Reflections As I was cleaning the farmhouse today, a task that always brings a sense of order to my mind, I found myself thinking about the bizarre advice I’ve been fed by others when it comes to professional reputation: “Don’t mention your side business. Hide your real estate activity. Don’t list fractional advisory roles. If […]
Category: Household Finance
Engineering a More Perfect Move
Reflections Just days remain before Mike and I leave our Colorado home of 20 years (25 total in the Pikes Peak Region) for our farm in Kentucky. This entire moving process has been incredibly exhausting, but in retrospect, Mike and I did a few things right. • Debt Free: We entered this move with zero […]
A Talk With Kate: Letting Wisdom Take a Backseat to Wonder
Reflections A Chance Encounter in the Outdoors On a recent summer camping trip with my husband and friends, I had the pleasure of meeting Kate, a vibrant young woman in her early twenties who worked at the ranch where we were staying. She radiated the kind of boundless energy, enthusiasm, and wide-eyed optimism about life […]
Corporate Stockholm Syndrome
Reflections In this final segment of my career, I’ve worked for “Mega Corp”, Fortune 100 behemoths. Prior to this stage, I worked for much smaller companies, mostly software firms with fewer than 1,000 employees. I had a very scary realization shortly after onboarding at Mega Corp 1 (which has been confirmed at Mega Corp 2): […]
I Hope Retirement Didn’t Slip Out of Your Hands
Reflection Over the years, I’ve worked with plenty of professionals making really, really good money. Certainly plenty of people earning a comfortable $150,000-$250,000 per year. But executives aside, I’ve worked alongside and am networked with folks who, as sale representatives or consultants, have had a few back-to-back years earning mid- high-six figures. I wouldn’t be […]
Sleep Better with an Escape Plan
A few months ago, I was a bit on edge. I knew that I was mentally done with my career and my husband and I talked a lot and dreamed together about “what’s next?” Yet I found myself feeling frustrated, like I was frozen with the pause button on, unable to move forward but not […]
Late career: Don’t overstay your welcome
REFLECTIONS Timing your corporate exit A lot of factors go into deciding when to exit your career. Many of these factors, including financial readiness, are deeply personal. Many people just seem to have an innate sense of when it’s time to exit stage left. Others, however, persist well past their professional expiration date. Let me […]