For years, I've asked other people what happens when the life they've built no longer feels like the life they want. This time, I'm answering some of those questions myself.

This episode began as a conversation with Thomas Voigt about leaving corporate life, but became something broader: how do we notice when we've stopped actively choosing the life we're living?

We talk about the external validation that can keep us moving from one achievement to the next, why change doesn't necessarily mean leaving your career and why “enough” isn't about lowering your ambition.

I also share five areas I've found myself returning to when thinking about what I actually want my life to contain: health, creativity, peace, connection and growth. They're not another framework to optimise or five new goals to achieve. They're simply places to notice what's happening and ask better questions.

With thanks to Thomas Voigt, who originally invited me onto his podcast and created the space for this conversation.

Connect and show support:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/angelajscottuk/

Instagram: instagram.com/iam_angelajoy

Email: angela@joynergi.com

Buy me a coffee: buymeacoffee.com/angelajoyscott

For much of our careers, success is about moving upwards. The next role, the bigger challenge, more responsibility, more recognition. But what happens when you realise you’re no longer interested in reaching the next peak?

Roberto Funari spent almost four decades building an international executive career, including serving as Global CEO of Alpargatas. Two weeks after leaving that role, a cycling accident left him dealing with memory loss and without the sense of control he had spent much of his career learning to master. Before the accident, his plan had been another executive role. In his words, “basically more of the same.”

In this conversation, Roberto speaks with Angela about what happened when that path stopped feeling inevitable. They explore the difference between your identity and your job title, why successful executives can become attached to status, recognition and control and why Roberto believes fulfilment can come from going “inside the mountain” rather than continuing to climb towards the next peak.

Roberto also talks about testing a return to the CEO world before realising he no longer wanted it, experimenting with different ways of working and learning that being capable of doing something doesn’t necessarily mean you want to do it. And they explore a different way of thinking about time: if we may have another 20 or 30 years of healthy, active life ahead of us, perhaps we don’t need to immediately fill all the space we create.

Connect with Roberto:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robertofunari/

Connect and show support:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/angelajscottuk/

Instagram: instagram.com/iam_angelajoy

Email: angela@joynergi.com

Buy me a coffee: buymeacoffee.com/angelajoyscott

The career you’ve spent years building gives you more than a job. It gives you a title, a structure, a sense of where you fit and the confidence that comes from knowing you’re good at what you do.

Annie Miyazaki-Grant spent more than a decade as Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer for one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the US. Then a breast cancer diagnosis forced her to start asking questions she hadn’t expected to face about work, identity and how she wanted to spend the rest of her life.

In this conversation, Annie speaks with Angela about what eventually led her to leave corporate life and the unexpected vulnerability of building something of her own. They explore what happens to confidence when there’s no longer a company or title behind you, why putting yourself forward can feel very different when it’s you rather than an organisation being judged and the fear that sits underneath it all: am I good enough?

Annie also talks about her instinct to approach cancer in much the same way she had approached challenges throughout her career: keep going, solve the problem and get through it. But the experience ultimately prompted a different set of questions about how she actually wanted to spend her days.

Now building Reframe Compliance with a former colleague, Annie is still in the middle of that transition rather than looking back at it with everything neatly resolved. She shares what she’s learning about being visible before she has all the answers, allowing herself to be imperfect and becoming more comfortable asking for help.

Connect with Annie:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annie-miyazaki-grant/

Website: reframecompliance.com

Email: annie@reframecompliance.com

Connect and show support:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/angelajscottuk/

Instagram: instagram.com/iam_angelajoy

Email: angela@joynergi.com

Buy me a coffee: buymeacoffee.com/angelajoyscott