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Freedom & Fulfillment: How I Left My VP Role

 

When Success on Paper Isn't Enough

 

Do you ever feel like you're checking all the boxes everyone else thinks you should want, but something's still missing? Maybe you've built what looks like success on paper – the title, the salary, the recognition – but you wake up every morning wondering "Is this really it?"

 

Or maybe you know there's something more fulfilling out there, but the security of what you have feels too important to risk. You watch others who seem to have found their path to real fulfillment while you're stuck in what you think is expected of you rather than what energizes you.

 

Today, I'm not just sharing four powerful keys to design your own fulfillment – I'm also sharing my own story of how I left my role as a Vice President to build a business that gives me total freedom and fulfillment. Because sometimes the most powerful strategies come from someone who's walked the exact path you're considering.

 

Building on our self-awareness episode, where we explored how to uncover what truly matters to you, today we're taking that self-awareness to the next level. Because knowing yourself is just the beginning. The real transformation happens when you use that knowledge to intentionally design a life that reflects your deepest values and creates genuine fulfillment.

 

Watch the full episode here: Fulfillment Fridays: Freedom & Fulfillment: How I Left My VP Role

 

4 Powerful Keys to Design Your Own Fulfillment

 

I want to share four powerful keys that will help you create your path to real fulfillment:

 

Key 1: Discovering What Matters Most

 

This is your foundation for making decisions that align with your authentic self. Here's what this looks like:

 

• Identify the moments when you feel most alive and energized – not just productive, but genuinely fulfilled by what you're doing
• Examine the gap between what you say matters and how you actually spend your time and energy each day
• Question the "shoulds" in your life – which expectations are truly yours versus what others have placed on you
• Create a clear picture of what fulfillment means to YOU, not what society or your industry defines as achievement

 

Discovering what matters most gives you the clarity to make authentic choices instead of following someone else's definition of success.

 

Key 2: Creating Your Legacy

 

This is how you define the impact you want to make and the person you want to become. Here's what this includes:

 

• Envision the difference you want to make in other people's lives – what change do you want to be known for creating
• Consider what you want people to say about how you showed up in the world when you're no longer here
• Identify the values you want to model for the people who matter most to you, especially if you're a parent or mentor
• Design work that serves something greater than just your own advancement or financial gain

 

Creating your legacy ensures your choices align with the lasting impact you want to make.

 

Key 3: Growing Your Way

 

This is your approach to personal and professional development that honors who you are. Here's what this means:

 

• Commit to learning and growing in areas that genuinely interest you rather than just what's expected in your field
• Seek mentors and communities that support your authentic path, not just your current role or industry
• Invest in skills and experiences that build the life you actually want, even if they don't fit traditional career advancement
• Create accountability systems with people who believe in your vision and will challenge you to stay true to it

 

Growing your way means developing yourself in alignment with your authentic goals, not just external expectations.

 

Key 4: Living in Balance

 

This is how you integrate all areas of your life so they support rather than compete with each other. Here's what this means:

 

• Design your work schedule and commitments around your energy patterns and personal priorities
• Create boundaries that protect what matters most while still allowing you to make the impact you want
• Build flexibility into your life so you can be present for the moments and relationships that truly matter
• Regularly evaluate whether your choices are moving you toward or away from the life you actually want to live

 

Living in balance creates harmony between your work and personal life instead of constant competition for your time and energy.

 

 

From VP Success to Authentic Fulfillment

 

Let me show you how these four keys transformed my own life, because this isn't just theory – this is exactly how I redesigned my entire career and created the fulfillment I'd been searching for.

 

I was the definition of what society calls successful – Vice President of Strategy and Growth, MBA, climbing the corporate ladder, significant salary, recognized as a thought leader within my industry. I had checked every box that everyone else thought I should want, all while raising my daughter as a sole parent and building what looked like an impressive career on paper.

 

The breaking point: But I woke up every morning with this growing sense of emptiness and dread, wondering "Is this really it? Is this what I worked so hard for?" I was spending long hours transforming the organization I worked for, achieving goal after goal, but it wasn't fulfilling.

 

The realization: The breaking point finally came at the end of last year when I realized I was no longer aligned with the organization I was working for and no longer wanted to be someone else's employee. Through attending Tony Robbins events and working with various coaches over the years, I had seen countless others living fulfilling lives by setting their own pace and making their own path.

 

My transformation process:

 

• Through Discovering What Matters Most, I realized my corporate career wasn't aligning with my core values. I was having an impact on the company I worked for, but I wasn't having the type of people impact that was most important to me and I was missing the flexibility and time to build a deeper authentic connection with my daughter during her teenage years
• By Creating My Legacy, I completely redefined what success meant to me. It wasn't about titles or traditional markers anymore – it was about making a meaningful difference in people's lives while showing my daughter what it looks like to follow your own fulfillment
• With Growing My Way, I committed to developing my coaching skills and building a business that gives me tremendous flexibility, allowing me to be present for what truly matters. The Tony Robbins community showed me what is possible when you work with a coach and have real accountability
• Through Living in Balance, I completely redesigned my career – I traded those corporate demands for a coaching business that serves a greater purpose, creating the flexibility to spend quality time with my daughter while making the impact I'd always wanted to make with others

 

The results: What started as feeling successful on paper but left me completely unfulfilled became this incredible career transformation. I went from dreading the energy drain of corporate demands to waking up every day excited about the impact I'm making. Now, I make it a point to take several weeks out of the year to contribute and give back to the Tony Robbins community as a member of the Crew and soon to be Senior Leader because of the incredible impact that community continues to make on my journey.

 

4 Questions to Start Designing Your Own Fulfillment 

 

Time to turn insight into action – here's exactly how to use these four keys to start designing your own fulfillment today:

 

Question 1: What Makes You Feel Most Alive?

 

What activities or moments make you feel most alive and energized?

 

Question 2: What Legacy Do You Want to Create?

 

What legacy do you want to create through your work and relationships?

 

Question 3: How Would You Invest in Yourself?

 

What skills or experiences would you invest in if you knew you couldn't fail?

 

Question 4: What Would Create Better Balance?

 

What would need to change in your current life to create better balance and alignment?

 

Designing Your Path to Real Fulfillment

 

Designing your fulfillment isn't about having all the answers – it's about having the courage to start asking the right questions and taking aligned action. This transformation didn't happen overnight, but using these four keys gave me a roadmap from feeling successful on paper to living with genuine fulfillment.

 

The magic happens when you stop following someone else's definition of success and start creating your own path based on what truly matters to you.

 

Ready to Design Your Own Path to Real Fulfillment?

 

If you're ready to explore how we can work together to design your path to real fulfillment, I'm here to help. As a life and career coach, I specialize in helping professionals transition from external success to authentic fulfillment while maintaining the security and impact that matter to them.

 

About the Author: Ann Jones is a life and career coach with 25+ years of experience helping professionals create fulfillment. Learn more about Ann's background.

 

Explore my coaching services to learn more about coaching options and support for your fulfillment journey.

 

Which of these four keys resonates most with your current situation, and what's one small step you could take this week to start designing your own fulfillment? Share in the comments below – I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

 

Related Reading:

Self-Awareness Simplified: 3 Daily Tools for Confident Decisions – Build daily practices that turn self-knowledge into confident decision-making.

 

15 Life Changing Questions for Deeper Self Discovery – Get the free handout with the foundational questions that support today's daily awareness tools.