Four years ago today, on December 21, 2020, at 12 midnight, my job of 12-and-a-half years gave me an ultimatum:
move back to the US from Thailand,
within two hours of the office and within 6 weeks,
during the height of Covid—
all on my own dime—
or lose my job.
Oh, and no severance after nearly 13 years with the company.
It felt like a bomb dropped on my life
At that point, I had been living overseas for eight years, in six different countries, embracing the nomadic lifestyle I loved.
Just hours before the midnight meeting, I had celebrated the rare alignment of Jupiter and Saturn with friends on the beach—an event marking the closest they’d been in 400 years. We watched as the planets rose in the sky, their brilliance a stark contrast to the sense of foreboding I carried about the upcoming meeting
I’d never been called to a work meeting at midnight, let alone one involving the head of HR. I knew something big was coming—but I couldn’t have predicted this.
When they gave me the news, I burst into tears right there on Zoom, in front of my boss and HR. It felt like a breakup, and it was, in a sense. My job had been the longest relationship I'd ever had.
And though I’d grown to loathe it, it was the price I gladly paid for the freedom of my lifestyle.
But as I sat there, faced with their demands, my soul screamed a deafening “NO WAY” to their offer
The thought of moving back to the U.S. to live at home, go into debt for a car, rent a cookie-cutter apartment, and work part-time in the office felt like a dismal grayscale fantasy, and out of alignment with everything I valued.
While others might have seen it as the “safe” choice, especially during Covid, I knew I couldn’t trade my freedom for that.
I decided to trust the unknown, to retire from the paradigm of someone else calling the shots in my life.
Two weeks earlier, a seemingly random call started things shifting. A life coach I stumbled upon in a Facebook group offered a free session. On that call, I shared how I’d been toying with the idea of becoming a life coach.
After a year of deeply transformative service work in AA, I’d discovered a love for helping others and felt drawn to coaching. But I thought I needed years of expensive training to start.
The coach told me otherwise. “You’re already coaching in your service work,” she said. “Start now.”
And I did. I went out and coached two people that week as she challenged me to do, and I left those experiences knowing I had found my calling and my purpose
So when the ultimatum from my job came, I knew the universe was pushing me toward this path.
After the work bomb drop, I hired that coach to help me start my business. I still remember the meeting when she explained how her coaching worked.
It wasn’t structured as I expected, in paying for one-off sessions. It was a program with an upfront fee that cost almost as much as I had saved in the bank
I burst into tears again yet again on Zoom, but this time for totally different reasons.
This time I was faced with affordability, scarcity, and fear - my old familiar companions when it came to money.
I wanted this so badly, but how could I afford it with no job and little savings?
After sitting with it for a few days, a shift happened. I realized that it wasn't about the money or even the coaching - but by investing in myself through coaching I was choosing to believe in myself, to trust in and show up for myself. I decided to go for it - yet another decision that changed everything
Starting my coaching business was far from easy.
I set an income goal in my first 3 months that felt impossible, and I almost reached it. The big goal had called me to think bigger, and it worked. This was one of the many benefits I received from coaching.
The first year was a rollercoaster of highs and lows, but by the end of it, I had matched my corporate income
A few months into coaching, another inspired idea struck—to become a teacher on Insight Timer, the #1 free meditation app.
I began uploading meditations and hosting livestreams, starting with simple guided meditations with Reiki and gradually expanding into self-development and spiritual growth topics.
I also incorporated my experience with giving up sugar addiction into my coaching.
Each step built on the last, and I never gave up, despite making mistakes and humaning all along the way
And now today I'm writing you from the next phase in my journey - my current abode in Mexico
It all started a few months ago when I made the biggest investment yet in myself and my business by enrolling in a six-month coaching school.
The same month I made the decision, my business had its best month ever.
The income?
Exactly what I needed for the program.
As I always say, "You can't make this shit up!"
I'm so excited for what 2025 holds with new horizons in both my personal and professional life - and another place where I get to trust the unknown
Reflecting on that fateful December night in 2020, I’m grateful I had the courage it took to trust my intuition.
That single moment of bravery became the catalyst for a complete transformation—proof that life’s greatest leaps often come from trusting without knowing what may occur.
This journey hasn't been easy, but it’s mine. And I’d choose it again in a heartbeat. Life is about trusting the process, even in the face of uncertainty.
If you’re facing your own "bomb drop" moment, know that there is a life beyond your wildest dreams waiting for you on the other side.
All it takes is one baby step forward into the unknown.
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