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How to Avoid Burnout
Without Stepping Back From Your Career
Without Stepping Back From Your Career
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I began working at the age of 11. I grew up in a modest family and dad didn’t allow us to buy a lot of things. But I loved the freedom of having my own money. It never occurred to me that I would be anything other than a businesswoman.
I busted my ass, and by 30, I was International Vice President of a billion-dollar corporation. I had a driver, housekeeper, and personal shopper.
I thought the pace of life would slow down, that I would have more room to breathe. I felt like I was constantly holding my breath.
But life didn’t slow down. The pressure went up.
I lived in fear of losing my place at the table, and I always left meetings with the most work.
And I was always rushing; I couldn’t even find the time to make a dentist appointment. (One top-level female executive horrifyingly pointed out, “Why do you think we all wear dentures?”)
A leadership coup soon gave me my wish. I was ousted.
I could have found a leadership position in many companies around the globe, but I was so burned out that I walked away from the comp, the benefits, and the perks that I’d worked so hard to attain. All I wanted was to sleep.
I sold everything, including my coveted garden home. Overnight, I went from the bitch in heels to beach bum in the Virgin Islands, ironically teaching burned-out executives how to scuba dive.
My pay was $8/hour.
My new low-pressure life was simpler, but it wasn’t fulfilling. Plus $8/hour was a problem.
And before I knew it, I was merchandising the dive shop, sharpening customer service, and improving the bottom line. I loved the ambitious bad-ass in me, but fear of overwhelm and burnout quickly snuffed out any thoughts of returning to executive life.
After a year in the Virgin Islands, I moved to Florida to be a cave diver, married my husband, Scott, and after a couple of years of low-budget living, I re-entered the corporate world because we started our family of four.
My husband and I took up these questions together, united in our determination to find a better way.
We turned our family into a testing ground for how we could live well while holding down highly successful careers. Slowly but surely, we figured it out. My life was peaceful, content, and full, even with a demanding career.
And finally, I could see what I’d been blind to previously; a lesson that cost me $2 million in lost compensation to figure out.
Figuring out a better way to live allowed me to have the best of both worlds; a high-level career and low-pressure, happy living!
One day I wrote a LinkedIn article about my journey: “Why I Traded My Lipstick and Pinstripe Suit to Live on an Island”. I wanted to share the discoveries that had helped me so much. I published it at 4am, thinking it would likely gather only a handful of likes. But by noon, my inbox had blown up!
More women than I ever imagined felt precisely in the same tough spot that I did when exhaustion prompted me to walk away from my high-level job.
Today my company, The Goodlife Institute, teaches people to change how the game of success is played in the workplace. We help hyper-successful executives realize they are working 10x harder than necessary… and guide them to retain their outstanding careers, avoid burnout, and enjoy deeply fulfilling personal lives.