Growing up, I was in an environment that required me to learn early on to be resilient and adaptable. Survival meant predicting the next five minutes, always preparing for what lay ahead, instead of living for the moment. These early experiences shaped me into someone who was always on guard, constantly planning, and rarely at ease.

A Move to Austin: Seeking More Out of Life

When I moved to Austin, TX, I told myself and others it was because I needed a change and wanted more out of life than what was in front of me. I had just lost my stepdad to cancer, I felt stuck in a job I wasn’t excited about, and it was the perfect time to shake things up. It wasn’t until years later that I finally admitted it was because I was running away from my life in California. I needed the space to figure out who I was and what I wanted. Up until this point, I had spent my whole life doing mental gymnastics to protect myself and my emotions, ensuring everyone around me was happy. Growing up far younger than most had left me emotionally exhausted. I remember my father once telling me that for me to survive in our household, I had to be perfect. This idea stuck with me and is still with me today, likely why I am a recovering perfectionist.

In Austin, I found friends who became family and a career I was deeply passionate about. It was exciting and fulfilling, and I was learning and growing. However, it wasn’t long before my past started to catch up with me, and I slowly began to become a shell of the vibrant young girl I once was. In my younger years, I was outgoing and fearless, taking risks without a second thought. Despite my challenging home life, I lived a fun and adventurous life. But all the things I had been burying started to resurface just a couple of years into my move to Austin.

The Journey of Healing and Self-Discovery

A coworker, friend, mentor, and confidant encouraged me to go to therapy (a story for another day), and from that point on, I worked very hard on healing myself. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done but also the most rewarding. Day by day, week by week, month by month, I started to see my old self reemerging. However, I experienced more tragedy, which set me back a bit. It was during this time that I started to explore sobriety, and on May 26, 2021, I unknowingly had my last drink. I’ve been sober ever since and have never looked back.

Professionally, I found myself in a loop where I would take on a new job or challenge, find success, but still feel trapped and stagnant. I started to become apathetic, and the pandemic didn’t help. I began searching for a business coach but ended up with a holistic life coach – the universe is funny sometimes and gives you the exact opposite of what you asked for but exactly what you need at that time. I started to take risks again and think about what I wanted. However, even those thoughts were blurred with what others thought I should be, and I was still getting my wires crossed.

Finding Clarity and Confidence

In June of 2022, I took my last corporate job. Very early on, my boss asked me in our 1x1’s and on a regular basis, “What do you want to do next?” I had no idea how to answer that question. It was the first time I’d directly been asked that question in a professional setting, to think about the future of my career. It changed my life. The next year and a half were filled with highs and lows and self-discovery. Through all that, I realized what I loved about my job was the people aspect. I loved helping people reach their full potential, solve hard problems they’d never encountered before, and find balance in their professional and personal lives.

Living Authentically and Achieving Balance

I loved when leaders of other teams would ask me to chat with one of their employees because they were discouraged about a missed promotion. I found immense satisfaction in making an impact in someone’s life by helping them see they are limitless and have all it takes to achieve their goals inside them already. Sometimes, we are just blinded by the day-to-day rat race. This realization ultimately led to my decision to not return to corporate life and take a bet on myself, a risky one at that, and launch The Balanced Code.

The Balanced Code was born out of a desire to help emerging and established leaders transform their lives. I want to help them find clarity and confidence, live authentically, and achieve a balanced and fulfilling life. My journey has taught me that life is easy when you align with your true self and embrace your limitless potential. At The Balanced Code, we aim to empower leaders to live authentically, transform their professional and personal lives, and achieve a state of balance and fulfillment.