And after maternity leave and a childcare crisis collided, I finally hit my breaking point. Panic attacks. Missed meetings. A sinking feeling that the life I built didn’t have room for me anymore.
So I started studying leadership. I hired a coach. I rebuilt from the inside out—between pumping breaks, podcast walks, and late-night breakdowns.
And slowly, everything changed.
At 21, I thought I’d work in finance forever. Then 2008 happened, and I pivoted into Disney’s production finance department—where I spent a decade navigating spreadsheets and red carpets, corporate meetings and media launches. On paper, I was thriving.
Behind the scenes? I was quietly falling apart.
I cried in stairwells. Fantasized about quitting it all and becoming a yoga teacher or a barista.
The Breakdown That Built Something Better
I didn’t set out to be a coach. I set out to survive.