Congrats on the new role! (you kept me on the edge of my seat till the end, on what the final choice would be haha). And love your thoughts around the different opportunities and approaching it as an experiment - I'm on a similar journey and this helps me approach it with a new frame of reference.
Thank you so much, Nathalie!! So glad I’m not alone in this journey—I’m curious to hear if there’s anything that’s been helpful to you in thinking through your options. Always open to suggestions! Here’s to testing and learning and being the scientist! 👩🔬🧪
Lia!! Congrats. I love thinking about an in-house, 9-to-5 role, as 'part of a broader portfolio'. When I left my W2 job, I had this deep knowing that I might not be leaving the 9-to-5 workforce for good, but if I ever did return, I'd have to frame it differently for myself. Excited to see how this experiment goes :)
Thank you so much, Julie!!! Appreciate you! I don't know where/how/why I felt pressure to just pick one “type” of work, but realizing it’s not all-or-nothing has been so freeing. Fingers crossed that mentality sticks! Rooting for you as you navigate your next chapter, too! We’ve got this! 🫶
Thanks for naming this! I still do somehow feel employment is safer than entrepreneurship, simply because of the money that hits the bank account, as it is quantifiable. But now that I think about it, working in a corporate sometimes lacked the psychological safety of feeling in control, in setting my own boundaries. Your insight has cast a new lens for me to consider my current journey.
Thanks for the thoughtful note, Charmian! It’s so interesting how we’ve been taught that employment is safer… especially when I look back at my upbringing and think about the fact that my parents always had their own business/family business/worked for themselves in some capacity. The psychological safety is such a real trade-off!
Lia, I'm so excited for you! When it rains, it pours, so I'm not surprised all of these opportunities popped up at once. Wild how that works. I also think it's so brave to say this out loud: "I don’t want to be in-house full-time at an early-stage startup in a senior-level role right now. That level of pressure and responsibility doesn’t call to me at all." I feel very similarly, and I know from my own experience, that it's hard not to feel a little shame given the work culture we've grown up with. You're really owning what you want (and what you don't) — it's inspiring to see.
Thank you so much, Kate! The magic of 3s is real. You’re so right—there’s definitely an element of shame around admitting that out loud, but it also feels true in a way I didn’t expect. So appreciate the support and all the epic work you’re doing to empower others to build their portfolio careers on their own terms!
I feel so much of your thinking in this post! I’ve tried to force once-and-for-all decisions in my life and work, and it never really worked. It helped me a lot to start seeing my portfolio career as something that evolves over time. Trying things, letting go of what doesn’t work, and keeping what does. Congrats on taking the next step! :)
A great read, and something that so resonates for me and so many right now as we figure out what's next. Love the wink + door imagery. Glad all your shadow work paid off with 3 viable options. A 6-month trial with some stability sounds ideal. Congratulations, Lia!
Thank you so much, Grace! Appreciate all the support and encouragement—it’s honestly a huge sigh of relief to feel less alone in all this. More science experiments for us all in 2026! ✨
Lia!!! There are so many layers to how this post made me feel:
- I'm incredibly grateful for how candid you are about your decision process, fears, and mindset. Showing your real-life process like this is so valuable, and I know I'm going to return to this very often!
- Damn! Seeing the Career Season Finder in this post (with your real results!) is very humbling. Thanks for sharing your results. 🌱
- I feel so, so proud! I love the way you are thinking about these decisions with less permanence. The two swim lanes visual is also gold!
- The idea of the universe having something in its eye gave me a good laugh. 😂
Thank you x100!!! (Not just for your fantastic frameworks, but also for your friendship and encouragement to get creative with how I think about work!)
Was literally waiting to see if anyone caught the bit about having something in its eye—I’m so glad it was you who noticed! 😂
Lia, this made me tear up a little. I'm so glad my note resonated and clearly, the universe was absolutely trying to tell you something. First of all, this post is full of such amazing resources for anyone navigating a career crossroads. I loved hearing how you thought through this decision and how you're approaching it as an experiment rather than a forever decision. Different things work for different seasons, and I'm reminding myself of that too. Rooting for you so hard and so excited to see what's next. 🤍
omg yay! I knew some of this context from our chat the other day, but your storytelling kept me on the edge of my seat as if I learned all of this for the first time ever 😂
Congrats! Door #2 sounds like an exciting opportunity! And I love the framing that it’s only one of the things in your portfolio, not the sole thing (as we often treat our 9-5 jobs).
I’m potentially going to find myself in a “pick a door” situation too, but we’ll see. Everything you said about alignment was eerily relevant to this moment in time in my own life!
Eeee thank you so much for all of your support/commiseration! I know you just get it. Excited to hear more about your “pick a door” era—here to cheer you on! 🫶
Congrats on the new role! (you kept me on the edge of my seat till the end, on what the final choice would be haha). And love your thoughts around the different opportunities and approaching it as an experiment - I'm on a similar journey and this helps me approach it with a new frame of reference.
Thank you so much, Nathalie!! So glad I’m not alone in this journey—I’m curious to hear if there’s anything that’s been helpful to you in thinking through your options. Always open to suggestions! Here’s to testing and learning and being the scientist! 👩🔬🧪
I was also on the edge of my seat and admittedly skipped to the end and then went back and finished reading. Ha!
Am I allowed to submit this feedback to my writing course instructor to prove that I'm practicing pacing? 😂
yes, you definitely win the suspense medal today :)
Lia!! Congrats. I love thinking about an in-house, 9-to-5 role, as 'part of a broader portfolio'. When I left my W2 job, I had this deep knowing that I might not be leaving the 9-to-5 workforce for good, but if I ever did return, I'd have to frame it differently for myself. Excited to see how this experiment goes :)
Thank you so much, Julie!!! Appreciate you! I don't know where/how/why I felt pressure to just pick one “type” of work, but realizing it’s not all-or-nothing has been so freeing. Fingers crossed that mentality sticks! Rooting for you as you navigate your next chapter, too! We’ve got this! 🫶
I’m so happy for you 🤍 Navigating the contract marketing world with you and rooting for you every step of the way!! You got this 👏🏼
Thank you thank you! It’s so refreshing meeting other people who just *get it.* Appreciate the support and am excited about YOUR journey! 🫶
Thanks for naming this! I still do somehow feel employment is safer than entrepreneurship, simply because of the money that hits the bank account, as it is quantifiable. But now that I think about it, working in a corporate sometimes lacked the psychological safety of feeling in control, in setting my own boundaries. Your insight has cast a new lens for me to consider my current journey.
Thanks for the thoughtful note, Charmian! It’s so interesting how we’ve been taught that employment is safer… especially when I look back at my upbringing and think about the fact that my parents always had their own business/family business/worked for themselves in some capacity. The psychological safety is such a real trade-off!
This is super exciting! Congratulations Lia!
Thank you so much!! 🤍
Congrats Lia!! Sounds like a perfect fit for this moment. They’re lucky to have you!!!
Thank you, Brittle! So grateful for you and your support throughout literally every single chapter, side project, and adventure! ❤️
Thanks for the shoutout Lia! Love the way you frame it as doors
Thank YOU for the epic reframe—it's made a world of difference!
Lia, I'm so excited for you! When it rains, it pours, so I'm not surprised all of these opportunities popped up at once. Wild how that works. I also think it's so brave to say this out loud: "I don’t want to be in-house full-time at an early-stage startup in a senior-level role right now. That level of pressure and responsibility doesn’t call to me at all." I feel very similarly, and I know from my own experience, that it's hard not to feel a little shame given the work culture we've grown up with. You're really owning what you want (and what you don't) — it's inspiring to see.
Thank you so much, Kate! The magic of 3s is real. You’re so right—there’s definitely an element of shame around admitting that out loud, but it also feels true in a way I didn’t expect. So appreciate the support and all the epic work you’re doing to empower others to build their portfolio careers on their own terms!
I feel so much of your thinking in this post! I’ve tried to force once-and-for-all decisions in my life and work, and it never really worked. It helped me a lot to start seeing my portfolio career as something that evolves over time. Trying things, letting go of what doesn’t work, and keeping what does. Congrats on taking the next step! :)
Thank you so much! Appreciate the encouragement and guidance more than I can say!
A great read, and something that so resonates for me and so many right now as we figure out what's next. Love the wink + door imagery. Glad all your shadow work paid off with 3 viable options. A 6-month trial with some stability sounds ideal. Congratulations, Lia!
Thank you so much, Grace! Appreciate all the support and encouragement—it’s honestly a huge sigh of relief to feel less alone in all this. More science experiments for us all in 2026! ✨
Lia!!! There are so many layers to how this post made me feel:
- I'm incredibly grateful for how candid you are about your decision process, fears, and mindset. Showing your real-life process like this is so valuable, and I know I'm going to return to this very often!
- Damn! Seeing the Career Season Finder in this post (with your real results!) is very humbling. Thanks for sharing your results. 🌱
- I feel so, so proud! I love the way you are thinking about these decisions with less permanence. The two swim lanes visual is also gold!
- The idea of the universe having something in its eye gave me a good laugh. 😂
Thank you x100!!! (Not just for your fantastic frameworks, but also for your friendship and encouragement to get creative with how I think about work!)
Was literally waiting to see if anyone caught the bit about having something in its eye—I’m so glad it was you who noticed! 😂
Congratulations! I love how you articulated the complicated what if’s and how this phase is an inquiry, not a permanent state!!
Thank you so, so much! It’s so out of character for me to approach it this way and I’m loving it! 🧪✨
Love everything about this! Cheering you on!
Thank you, Allison! Marching to the beat of my own drum over here 😉
Good luck with door number 2! You're going to crush it.
Thank you so much, Max! Really appreciate it!
Lia, this made me tear up a little. I'm so glad my note resonated and clearly, the universe was absolutely trying to tell you something. First of all, this post is full of such amazing resources for anyone navigating a career crossroads. I loved hearing how you thought through this decision and how you're approaching it as an experiment rather than a forever decision. Different things work for different seasons, and I'm reminding myself of that too. Rooting for you so hard and so excited to see what's next. 🤍
Thank you thank you—truly. Means the world. Cheers to exploring the messy middle. 🤍
omg yay! I knew some of this context from our chat the other day, but your storytelling kept me on the edge of my seat as if I learned all of this for the first time ever 😂
Congrats! Door #2 sounds like an exciting opportunity! And I love the framing that it’s only one of the things in your portfolio, not the sole thing (as we often treat our 9-5 jobs).
I’m potentially going to find myself in a “pick a door” situation too, but we’ll see. Everything you said about alignment was eerily relevant to this moment in time in my own life!
Eeee thank you so much for all of your support/commiseration! I know you just get it. Excited to hear more about your “pick a door” era—here to cheer you on! 🫶