And then I Realized... The Corner Office Looked a Lot Like a Jail Cell
How I Started Rebuilding My Life (Without Burning It All Down)
For the last 15 years, I thought I wanted the corner office.
You know the one.
Four glass walls. A skyline view. Chic midcentury furniture—like Don Draper’s office in Mad Men. It looked impressive. It sounded right.
Until I started breaking down the cost—not the salary, but the soul cost. The health cost. The time-away-from-my-family cost.
Until I got sick from stress.
Until I was too tired to enjoy the life I was supposedly building.
Until I realized I was chasing a version of success that wasn’t even mine.
We grow up dreaming of titles, paychecks, power (Or at least I did).
But what if those dreams aren’t actually ours? What if they’re hand-me-downs from a world that never stopped to ask what we want?
Lately, I’ve been thinking about that—about how easy it is to chase someone else’s dream.
And how hard—but freeing—it is to finally question it.
In today’s issue:
A little PSA: The local Serenbe & Chatt Hills event calendar is live at lifeatplay.co. You can browse what’s happening, add events to your calendar, or subscribe to sync everything to Google or Outlook. I do my best to keep it updated (and I even pay someone to help!), but the only way to guarantee your event makes it in is to submit it yourself. It’s quick, easy, and truly helpful. Add yours here.
The Corner Office Lie: Realizing the Dream Wasn’t Mine
From “Is This It?” to “What If…”: Tools that helped me shift
And then the universe gave me a sign.
For the Locals – In Case You Missed It
The Corner Office Lie
I spent years climbing the corporate ladder. I had the Senior Director title. The global team. The $8 million budget. The startup-turned-unicorn story—scaling from $2.5M to $425M in ARR over nine years.
And the meetings with Very Important People. And somewhere along the way, I started to believe that I was one of those Very Important People. That becoming CMO was the goal. The finish line.
But something shifted.
I remember one moment so clearly. A friend of mine—an SVP—was next in line for the CMO role. When the job opened up, I assumed she’d go for it.
But she didn’t.
She told me it wasn’t worth it. Too political. Too exposed. Too stressful. At the time, I didn’t get it. Wasn’t that what we were all chasing? Then why are we all here?
But now… I can’t unsee it.
Because when I looked closer, that corner office I’d been working toward for so long—it didn’t look like freedom. It looked like a glass box. Shiny, but isolating.
Packed with pressure, politics, and performance reviews. And not a lot of joy.
The truth? The CMO role has the shortest tenure in the C-suite—just 18 months, on average. You’re reporting to a CEO who reports to a board. Your peers are competitors. Your direct reports aren’t your friends. And most of the room is still white men in suits—or Patagonia vests, if you’re in tech.
I didn’t want to go golfing. Or clink whiskey glasses over $200 steaks. Or spend my evenings in loud rooms with men who’d never once thought about pumping schedules or preschool drop-off.
I want to lead. I want to build something powerful. I want to make great money. But I also wanted to be a great mom. A healthy person. A present human. A good friend.
And the world I was chasing didn’t leave room for both.
What I really wanted? A life where I could show up as my full self. Where my kids weren’t an afterthought. Where my energy mattered as much as my output. Where I left a room feeling inspired—not depleted.
We’re handed a false choice: hustle harder or tap out completely. Girlboss or tradwife. Go big or go home.
Most of us? We’re somewhere in between.
We want to build beautiful things and be home for bedtime. We want ambition and peace. Strategy and soul.
That’s the life I’m creating now. A fast-slow life. A blended life. A real, intentional, human life.
But here’s what I want to say clearly: I didn’t get here overnight. And it’s something that takes a lot of focus to not get lost in. I have to work at it each day. I have to catch myself. Pick my head up. Reroute.
From “Is This It?” to “What If…”
Lately, friends have been calling. They’ve been laid off. Or they’ve left. Or they’re wondering, “Is this it?” They’re craving change but don’t know where to start.
Most of them have never had the space—or the tools—to define their own version of success.
And no, I don’t have it all figured out. But I like who I am a lot more now than I did chasing after that corner office. If you’re in that same place—burnt out, rethinking everything, craving something softer but still yours—here are a few things that helped me begin:
I got quiet.
I signed up for a second yoga teacher training—Tough Love Yoga with Neda Honarvar—because the first one had been one of the most impactful seasons of my life. I thought I’d learn new poses. Feel stronger in my body. Maybe even teach someday.
What I got instead? A whole-body pause I didn’t know I needed. Each week, after the movement, we’d sit. Get quiet. Meditate. Journal on big questions: What does your dream life actually look like? If anything was possible, what would you choose? What is your biggest fear?
At first, I froze. I didn’t know what I wanted. I thought I was supposed to say “VP of Marketing” or “corner office” or “retire early.” But I kept writing. And writing. Neda told us not to overthink—just write the first thing to pop into your head. At first it terrified me—but over time, it didn’t.
When I looked back at those pages? The truth had been there all along.
I shared, scared.
After journaling, we shared—first in small groups, then to the whole room. I thought it would help with public speaking. Instead, it cracked open my fear of being seen—fully, imperfectly, without a mask.
The more I shared, the more I received—support, connection, love. So I kept sharing, inside and outside of teacher training. Fully. Imperfectly. Open.
The more I shared, the braver I felt. And the less scary it all became.
I got specific.
I hired a personal coach during COVID—Darrah Brustein—and I got really clear on my values. Then we mapped my values to my vision—and looked at what it would actually take in terms of time and money.
The answer surprised me. It wasn’t as much as I thought. It made me realize: Time—that was the real currency.
Those same values I defined years ago are still my aim today.
Looking for more? Darrah has a ton of free resources on her site I’ve used.
I started paying attention to my emotions.
I never thought much about them—until Brené Brown cracked something open in me.
Her work helped me realize that fear and courage aren’t opposites—they walk together. Like she says:
“There is no courage without vulnerability. Vulnerability is not weakness. It’s the ability to show up and be seen. It’s the ability to be brave when you cannot control the outcome.”
I binged her books (like this one) and podcasts like they were medicine.
And once I started paying attention, I couldn’t not. Emotions stopped being background noise—and became the path. Books, trainings, classes on emotions —they kept finding me and still do. More on a training that found me earlier this year.
I remembered I could always go back.
Greg, my husband, reminded me of this one. Early in his career, he had a similar choice: stay on the accounting track and make a ton of money, or take a risk. He chose the risk. And we decided together: you can always go back. Maybe not overnight, but in 3–6 months? I could get a job in B2B software marketing or through my network if I needed to.
That knowledge set me free.
And then the universe gave me a sign.
A bonus I hadn’t expected. A full year’s worth of salary. An open door. So I walked through it.
I didn’t walk away with a perfectly packaged plan. I walked away with a hunch. A quiet knowing. That maybe there was another way to live—and that I could figure it out by living it.
That’s what Life at Play is really about. It’s about questioning the rules. Reimagining your environment. Creating rituals that ground you. Letting joy lead. Being okay with messing around until it starts to feel like something.
I’m not building this to sell you a new identity. I’m building it to invite you back to yourself.
If you’re in that quiet questioning phase—if your body is whispering that something’s off—I see you.
You don’t have to blow up your life tomorrow. But you can start listening. You can start redefining what success means for you. What a full, peaceful, soul-aligned life could actually look like.
And if you want more of the prompts that helped me start? I’m thinking of pulling them together—maybe even recording a walk-through to share how I used them. If that sounds helpful, just hit reply and tell me. If there’s interest, I’ll make it.
Because here’s the truth: My inbox is full of women (and some men, too) asking how I made the leap. How I support myself now. If I ever get scared.
The answer? Yes. All the time.
But I also laugh more. I dance more. I write more. I spend my mornings barefoot in the grass with my kids.
My afternoons talking to people who are living differently—and recording it to share with all of you. My evenings tinkering. Not out of obligation, but out of curiosity.
If you’re feeling that quiet pull… Like maybe the life you’ve built isn’t quite the one you want to live in…
Here’s your permission to pause. To question. To play.
And maybe, just maybe to begin again.
📍 For the Locals: Events & In Case You Missed It
The local Serenbe & Chatt Hills event calendar is live at lifeatplay.co. You can browse what’s happening, add events to your calendar, or subscribe to sync everything to Google or Outlook. I do my best to keep it updated (and I even pay someone to help!), but the only way to guarantee your event makes it in is to submit it yourself. It’s quick, easy, and truly helpful. Add yours here.
Fourth of July Happenings
Serenbe Community parade — July 4 Line-up begins at 9:30 AM on Selborne Lane near the Wildflower Meadow. The parade kicks off at 10 AM and follows Selborne Lane to the stables at Gainey Lane.
Serenbe Evening Gathering at Grange Green — July 4 5-8pm There will be music and fun treats for the kids. Yumbii and Radical Dough will be offering delicious food for those who decide not to bring their own. Please note there will be no fireworks this year at Grange Lake.
Red, White & Blueberry Day at Serenbe Farmers Market – July 5, 9AM. Blueberry bake-off, live music, local makers. Judging starts at 10AM. Sign up to compete here
Heads up: Chatt Hills City Council meets July 1 at 6PM. On the agenda is a proposal to rezone Bouckaert Farm into a Hamlet with around 8,350 homes and 1 million square feet of commercial space. This would kick off the formal review process. If you’re curious or want to stay in the loop, it’s a good one to tune into.
Now Open: IV Hydration in Mado | 1281 Mado Loop (behind Bamboo Juice). One-hour drips for burnout, travel recovery, or a little extra glow. First-timers welcome. Text 678.524.7265 to book.
Chatt Hills Blood Drive – July 2, 1–6PM | City Hall
All blood types needed. Come donate and get a pair of Red Cross x goodr “Just My Type” sunglasses. Register at redcrossblood.org
New! Mahjong League at Serenbe | First open play at Halsa this month
Calling all tile lovers—Sheri Salata is launching a local Mahjong League for anyone 18+ who wants to sharpen skills, meet neighbors, and tap into their cognitive superpowers. Sign up + learn more at mahjongatserenbe.com
$35K Raised at the 4th Annual Brickworks Bash! Neighbors came together for a night of live music, connection, and purpose—raising $35,000 to support Community Brickworks.
ChattHills.ai Summer Update | Next online meetup: July 9. No in-person meetup on July 2. Jeff will share a new summer plan on July 9, including remote sessions + ways to stay connected on Discord. This group continues to grow thanks to your ideas, energy, and curiosity. Join the convo at ChattHills.ai
Don’t miss peach season. Fresh, local peaches are at the Serenbe Farmers Market this week (and I assume the next few weeks)—come early, they go fast.
Art Farm is Hiring a New Executive Director | Madalyn is stepping down after years of creativity and care—thank you, Madalyn! The Art Farm is now searching for a new ED, ideally someone rooted in or connected to the Serenbe community. View the job description
If this struck something in you, reply to this email or DM me. I’m tinkering with creating a resource or journaling guide based on what helped me peel back the layers—and I’d love to hear if that’s something you’d want.
Let’s keep going.
With you in the mess,
—Gina
Let’s Chat!
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Thanks again for this wonderful, insightful and inspiring content!