I started with a bachelor’s degree in physics and went into touring children’s theater. Because that was the next logical step, obviously.

In my early 20’s, I was hired by a new Artistic Director of a regional theater to start a school theater program. Three months later, the director left before he could be fired, and I ran the theater for two months with the remaining company. Not surprisingly, I burnt out from trying to do everything.

I earned a Master’s in Counseling Psychology, which honed my listening skills. My degree included career counseling, which is traditionally taught as: take career interest tests, learn to create resumes and cover letters, and practice basic interviewing. It’s very generic and tactical, and light on doing actual market research to learn what’s available.

Even then, I knew something was missing. I wasn’t convinced that traditional therapy—or traditional career counseling—was my path. I wanted to help people in a more concrete way.

People and process skills came together when I became Dean of Faculty for a media arts college. My faculty members were all small business owners—artists, musicians, audio production engineers, social media business people. They taught me entrepreneurship as I sharpened their teaching skills.

Working as an internal consultant on the question “How do we know if students are learning what they need to succeed?” turned out to be great practice for helping people define their unique position and how to measure it.

In parallel, I grew and self-managed a rental property portfolio.

Then came my biggest transition: moving from college teaching and administration to Salesforce consulting.

The Transition That Changed Everything

When I decided to leave academia, I started with only the broadest idea of what I wanted: remote work that paid well. I spent months learning data science skills online. Looking back, I wish I had found a few data science people and asked them about the actual work. I would have saved so much time.

I learned about Salesforce through a LinkedIn connection and discovered it had a robust platform for independent learning. I mentioned to a friend that I was learning it, and she said that when I was ready, she’d be happy to introduce me to other Salesforce people.

She introduced me to Shannon, who introduced me to Sandra, who had an open position where she worked and was happy to be a referral.

Here’s what surprised me: I was completely open about my beginning-level technical skills. But I spoke confidently about my consulting and leadership skills, and I was brought in as a consultant. Within a bit over a year, I was leading projects.

That experience was a light bulb moment for how I now help my clients.

The Job Application Game is Broken

Here’s what works.

Starting by talking to people doing the work that interests you saves time and helps you find direction faster. I learned this the hard way, but you don’t have to.

Even when you’re changing industries, you have connections and second connections with opportunities for you. You’re closer to success than you think.

Being able to tell stories about past successes and highlight what you do well matters more than having every technical skill on day one. Organizations will take a chance on you when they trust you can learn.

But here’s the deepest lesson I learned—and this one came after that job transition.

I discovered the work of Robert Fritz and his concept of advancing versus oscillation structures. In his model, if there’s an unwanted belief in your structure, the closer you get to what you want, the more that unwanted belief will pull you away to keep you “safe.”

Working with this framework, I discovered that I had a belief I was a bad person. This was the belief of 5 year old me, and had nothing to do with who I actually was. BUT, because I had this unwanted belief hiding away, the closer I got to what I wanted, the more I moved away to keep people from discovering I was bad. It made it impossible for me to show up authentically because underneath, I thought I needed to protect everyone from how bad I was.

When I discovered this belief, it was a huge relief. I know I have that belief. I don’t have to fight it or hide it. And I can go for what I want without the stress of feeling like I have to pretend to be a good person.

This discovery transformed not just my career transitions, but my entire approach to work and life.

Why I Can Help You

Most career coaching focuses on tactics first: update your resume, optimize your LinkedIn, practice interview questions.

I do things differently. Tactics come after deep work.

Because if you don’t address what’s actually holding you back—those unwanted beliefs that pull you away from what you want—you’ll keep sabotaging yourself no matter how good your resume is.

Secondly, And here’s what most people don’t realize: connecting with people looks inefficient, but it’s actually the most effective way to make a career change. Especially compared to filling out hundreds of job applications and hearing nothing back.

When you do the deep work first, then build genuine connections, then communicate your value clearly—that’s when everything shifts.

I work with mid-career professionals who want to make a change before they’re forced to. Especially creative and good-hearted people in any field—people who care about being kind to others and the world.

If you’re scared or hesitant about making a move, imagine what it would be like if people were wishing they knew someone like you. That’s what becomes possible when you show up authentically and build real connections.

You’re closer to the career you want than you think. And you don’t have to figure it out alone.

P.S. And what if, having connected with like-minded people that leads to great new opportunities, you discover you need new skills? Well, isn’t it a lot more efficient and satisfying to build new skills once you’ve already connected with like-minded people who like and value you? Compare that with gaining new skills and then hoping to find the right job. Well, it’s like night and day. 

I show my love by sharing resources. The worst that will happen on the call is me recommending 5 million books and podcasts to you.