It's my birthday month, y'all, and I'm celebrating with a deep, personal episode on reinvention. I'm unpacking my own major career pivot — leaving the classroom after years as an educator to become an education policy specialist — and tracing my journey from adjunct professor to PhD to my role at the state Department of Education.

I also get into other life transitions I've been through: becoming a homeowner, financial ups and downs, watching my parents retire and shift roles (and my own shift into a caregiving role), and the emotional weight of changing identities.

The heart of the episode: four strategies I use for reinventing yourself after a life pivot —

1. Know yourself — your passions, skills, and values
2. Envision what's next — manifest and plan your future
3. Find your community — accountability partners and support systems
4. Be authentic and intentional — about your image and how you show up

I close things out with a spirited, humorous take on Yung Miami's "Spend That" and the discourse around it, tying it back to authenticity and calling out double standards.