Way Out #33: From False Accusations to Creative Freedom with Marion Gibbon
What if the worst moment in your career is actually the exact exit ramp you’ve been waiting for? After decades directing frontline community nutrition across Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, and managing high-stakes pandemic health operations in the UK, Dr. Marion Gibbon found herself facing crushing municipal budget cuts, administrative friction, and severe burnout. But when a completely baseless workplace complaint was lodged against her, she chose not to exhaust herself defending a broken system that no longer aligned with her values. Instead, Marion treated it as the ultimate catalyst to step off the corporate hamster wheel for good. Using the 101 Ways Out 30-Day Program to navigate the disorienting "liminal space" of reinvention, she broke through academic perfectionism to publish her long-shelved book The Seven Paths to Leadership, author a new proposal rooted in feminine archetypes and the 13 lunar cycles, and relocate to the sunlit foothills of Southern France to practice botanical eco-printing and prepare for an upcoming artist residency in Jodhpur, India.
Way Out #32: From Hospital Psychiatrist to Life on the Road: Continuous Reinvention with Dr. Lani Jones
"If you wait until you're ready, you will never do it. Just take one small step to get unstuck." — Dr. Lani Jones
Dr. Lani Jones, Clinical Psychologist, Executive Coach, and Speaker, joins Vanessa to share how third time’s the charm when learning to step off conventional tracks. Lani spent a decade training to become a clinical psychologist at a major children's hospital, only to find the healthcare system treated her like she was easily replaceable. As she put it, "I was just a number in the system; they just wanted my productivity units." She walked away to launch a private practice. Though it was flourishing, she knew five years in that it was time for another change. So, she reinvented herself again: she closed her clinic, sold her home, and hit the road as an executive coach and full-time nomad living across mountain towns.
Way Out #31: From Award-Winning Educator to Modern Supportive Husband with Brian Page
When former Milken National Educator of the Year Brian Page realized how subtle workplace biases and domestic care gaps sideline ambitious women, he stepped away from an 80-hour-per-week career to fully support his wife’s corporate trajectory. Today, as the founder of Modern Husbands, he uses evidence-based research to help couples manage money and domestic labor as a unified team, break the traditional link between masculinity and breadwinning, take full ownership of the household mental load, and build systems that let both partners thrive.
Episode #26: From Clinical Burnout to Health Coach with Katie Cooper
Katie spent nearly two decades climbing the clinical leadership ladder in occupational therapy. But when the COVID-19 pandemic stripped away the resources of her healthcare system, she found herself physically and emotionally depleted. Instead of giving up, she used her crisis as a catalyst to train as a health coach, pioneer an internal wellness program for over 500 of her peers, and ultimately find the courage to give her two months' notice to build a business on her own terms.
Way Out #22: He Was Putting Payroll on Credit Cards: Then His Son Was Born Nine Weeks Early with Brian Best
The scariest moment of Brian's life forced the ultimate realization: If your business completely relies on your physical time, it is a trap. Today, his business runs on recurring revenue so he can travel the country in an RV with his family. Learn how he built a business that can run without him on this week's episode of 101 Ways Out!
Way Out #17: From Pastor to Serial Entrepreneur with Keith Davenport
In this episode, we sit down with Keith Davenport, a man whose life is a masterclass in radical transformation. Keith went from growing up in a conservative evangelical household with a childhood calling to be a pastor, to ultimately leaving his faith to identify as a progressive atheist and political candidate. After experiencing severe burnout and untreated ADHD while managing crisis communications during the COVID-19 pandemic, Keith took a massive leap into serial entrepreneurship. We discuss how he acquired a beloved local coffee shop, launched a multi-six-figure consulting firm, and founded an HR tech startup. Ultimately, Keith shares how he redefined success entirely, choosing his mental health and his role as a husband and father over traditional corporate power.
Way Out #15: From Startup Toxicity to Building a Balanced Life with Anna Duin
Anna Duin spent 11 years doing marketing at startups — always doing the work of multiple people for the price of one. She navigated layoffs, negotiated flexible hours, and went through two terrifying years with a seriously ill child while her last company turned toxic. When she finally left, she didn’t have a plan. Just a conversation where she heard herself say: “I think I just have to build my own thing.” This is what happened in the year that followed.
Way Out #6: She Left a "Good Enough" Marriage, Then Corporate: For a Camper Van and the Smokies with Taylor Surdyke
On paper, Taylor Sordike had the American Dream: a husband, a suburban home, and a rising career in logistics. But deep down, she knew she was settling for "safety" rather than alignment. In this post, Taylor reveals how leaving a "good enough" marriage gave her the muscle memory to walk away from corporate life, buy a camper van, and follow her intuition to the Smokies. Her advice for anyone standing on the edge of a pivot? "Do it scared."
Way Out #4: She Had Tenure, a Marriage, and a Child: It Was Slowly Killing Her with Dr. Risa Stein
Most of us are taught to be strong. Push through. Don’t complain. Be grateful for the tenure, the house, the title.
Dr. Risa Stein did all of that. By her mid-30s, she had checked every box: PhD, marriage, child, tenure-track career. From the outside, it looked like success.
On the inside, it was slowly killing her.