Fallen

When the Dream of Freedom Starts to Feel Like a Trap

We talk a lot about career change as if it’s a clean, brave leap - like you shut one door, open another, and walk through into a field of self-actualization and LinkedIn-worthy sunsets.

But the truth is messier.

I want to share a story.

It’s personal. It’s raw.

And it’s about a kind of failure I never expected to experience - one that began not when I left my corporate job, but when I tried to step into the life I thought I wanted.

Not all paths are clear. Some lead you through fog before they bring you home.

The Escape Tunnel

In the final stretch of my corporate career, when my role no longer gave me purpose or joy, I found a side project that felt like a lifeline.

I started helping a client - initially pro bono - with branding and communication.

This work energized me. Her small company was building something real, something I could touch and shape. It gave me hope.

We became friends.

I saw my future unfolding through this collaboration: freedom, purpose, autonomy.

When I finally left my corporate job, I naturally leaned into this partnership.

She became my first official client, and I became her fractional marketing manager.

Or at least that was the title.

The Slow Slide

Very quickly, my role expanded beyond recognition. I was helping with:

• Accounting systems

• Hiring

• Job descriptions

• Operations manuals

• Photoshoots

• Trade fair logistics

• And yes, some marketing things on the side

Eventually, I found myself acting as a personal assistant, without intending to, without realizing it. 

My days were full.

My calendar is overloaded.

My boundaries? Blurred.

And the worst part? 

It wasn’t my client’s fault. 

It was mine.

The Pattern That Followed Me

Leaving corporate didn’t free me from the behavior patterns I had developed in corporate.

I was still a high-achiever.

The one who says, “If nobody’s willing to do it, I’ll step in and get it done.”

It served me in corporate. It made me stand out.

But as a solopreneur?

It became too expensive—in energy, time, and missed opportunities.

I felt underpaid, overworked, and started burning out.

This time, I couldn’t blame a boss or an org chart.

It was my business.

My choices.

From the Tunnel to the Mirror

What helped?

A few quiet coaching sessions.

A lot of reflection during the last Christmas holiday season.

I realized something important:

What once was a light at the end of the tunnel had now become a tunnel of its own.

I didn’t need an escape anymore.

I needed alignment.

I needed to work for something, not just away from something.

The Decision

I stepped back.

We tried to reshuffle things, define new boundaries. I even created manuals, guides and systems for a clean transition.

But even the “new” version of the work didn’t feel right.

I knew how easily I could slide back into my old role, my old mindset, my old patterns.

So I walked away - from this client, from a new consulting opportunity with a prominent Croatian singer, and from LinkedIn (at least temporarily).

The Real Transition

Here’s what I’ve learned:

Transitioning from corporate is not about changing what you do.

It’s about changing how you think.

If you bring the same behaviors into your new chapter—especially ones rooted in overperformance, people-pleasing, or self-neglect—then self-employment just becomes a different flavor of burnout.

Freedom, without boundaries, can turn into another cage.

Key Learnings for Others on This Journey:

• Don’t confuse helpfulness with value. 

  Just because you can do everything, doesn’t mean you should.

• Define your role before others do it for you. 

  Scope creep is real—and when you’re emotionally invested, it's almost invisible.

• Check your patterns. 

  Are you operating from fear (of disappointing, of not being enough) or from alignment?

• Set CEO-level boundaries—even if you're a team of one. 

  Time is your most limited resource. Don’t give it away cheaply.

• You don’t owe your past self a future you don’t want. 

  That old dream of working with this client?

  It served its purpose. It helped you leap. Now it’s okay to let it go.

What's Next?

I’ve started focusing on what I originally intended—my own ideas, projects, and vision.

And I’ve realized I’m not the only one who’s fallen into this trap.

Many of us leave corporate not just to change jobs, but to reclaim ourselves. And that takes more than a business plan. It takes community, honesty, and sometimes—unlearning decades of conditioning.

That’s why I’m considering creating a mastermind group—for others like me.

People who have exited corporate and want to lead from a different mindset.

Not to hustle harder, but to build smarter.

To move with clarity, not exhaustion.

If that sounds like you, let’s talk.

One Final Thought

Falling isn’t failing.

It’s what wakes you up to the fact that you were sleepwalking.

I fell - but I landed on something even more valuable:

clarity.

Now I’m walking forward - with my eyes wide open.

You don’t always need to run forward. Sometimes standing still is what lets the light in.