Someone asked me this the other day “Are you still ambitious?” with the kind of confused tone usually reserved for people who’ve had a small breakdown and now talk to birds.  

You're kidding me, right?  More than ever.... I’ve just swapped stilettos for flipflops.

I knew what they meant. I’d left the six-figure corporate life.

I was no longer "important" in the traditional, boardroom-y sense.  And I was clearly… smiling too much and exuding "good life" vibes.

So obviously, I’d given up.

Except..... no. Absolutely bloody not.

I haven’t lost my ambition, I’ve just rehomed it to a place that makes me glow!

From Burnout to Beach Brainstorming

Once upon a time, ambition meant spreadsheets, Targets, Cyclical Hiring/Firing and sitting on Team calls wondering if I could fake a WiFi crash.

Now?

It means watching the tide roll in on Saadiyat Island while creating resources and content that actually changes lives.  It means helping women find their voice, make bold moves, and stop editing themselves down to fit into boxes that were never built for them.

It also means working bloody hard behind the scenes just with better coffee, fewer pointless meetings, and the occasional reminder that I still haven’t put knickers on and its 11am!

My ambition didn’t leave. It evolved.

Corporate Ambition (aka The Personality Olympics)

I truly believe Corporate ambition is 50% performance and 50% people-pleasing.

You spend years working your way up the ladder, tolerating personalities you wouldn’t go near in real life.
You nod along in meetings with people who drain your soul, just because they're your “stakeholder.”
You shape-shift, smile, stay neutral.
You get praised for being “collaborative” when what you really deserve is an Oscar for not stabbing anyone! (well at least I felt like I deserved one sometimes).

And here’s the ridiculousness of it all... We all walk around thinking, “I hope they like me”, when the reality is… you don’t even like them!

Honestly, it’s wild.

I spent years in rooms full of people I’d never invite to dinner, worrying if they liked me. The actual reality of that is most of them were too self-absorbed to care either way.  

These days? I don’t need everyone to like me.  I couldn't care less.  I’m not everyone's cup of tea. Hell, I’m not even my cup of tea before a coffee.... 

And that’s fine. I’m no longer trying to be palatable.
I’m trying to be powerful. On my terms.  

And Then Comes Midlife Ambition...

Midlife can be the greatest gift of all if you’re willing to let it be.

Yes, wisdom comes with age, but so does freedom, if you’re brave enough to stop clinging to who you used to be.

Somewhere between your 40s and 50s, something shifts.  Not suddenly, not with fireworks but with a quiet, steady click.

The masks get heavy. The people-pleasing gets boring. The nonsense tolerance drops to zero.

You start saying no more.
You stop explaining yourself.
You let your voice out, not to shout, but to stand. To speak. To be heard.

But you have to make room for her, the YOU beyond the roles.  Beyond the job title, the family obligations, the “good woman” conditioning, the need to keep everyone else comfortable.

Until you make space for that version of you, your ambitious alter ego, your unapologetic self, your next-level, you’ll keep repeating the same cycles. In work. In relationships. In your head.

Am I Ambitious? I’ve Failed More Than Many Have Tried

Let’s get something straight.  Yes, I’ve had wins. Yes, I’ve been “successful.”
But I’ve also had some spectacular flops, but nobody see's that.  It's not for sharing, but perhaps it is....  

I started a business with zero clue and burned through more online courses than a bored millennial.
I’ve doubted myself, undercharged, overdelivered, cried in the shower, (not to mention lost my words many times this last year with brain fog choosing perfect moments that made me look like I'd walked into the wrong room entirely), yet I still turned up the next day.

That’s my ambition.

Not the Pinterest or Instagram kind the real, gritty, “I’ll keep going even when I look ridiculous” kind.

Today’s Ambition? It's Feminine. Fierce. And Focused.

These days, I’m not climbing the corporate ladder.

I’m building bridges. Lighting fires. Handing women the bloody map and telling them to go!
I’m not here to save anyone, but if you hang around me long enough, I WILL brainwash you into believing that you can do more than you ever thought possible.

Not because I’m delusional.
But because I have to believe that.
It’s how I got here. It’s how you will too.

So yeah. I’m still Ambitious!

Just not in a boardroom, not for titles, not for Oscars, for now.... Who knows where The Life Edits will take me...

I’m ambitious for change. For joy. For peace. For power that doesn’t need permission.

My advice to you....

Find your tribe.... do the work that sets you apart from your current self.  Join the Women who are changing their lives in significant ways, not someday, but NOW!  

Gift yourself the Midlife Audit Workbook - You'll Thank Yourself - Trust Me!