The behaviors that got you here, the control, the drive, the need to be the one with the answers, didn't just become habits. They became how you understand your own value. So when something asks you to let go of them, it doesn't feel inefficient. It feels like a threat to who you are.

I've been noticing something in myself lately, and I wonder if it's true for you too. My days are full. Work, kids, aging parents, and the constant demand for everything that needs attention. I'm rarely alone. And yet, something's missing. I think it might be loneliness. Not the kind where no one's around. The kind where you're surrounded by people but not really with any of them.

That response is cortisol—a hormone designed to help us escape predators. Tens of thousands of years ago, when a sabertooth tiger chased us, cortisol flooded our system, shutting down digestion, immune function, and anything else that wasn't essential for survival. The system was built for threats that resolve in minutes. When cortisol stays elevated for months, it stops protecting us and starts breaking us down.

He shared that leadership teams increasingly recognize that inner work is closely tied to high performance. He also offered insights on noticing when you’re avoiding feelings, blaming instead of taking responsibility, clinging to being right instead of staying curious, and developing awareness through meditation—all of which transformed not only my perspective on leadership but also how I engage day to day.

You have established credibility, effectively led your team, and achieved steady results. However, if you aim to advance further, whether as a CEO, in any executive role, or to gain true enterprise influence, the same strategies that brought you success could now be limiting. Constant execution and the need to be involved in every detail, fueled by a desire to demonstrate your value, might become obstacles to your growth.

In a recent podcast conversation, I spoke with contemplative psychotherapist David Redish about how psychedelics and meditation can support people navigating these midlife transitions. Not as escapes, but as tools for awareness and reflection.

In my coaching practice, I work with capable, emotionally intelligent leaders who are often overlooked, not because they lack results, but because they don’t dominate meetings or make everything about themselves. Many of them work for narcissistic bosses, leaders who avoid responsibility, take credit for others’ work, and care more about optics than outcomes. 

What happens when the life you've built starts to feel disconnected from the person you're becoming?

I don’t know how this past year was for you, but for many of us, it was unsettling. Tumultuous in ways we didn’t expect. The kind of year that looks at your carefully constructed life and asks us questions on who we are, what we value, and what’s no longer working.  And while that kind of year can leave us feeling disoriented, it can also open up space to reflect, to learn, and to grow in ways we never would have chosen, but apparently have to deal with anyway. 

At some point in our 40s or 50s, a question begins to surface: Is this really it? We’ve played the roles, built the career, supported the family, stayed the course. But at some point, the math stops adding up. That was true for me in 2025. And as I talked with others this year, clients, friends, and guests on The Midlife Remix, I realized just how many of us are navigating the same issue. This year, I wanted to step back to reflect. To look closely at what shifted for me,

In midlife, many of us begin to feel a tension between seeking comfort and security—staying with what we know and what feels predictable in our work and lives. Another part of us desires growth and change, not just for novelty but to live and work more in line with who we truly want to be. What seems responsible is often simply what feels safe. The real challenge is recognizing when responsibility shifts from a genuine choice to a way of choosing security over alignment.

Most people don’t walk away from a powerful title and a big paycheck. And even fewer talk openly about what comes after. That’s why this conversation with Paul Hatch felt so important. If you know Paul, you know he’s always been sharp, driven, and steady under pressure. But the honesty he brought into this episode surprised me. It’s the kind of clarity that comes only from hitting a few walls, learning from them, and choosing a different way forward.

There’s a midlife phase where you’re actively engaged, meeting expectations, but the sense of fulfillment has changed. This occurs because we're midway through life, facing health issues, children’s problems, and aging parents. Typically, it’s a sign that the motivations that once drove you aren’t as strong or relevant anymore. 

We’re living through a moment where the systems many of us relied on, work, institutions, routines, and expectations, feel less stable than they once did. The shift isn’t personal; it’s structural. Technology is accelerating everything, institutions are strained, and the traditional indicators of security no longer apply in the same way. People feel this in their careers, their identities, and the choices they’re being asked to make in midlife.

We spend our lives chasing success; climbing the corporate ladder, making more money, and proving ourselves. In midlife, we question what to do once we achieve it, or why we keep pursuing it when we haven’t.

We hear the word 'midlife'  and immediately think 'crisis' . The sports car, the divorce, the panic that life is over. But what if midlife isn't about falling apart, but about finally understanding what is important to you in life? Over the past year on the podcast, I’ve spoken with people who’ve done precisely that. In this episode, I feature conversations with Larry Kihlstadius, Paul Hatch, Kim Mustin, and Mike Ma.  They stopped pursuing someone else’s idea of success and s

Gordon Gekko speech from Wall Street At some point in your career or your life, you start asking different questions. Not How do I get ahead? But What am I building? Not How do I lead others? But Am I leading in a way that actually feels like me? This shift rarely happens overnight. It develops gradually, often through fatigue or underlying restlessness: There’s got to be more than this. You might know the feeling. You’ve done the work, built the resume, and earned the respec

In this week’s Midlife Remix, I sat down with Paige Scott, Senior Partner and leader of the Asset Management practice at Kingsley Gate, to talk about the crossroads many Gen X leaders are facing: career transition, changing values, multi‑generational teams, and the courage it takes to live and lead from alignment. Below are the core themes from our conversation, the questions I’m asking clients right now, and a simple practice Paige swears by to re‑center your path.

“The people whose identity is tied to their work… when that work goes away, many get lost. For them, work is purpose, importance, growth, learning, making money. But once it ends, they’re stuck. The only difference between a rut and a grave are the dimensions.”“The people whose identity is tied to their work… when that work goes away, many get lost. For them, work is purpose, importance, growth, learning, making money. But once it ends, they’re stuck. The only difference betw

“I was afraid the whole thing would collapse. That I’d have to tell the people who trusted me that I lost their money. I was under pressure. And I wasn’t s