How 2024 Reshaped My Path—And How You Can Shape Yours in 2025
It’s January 30th—well into the new year. By now, we’re supposed to have it all figured out, right? The goals, the plans, what we’re going to do differently this year. But what if we don’t? What if the path ahead is still unfolding?
I love the turn of the year. I love the 1st of anything—any month. It feels like a clean start, a reset button. If we didn’t like what we were doing, if things weren’t going the way we hoped, the 1st gives us the gift of a fresh slate. But real change isn’t just about flipping the calendar—it’s about reflection, intention, and sometimes, the courage to let go of what no longer fits.
This reflection is for anyone navigating transitions, questioning their next step, or feeling stuck between where they are and where they want to be. My hope is that by sharing the lessons I’ve learned—about taking risks, making intentional choices, and letting go of outdated definitions of success—you’ll find something that resonates. Because sometimes, clarity doesn’t come from having it all figured out—it comes from trusting the process and being willing to take the next step forward.
The Reflection That Almost Didn’t Happen
In December, I had every intention of doing a Year in Review (LINK HERE)—a practice I first learned from Tim Ferriss’ podcast. But between holiday chaos, work deadlines, and making memories with my 6- and 8-year-old sons, it never made it to the top of my priority list. I did the very thing I coach others not to do—I didn’t commit to my “Big Rock” and I didn’t block time for it.
Looking back, I realize I wasn’t proactive enough in scheduling my Big Rocks for 2024 at all. And that’s something I’m determined to change.
One of my favorite executive coaches always reminds me that setting an intention for the future isn’t about job titles, promotions, or material goals. It’s about asking:
How do I want to feel in a year?
What do I want to say I accomplished?
How will I know I experienced the most joy possible?
Another mentor of mine often tells me to “game film” my experiences—to look back, analyze, and learn from them. Game filming can take many forms: journaling, coaching, therapy, meditation, prayer, exercise. For me, prayer, exercise, and coaching are my go-to methods for self-reflection. Because at the end of the day, reflection is the most crucial thing we can do to continuously evolve in the way I believe we are meant to.
When I finally took the time to reflect on where I was at the start of 2024 versus now, I felt like I had been catapulted into a completely different universe—and I am incredibly grateful for it. Everything on the outer edges of my world has changed. But my inner circle has stayed the same. My husband, kids, close family, and friends remain constant—and for that, I am most grateful.
I’ve had the stability I needed while my world has felt like an asteroid belt—new things coming at me at an irregular pace, with no way to predict their impact ahead of time. Everything else—my job, my career path, my goals, even what I know fulfills me—has changed. It has crystallized in a way I wasn’t sure I could understand until I was given the perspective of loss.
A Year of Left Turns, Right Turns, and Big Choices
At the start of last year, I was in a career that had quietly run its course—though I hadn’t caught up to that realization yet. After 16+ years in the Beer & Beverage industry, I took a hard left into operations for a mission-driven private equity startup. People raised their eyebrows at my decision. Maybe that was part of the motivation—I needed “new” and “challenging” to figure out where I wanted to go next.
But after two years of operating outside my comfort zone, I still felt unfulfilled. I spent a lot of time wrestling with the question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” and wondering if I was the problem—why nothing new I had tried over the past few years seemed to bring lasting fulfillment. But as I grappled with those thoughts over time, other things around me started to take shape in ways I hadn’t anticipated.
Then, the signs started appearing. Little “God winks,” as some of my crew calls them, that wouldn’t stop nudging me in a new direction.
I had started my own LLC for the “one day” prospect of having coaching clients. I created free sales and leadership training for a former colleague’s team just to see. I made a website. I built a capabilities deck. I got professional headshots taken. I talked to family, close friends, and colleagues I respect. I met with anyone who had done what I wanted to do (thankfully, everyone was willing to talk).
These things didn’t happen overnight. They slowly bubbled over 12-18 months until, finally, in January 2024, it hit us square in the face.
It was time to choose.
So I did.
I left my full-time W2 job for one client and a couple of prospects. External forces played a role in the timing, and I’m truly grateful for that. But I was in a situation where I had to make a choice—and because we had talked for so long about what lights me up, we knew without hesitation that the time was right.
The Lesson: Letting Go to Make Room for More
So after 16+ years, I took a hard left. Then a dead stop. Then a hard right.
And now, I’m here.
An entrepreneur.
Working for myself.
Making intentional choices about what I want to do and why.
Taking my life back under my own control.
In 2024, I said yes to everything that came my way because, well, I have no business saying no when I have a mortgage and kids to feed. But I’m also profoundly grateful for the people who think of me, who reach out, who trust me enough to ask for my help in leadership development, coaching, and sales strategy—and even more, who are willing to pay me for it.
It’s humbling to have clients at all, let alone work with some of the people I’ve admired the most throughout my career—on my terms. It’s fulfilling. And for the first time in a long time, it feels right.
The journey of 2024 took me through left turns, right turns, and now to a new vantage point—one that’s just barely beginning to reveal what’s in store. There were countless lessons along the way, but the biggest one? Knowing what to say no to.
It sounds simple, but it couldn’t be more true.
When I let go of the preconceived notion of what success should look like, I finally found fulfillment.
When I cleared my life and schedule (almost literally) for my family and to care for my father-in-law, only the best relationships remained.
When time with my husband and kids became more limited, we focused on connection over obligations.
The clearer I got on what really mattered, the easier it became to let go of everything else. Reflecting on 2024 isn’t easy because I still wonder what I’m missing now that I’ll be writing about in January 2026.
So, if you’re standing at your own crossroads, unsure of the next step, my advice is this:
1️⃣ Say no to what isn’t serving you.
2️⃣ Get clear on what is literally life or death for you.
3️⃣ Figure out where everything else fits in priority order.
You can’t do these things without deciding how you want to be. And you can’t accomplish them without game filming your experiences. Once I combined both mentors’ advice, I finally found a path that feels like home.
Cheers,
LTO
