What if the next chapter of your career was already taking shape, but you weren't quite ready to trust it? Eleanor Antonacci had a corporate career in marketing and a growing travel business she started as a passion project. She loved what she was building, but the security of a…
What if the job you’re desperate to leave is also the thing giving you the runway to leave well? I had to completely reframe my relationship with work before I could build what came next. Not forever. Just strategically. #TheLeapLounge #CareerChange #CareerTransition #Entrepreneurship #BuildYourRunway
Money is one of the biggest reasons we tell ourselves we can’t make a change yet. Maybe you want to leave your job, start something of your own, retire, move somewhere new, or simply build a life that feels more like yours. But then the practical questions show up: Can…
I keep thinking about this part of my conversation with Lauren—the idea that we don’t always have to know what comes next before we move. Sometimes experience gives us the clarity that planning can’t. Here’s a little of our conversation. Full episode of The Leap Lounge — link in bio.…
I keep thinking about this idea from Lauren: sometimes you don’t need to know exactly how everything will work out. You take the next step, pay attention to what unfolds, and leave a little room to be surprised. There’s something freeing about not demanding certainty before you move. Full conversation…
What happens when the freedom you’ve been looking for comes with more uncertainty than you expected? When an unexpected rent increase pushed Lauren Dionysius to reconsider what came next, Bali entered the picture. What followed became about much more than changing locations. Lauren joins Joan to talk about freedom, independence,…
What if the parts of your career that seem disconnected are actually preparing you for what comes next? Heather Terry joins Joan for a conversation about adaptability, expertise, AI, and what it means to follow a career path that makes more sense looking backward than it did while you were…
I loved this moment with Philecia because sometimes the dreams we put aside don’t actually disappear. They wait for us to pay attention again. Here’s a little of our conversation about the promise she made herself years ago—and what happened when she finally listened. Full conversation on The Leap Lounge.…
Sometimes changing your life isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about finally making enough space to recognize who you already are. After years of working at an intense pace, Philecia McCain found herself returning to a dream she had carried since childhood: living in Europe. Eventually, that dream led her…
This idea stayed with me after Laura and I finished recording: what changes when we stop treating people — or parts of ourselves — as something to discard? A little of our conversation from Buried Treasure. Full episode on The Leap Lounge. Link in bio.
What happens when being the person everyone relies on becomes the very thing that is wearing you down? Laura Brody joins Joan for a conversation about identity, art, boundaries, and what happens when the roles that once made you feel valuable no longer fit. Laura is a costume designer, curator,…
What happens when you’ve spent years becoming good at what you do—and suddenly find yourself becoming a beginner again? Kevin Gibson joins Joan for a conversation about service, identity, responsibility, and starting over without starting from nothing. Kevin’s path has taken him through military service, nursing, education, mentorship, and new…
Taking the leap is one thing. Living with what comes after it is another. After time away from the podcast, Joan Russell returns to The Leap Lounge with a deeply personal look at what happened after she stepped away from the path she thought she was supposed to follow. Because…
I keep thinking about the way Laura talked about becoming the person who could manage everything — including everyone else’s feelings. Sometimes the qualities people value most in us can quietly become roles we no longer know how to put down. And that can be a very difficult thing to…
I loved this reminder from Kevin (@kevin_gibson_2 on Instagram). Sometimes we put so much pressure on ourselves to make the whole change at once. Maybe the better question is simply: what can I do today? Full conversation on The Leap Lounge — link in bio. #TheLeapLounge #PersonalGrowth #Reinvention #SmallSteps #StartingOver
