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Erin Sharaf is a former primary care physician assistant and professor of health sciences. She is now the creator and founder of Mindfulness + Magic, where she helps other people reclaim their health, power and vitality through enhancing the mind-body connection. During her experience as a PA in an outpatient practice, Erin saw a patient every 15 minutes. Seeing people suffering and in pain, she knew 15 minutes wasn't enough to truly make a sustainable difference in their health. She decided to go back to school for integrative medicine, where she discovered the mind-body connection. She took her new perspective back into outpatient medicine, but found the environment was not conducive to practice integrative medicine. Erin decided to go into teaching with the goal of influencing the next generation of health care providers, but felt the same constraints she did in practicing medicine. Going through her journey and being exposed to new ideas and people eventually led her to create her business. Today, Erin primarily reaches people through online classes, retreats and speaking and helps them understand the mind-body connection and use it to improve all aspects of their life and health. Erin recommends the book The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist. It helped her to re-frame her thoughts and understand that money isn't the only way to be secure and be successful. Erin's advice? Trust your gut Get into the body, see how things are feeling. The mind can play tricks and try to talk us into things out of fear. Get into the body and trust how you feel. It doesn't lead you astray. You can connect with Erin in the Quitting Corporate Facebook Community or on her website, erinsharaf.com.    

Carmen Westbrook spent over a decade as a non-profit executive, government contractor and volunteer manager. A passionate lover of global action and community, Carmen currently reside in Rome where she runs AINA Giving, her innovative online community for world change. Right out of college, Carmen was passionate about changing the world. She got a job as the Director of Operations of a non-profit in North Carolina. It was a valuable experience that exposed her to the power of community action. After having kids and taking on a number of different roles in the non-profit community, Carmen found herself traveling the world with her family to support her husband's military service. After returning to the states from Japan, Carmen felt called to help out with the Ebola crisis. Several organizations turned down her offer to help and instead asked for money. She had all of sorts of experience and knowledge to share, but she couldn't take on full time work while still having little ones at home. She started on a google quest to find ways to help the community from home but that still allowed her to do something meaningful. But she didn't find anything. Not one. Her and her husband eventually talked about this problem and decided to try to solve it, so Carmen went ahead and first setup the organization as a non-profit. It didn't take long for her and her team to create sustainable income streams, which allowed her to incorporate and make AINA a for-profit company. Today, AINA Giving takes community leaders and organizers and connects them to other leaders all over the world and helps people contribute to community action while still honoring their life commitments. It's a path to create meaningful change without turning your life upside down to do so. Carmen's advice? All of the boundaries and walls that people see in life are not real. They are all fake. We as a society were all meant to be in community with each other. The really amazing thing about the world that we are in now is having the tools that enable us to do that. You can connect in the Quitting Corporate Facebook Community or on her website, .Ainagiving.com.  

An experienced mentor, online marketing expert and former professor and career counselor, Christine McAlister teaches others how to use their unique gifts and challenges to create and lead businesses and lives out of their passions. Christine has done a ton of things during her career.  She's been an Undergraduate Professor, a Graduate Professor, and a Career Counselor. Through her various roles, Christine enjoyed parts of her job but not the structure and always craved being her own boss. Christine struggled with finding her purpose for years. It wasn't until early last year when Christine realized what she was truly meant to do. But she's enjoyed the twists and turns of her journey, and now looks at those experiences as a sort of "weeding out" of the things that didn't work for her so she could find her true calling. She first dove into the world of entrepreneurship by leveraging her connections in equestrian world building websites and assisting with social media . She was able to combine her love of horses with her business experience and find clients through her existing relationships. She continued to do this on the side for years, and when she eventually cut the corporate cord, she was able to replace her corporate income within the first month of flying solo. Christine suffered the tragic loss of her daughter late in her pregnancy in 2015. It shattered her world, and she found herself picking up the pieces of what she thought her life would look like and to figuring out how to rebuild. Out of that loss came the deep desire to pursue her true calling and to create a legacy for her and her daughter. It was at this time that her current business, Life with Passion, was born. In addition to her business, Christine and her husband created an organization in their daughters honor called Miles with Maeve. Her husband provides coaching to help people complete a seemingly impossible goal (think Iron Man competitions) in exchange for donations, with the funds raised going to a number of organizations that helped them and so many others through the loss of children during pregnancy. To find out more about their amazing mission or how to donate, click here. Christine's advice? I really take a stand for people knowing that their dreams are possible for them. And that can sound ve

Heather Filipowicz worked in the non-profit community for over 15 years.  She quit her job, moved 1200 miles away, and started her own business. Sassy inspiration was born to inspire women to live the life of their dreams, not the life of their "shoulds." Heather had a successful career in the non-profit world.  She was passionate about her organization's mission and was getting exposure to high level people with amazing experience and advice to offer. But there was something missing. Heather didn't feel like she was living a fully authentic life. Her and her husband were getting sick of the winters in upstate NY, and although they had planned on moving somewhere warmer in retirement, the felt the urge to make the move sooner.  That move sparked a journey for Heather into creating a new life, a new career, and relearning who she really was from the inside out. Since then, Heather has pushed her dreams forward with what she calls her "tiered freedom" approach.  As she's growm her coaching business, she's taken the opportunity to earn money while learning and working alongside some of the most well known people in the online world.  She's done seasonal work for Maria Forleo for her B-School launches and has also done social/community management for Jill and Josh Stanton in their "Screw the Nine to Five Community". She hasn't looked at working for someone else again as a step back; for her its a step forward.  She's learning from some of the most talented people in the biz while providing stability for her family and still having the flexibility and freedom to build her own business. What's better than that? Heather talks a lot about how she rediscovered herself and her voice. One of the things she did was take a course, hosted by Brene Brown and Oprah called "The Gifts of Imperfection", based on Brene's book by the same name. Heather talks about how the course helped her see her "imperfections" as valuable traits that could move her closer to her goals.  Even if you can't take the course, Heather thinks you should check out the

Ashley is a life coach for women who want to bring more self-love and purpose into their lives. In her corporate career, Ashley worked in marketing, planning and operations. She now works solely as a life coach. Ashley went to school for marketing management and human resources and was lucky enough to land a position in a leadership program at an insurance company. The program allowed for rotations so that up and coming talent could get exposure and experience to all aspects of the company. And while the program did give Ashley great experience, it didn't shield her from the corporate culture or fill her life with purpose. Working with her own life coach, Ashley realized she needed to make a change in a big way and set her sites on traveling. She went on a four month hiatus to India, Bali, Thailand and Australia. The trip gave her the mental freedom to rediscover herself and her purpose, and return with a renewed mission in life. Ashley's advice? If you're unhappy with your current situation, all you need to do is figure out what you value and how you want to live, and know that you can actually change to design a life that you love. Today, Ashley uses her life coaching practice to women all over the world. You can connect with Ashley in the Quitting Corporate Facebook Group, on her Facebook Page Ashley Starr Coaching or on her website, ashleymstarr.com.

Kevin is a high performance coach who works with entrepreneurs, CEO’s and business owners on growing their businesses to new levels. Though the first chapter of his career started in corporate, running sales and marketing teams for nearly 15 years. Now, making a leap from the corporate world into launching your own business is hard enough, but Kevin did that while battling his addition to drugs and alcohol at the same time. And whether you’re someone who is suffering from addiction yourself, you know someone who is, or you’re neither of those things, there is something for everyone in this episode. Kevin’s corporate career would have screamed success to most people.  Multiple job offers straight out of college, moving up the chain quickly, and working at a growing tech-like startup making good money working in a t-shirt and jeans. But underneath all that was someone who was really unhappy, unhealthy, and who was searching for something more in all the wrong places. Of course, I’m interviewing Kevin for this podcast because he recognized that issue, got the help he needed and aimed his sites on something even higher than success; impact. Right now, there are 23.5 million Americans addicted to alcohol and drugs. That's approximately one in every 10 Americans over the age of 12 – roughly equal to the entire population of Texas. And only 11 percent of those with an addiction receive treatment. Now we all know addiction can stem from a number of different circumstances. including child abuse, PTSD, personality disorders, and of course, depression. But I know and have personally seen a specific type of depression lead to addiction.  And that is, corporate depression. When your job leaves you feeling stressed, unfulfilled and unbalanced in your life, it can send you looking for a new coping mechanism, or maybe one that’s been there for you off and on throughout the years.  So, if this interview today hits too close to home for you, please visit recoveryconnection.com for information on how you or a loved one can get help. Or talk to a recovery specialist directly by calling 1-866-811-3235. Another important but less intense topic that comes up in today’s episode is productivity and the concept of “productivity funneling”. Essentially productivity funneling is a method of planning out a project, activity or goal, starting with the end and mind and working yo

Emily Benson worked in the corporate fashion retail industry for seven years before leaving to pursue building her own mobile retail boutique. Now she's a small business consultant for product-based entrepreneurs.

Rikki Ayers is copywriter and content marketer. Prior to launching her dream business, Be Rad Media, in early 2016, she worked in corporate in non-profit communications and marketing roles. She's now moved from Freelancing on the side to running her business full-time.

Jaclyn Mellone helped her dad start his commercial real estate company and did marketing for several local entrepreneurs. After becoming a mom she was determined to become and entrepreneur herself and help other moms do the same.

Amanda Flisher is a personal development coach who works with individuals to uncover and become who they already are. In her previous corporate role she was a leadership development program manager and trained, coached, and developed all levels of the organization.

Vero Garcia was an environmental consultant doing different kinds of assessments for banks and international companies. Currently she's dividing her time between doing environmental projects, holistic therapies, and teaching foreign languages.

Today we’ll be talking to Annie Anderson. Annie is now a health coach at becoming awesomer.com, but like many of us, started from a much different place.  In fact, where Annie once was not too long ago couldn’t have been further from where she’s landed now as a health coach.  And as you’re listening to today’s episode, I’d like you to spend some time considering what morals and values you hold deep inside of you. Would you ever compromise them for a job or a paycheck.  Have you compromised them in the past? Not because you’re a bad person or you’ve done bad things, but because we’re taught that we have to do this in order to make it in life, or maybe because we were in a position that left us no choice. To be successful, to have money, and to survive. This isn’t an exercise in feeling bad about the things you’ve done or the parts of yourself you’ve tucked away to make ends meet. It’s about acknowledging those compromises, and about making a conscious and intentional decision about whether you want to continue making them, or whether you want to take the steps to own and live who you truly are.  Stick around after the interview to explore how our morals and values develop over time, and how we can sometimes we land in places that we once thought we could never be.  You can connect with Annie in the Quitting Corporate Facebook Community, or on her wesbite, becomingawesomer.com.  

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For over 20 years, Aja Vancica worked as an administrative assistant. Now she's the Priestess of the Way and a facilitator for self-truth seekers at Sage Temple. Her purpose is to help women rediscover their core aligned feelings so they can confidently create lifestyle practices that enable them to experience those feelings every day. Aja loved being an administrative assistant because she loved serving others. She was a Yeoman in the Navy and worked as an admin in several small businesses, including a medical doctor staffing company. But when she had her third child in her late 30's, she had a yearning to do things differently and didn't want to sacrifice time with her child to work in corporate. Aja had always been a very spiritual person and recognized that her spirituality and her spiritual needs had evolved over time. It was something she was very in tune with and as she tried to design a path forward for herself, she realized that she could help others find their spiritual path. Today, Aja helps women develop spiritual and lifestyle practices to live how they want to feel and to help them find their own"happiness formula". Aja recommends the following books: May Cause Miracles by Gabrielle Bernstein helped to break down what her fears really were, how they showed up in other areas of her life, and how to overcome them. Also, The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte in helping find direction in her life. Aja's advice?  It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not. You can connect with Aja in the Quitting Corporate Facebook Community, her website sagetemple.com, or in her Facebook Group, The Goddess Life.  

Kay Fabella is brand story teller and communications strategist. She helps purpose driven entrepreneurs in English and Spanish develop an authentic brand that meaningfully connects with clients and meets their business goals.  Kay initially moved from California to Spain to teach English, but ended up landing her first corporate job, high stress job focused on project management. Kay started working with a small business owner on the side and  learning about online marketing and entrepreneurship. When she was starting to get antsy in her corporate job, she started to seek an alternative path. She was interested in the world of marketing, but thought she should pursue a masters degree to be successful.  But she ran into a pretty big issue; masters programs wanted her to have experience to be accepted, and marketing positions required a masters degree. So Kay started to get some experience online through freelancing sites.  She figured she would build up a portfolio and then apply for the program in the Fall.  But she never stopped building that portfolio.  And over time her business has evolved into what it is today, where Kay is uniquely positioned to help both English and Spanish speaking clients position themselves in an unfamiliar market.   Kay recommends the following books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek, The Suitcase Entrepreneur by Natalie Sisson,  and anything by Seth Godin. Kay's advice? No matter what, it's not the end of your story. At any given moment you can say "this is not how I want it to end", and turn the page and write a new chapter.   You can connect with Kay in the Quitting Corporate Facebook Community or on her website, kayfabella.co

Tamara Glick began her side hustle as an image consultant when she was still in her 9-5 as a marketing exec. Now she gets to help women reconnect with their inner wild every day and relearn the joy of authentic self-expression in their lives and their wardrobes. Tamara entered the corporate advertising world immediately following her MBA program. She eventually moved from the agency side to marketing and took on tasks including managing communications between clients and the creative team, assisting with the strategy build, overseeing advertising spend, etc.. What she really enjoyed was getting to know people and getting to experience them as individuals. Tamara started researching image when she received her MBA and started looking for a job, but had really started her role when she was just a child, helping her parents pack for business trips. Eventually Tamara realized and owned her passion and decided to pursue certification as an Image Consultant while she was working full-time. Her first client wasthe business school she had attended, which she landed when she'd returned and made her case for why she had the skills to help students better prepare their image for the job market. She continued to build her business on the side part-time but in 2008, was laid-off and took the full leap into her passion for Image Consulting.  Tamara recommends using the resources that are at your disposal today when trying to make the transition out of corporate. The two things that stand out most for her are mentorship, and the online communities that exist today, including the Screw the Nine to Five Facebook Group.  Today, Tamara is an Image Consultant who helps people bridge minds, body and style with how to express your personal style to the world. She helps people tackle both the physical and emotional side of image, and works to bring out the true you. Tamara's advice? This is your one life. To be fully present and to be fully engaged in it means to be your full self.  When you have difficulty figuring out who that is anymore, know that you have a reflection here waiting for you. You can connect with Tamara in the Quitting Corporate Facebook Community, in her own

Britany Felix sold her home and left the highest paying job she'd ever had in order to travel the United States full time. She now hosts the Living Unconventionally Podcast, where she documents her freedom journey and interviews other unconventionalists. Britany bounced around from job-to-job trying to find happiness in corporate. She did everything from working for a State Sheriff's Association scheduling drug intervention programs in elementary schools to her most recent role as a scheduler for commercial flooring installation.   Britany recalled some of her worst corporate moments: cleaning out deer blood from her bosses cooler after a recent hunting trip and returning to an unfulfilling job after a vacation and feeling so sick over having to go back to work that during her morning commute, she pulled her car over, pulled out her phone, and quit right then and there.  In 2015, Britany and her husband went to the Tiny House Jamboree  in Colorado Springs, fell in love with the mountains and decided that they needed to quit their jobs and pursue their dream of traveling full time.  They started putting a plan into action in November of 2015 and sold their house this year to help fund the adventures that lie ahead.  Initially, Britany became a virtual assistant when she was still in Corporate. Today, Britany has her podcast and discovered that she has an exceptional skill for edited podcasts and has now focused her side hustle around that. Britany recommends books by Chris Guillebeau.  This includes The Art of Non-Conformity, Born for This and The $100 Startup. She also recommends some of the following scheduling tools that have helped her in her business: Buffer

Famous Ashley Grant is ghost blogger currently based in Tampa, Florida. She began her freelance journey under her own name, but soon learned she could make more money writing for others. She may not get the credit, but she will certainly take the cash.  Ashley initially went to school thinking she would be a teacher, but found her love for writing when she filled an elective with a mass communications course. Her teacher was passionate about writing and helped Ashley discover her own passion for it. She had been working for an insurance company when she landed an internship at a local publication. From there on out she was set on becoming a freelance writer. After leaving her first stint at the insurance company, Ashley took odd jobs to make ends meet when she didn't have enough client work to get by. She worked as a substitute teacher, did surveys and all sorts of random work. Once she got fully focused on making writing her full time gig, she landed more ghost blogging gigs, quit the insurance company for good and didn't have to take as many odd jobs. Ashley recommends using the Pomodoro Technique to improve your productivity. In general, the practice involves setting a timer for 25 minutes, then taking a 5 min break, then taking a 15 min break after doing that three times.  This was a total game changer for Ashley in helping her be more productive and produce more content for her clients. Ashley recommends the book The Suitcase Entrepreneur by Natalie Sisson. It gave her the confidence to be able own the fact that she wanted to be an entrepreneur and have an office without walls, and also to share her vision for her career with the people in her life. Ashley's advice? You too can have the non-corporate life style. It's OK to find something different than the norm and make your own rules.  If you have to work for 40 plus years anyway, you might as well find something you don't despise doing for all of that time. You can connect with Ashley in the

Prior to starting her online entrepreneurial journey in 2015, Heather Gray ran a successful brick and mortar mental health therapy practice for nine years. Now she's a clinically trained corporate therapist at choosetohaveitall.com. Heather has her Masters in social work and is independently licensed in the state of Massachusetts.  She worked in a residential program for kids and teens and worked her way up to become the director of the program. She loved what she did, but her work became her world and she needed more balance. She started her own private practice because it was the easiest way to get out, but found she loved running her own business. She was very successful but after doing that for seven years she found herself at a crossroads. She hired a coach, thinking she would prepare to make a big career move to something completely different. However, her coach worked with her and helped her see that what needed to change wasn't necessarily the work that Heather was doing, but rather the people she was serving. She needed to work with people who were ready and willing to accept help and use that help to better their lives. People who could benefit from her unique life experience. Today, Heather is a corporate therapist, focused on helping people match their life to their corporate success. People come to her who are "successful", but whose relationships are suffering, or who've maybe lost the passion they once had in their career. Heather guides people in assessing their options and choosing a path to lead them in a happier, more fulfilling and balanced life and career.   Heather's advice? You can have the life you want but you have to choose it. If you wait for it to come to you it will just never happen. You can connect with Heather in the Quitting Corporate Facebook Community, or on her website choosetohaveitall.com.