When Brooke Baldwin lost her dream job, she didn’t expect to lose her sense of identity along with it. What came next wasn’t a clean pivot or a perfect plan. It has been a slow, deeply personal process of figuring out who she is without the title, the platform, or the external validation.

In this episode, Brooke talks with me about the shock of a career ending abruptly, the power of being cracked open, and how she finally gave herself permission to stop striving. I really appreciated how honest and open Brooke was about what she has learned and what she is still discovering.

What You’ll Hear:

• What it really felt like to walk away from CNN (06:50)
• The power (and pain) of being cracked open by loss (08:42)
• Why Brooke kept saying yes… until she finally had to say no (10:55)
• Navigating identity after a longtime career unraveling (16:10)
• Learning to see the signs, and to follow them (30:40)
• How Brooke found her way back to joy (34:55)

Brooke reminds us that you don’t have to have it all figured out, and how sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is stop chasing and start listening. 

This is a conversation about trusting your gut, finding the courage to pause, and choosing a different kind of success.

You can watch this interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/04a-kW__hvM 

For a full transcript and more, check out our blog post: https://www.lindsaycz.com/show-notes/brooke-baldwin-05  

Connect with Brooke Baldwin

Check out Brooke’s book Huddle: How Women Unlock Their Collective Power

Brooke’s Substack Unraveling - unravelingwithBrooke.Substack.com 

Find Brooke on Instagram: @brooke_baldwin

Read the Vanity Fair article referenced in the episode

Learn more about the American Woman with Brooke Baldwin project: https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/01/entertainment/american-woman/