You worked hard, built the career, and achieved what you thought success was supposed to look like.

So why can you still feel stuck?

In Episode 20 of Beyond the Corporate Ladder, I sat down with performance coach Joe Kamara to explore what happens when high achievers reach a point where their old definition of success no longer fits.

After thousands of coaching conversations, Joe has seen recurring patterns across different stages of a career from younger professionals trying to establish themselves, to mid-career leaders asking “now what?”, to experienced professionals facing an entirely new identity as their careers wind down.

The conversation explores why these moments aren't simply career changes. They're often identity shifts.

• Why successful professionals can still feel stuck
• The identity shifts that happen throughout a career
• How to question the “shoulds” driving your decisions
• Why changing your career doesn't always require one giant leap
• How small experiments can help reveal your next chapter
• Joe's five levers of sustainable performance
• Why protecting your attention has become increasingly important
• How boundaries can improve focus and reduce overwhelm
• Why “integration” may be more useful than chasing perfect work-life balance

[00:00] Meet Joe Kamara and Rethinking Peak Performance [02:30] Why High Achievers Start Questioning Their Careers [05:00] The “Now What?” Phase of Success [07:00] Career Transitions Are Identity Transitions [09:30] What Feeling “Stuck” Really Means [12:00] Exploring Change Without Blowing Up Your Life [14:30] The Five Levers of Sustainable Performance [16:30] Sleep: The Master Reset [18:00] Stress, Perspective, and Controlling the Controllables [20:30] Discipline and the Power of Consistency [22:30] Focus in an Attention Economy [25:00] Creating Boundaries Around Your Attention [27:30] Forget Balance, Think Integration [29:00] Sustainable Energy for Your Next Chapter [30:15] Connect With Joe Kamara

Joe also walk me through the five areas he uses when helping high achievers improve sustainable performance: sleep, stress, discipline, focus, and sustainable energy.

If you've reached a point in your career where you've accomplished a lot but find yourself wondering “What now?”, this conversation offers a different way to approach the question.

Have a career journey or leadership lesson worth sharing? Book a call to explore being a guest on Beyond the Corporate Ladder: https://beyondthecorporateladder.com/podcast-guest-booking

What if becoming a better leader isn't about eliminating fear, but learning how to move forward while it's still there?

In this episode of Beyond the Corporate Ladder, I sat down with Margo Masri, founder of Heartfelt CFO, to explore the career experiences, uncomfortable decisions, and mindset shifts that shaped the leader and entrepreneur she is today.

Margo shares how an early experience with money influenced her relationship with financial security, why her first accounting role left her exhausted and unfulfilled, and what happened when she began listening to the work she actually felt called to do.

She also tells the unforgettable story of nearly running from a speaking engagement in front of 700 people and how facing that moment taught her one of the biggest lessons of her career: be yourself.

• Why fear doesn't have to disappear before you take action

• How Margo learned to navigate imposter syndrome

• Why saying “no” can be essential to meaningful growth

• How to rethink success beyond money, status, and comparison

• Why business owners need financial leadership, not just reactive accounting

• How Margo leads her team through significant organizational change

• Why one uncomfortable step can change the direction of your career

[00:00] — Welcome to Beyond the Corporate Ladder [02:00] — The Childhood Money Experience That Shaped Margo [06:00] — Building Heartfelt CFO and Financial Leadership [10:00] — Margo's Early Career in Accounting [14:00] — Recognizing When a Career Isn't Working [18:00] — Taking Risks and Following Opportunities [21:00] — The 700-Person Speaking Event [26:00] — Imposter Syndrome and Choosing to Show Up [30:00] — Becoming Intentional About Who You Want to Be [34:00] — Why Saying No Matters [37:00] — Leading a Team Through Change [40:00] — Redefining Success [42:00] — Take the One Step You've Been Avoiding

Margo's journey is a reminder that building the career and life you want often requires questioning the definition of success you started with.

Have a career journey or leadership lesson worth sharing? Apply to join us: https://beyondthecorporateladder.com/podcast-guest-booking

What happens after you leave the corporate structure behind and suddenly realize you're responsible for creating the structure yourself?

In Episode 18 of Beyond the Corporate Ladder, Stephen Lee-Thomas sits down with internationally award-winning photographer, educator, and speaker Shawn Black to unpack his transition from television and agency work to building a photography business that has lasted more than 16 years.

Shawn shares how losing his agency job became the catalyst for entrepreneurship, why he initially photographed almost anything to build momentum, and how his career eventually evolved from weddings into a specialized boudoir photography business centered on confidence, strength, and helping clients see themselves differently.

But this conversation goes well beyond photography.

Shawn explains why “freedom needs to be managed,” how entrepreneurs can create structure without recreating the corporate environment they left, why continuous learning matters at every stage of business, and how knowing when to delegate can unlock the next stage of growth.

• Why entrepreneurial freedom still requires structure
• How Shawn turned an unexpected career disruption into a 16-year business
• Why finding the right niche can change both your business and your fulfillment
• How to learn from people at every experience level
• Why outside perspectives help uncover business blind spots
• How Shawn manages overwhelm and protects focused work
• When outsourcing starts making financial sense
• How to move from doing everything yourself toward building a scalable business
• Why Shawn is now designing the company to operate beyond his own time behind the camera

[00:00] Meet Shawn Black [01:12] What Boudoir Photography Really Means [03:08] Helping Clients Rediscover Confidence [05:10] From Television and Agency Work to Photography [07:06] Losing His Corporate Job and Taking the Leap [09:02] Building Momentum by Saying Yes to Everything [10:03] Why Shawn Started Moving Away From Weddings [12:45] Finding Purpose Through Boudoir Photography [16:01] The Biggest Surprise After Leaving Corporate [18:55] Why Entrepreneurs Need Their Own Structure [20:13] The Importance of Never Stopping Learning [22:40] Why Outside Perspectives Matter [24:17] Managing Overwhelm as a Business Owner [26:05] Knowing When It's Time to Outsource [28:53] Scaling Beyond the Owner [31:03] How to Connect With Shawn

Shawn's journey is a reminder that leaving corporate isn't the destination. Building a career and business around the life you actually want requires continuous adjustment, learning, and intentional decisions.

If you have a career journey or leadership lesson worth sharing, apply to join us on Beyond the Corporate Ladder: https://beyondthecorporateladder.com/podcast-guest-booking

What would make someone leave a six-figure leadership position and willingly take a two-thirds pay cut?

For Laura Biewer, it was the belief that she could build something of her own.

In Episode 17 of Beyond the Corporate Ladder, Stephen Lee-Thomas sits down with Laura Biewer, a mobile notary with 22 years of experience, educator, author, industry advocate, and co-founder of the Certified Notary Trust Delivery Agent (CNTDA) program.

Laura shares how she transitioned out of a vice president role at a nonprofit, unexpectedly entered the elder-care business, and discovered mobile notary work after struggling to find notaries willing to serve residents at her facility.

That opportunity eventually became a career.

But Laura's journey wasn't linear. When the 2008 financial crisis disrupted the loan-signing business, she had to reinvent herself again. She found a new specialty in trust signings and went on to build expertise in serving attorneys, legal professionals, hospital patients, hospice patients, skilled-nursing residents, and homebound signers.

Today, Laura also teaches and coaches other notaries, helps professionals discover new specialties, and advocates for stronger laws and protections within the industry.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why Laura walked away from a six-figure career
• How an unexpected opportunity led her into entrepreneurship
• Why she was willing to accept a major short-term income reduction
• How the 2008 financial crisis forced her to reinvent her business
• Why specialization can create more valuable opportunities for notaries
• How mobile trust-signing services can increase capacity for attorneys
• Why community matters when you're building a business independently
• How Laura moved from practitioner to educator, coach, author, and advocate
• Why serving others has become central to her definition of success

00:00 — Meet Laura Biewer and the CNTDA 02:20 — Helping Attorneys With Mobile Trust Signings 05:15 — Building a 22-Year Mobile Notary Career 07:20 — Leaving a Six-Figure Leadership Position 09:35 — The Unexpected Business That Changed Laura's Career 11:20 — Becoming a Mobile Notary 12:35 — From Notary to Educator and Coach 15:20 — Moving Into Industry Advocacy 17:40 — Finding Purpose Through Service 19:35 — What Laura Wishes She Knew About Success 21:05 — Why Community Matters in Entrepreneurship 23:00 — Creating Multiple Income Streams as a Notary 24:15 — The Compassionate Notary and Serving Vulnerable Signers 26:00 — How to Connect With Laura

Laura's story is a reminder that leaving the corporate ladder doesn't require having the entire journey mapped out. Sometimes the next opportunity appears because you're willing to solve the problem directly in front of you.

Have a career journey, leadership lesson, or story worth sharing? Apply to be a guest on Beyond the Corporate Ladder: https://beyondthecorporateladder.com/podcast-guest-booking

What happens when achieving the next promotion, building more skills, and reaching another professional milestone no longer feels like enough?

In Episode 16 of Beyond the Corporate Ladder, Stephen Lee-Thomas sits down with Jack Sparling, Co-Founder of Aspire Success, to explore how our definition of success can evolve from personal achievement toward purpose, leadership, and helping other people grow.

After more than 30 years in professional services leading high-performing teams and solving complex problems for major organizations, Jack entered a new chapter focused on executive coaching and leadership development.

He shares why some of his most fulfilling professional moments came not from his own advancement, but from seeing the people around him succeed.

The conversation explores a critical question for anyone responsible for a team:

Are you creating followers or are you creating leaders?

• Why professional achievement doesn't always create lasting fulfillment
• How Jack's definition of success changed throughout his career
• Why leaders need to develop other leaders instead of solving every problem themselves
• How empowering people to fail and learn can strengthen a team
• Why purpose can become a framework for major career decisions
• How self-awareness affects the way you lead
• How the Purpose Factor Assessment helps people articulate what drives them
• Why understanding your team's strengths can improve engagement
• How executives can think differently about their next career chapter

Chapters

[00:00] Meet Jack Sparling [01:42] From Corporate Leadership to Executive Coaching [03:48] Finding Fulfillment Beyond Achievement [06:08] How Jack’s Definition of Success Changed [08:12] Be a River, Not a Reservoir [09:56] Great Leaders Create Leaders [12:03] Empowering Your Team to Learn and Fail [14:02] Who Jack Coaches Today [15:55] From People Pleaser to Purpose Pleaser [18:03] Purpose, Leadership, and Employee Engagement [20:05] Understanding the Purpose Factor Assessment [22:04] Why Self-Awareness Makes You a Better Leader [24:00] Using Purpose to Build Stronger Teams [26:40] Jack’s Purpose Factor Assessment Offer [28:45] Closing Thoughts

Jack also shares an opportunity for listeners: the first three people who connect with him on LinkedIn and send the word “purpose” can receive a Purpose Factor Assessment and a 30-minute debrief with him.

Ready to share your own side of the story on Beyond the Corporate Ladder?

Apply to be a guest: https://beyondthecorporateladder.com/podcast-guest-booking

What separates founders who successfully scale from those who stay trapped inside their own businesses?

In this episode of Beyond the Corporate Ladder, Stephen Lee-Thomas sits down with healthcare entrepreneur Eric Lowe, CEO and Co-Founder of Aptiva Health, to explore the leadership principles that transformed a startup into a rapidly expanding healthcare organization.

Eric shares why healthcare needs to become more human, how great leaders create cultures that scale, and why documenting systems may be one of the highest-return investments a founder can make.

The conversation also dives into his upcoming book, Be the Broker, where he introduces concepts like Relational Capital and the LASSO Framework a practical approach to leveraging relationships, aligning incentives, building systems, and optimizing growth.

Whether you're building a business, leading a team, or preparing for your next stage of growth, this episode offers actionable leadership lessons grounded in real-world experience.

• Why leaders become their own biggest bottleneck
• How systems create organizational freedom
• The power of relational capital
• Why culture starts at the top
• How AI should support, not replace human relationships
• Why purpose outlasts profit as motivation
• Leadership lessons for scaling without burnout

[00:00] Introduction & Meet Eric Lowe

[01:12] Why Eric Is Passionate About Fixing Healthcare

[04:08] What's Broken in the Healthcare System?

[07:45] Building a Hospitality-First Patient Experience

[11:18] Creating Company Culture Across Multiple Locations

[14:05] Healthcare Transparency & Making Care More Affordable

[18:12] The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Purpose Over Profit

[21:06] The Biggest Leadership Mistake Founders Make

[24:03] Why Leaders Must Stop Being the Bottleneck

[26:20] The "Be the Broker" Mindset Explained

[28:55] Building Relational Capital in the Age of AI

[30:08] Eric Lowe's Advice for Success & Where to Connect

Eric Lowe CEO & Co-Founder, Aptiva Health

• LinkedIn: Eric Lowe
• Broker Driven: https://brokerdriven.com

If you'd like to share your own journey on the podcast, apply here: CLICK ME!!

What does it really take to build a business while working a full-time career?

In this episode of Beyond the Corporate Ladder, Stephen Lee-Thomas sits down with Wondella Payne, a certified paralegal and business consultant who helps aspiring entrepreneurs launch their businesses while continuing to work their day jobs.

Wondella shares how she leveraged nearly two decades of legal experience into a consulting business, discusses balancing entrepreneurship with a full-time career, and explains why success is more than simply making more money.

• Why you don't have to quit your job to become an entrepreneur
• How to turn existing career skills into a business
• Common mistakes new business owners make
• Why AI is a powerful tool, but not a replacement for expertise
• Building passive income over time
• Defining success on your own terms

[00:00] Introduction

[01:03] Meet Wondella Payne

[03:08] Why She Started Her Business

[05:25] Balancing Corporate and Entrepreneurship

[08:55] Helping Entrepreneurs Launch Businesses

[12:25] Growing a Business Since 2018

[14:15] AI's Impact on Small Business

[17:10] Defining Success

[18:45] Building Passive Income

[19:45] Final Advice for Future Entrepreneurs

If you're considering launching your own business while maintaining career stability, this episode offers practical advice and encouragement.

🎙️ Get a Chance to Share Your Side of the Story! CLICK ME!!

Thinking about leaving your corporate job to start a business?

In this episode of Beyond the Corporate Ladder, Stephen Lee-Thomas sits down with entrepreneur and recruiting expert Darren Tompkins to discuss what it really takes to make the leap into entrepreneurship.

From setting an exit strategy to hiring your first employees, Darren shares practical lessons learned from building his own recruiting company after years in corporate America.

• When it's time to leave your W-2 job
• Why hiring too early can hurt your business
• How virtual assistants can create time freedom
• The biggest hiring mistakes founders make
• Why failure is part of every entrepreneur's journey

[00:00] Introduction

[01:12] Darren's background

[04:40] When businesses should hire

[09:10] Knowing when to scale

[12:30] Leaving your W-2 job

[16:05] Building a lifestyle-first business

[19:30] Using virtual assistants effectively

[22:10] Why entrepreneurs must embrace failure

[24:20] Final advice

If you're building a business or preparing to make the leap from corporate life, this episode offers actionable advice to help you grow intentionally.

Get a Chance to Share Your Side of the Story! CLICK ME!!!