Shifting from Success to Significance

In the summer of 2017 I stepped away from a nearly 2 decade career in the advertising industry at some of the most prestigious agencies in the business.  It was an awesome time in my life filled with stories akin to the Mad Men series; a display of intelligence and ridiculousness, achievements and defeats, laughter and tears, sheer brilliance and utter chaos.  And within that, as the reputation goes, you could expect incredibly long hours, a lot of late-night food delivery, after-hours in bars, crushing pressure, often unreasonable expectations, and no shortage of verbal mud-slinging.  While I generally found it all incredibly thrilling and fulfilling, over time, the environment can certainly take its toll on your mind, body and spirit…something I certainly didn’t think I had time to prioritize on my already-long to-do list outside of the occasional visit to the gym.  Add being a new parent to my plate in 2014 and forget it, self-care was at the bottom of the list.  So as my 20-year milestone approached, the constant exhaustion, the off-the-charts stress, and the obvious imbalance in my body was starting to take a toll.  I knew something had to change or the wheels were going to come off the bus.

After a year-long evaluation and deliberation, I decided I could afford, and perhaps had no choice for the sake of my sanity and my family, to take some well-earned time to reassess, recharge and rebuild: a “well-intended” plan to shift from a life of success to significance.  I have educated myself, learned to reprioritize my time and focus, and used my CEO-husband (also notably a diamond-level frequent flyer) as a guinea pig to confirm if these practices are do-able in the corporate climate.  Spoiler alert: we have both seen tremendously positive results and confirmed that sustaining these practices is not only do-able, they’re critical to surviving these frenetic times.

While “wellness” is rapidly shifting from trend to mainstream, I worked on a campaign over a decade ago for a healthcare client that was centered on the concept that our health connected us – the insight was that one person could influence at least 5 others in a positive way (it was the dawn of social media at the time).  That has really stuck with me.  As everyone knows, our connectivity runs so much deeper now so my intent here is to share my experience with those people looking to make a positive change in their life. The collective goal is to feel better, potentially increase happiness, and join the growing community of people who have experienced the value in making a clear intention to focus on your mind, body and spirit.  I believe this is the secret to sustainability in today’s corporate culture and world at-large.

As a good ad executive would do, I extend my disclaimers that I’m not a licensed health, fitness or nutrition expert, but I am a voracious reader, viewer, consumer and practicer of a clean, green, and fitness-focused lifestyle.  I practice what I preach to friends and family…whether they want to hear it or not.  I don’t pretend to have all the answers, to be perfect or precious about it in my personal practice (I believe in a balance of the real and the ideal – an indulgence now and again hasn’t derailed my progress), nor do I provide any fool-proof claims. But, I hope you will follow me at www.thewellintended.com and find that these recipes, experiences, practices, wellness tools and preferred products incite you to join us on this ever-evolving and fulfilling wellness journey.

Namaste, my friends.