For people carving their own path
I've been carving my own path since I dropped out of my Ivy League university. (I'm name-dropping because the same status-consciousness that repelled me while I was there is obviously very much alive in our culture.)
I couldn't shake the feeling that I was just going through the motions. There was such a gap between the highfalutin' language about why we go to college (to learn) and my felt experience of why people were really there (money. status. because it's what you do.).
I was developing my allergy to auto-pilot.
I ended up going back to Penn, on my own terms, a story I tell in my book, Improvising Adulthood. A professor assigned us to write an essay; I said, "I could, but I've written 1,000 essays. Could I write a play instead?" To her immense credit, she said "yes." At the same time, I did an independent study structured around the question, "What would it take to help more Penn students have a meaningful college experience?" I ended up proposing a required writing course for 1st-year students that encouraged self-reflection & intentional mapping of your own college journey.
I graduated Phi Beta Kappa, an honor that at first felt hollow (was it because I got all As?), and then became the most meaningful accomplishment of my young life, when I learned that faculty wanted to honor "the independent approach I took to my education."
I've been questioning "business as usual" & doing things my own way ever since. Leaving the security of a full-time role as editorial director of PBS.org to freelance. Leaving other jobs when they didn't serve me, years before other people were talking about "designing your life" or healing your nervous system. "Don't you miss the security of full-time employment?", people would ask. What I saw: Working for someone else provides an illusion of security. It can disappear in an instant. The power move is to know how to generate income for yourself. The real power move is to generate income while doing work that is deeply aligned with your values and your vision.
I've been self-employed for 20 years. I've written two books during that time, and numerous screenplays. I discovered the art of improv and performed all around the country. I've moved cities and gone from being a city mouse to a country mouse living happily in NY's Hudson Valley. I've spoken at SXSW and elsewhere.
Most significantly, I've raised a phenomenal neurodivergent child.
Why am I telling you all of this?
In case any element of my story helps you feel more seen, more validated, in the non-traditional choices that you're making.
Because I am an intuitive coach who wants to help you navigate your unique path - to swim against the status quo. I'm hosting an 8-week cohort this fall designed just for people like you, to help you move forward on something that matters to you deeply.
We need to hear more stories of how people have carved their own paths to fuel our collective courage around following what calls to us. More and more of us are seeing that the default way of living in this world is neither desirable nor sustainable. So what’s the alternative?
Let’s find out, together.
