My Story

I know what it’s like to reach a point in your career where you have everything and feel unfulfilled. It’s an overwhelming feeling of “now what?” You did what you were supposed to, played by the rules and ticked all the boxes, so why does it feel so empty inside? It all came to a head for me during the September 2008 credit crisis when the illusion of money and corporate power came crumbling down. I witnessed previously stable and highly-admired members of our business community lose their job and identity, and they started to unravel. In extreme examples, bankers took their own lives. And I can only deduce they felt lost without the status, money and power of their high-paying jobs.

I wish I could say this was the only time in my life when I witnessed professionals become overwhelmed and ultimately taking their own lives, but sadly it wasn’t. There were two other instances where colleagues committed suicide. It breaks my heart to remember them and their families. And while we’ll never know exactly what was going on in their minds, I try to piece together the datapoints to understand why. There were many common themes – being in high-profile positions with heaps of responsibility, facing major changes to their role or scope of work and most importantly, not having a peer network where they could confess their overwhelm or ask for help. Regardless of their specific reasoning or life situation, I know my stance on this situation, it is never acceptable for anyone to consider suicide an escape option from a stressful job or project.

After 15 years in business, and becoming numb to the endless examples of addiction, lying, stealing, infidelity, burnout and implosion, I realized that maybe my dirty secret of being spiritual and my obsession with personal growth didn’t making me an outlier or a misfit. I started to think these were actually the main things keeping me sane and grounded amid the chaos, addiction and excess. I realized that investing in personal growth wasn’t so fringe and my focus on self-awareness and personal fulfillment was exactly what the soulless corporate world needed most. It was the yin to the yang of the business world, which operates on external power, public opinion and material excess.

So, in 2011 I quit my full-time corporate job and took a year off to reinvent as a coach and launch the Corporate Yogi. I remember my boss asking me, “What are you going to do Julie, become a waitress?” His concern was understandable. Why would any sane person walk away from a cushy job, amazing salary and excellent perks? The answer was simple, to find fulfillment and actually make a difference in the world. I’d spent 15 years in marketing for tech companies, and while I was good at it and had a big impact, it no longer felt satisfying. Quitting on the spot was a little drastic and some thought naive, but it all worked out. Beyond my wildest dreams actually. I now have a thriving global community of clients and loyal podcast listeners. And I know that I’m making a massive, positive impact. Proving once again, the risk is always worth it!