Nancy Douglas

My corporate life was a lot more about corporate than about life. In fact, during the last several years in the corporate world, I had no life! I just worked.

I didn’t have time to be happy. However, I believed at the time that without my job and everything that went with it, I would have no chance for happiness. How very wrong I was.

For seventeen years, I travelled regularly throughout Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Not that my life wasn’t exciting - there were conventions in Hawaii champagne dinners in France, shopping in Paris and London, speaking engagements in California. But I missed a lot

On the night the offer was accepted on my first home, I had to meet my realtor after midnight because I was tied up in a business deal. In all the time that I lived there, I never even painted a wall, which given that I was in the decorating industry, is further comment on the pace of my life. My exciting new condo turned out to be a 1400 square foot walk- in closet with a latch- key cat as its only full time resident.

Then times got tough, really tough. I was absolutely exhausted and now I really had no life. So I finally quit, right? No, I didn’t. No, I was afraid. Afraid it would be wrong to leave now when the chips were down. Afraid I wouldn’t find anything else to do, after working for the same company for almost fifteen years. In retrospect, I realize I cared more about someone else’s company than I cared about myself.

Eventually I was offered a package. Free at last! I was 42 years old and excited about life…my life.

I had a roof over my head, money in the bank, and a whole year to figure out what I wanted to do next. I was ready to live. I took courses, taught yoga classes and literacy to adults. I was going to reinvent myself. And I was going to have fun doing it.

But after eight months I still hadn’t figured out what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Work wise, I couldn’t seem to identify with anything. If I wasn’t Nancy Douglas, Corporate Executive, who was I?

Financially, I would soon need a job, but spiritually my soul needed something different. But what? Then one day I was offered a similar position with another company. I hesitated. They offered more money. I was afraid to take the job, but even more afraid not to. Every time I hesitated, they upped the ante.

I knew I didn’t want this job, but I didn’t know what it was I did want. The hours I was expected to work were impossible and when my new boss told me he expected me in the office early every Saturday morning, I resigned. I knew my life depended on it.

I was petrified, but slowly I started to re-discover myself. I asked myself what had I truly enjoyed. I remembered that I would often be the one who people would come to for advice – go figure! - the one with no life outside of work was giving advice to those who had. And I was good at it too.

I hadn’t paid much attention to this skill, but I began to do some research into this emerging field called professional life coaching and realized that I’d been doing it all my life in between my ‘real’ jobs.

So, at 45, I went back to school. Now four years later, I’m doing what’s right for me. I love my work. It’s challenging and rewarding and I learn something new every day. I have balance now and a life. I work hard but I also play and I laugh a lot more often. I don’t take myself so seriously.

Twenty years ago I aspired to be the CEO of a large corporation, now I’m the CEO of my life. I’ve often been asked, “What’s more important, being successful or being happy?” For me, I’m successful because I’m happy.