What's the Cost? Living for Work...

I almost died for my job. And then I replaced myself in two weeks.

When the doctor told me, “The next stop your body will take is a heart attack,” I sat in silence, deep in burnout collapse. I couldn’t chase my toddlers. I could barely hold my newborn. I was down to 103 pounds from digestive failure. And the next prescription I was given was “Quit your job.”

That didn’t make sense. I had worked so hard to get to that level. Sacrificed, pushed, achieved. And now someone was telling me to walk away?

I sat with it that decision, longer than I should in such a poor health state. Then I walked into my boss’s office, gave a two-month notice and sobbed like my life was ending. And in many ways, it was.

The communication out to the company was I was going to spend more time with family and start my own business. No one really knew that I was on my death bed until my burnout guide book came out a year later.

I tapped into my HR network, found great candidates, and someone started two weeks after that resignation meeting. Just like that...I was replaced.

But the damage to my health? That’s not so easily replaced. I’ve spent years unlearning the version of success that nearly cost me everything.

Now I live by different rules of the game: Live first. Work second. A behavior not always applauded but always worth it.

When my old patterns creep back in (stress addiction, workaholism) I remind myself:

- You are replaceable at work.

- You are NOT replaceable at home.

- Your job is a temporary label. It is not everything you are.

My kids won’t remember the late daycare pickups or exhausted bedtimes. But I will. And my regrets don’t have to be yours.

I found a way back. I became someone who:

• Gardens and is present enough to enjoy it.
• Schedules days around the people who matter most.
• Learns, explores, and absorbs the wisdom the world offers. Through books, conversations, and getting outside.

And behind it all, I’m also a professional speaker and consultant. But that title comes after the life I’ve reclaimed.

Work to live, not live to work. In that order.