In this short conversation, three speakers discuss the personal motivations behind taking bold career risks and how those choices serve as a model for their children. Speaker A explains that a deep desire to pursue meaningful work, combined with family responsibilities, drives the risk‑taking. Speaker B reflects on feeling judged for shifting careers while raising two kids, yet emphasizes the importance of teaching children to follow their hearts, embrace failure, and keep trying. Speaker C shifts the focus to the challenges of building authentic, meaningful connections online in an era of toxic social media, noting that platforms like Substack offer a space for genuine engagement while many struggle to convey their message without compromising authenticity. The dialogue weaves together themes of personal purpose, parental teaching, and navigating digital authenticity.
I was doing it because this is what I really want to do. And if I don't succeed, I can't do it anymore. I mean, does that make sense? Like, that was a pretty strong motivator in addition to the fact that I had a family to support.
Yeah. And it's beautiful the way you were sharing. I have two kids and kind of like I've taken some risks and like my careers and shifting business and making changes in my life. And sometimes it's almost like, well, I felt judged. I'm not saying that that's exactly what people thought, but I felt that there was like that sense of like I was being irresponsible. But then deep inside, I had that feeling of like, what I want to teach to my kids, for example, is that they need to follow that thing and they need to go out there and they need to try. And if they fail, they need to know that they have the capacity to try it again or to do differently. And if there's something in their heart, like they need to follow that thing and not stay in that career because they make money, but they're feeling miserable. Um, so I just resonate with what you're saying. And sometimes, like, my mind, I remember, like, at the time was kind of like, you're a little crazy. Like, you have a child to take care of. Like, you're doing, you know, but at the end, when I pause and I'm very centered, I'm like, but this is exactly what I want her and what I want now, like, both of them to learn is to actually pursue those things and to follow their hearts.
Yep, absolutely. And, um, yeah, another topic I would love to kind of pick your brain on because I feel that, um, you know, after so many years, this is probably just a natural skill for you. A lot of folks, um, you know, even in, in this era, like, and maybe even and more so, they're, they're coming online and, um, they, they struggle to— and actually, I think it's in part response to how, I'll just call it toxic, a lot of other social media has gotten outside of Substack. But people just, you know, they, they struggle with how do I actually make meaningful, authentic connection online while they're, while they're sharing their message when so
