitment. And it 00:09:22.779 --> 00:09:26.639 gave her head space. Clarity. Huge clarity. She 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:29.539 actually realized that some of her best, most 00:09:29.539 --> 00:09:31.919 innovative ideas came during those reflective 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:34.559 periods, not when she was in the thick of operating. 00:09:34.779 --> 00:09:37.000 That's a really key point for anyone listening 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:40.279 who might be in a down cycle or pause. It's not 00:09:40.279 --> 00:09:43.220 wasted time. Not at all. And she also realized 00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:45.960 something else important. What's that? Her personal 00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:48.580 brand was strong, really strong. Think about 00:09:48.580 --> 00:09:51.940 it. She was getting job offers while nine months 00:09:51.940 --> 00:09:54.059 pregnant and actively shutting down her last 00:09:54.059 --> 00:09:56.360 business. Yeah, that says something. It says 00:09:56.360 --> 00:09:58.799 people value your track record and your potential. 00:09:59.340 --> 00:10:01.539 She realized, you know, you're constantly being 00:10:01.539 --> 00:10:03.820 evaluated for roles that don't even exist yet 00:10:03.820 --> 00:10:05.820 based on how you handle yourself, especially 00:10:05.820 --> 00:10:08.320 through difficulty. So leverage that brand. Okay, 00:10:08.360 --> 00:10:10.539 so the consulting and the three -legged stool, 00:10:10.960 --> 00:10:15.100 how did that lead to the next big thing? Well, 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:17.759 that networking paid off. A contact from her 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:19.759 previous gig, the one that scaled really fast, 00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:22.559 reached out, had an idea, a potential venture. 00:10:22.580 --> 00:10:24.440 And she runs it through the checklist? Ran it 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:26.720 through the three -legged stool, right market 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:30.330 timing, check. sustainable funding, big check. 00:10:30.549 --> 00:10:33.169 This one had serious backing. Oh yeah. Who's 00:10:33.169 --> 00:10:35.690 involved? Some heavy hitters. Billionaire entrepreneurs, 00:10:36.110 --> 00:10:38.350 actually. Eric Levkowski and Brad Kiwell, guys. 00:10:38.690 --> 00:10:42.210 Known for huge successes like Groupon. Experts 00:10:42.210 --> 00:10:45.289 in big data aggregation. Wow. Okay, so definitely 00:10:45.289 --> 00:10:47.730 the right team, and dollars legs were solid. 00:10:47.929 --> 00:10:50.649 Absolutely. She had successfully used that pause, 00:10:50.690 --> 00:10:53.370 that reflection, to position herself for a partnership 00:10:53.370 --> 00:10:56.860 with truly visionary, rock solid investors. She 00:10:56.860 --> 00:11:00.100 joined them. OK, so she dives into this new, 00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:03.139 well -funded venture. And this leads us to the 00:11:03.139 --> 00:11:06.120 first full circle moment, which is honestly kind 00:11:06.120 --> 00:11:08.639 of mind blowing. It really is. She works hard, 00:11:08.820 --> 00:11:10.799 builds this new venture, makes it successful, 00:11:10.820 --> 00:11:13.399 and then she leads the sale of that business. 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:16.080 Don't tell me. To the exact same Fortune 750 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:18.259 parent company. No way. The one that told her 00:11:18.259 --> 00:11:20.919 to get out five years before. The very same one. 00:11:20.980 --> 00:11:23.299 The structure, the timing. It was all wrong back 00:11:23.299 --> 00:11:26.830 then. But now. She'd proven the concept's value 00:11:26.830 --> 00:11:28.929 externally, built it successfully, and sold it 00:11:28.929 --> 00:11:30.850 right back to them. An incredible validation. 00:11:31.049 --> 00:11:34.370 That is incredible. Vindication almost. So after 00:11:34.370 --> 00:11:36.570 that major win, what's next? Start another one. 00:11:36.970 --> 00:11:39.610 She actually decided against starting from scratch 00:11:39.610 --> 00:11:42.450 again. Her focus shifted. She wanted to partner 00:11:42.450 --> 00:11:44.809 with really solid teams, visionary entrepreneurs. 00:11:45.889 --> 00:11:49.850 immerse herself in the ecosystem. Wow. Investing, 00:11:49.990 --> 00:11:53.730 mentoring, more strategic consulting. Her philosophy 00:11:53.730 --> 00:11:56.850 became, discovery is always in the doing. Keep 00:11:56.850 --> 00:11:59.330 engaging, keep learning. Okay, staying active. 00:11:59.450 --> 00:12:02.009 And that doing led her to another key consulting 00:12:02.009 --> 00:12:04.690 gig, this time with a company called Fusion, 00:12:05.509 --> 00:12:07.570 really cutting edge Silicon Valley tech. What 00:12:07.570 --> 00:12:09.970 were they doing? Applying 3D computer vision 00:12:09.970 --> 00:12:12.850 to machine learning, specifically in the automotive 00:12:12.850 --> 00:12:16.080 space. So it perfectly blended her deep auto 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:19.480 industry knowledge with this advanced AI tech. 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:21.480 Very cool. And I have a feeling this leads to 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:24.240 the second full circle. You guessed it. The story 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:27.259 doesn't stop there. Fusion, this innovative tech 00:12:27.259 --> 00:12:29.879 company she's consulting for, gets acquired. 00:12:30.019 --> 00:12:32.279 By? By the same company. The one that had acquired 00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:34.340 her first venture. The one where she got that 00:12:34.340 --> 00:12:36.360 crisis call during the Sandberg talk years ago. 00:12:36.519 --> 00:12:37.740 The one that had just bought her second venture. 00:12:37.820 --> 00:12:40.840 Seriously, they bought Fusion too. Yes, which 00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:43.559 put her right back inside that same large organization 00:12:43.559 --> 00:12:46.440 again. But this time, this time, this time she 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:50.000 wasn't being pushed out. She was brought in proudly 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:53.779 leading their top tier AI powered vehicle inspection 00:12:53.779 --> 00:12:57.580 application, the exact role that leveraged everything 00:12:57.580 --> 00:13:00.080 she'd learned. Wow. So the timing was wrong all 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:02.539 those years ago. Completely wrong then. But because 00:13:02.539 --> 00:13:05.139 she didn't just quit, because she recalibrated, 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:08.080 used consulting to pivot, gained skills in AI 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:10.940 and computer vision. she became the perfect fit 00:13:10.940 --> 00:13:17.059 years later. finally matched her evolved skill 00:13:17.059 --> 00:13:19.620 set. What a journey. From that stressful bowling 00:13:19.620 --> 00:13:22.539 alley, parking lot, car sale. To leading a flagship 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:24.840 AI product inside the very company that once 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:27.259 represented her biggest professional setback. 00:13:27.379 --> 00:13:29.580 It just hammers home that careers aren't ladders. 00:13:29.659 --> 00:13:31.960 They're roller coasters, right? Twists, turns, 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:34.360 unexpected drops. Absolutely. And those closed 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:36.679 doors, they weren't failures. They were necessary 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:39.860 detours that ultimately opened up paths to way 00:13:39.860 --> 00:13:42.080 more interesting, complex work. Work she might 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:44.539 never have found otherwise. Exactly. She ends 00:13:44.539 --> 00:13:48.120 with this really insightful point. It often takes 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:51.240 time, distance from an event, to see the why, 00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:54.039 to understand how it fits into the bigger picture. 00:13:54.259 --> 00:13:56.039 Yeah, the first reaction when a door slams shut 00:13:56.039 --> 00:13:59.860 is usually fear, maybe panic, urgency. Right. 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:03.340 But the real skill... The resilience is in taking 00:14:03.340 --> 00:14:05.620 that breath, stepping back, using a filter like 00:14:05.620 --> 00:14:08.259 that three -legged stool, and looking for the 00:14:08.259 --> 00:14:10.720 actual opportunity hidden inside the setback. 00:14:10.820 --> 00:14:13.139 It reminds me of that Amy Poehler quote about 00:14:13.139 --> 00:14:16.399 career drive. How careers are like MSG. Uh -huh, 00:14:16.500 --> 00:14:18.879 yeah. How does that go? She says, no matter how 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:20.639 much of one you've had, you always want more. 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:23.139 That relentless energy to find the next challenge. 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:25.460 That fits perfectly. So maybe the final thought 00:14:25.460 --> 00:14:27.440 for you, the listener, is this. Take a second 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:29.570 and reflect on your own momentum. right now. 00:14:29.830 --> 00:14:32.409 Yeah. Is there a decision you're making, maybe 00:14:32.409 --> 00:14:34.570 subconsciously, that's based purely on fear? 00:14:34.870 --> 00:14:37.110 Fear of losing ground, fear of missing out, fear 00:14:37.110 --> 00:14:40.590 of irrelevance, rather than based on those solid 00:14:40.590 --> 00:14:42.809 three -legged stool qualifications, you know? 00:14:43.110 --> 00:14:45.590 Is this a real opportunity? Is the timing right? 00:14:45.830 --> 00:14:48.049 Is the team right? Is the support sustainable? 00:14:48.250 --> 00:14:50.789 Maybe it's time to stop running on fumes, hit 00:14:50.789 --> 00:14:53.429 pause for a beat, and choose your next door strategically, 00:14:53.769 --> 00:14:54.490 not fearfully.