Five Lessons Learned on My Journey from Corporate to Consultant

One of the best career decisions I ever made was dedicating over 25 years to the meetings and convention industry. I absolutely loved everything about my career and the industry. Working with other high achievers and business owners. The energy of the people. The travel, the perks, the luxury hotels and amenities, the fine dining, the swag, the income, being a part of something ‘way larger’ than just me, and putting my thumbprint on it – my career rocked!

The second-best career decision I ever made was walking away from it all. Because I was completely burned out.

Yep, you read that right. I was burned out (I imploded) and I walked away from all of it overnight. I had chosen my career over so much that was important to me back then. Everything was put aside for my career: friends and neighbors, opportunities to build new inter-personal relationships, out of town family events. I even nearly missed my son’s high school graduation because of my career!

So how is it that burning out and walking away from such a lucrative career was the best thing that ever happened to me? Because it forced me to crack the code on transcending burnout to REALLY have ALL I want in life – in a whole new way.

For this reason, I am super excited to announce the launch of my brand new business, R Stone Consulting.

 What is R Stone Consulting all about?

I have one mission now. Helping other high achievers and business owners to transcend the challenges that come with success – without burnout or spinning your wheels. To do this on your own terms through a combination of thought leadership, business and personal coaching and life changing retreats (coming March 2020). I help my clients dial into their deepest held values, their highest aspirations, and identification of their hard boundaries and craft a custom plan for them to achieve what matters most to them in the best way possible.

Business Leadership and Personal Coaching

My passion is helping already high achievers and rising stars to get and stay on top without burning out. I cracked this code for you so you don’t have to go through what I did. I have no regrets or embarrassment about my burnout mind you, look where I am now!!! So happy and eager to share with you all that I learned and all that you will avoid when you work with me.

I want to share with you my 5 biggest lessons learned (plus one bonus!) so you can apply them to your life RIGHT NOW.

1. Success isn’t always defined by title or income

I found for me, that becoming a coach provided me with greater personal and professional satisfaction than I ever imagined or experienced in my previous career. I always loved helping others achieve their goals as a side gig, now I get to do it for a living. What does success really look like for you? Are you passionate about what you are currently doing? Does your vision of success align with your values?

2. True success isn’t about what you get out of your career or business; it is what you get out of your life!

You’ve all heard the analogy; work to live don’t live to work. In case you missed the memo living to work is exactly what we do here in the United States. That line of thinking no longer works for me. I’ve re-prioritized my life to allow me to live true to my values and I now have all of them in my life every day. What about you? Is there a part of your life that feels out of balance? What can you do to think about your success more broadly and incorporate more balance in your life? How are you going to flip that script from living to work to working to live?

3. The never-ending stress, constant struggle with balance, inability to get ahead of the curve ball in business is most often, SELF-IMPOSED.

No one ever taught me about self-care, what boundaries were or encouraged me to make commitments to causes outside of my career that were relevant to my values. I always assumed I couldn’t say no to any project or opportunity for fear of being called out as not a team player. How wrong that thinking was! All of this is important. And now you know it too. What you do with this new knowledge is yours to explore with me.

4. I’ve learned reinventing one’s self and learning to live life on purpose, takes way longer than you would initially think.

Secondary to that, I recognize (and you will too!) that I have way more to offer my clients than I ever imagined. After 25+ years of ownership, leadership, mentor-ship, conversations in the C suite, experiences on the ground floor, etc that my expertise is 100% transferable to wherever I want to take them. That is why I am so excited to help others go through their journeys with my support so they can do so without the frustration, delays, lack of direction (and mistakes) that I had in mine. Wouldn’t it be great to have a roadmap and guide to get you where you want to be?

5. Lastly, do not put off to tomorrow, what you can do today.

If you are winding down in your career in the next few years or ready to shift your life for greater satisfaction professionally and personally, it is a long process. Your transition will be so much smoother for you if you get started now.  Had I known then what I know now, I absolutely would have made this shift years ago!

How about you? Are you craving a shift from living to work to working to live? Do you have an untapped passion or dream you would like to follow in the next few years that requires a couple years of pre-work or some sort of certification you don’t have yet? Start now to be ready then. Read on for your bonus lesson learned from my experience:

6. Even though I am an accredited and certified coach and advisor, I really didn’t get traction until I HIRED MYSELF A COACH and mentor.

I could have gotten to this launch point so much quicker if I had hired someone earlier on in the process to keep me on track, stay authentic to my initial goals, hold me accountable to my delays and organize my system to provide the absolute best value possible to the clientele I now serve. A world of thanks to my mentor, coach and now friend Betsy Jordyn as I wouldn’t be sharing my launch with you today if it wasn’t for her incredible guidance, patience resources and persistence with me as I journeyed here.

How about you? Could you benefit from an outside perspective, someone to hold you accountable to your goals & dreams, get you to the finish line quicker all while advocating for you to succeed? Then you are looking for me.

And if you are anything like I was and would rather be more like what I have become – someone who wants to do great things in your career while still loving life – I invite you to hop on over to my website and take a look around. There’s a really cool and quick assessment you can pick up for FREE which will help you determine your current state of capacity and balance right on the home page. Then let’s stay in touch! I will share insightful articles and an OCCASIONAL newsletter, and by staying in touch you will be kept informed on the launch of my private Facebook group and receive early bird access and discounts to upcoming Career Crossroad Retreats (launching March 2020).

Remember, I was once you, and now I’m here to support you!

About Rachelle

Rachelle Stone is a 25+ year veteran of the Meetings & Convention Industry who, in 2014 left the industry to transition to full time Consulting & Executive Coaching after her own personal implosion. She now guides business owners and stressed out executives through the strategic steps needed to breakthrough plateaus and glass ceilings, accelerate their growth trajectory, increase profits, dominate in their market and reach their goals WITHOUT burning out.