I’m Stacy Carlone. There was a time when the questions I posed at the beginning of the page were my reality. I’ve been there.
Here is a little background:
I was living a pretty normal life. I followed the traditional path in life doing everything I was taught to do to make my parents and family proud. I went to college, achieved my graduate degree, landed amazing jobs, got married, and kept climbing the corporate ladder.
I was at the height of my career, doing what I thought I should be doing and what I was good at (or so I was told). I was successful by all of society’s standards. I had a great job. I married an awesome, supportive, and loving husband. We were living the high life in Chicago with our two wonderful dogs and surrounded by lots of friends.
From the outside, my life was perfect. How could I ever want more?
And yet, something was missing. I started having these internal rumblings that caused me to start questioning my purpose and meaning in life. They were whispers at first. Whispers so light that I swept them under the rug and pushed down any emotions that came with them because hey, I had it made! I convinced myself that what I was feeling was just nonsense, just a phase and it would pass
The internal rumblings, those whispers, they became a bit louder. These rumblings challenged my happiness. They challenged this great life I had built and everything in it.
Here I was, sitting in an executive-level role at the height of my career, making more money than I had ever made and I was completely miserable. I didn’t want to admit it so I just kept going through the motions, plugging away, digging my heels in, and working harder.
The internal rumblings got louder and louder. I found that I was forcing myself to dim my light and act in ways that weren’t true to me so that I could fit into this job, this life. I was putting myself in a box that continued to feel smaller and smaller, tighter and tighter.
I knew there had to be more to life than what I was experiencing. I’ll never forget the day that I looked at myself in the mirror and didn’t recognize who I was. I felt so alone, stuck, and miserable, and I had no idea what to do. The thought of leaving my job seemed impossible to me. I mean, what the hell would I do next? Was I losing my mind? What would people think?
But I had to do something. I knew that I could not continue to merely exist.
Was I scared? You’re damn right I was. It was the scariest thing I had ever done. And it was the most empowering thing I have ever done for myself. And that’s where the real journey began. I did the work to figure out what it was that I really wanted, I reconnected with my true desires and found my purpose. I’m not saying it was easy but it was well worth it.
I understand all of the feelings you are feeling and the experiences you are having
I have been teaching parts of this journey professionally and through coaching for decades, and one day I felt called to put this work into a guided program so that I could help others:
- Find a way out of their rut and get unstuck
- Awaken and find their path
- Create and live a more happy, meaningful, and purposeful life
And that is how Path To Purpose came to be!