110. It Seemed Normal... But It Really Wasn’t with Wendy Cocke

FINE is a 4-Letter Word

As children, without a frame of reference to really compare, however you're raised or whatever you experience seems to be normal.

But what if "normal" is not actually what's natural for you?

Wendy Cocke was raised in a family that owned a textile business specializing in cut and sew. From an early age, she was involved in business and financial decisions, basically as an equal member of the family. She was taught to think and problem-solve more than she was to memorize and regurgitate.

Very different from what many of her classmates experienced.

Wendy grew up and became a chemical engineer. She got married and started a family. She was living her best life, in a job doing work she loved. Everything seemed "fine".

But fine is a 4-letter word.

Her company was restructured, making her job redundant, and then the pandemic hit and she was let go with severance.

After taking 30 days off, Wendy discovered that while she had, indeed, been "fine," she had not been energized in her work. In fact, she had been very tired most of the time. But it seemed normal because that’s how everyone else was living. And it wasn’t until she spent 30 days doing nothing that she realized how not fine that was.

In a moment, when you meet Wendy, you'll discover the lessons she’s learned since then. Starting with a daylong interview for a job she thought she really wanted, even though her husband told her ahead of it that she would not be accepting that job. And the realization that working for someone else was not her destiny.

This kicked off her journey to starting her own consulting firm. Having discovered her love of mentoring in her previous job, she merged her past profession and this love by joining the faculty of her alma mater, teaching biomedical engineering.

Then she decided to write a book – and EVERYTHING changed.

Overall, Wendy had to break free from the clusterfuck of perfectionism that held her chained down. Once she did this, she experienced success she’d never even imagined was possible.

Wendy’s hype song is “9 to 5”, by Dolly Parton.

She also visits the Guns N' Roses channel on Pandora for inspiration.

Resources:

• Wendy Cocke’s website: https://www.engineeringleadershipsolutions.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-anderson-cocke/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendycocke

Invitation from Lori:

Like Wendy, you may be living how you’re living now because of the beliefs that have been programmed into you since birth. Because of the stories you’ve told yourself forever. Because it's what other people who seem to be successful are doing.

But the part that gets overlooked by most people is that true success doesn’t come from always DOING. It requires time for recharging and allowing yourself to simply BE.

I’m talking resting, reflecting, and rejuvenating every DAY, not only on the one week of vacation you might allow yourself every year, or two, or five.

In my special guide, 5 Easy Ways to Start Living the Sabbatical Life, you'll discover, step-by-step, how to do that on the regular without taking a month or year-long sabbatical.

You know how you normally hear the disclaimer “Don’t try this at home!” In this case, you CAN try this at home. And not just “try,” DO.

Visit https://ZenRabbit.com and download it from the home page.

Change begins today.