I loved this piece, Carolina! It feels like you got the baton and went with it, and we are all building and adding new perspectives on a topic that touches many of us closely.
It's important to unlearn and redefine work, productivity and success. We need a clean page.
Thank you for sharing my Post and congrats on your Portuguese launch, so exciting!
Thank you for your comment! I loved the baton analogy… your essay really invited me into a deeper reflection on my relationship with myself in this work!! :)
Carolina, first let me say thank you for such a kind and considered shout out. You really went well and beyond here and your words mean an awful lot to me.
Secondly this article resonated with me profoundly as I think about my own current and future career trajectory. It's really important for me not to get lost in the traps of the past and instead to develop what I think you're talking about in this article, which is a state of flow that is synchronous with my mind and body and soul.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Sam! After writing this piece, I was sitting with the thought: "I don't know what I don't know." How much more awesomeness can I invite into my life as I keep choosing to serve more?
Maybe that's an invitation for you too :) How much more awesomeness can you create in your life as you keep choosing to serve?
Let's create awesomeness together...
haha lots of awesomeness in this reply here!! have an awesome Monday!
Brilliant piece on how we replicate the exact dynamics we tried to escape. The shift you describe from boss to service is such a crucial reframe becuase most of us dunno that we're even playing the old game. I've noticed in my work that people often assume structure kills creativity, but actually it's unexamined structure that does that. When structure serves emergence instead of contol, everything opens up.
You described my experience perfectly with "unexamined structure." I've realized there are two different problems that both kill flow: lack of structure AND unexamined structure.
I find myself much more structured nowadays, and I'm flowing way more while being productive too! Structure feels really good and it’s extremely necessary!
Leaving corporate does not automatically free you from its definition of productivity. You just end up enforcing it on yourself. When the work is still forming, thinking, walking, circling the idea can feel like avoidance when it is actually the work.
I also love that you name what people rarely say out loud. Being your own boss is not everyone’s dream, at work or in life. Some people want structure and clear edges, and that is not a failure.
Those walks becoming visible as real labor only in hindsight feels so true. A quieter kind of productivity. One you have to learn to trust before anyone else can see it.
I absolutely agree with you! Entrepreneurship isn't for everyone, and it shouldn't be. As long as it's a conscious choice to work for someone…and not driven by lack of self-belief…having a job can be a really fulfilling experience. I had fun in that world for quite some time too!
Thank you , I Worked in finance and real estate for 30 years almost , loved my job but now I feel we as women need our own time too for something that feeds our soul after giving so much of ourselves to everybody else , mostly because we wanted to but sometimes because we had to .
Thank you, Carolina, for sharing my work on procrastination. I hope it resonates with your readers. I love the work you and Phil are doing. So very important.
I loved this piece, Carolina! It feels like you got the baton and went with it, and we are all building and adding new perspectives on a topic that touches many of us closely.
It's important to unlearn and redefine work, productivity and success. We need a clean page.
Thank you for sharing my Post and congrats on your Portuguese launch, so exciting!
Thank you for your comment! I loved the baton analogy… your essay really invited me into a deeper reflection on my relationship with myself in this work!! :)
Carolina, first let me say thank you for such a kind and considered shout out. You really went well and beyond here and your words mean an awful lot to me.
Secondly this article resonated with me profoundly as I think about my own current and future career trajectory. It's really important for me not to get lost in the traps of the past and instead to develop what I think you're talking about in this article, which is a state of flow that is synchronous with my mind and body and soul.
Thanks again for such clarity.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Sam! After writing this piece, I was sitting with the thought: "I don't know what I don't know." How much more awesomeness can I invite into my life as I keep choosing to serve more?
Maybe that's an invitation for you too :) How much more awesomeness can you create in your life as you keep choosing to serve?
Let's create awesomeness together...
haha lots of awesomeness in this reply here!! have an awesome Monday!
Brilliant piece on how we replicate the exact dynamics we tried to escape. The shift you describe from boss to service is such a crucial reframe becuase most of us dunno that we're even playing the old game. I've noticed in my work that people often assume structure kills creativity, but actually it's unexamined structure that does that. When structure serves emergence instead of contol, everything opens up.
Thank you for your comment!
You described my experience perfectly with "unexamined structure." I've realized there are two different problems that both kill flow: lack of structure AND unexamined structure.
I find myself much more structured nowadays, and I'm flowing way more while being productive too! Structure feels really good and it’s extremely necessary!
Leaving corporate does not automatically free you from its definition of productivity. You just end up enforcing it on yourself. When the work is still forming, thinking, walking, circling the idea can feel like avoidance when it is actually the work.
I also love that you name what people rarely say out loud. Being your own boss is not everyone’s dream, at work or in life. Some people want structure and clear edges, and that is not a failure.
Those walks becoming visible as real labor only in hindsight feels so true. A quieter kind of productivity. One you have to learn to trust before anyone else can see it.
I absolutely agree with you! Entrepreneurship isn't for everyone, and it shouldn't be. As long as it's a conscious choice to work for someone…and not driven by lack of self-belief…having a job can be a really fulfilling experience. I had fun in that world for quite some time too!
Btw… I love the name of your publication!! ❤️
Thank you , I Worked in finance and real estate for 30 years almost , loved my job but now I feel we as women need our own time too for something that feeds our soul after giving so much of ourselves to everybody else , mostly because we wanted to but sometimes because we had to .
I am in that phase too!
What do I truly want?!!? That’s my questions for 2026! And everything I am doing is coming from “wanting” vs “needing”
I am excited to see where it’s leading me!
I am sure you will help and inspire lots of women I am sure it leading you to a wonderful journey ahead.
It keeps getting better and better!!
Hopefully you will share it on substack , I feel like i am
making so many friends out here who are in the same season as me and congratulations on such a such a successful Substack 🩷
love this perspective ❤️
Thank you, Carolina, for sharing my work on procrastination. I hope it resonates with your readers. I love the work you and Phil are doing. So very important.
Thank you!! I think they will love it that's why I shared :) I truly appreciate the work you do!
I'll just chime in here Laurie - Thanks so much. We appreciate your work so much too!
We can all do it with the right mindset and strategy