When You Lose it All (but find yourself)

Creating this brand, in all its complexities (Book! Planners! Journals! Coaching!) is my life’s purpose. I know this because of how I received the idea, and the fact that I would be incapable of quitting, even if I tried. It was never my intention to leave corporate in 2023 under the circumstances I did, and from a financial perspective, I wasn’t ready at all.

I really, truly, believed I could do it. I tried as hard as I could to immediately replace my multiple six figure income through coaching, and it didn’t work, at least not in the way or timeframe I wanted it to.

I spent all my time and effort in 2023 and 2024 trying to get into the energy of believing it could work, funding my life through the money I had invested and saved, until I was left with no choice but to leave New York behind, living with family and traveling in the aftermath.

I felt so genuinely happy, even in the face of such tremendous material loss; it felt like every piece of my life was working except financial. I was doing exactly what I wanted to be doing with my life, and it somehow kept working out, even if I only had “just enough.” What I would have once described as humiliating and “my ego’s biggest nightmare” became the most valuable lesson in my life.

There have been incredibly challenging moments. I’ve had to sit across from friends and tell them what I was facing when they came to visit… and they loved me anyway. I’ve had to abandon attachment to nearly every possession in my life; a proverbial exchange for the life I wanted more. I’ve traded in planes for road trips, and needed to ask for help after a lifetime of only feeling safe relying on myself. I wore an $8 dress to a photoshoot.

The hardest part of all of this, besides the financial struggle, was grieving the loss of my corporate identity. I had to learn to feel proud of myself even in the face of such measurable “failure.”

I no longer define my results as such; you can always make more money, but you will never get your time back. I would much rather keep experimenting and failing with ways to finally make this venture successful than spend my days wishing I was somewhere else. Since that challenging first year, I’ve booked clients, sold planners, and get paid for my writing. It is working.

Because I learned to trust the path, I will never wonder what if, and I will never regret trusting myself enough to take the big risks, even if now, I can understand firsthand why most people never take them.

I truly believe that these experiences are what make me such an incredible coach, and have turned me into the leader who gets to have it all. I think of this time and experience as an intangible asset, which in the scheme of life, is far more valuable than I can even properly conceptualize in this very moment.

I will never stop; I pray that you too have the strength and bravery to create a life that is uniquely yours, so that you will never look back and wonder “what if?”

Ritual Stacking free workshop- https://www.allisonziggy.com/ritual-stacking