Trust the Journey: My Burnout-to-Wellness Story

Hey guys, I am very excited. This is our last solo episode of season 1 of Your Power: Move by PassionFit, and we will be continuing on with season 2 in September. This episode's a little bit different. It's all about trusting the journey of your life, where I do a little bit of storytelling, sharing examples from my own life and how the journey did not always go the way that I planned. Stay tuned for this exciting episode. It's one you're not going to want to miss, and I hope that it will be helpful for you as you reflect on your own journey as well. Hello everyone. I'm Reena Vokoun, the host of Your Power Move by PassionFit. And I am so excited to bring you actually our last solo episode of season 1. So we're not going anywhere. There is a season 2 coming up, um, in the fall, but, uh, this is June. And, uh, what I wanted to do for this last episode was a little bit of storytelling and just sharing, uh, just examples from my own life that I hope can be relatable to all of you. Um, the theme for this episode is called Trust the Journey of Your Life. And I just thought it was an important one to talk about and to share again, examples from my own life, because life doesn't always go the way that we planned. And, and that's okay. Um, I think the more that we can trust that journey, the more we can lean into the journey, even if we end up in directions that we didn't plan, um, we can look back in retrospect and really understand why things happened the way that they did. And I think that's one of the beautiful things about life is that you never know what's going to happen. And even with all the planning and all of the preparation, sometimes things go in a different direction. And I truly believe with all my heart that that's because that's maybe your fate, that's your destiny, and everything does really happen for a reason. As cliché as that might sound, I really truly believe that. So yeah, so I just wanted to share some examples kind of going way back and then taking you to present day. And just, I just picked out some different examples that I've talked about in the past, in my books and in certain interviews, but I wanted to bring it to the podcast audience. And so I kind of wanted to start a little bit with, um, when I was graduating college and funny enough, I was actually just on campus, um, a few weeks ago. I'm on the Entrepreneurship Advisory Alumni Board there. And I also mentor students every year in the school of business where I graduated from. So it was just really nice. And nostalgic to be back on campus and to remember that time in my life where the world was my oyster. I had so many hopes and dreams and so many things that I wanted to do when I graduated, um, starting with my first job out of college. Um, and I will say at that time I had two things, uh, two goals really that I really had in mind. And one was that I wanted to move to California. Um, and two, I wanted to work in marketing and advertising and media. And so I went through the recruiting process through the business school my senior year, and I was interviewing with a lot of different companies. And, you know, growing up in Wisconsin and going to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, while there were companies that were coming to recruit from other parts of the country, I would say many of them were from the Midwest, especially some of the bigger metropolitan cities in that area like Chicago and Milwaukee and Minneapolis. And no disrespect to those cities because they're great cities, but I just knew for myself I did want warmer weathers. You know, the cold Wisconsin winters were fun for a while to grow up in, but I wanted warmer weather. I knew that there would be a lot of great opportunities. My older brother had already moved out to California many years before I did. And so I knew I would have family out there and it was just, it was one of my dreams. So in the end, after going through the recruiting process, I ended up deciding to take a job with GE. Many of you may remember General Electric and it was in their leadership development program. For the financial services division of GE called GE Capital. And under GE Capital, there was, um, you know, a set of organizations called GE Financial Insurance. Um, and so I, you know, decided to take this job for a few reasons. One, because I would be able to live in different cities, uh, for 2 years. So basically I moved every 6 months and I would work in a different cross-functional area of the business. Um, so while yes, I wanted to work in marketing and advertising in particular, and I wanted to be in California, this was sort of a roundabout way to get there in the sense that there were rotations that were in both Northern and Southern California, but there were also rotations that were in Denver, Colorado, and, um, out in the New York tri-state area, just outside of Manhattan and Philadelphia and many other cities. Um, and so it did scare me. I will be honest at the time of, wow, I'm going to be moving across the country every 6 months for 2 years. That's a lot of change. It's a lot of going to places where I didn't know anybody. And so in some ways it was going to take me further away from my dream of being in California because I knew I would probably need to go out east because the GE Capital businesses were headquartered out on the East Coast. There were some businesses in Stamford, Connecticut, also in Richmond, Virginia. So it was one of those things where, you know, of all the different offers that I had, this one was really my best shot at getting to where I wanted to go. And really, you know, I think it was a blessing in disguise. One, it taught me how to deal with change. I was able to live in different cities across the country. My first rotation actually happened to be in Southern California in the LA area, so that was amazing. And I will say there was a point during that first 6-month rotation where I thought maybe I can just look for jobs and try to, you know, stay here and not have to, you know, move and finish the program. But, you know, I'm definitely somebody who likes to finish what I start, and I didn't want to leave prematurely without getting all that there was to offer in this program. So, um, from 6 months in Southern California in the LA area, I moved to Denver, Colorado for my next rotation. And then from there, I went out to Stamford, Connecticut, which is just outside of New York. And then from there, I went to the Bay Area, so San Francisco area. And through all of these rotations, I was working, yes, in marketing, but also in other areas like finance and, you know, business development. And we were, you know, there were some e-commerce focused rotations at the time and accounting, and we actually had to take coursework. So the coursework was kind of like a post-BBA, pre-MBA, so business leadership, finance, accounting, management, you know, different types of classes at GE's university, which is in Crotonville, New York, so in upstate New York. So by the time I went through this whole program, I had lived in 4 different cities. I'd worked in different cross-functional business areas of GE Capital. I had made friends friends all over the country because there were people that were— there were 40 of us in this program. And some of us were paired together in the same cities and some of us met up in other cities. And I had roommates from this program, a couple of the girls that were in it. And these people have, you know, had gone on to become some of my best friends after college. A few of the girls were bridesmaids in my wedding and also business connections, you know, part of my professional network. And I got additional education and training and just a great overall well-rounded experience. And in the end, I ended up after the 2-year program, I knew that most of the opportunities were going to be in the Midwest and the East Coast. So after I completed the program, it was during the dot-com boom. If any of you can remember that exciting time, um, we're, we're so into AI now, and I almost feel like what happened back then is sort of, this is the next iteration of it. But back then it was all about the search engines and, you know, digital media and digital marketing and advertising, and it was a really exciting time. So I do think that it was serendipitous for me that I started the program in Southern California, which was where I ultimately wanted to be, but I ended the program in Northern California at a time where in the technology and media industry, history was in the making and I was right there. Um, and that's where I decided to leave GE after I finished the program and I took a job with CNET. Um, uh, they do a lot of consumer electronic reviews. They were bought by CBS Interactive. At one point, and I worked with all of the major tech companies in the area like Oracle and Microsoft, and back then Toshiba was really big. And so a lot of the tech and consumer electronics companies, and that's really where my tech career started. So I shared that story just to, you know, to show that even though I took a job that it wasn't necessarily my first choice, but again, it was closest thing to getting to where I wanted to go. And it ended up being a great opportunity, a great company to work for, and just a great growth experience for me as well. And so I trusted the journey. And again, I was sort of in the dot-com era and really enjoying all of that, but I was kind of at the end of it, you know, in the early 2000s, feeling like I still have this, this itch to be down in Southern California because that's really where my dream was. And it could have been anywhere at the time— LA, Orange County, San Diego. But lo and behold, I meet a guy from— actually from Wisconsin, who also went to the University of Wisconsin at the exact same time that I did, knew my brother, who's a year older than I am, same age as my husband. They knew each other from high school sports. We had a lot of mutual friends, but turned out, you know, we didn't meet each other until after college, about 3 years after college. And my brother, the the one who— I have two brothers, so the one that is closer in age to me, he and Matt, my husband now, ended up— we were all at a party in San Francisco at the same time. And my brother basically introduced me to then, you know, this just this guy that I met, but who ended up going on to become my future husband. But at that time, he told me, I think it was maybe our second date, that his dream was to go to MIT. For graduate school. Again, he was also a Midwest kid like myself, really wanted to come out to the West Coast. We were both there during the tech boom and the dot-com era, um, but then there comes that point a few years after college where you're thinking about graduate school and your career path and where you want to go. So he told me his dream was to go to MIT. Um, my dream was actually to go to UCLA for grad school, so that's kind of where my head was at. And I was thinking about an MBA program or a master's in advertising or media or something of that nature. And They also have a really great entrepreneurship program. So, it was early on, so I thought, well, we just started dating, so let's see what happens. But, you know, we ended up getting pretty serious after about 6 months or so, and he delayed actually applying for business school by a year because of me. He wanted to kind of see where things went with our relationship, but after that, we had a lot of talks about it, and he said, I really do want to apply, but I would I would love for you to come with me. So in my mind, I'm thinking, okay, Boston is— and Cambridge are really cool cities, but again, it's taking me further away from where I ultimately want to be. But there are a lot of schools there, so even though I'm really interested in UCLA, maybe I, you know, could open my mind and think about graduate schools out there. And I think for me at that time, I just knew that I wanted to still make— if we were to— we ended up getting engaged and getting married before he started business school. And for me, I think, you know, my mind was in the place of I want to go out there and support him and his dream. But I also have to make sure that I'm going out there for me and that I'm pursuing opportunities that I really am interested in so that I don't go out there and feel like I only went for him and then I'll feel resentful, right? So, so I looked at graduate schools. Boston University has a phenomenal College of Communications program. They had a great Master of Science program in advertising, PR, media communications, all the things that I love, clearly, because I am doing a podcast and a lot of other things in media even today. So it was a really great program. And so I decided, okay, you know, I'm gonna apply to some schools. This is definitely my top choice. And also from a work perspective, we had agreed that after we got married, since he was going to be going full-time— he actually pursued a dual degree in engineering, and he got his MBA. So he was definitely going full-time. And so I told him, you know what, I can keep working to support us and then I'll go to graduate school part-time because— and BU actually had a great part-time program specifically in their College of Communication in their Master of Science in Advertising program. So, um, I didn't actually end up applying to that program until about 6 months after we moved to Boston, um, because I was still figuring out my job situation. And what ended up happening there was I had a job with CNET in San Francisco, and I did have an offer to transfer to their Cambridge office. But again, since I was kind of brainstorming about opportunities, I thought, well, I could stay with CNET, which was a, you know, a great job, great opportunity. I was managing a lot of great tech accounts. But I've always had a love for health and wellness and fitness, which is obviously no surprise given what I do today. And I knew that Reebok was headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, just south of Boston. And so long story short, I thought, you know, it'd be really cool to, you know, work in marketing and advertising and media for an athletic and footwear and apparel company like Reebok. Any of them would have been cool, right? Adidas, Nike, Reebok. Um, so I didn't know anybody at Reebok, um, but I did some research and I found out who the chief marketing officer was there at the time, and I read an article or a press release or something And at the bottom of the article, I was able to find an email alias for him. So, I literally took a shot in the dark at this time. I think I was 26 years old, 25, something like that, and I sent an email and sent my resume and said, "I've always been a huge fan of Reebok given that I teach fitness classes and I'm in the sort of health and wellness industry." At that time, it was more of a hobby, but had danced and cheerleading, dance team, all those things. And Reebok was a big brand for the sort of fitness, dance world. And so I talked about my passion for health and fitness, and I talked about my love of the Reebok brand and my educational background in marketing and the jobs that I had done so far at GE and CNET. And I did not think he was gonna write me back. I thought, I'm, you know, I don't have that much work experience at this point. I had been in the workforce for 3 years post-college, but you never know. So I took a chance and He wrote me back within an hour, which was crazy, because I had just told him that I was moving out there and I would love to just set up some time for an informational discussion. I wasn't asking for a job at this point. I wasn't asking for an interview. I just wanted to learn more. And so he said, "Sure." And so there were some holes that I had to jump through with his admin to get on his calendar because he was traveling and all these different But I was able to secure a time slot on his calendar when I was in town when my husband and I were looking for places to live. And I had a great conversation with him. I obviously prepared, did all my research. And in the end, he ended up saying that he wanted me to interview with about 6 to 8 other people in the marketing department, in HR, in the women's, you know, running department, apparel and marketing departments. And so I went through a round of 6 to 8 interviews. And before our wedding and before we officially moved from San Francisco to Boston, I got a job as the global interactive marketing manager of Reebok. Again, not knowing anybody from across the country without even a single connection. Um, but I took a chance. And, um, again, it's trusting the journey of your life. It's trusting those moments where there could be an opportunity. And even if you don't think that it could lead to something, you'll never know if you don't try. Um, and so I did. And then again, 6 months later, I was applying to grad school. I got into the program at BU. And so we were busy. My husband was, you know, in again, grad school doing a dual degree. I was working full-time at Reebok in— at the time it was my dream job. I absolutely loved it. I learned so much. And then when I added my graduate school program to the mix, I was able to apply things that I was learning on the job into the classroom and things that I was learning in the classroom on the job. So it was one of the most fulfilling, enriching experiences of my career, both academically and professionally. And I also realized that for the first time that, wow, I can take my training in marketing and advertising and media and put that together with my love for health and wellness and fitness. Um, and it was only 2 years that we were in Boston and, you know, unfortunately Reebok did not have, um, offices and major opportunities on the West Coast because they were primarily on the East Coast. So at the end of our 2 years there, my husband and I both agreed, well, The goal was to come— was to go back to California. We were only going to be out in Boston for grad school. And this was the time as he was coming out of MIT, there were a lot of tech companies, consulting firms looking to hire him. And then for me also, even though I wasn't going to be able to find an opportunity to stay with Reebok, that's when I ended up getting a job with Yahoo. And at the time, Yahoo was, I think, the number one search engine, even ahead of Google. Um, so long story short there, um, again, It took me a little bit further away from my goal of, of living in Southern California, but it took me closer to really working in advertising, marketing, media, especially in the digital and technology space, um, for a health and fitness brand. Um, continuing my education, getting my graduate degree, still getting to do the things that I wanted to, but from across the country. Um, so in the end, um, we ended up moving back to California and there was a time when I had said to my husband, "If we're both applying for jobs, can we look at Southern California?" And he said, "We can, absolutely, but for both of us, you being in digital media and having a tech background and digital marketing, and him, you know, really wanting to get into consulting and corporate strategy and product management, all the opportunities were in the Bay Area, specifically in Silicon Valley." And this was in the early 2000s at the time, 2005. So long story short there, we ended up, you know, he got a job in management consulting for Bain and Company. I got a job with Yahoo. Um, and we moved across the country. So now I'm going to fast forward about 23 years, um, after both of us working in tech, um, having our two kids, um, living in the Bay Area. And it, it was a great life and it was, um, you know, we really enjoyed it and, um, made the most of it. It was great for our careers. We, you know, built a townhome, we built a home, a single-family home, and we were raising our kids on a cute little cul-de-sac and everything. Then the pandemic happened. And again, that desire to move to Southern California never went away, never left me. But I left Yahoo, went to Google. So I was at Google for many years during this time. My husband ended up leaving Bain to come to Google as well. So there was a period where we were both there at the same time, which I think I've talked about on the podcast in the past. But, you know, we went to visit my parents who actually, by that point, had moved from Wisconsin to Carlsbad. So in the, you know, North County part of San Diego. My older brother, the first one that ever came out to California, he was and still is in Orange County with his family. My brother, the one that introduced my husband to myself, he had come out at that point. He was in San Francisco for a little bit when we were up there, but he came to LA and my sister came to LA. So at this point, my entire family was in Southern California, again, my dream area of the country that I'd always wanted to live in. And we were the ones up in the Bay Area. So when the pandemic happened, we drove down to, at the time, shelter in place with my parents. And when we got there, the first thing my mom said is, let's go look at model homes. And I looked at her and I said, what? And she said, if there was ever a time for you guys to think about moving down here, it's now because everybody— everything is shut down. Everybody's working remotely. Are moving to different cities and working out of different places. So you guys should think about it. Um, again, this is something I always wanted, but I know my husband was pretty into, you know, well acclimated and integrated into his career at Google up there. Our kids had been, you know, at the school, you know, elementary school, middle school, they're playing all their sports teams there. They had all their friends. We had all of our friends and neighbors at that point. We had been there for about 20 years, um, over 20 years. But I said, you know what, let's just go look. And so we went and looked at some home developments that were happening in the Del Mar, Carmel Valley area. And I thought we found a neighborhood, fell in love with it. And I turned to my husband and I said, if you guys would be up for this, I would move here in a heartbeat. And at first his response was, well, you know, we always talked about eventually coming down here because I know you want to be in Southern California. But does it make sense for us to blow up our life in the middle of a pandemic and move and take the kids out of their schools and sports teams and everything they know? And even for our jobs, well, for me at that point, I had left Google and I had started PassionFit, so I was already working for PassionFit. But for him, he was still at Google, and I think he was just a little bit concerned about, you know, leaving corporate headquarters to come down here and work out of the San Diego office. So, I said, "I get it, but why don't you just talk to your boss and just propose it and see what he thinks?" And so he did and asked his boss, "What would you say if my family and I relocated down to San Diego to be closer to my wife's side of the family? I recognize that I wouldn't be at headquarters, but given the current state, I'm just wondering if this could be a possibility." So at the time, he had been at Google at that point for 12 years, and his boss said, "Sure, we can make this work." when the world, if and when, we didn't know what was going to happen, but if and when the world opens back up again, then we'd probably still need you to come up to the headquarters, you know, at least twice a month, if not more. Um, but you can, you know, work remotely for now and, uh, eventually, you know, work out of the San Diego office. So once he got the green light, uh, from his boss, then he was on board. So then the next challenge was to get our kids on board. And at the time they were, gosh, in 3rd and 8th grade. And so what our concern was, was moving our older one, you know, in the middle of high school, right, or just before high school. The younger one, we thought, well, he's young enough where he could— as long as we get him there before middle or high school, it should be fine. So we, you know, told the kids, you're going to get to be by your family, your grandparents, your aunts, uncles. It's beautiful. You'll be by the beach. They have great sports teams, great schools, and you're going to make new friends and still keep all of your friends up here in the Bay. So, you know, it took a little convincing, obviously, for them. They're young, they're kids. But if you ask them now, um, you know, it's been almost 5 years since we moved, and they will tell you it was one of the best things we did as a family. They love it down here. They've made so many friends. They excelled in school and sports. They love the beach. So it's, it's, it was just a great move for all of us. So by the time I, you know, had first started in Southern California with that very first job with GE, all the way up until when we finally were able to move down here to San Diego go, it had been about 23 years. Um, so, you know, again, trusting the journey of my life. Um, you know, things don't always go exactly in the timelines that you might have for yourself, and you take some detours and twists and turns, but it ultimately does lead you to where you're meant to be when the time is right. Um, and then, you know, when I think about my journey with PassionFit, um, you know, after leaving my corporate career, leaving Google, um, I didn't know where that was going to take me. And at the time that I left, it was a very pivotal time. Um, oftentimes for those of you that listen to my podcast, I ask my guests what is a pivotal year in their life that really had one of the biggest impacts on them. Um, and I love hearing other people's answers to that question. Um, so I'll ask it myself and tell you, for me, that pivotal year was 2014. Um, at the time, and again, I think I I talked about this a little bit in our very first introductory podcast episode about just working in Silicon Valley, the daily grind, you know, starting to develop burnout. My husband did as well, health issues, all the things. My husband ended up taking a medical leave at that time as well, which was really tough. And my grandfather actually passed away as well on my birthday that year. And that's the same month that I ended up leaving Google and starting PassionFit. And I took a chance. I didn't know where it was all going to go. It was one of the biggest risks that I had ever taken. But my grandfather had a lot to do with me making this decision because he is the one throughout my life that always saw my passion and love for health and wellness. And he had said to me when I was probably 23 years old that he could see me having a second career in this field. So he said, don't lose this, don't, you know, don't let go, hold on to this passion that you have because you will find a way to incorporate this into your career. And I really believe you're going to have a second career later on. And so, I, you know, in many ways, I feel like after he passed away, he was looking down on me. And I realized I don't want to, you know, be in this rat race. I don't want to be in burnout and not doing what I truly love. And again, I loved my career, but working in tech, especially as a dual career couple with young children, can be really tough, as many of you out there listening may know. So, long story short, with PassionFit, I, you know, I didn't know where it was going to take me. And I can honestly say it's almost 12 years, and I have no regrets, and I'm truly doing what I love. Um, has it always been easy? Absolutely not. Um, I have had product launches that flopped. I've had, um, opportunities that I pursued that didn't work out. I had, um, partnerships that fell through. Um, I even had for this very podcast, uh, the name Your Power Move, uh, by PassionFit. I was in the process of getting it trademarked and I was about to have it be approved. And then we had an opposition from another organization. And we had to negotiate and it, uh, long story short there, what was supposed to be a 6-month process turned into a year-long process. But I'm happy to say that, uh, Your Power Move was approved for a trademark. So I do have the official, official registered trademark and rights to this name, um, which is really exciting because there's so much that I want to do, even more that I want to do with this concept, both within the podcast and beyond it. So again, Things were not easy. Um, I had moments of questioning myself if I wanted to, um, go back to corporate or stay as an entrepreneur. But again, you just keep trusting the path that you're on. And if you truly believe in what you're doing and you believe in where things might end up, then you trust, um, how you're going to get there. And again, it's never easy. Nothing in life is easy for any of us. Um, but the more we can just keep taking steps forward that again, doing those power moves that this whole podcast is about, um, putting one foot in front of the other, things will work out the way they're meant to. Again, we may not understand them in the present, but in retrospect, we always will. And the more we can have that gratitude and that appreciation for where life does take us, even if it's in places that we didn't even imagine we would be, um, it's happening for us, not to us, and it's there for a reason. So, um, I share all of this, uh, just to kind of, you know, have everybody listening in maybe take some stock of your own life, maybe think about your journey thus far and what has worked out the way that you planned and what has worked out in ways that you hadn't. And where's the beauty in that? Where's the joy in that? And what can you take from that into where you go next? So I hope that sharing some of these stories of mine was helpful for you. Again, it's never an easy journey, but always a rewarding one, especially if you are in it and you have the right intentions and you have the right perspective. So with that, I am going to sign out for season 1. It has been such a pleasure and so exciting. And this is not goodbye. This is only the beginning of many more seasons to come. And season 2 is going to resume in the fall this September. But this summer, if you, you know, are out on vacation or on a road trip, if you want to listen to any of the other episodes, listen to them again, if there's maybe something you want to gain from them, listen to all of my amazing guests that I had the privilege of interviewing. And just know that in season 2, there are more amazing, equally amazing guests, more solo episodes with more topics that I hope will be engaging and helpful for you. So that is it for today and for season 1. Again, I'm Reena Vokoun. This is your Power Move by PassionFit. Please subscribe, rate, review, tell your family and friends, and looking forward to season 2 coming very soon. Thank you. Thank you and take care.