Life is about the PIVOT. If you can’t adapt to new beginnings and new opportunities, you’ll always be too stuck, not ready to go forward, and not welcomed on the path you just drove down on the one-way street that is our purpose.

In the age of social media, where everyone is flaunting their business or trying to get all up in yours, it is very hard not to compare yourself to everyone else. We often find ourselves succeeding with an audience, but that also means sometimes we feel like we are ‘failing’ in front of a virtual crowd. For me, having a job in media, a big part of it was sharing my life with the masses, so when I got laid off in October 2025, my first thought was ‘Oh my God, everyone’s going to know I failed. For a few weeks, I felt deeply embarrassed because thousands of people were talking about me. Most people don’t lose their jobs and have news articles written about it. After I let myself be sad for a little bit, I said to myself, ‘This journey was long and hard, and I can’t just give up now, so how can I pivot?’

Once I stopped seeing losing my job as a failure and started seeing it as an opportunity, I dove headfirst into my pivot! For me, that meant taking my experience in the media space and transitioning from radio host and producer to podcaster, content creator, public speaker, and business owner. I started my podcast ‘In Winnie’s World’ within 6 weeks, booked public speaking engagements, started creating social media content daily, and started seeing myself as a business. I started an LLC, found opportunities in every conversation I had, and stayed present with those who continue to follow my career.

I couldn’t be stuck in the past if I wanted to be successful going forward. So we PIVOT

P — Pause

Assess your current situation before making your next move.

When faced with a major life change, there is often pressure to act quickly. Whether the change is voluntary or unexpected, many people rush into decisions because uncertainty feels uncomfortable. However, meaningful transitions begin with a pause.

Pausing is not procrastination. It is the deliberate act of creating space to reflect, assess, and understand your current reality before determining what comes next. This stage allows you to separate emotions from decisions and gain clarity about where you stand today.

For me, the PAUSE was absolutely necessary. I spent my whole career pouring into a company that let me go when it fit their bottom line, and I needed to regroup before doing anything!

I — Inventory

Evaluate your skills, resources, relationships, and opportunities

I took time to look at my resources, whether it was my skills, my experience, or my connections, to see what I could use in the next phase of my career.

V — Validate

Test new directions before making a full commitment.

These last 6 months for me have been full of trial and error, seeing what will work and what won’t. Honestly, I’ve just been figuring it out week to week, and after a few months, it starts to come together and make sense.

O — Organize

Build a plan, structure, and support system.

Once you have identified and validated a direction, it is time to organize your resources and create a practical path forward.

Now that I have identified what my new career path looks like, I have organized my workdays around making those things happen through how I move and plan.

T — Transition

Execute the change with purpose and adaptability.

Transition is where preparation turns into action. It is the process of moving from your current reality to your desired future.

Transition is not a single event. It is an ongoing process of learning, adjusting, and growing as you navigate new circumstances.

What I’ve learned the most in this Transition of my life is that life is literally just a series of transitions, so enjoy the journey and whatever life throws at you, don’t panic, PIVOT