Dear Reader,
Please welcome today's guest author, Jenn Todling, an author, speaker, executive coach, and adjunct instructor at the University of Denver as part of its Frontline Manager Leadership Program. As a retired audit partner at a global Big 4 accounting firm with over twenty years of professional services experience and a certified transformational leadership coach for more than ten years, Jenn helps her clients express their soul in their work and life. She currently resides near her hometown of Boulder, Colorado, with her husband (and dance partner), and young daughter. (Photo by Erin Waynick)
Dancing on My Own Two Feet is her debut memoir about how creativity can renew and transform a broken spirit. In it, she describes leaving her marriage and reconnecting with her love of dance, herself, and the possibility of finding new love.
Jenn is giving away copies of Dancing on My Own Two Feet to three winners. Email [email protected]
Please drop Jen a note and welcome her to our book club.
Leaping into the Unknown
A year ago today, I took a leap into the unknown, choosing to retire from a twenty-year career in public accounting. It was the only professional life I’d known—one that sustained me through personal transitions, including finding myself again after my divorce. I had worked tirelessly to get to where I was. As the first in my immediate family to graduate from college, I was driven to succeed. I excelled in school, earned a role at a Big 4 firm right out of college, and eventually achieved the coveted position of partner—something fewer than 1% of accountants attain.
Yet after two decades of sacrifice, my heart began pulling me elsewhere. The pandemic was a wake-up call, reminding me of life’s fragility and sparking the idea that I was meant for something different. I resisted for a long time. I was afraid of what people might think if I walked away from the success I had worked so hard for, and the security it brought me. I didn’t want to disappoint others—or myself. And of course, my six-figure income was a tether, anchoring me to the financial obligations that wouldn’t go away if I did.
But over time, the whispers from my soul became impossible to ignore. In still, quiet moments in nature—on a beach, a mountain, or in the desert—I felt a deep desire to explore my creativity and help others live boldly. When I finally gave notice, my fears dissolved. My heart was at peace, and I sensed that whatever lay ahead was exactly what I needed.
Do I miss the paycheck? Of course. But this past year, I’ve taken a sabbatical, spent a precious summer with my daughter before she started kindergarten, and returned to my roots near Boulder, Colorado, after years on the East Coast. I traveled to France for a writing retreat, taught leadership, coached emerging leaders, and worked with inspiring women on new ventures. My husband and I even returned to what connected us by teaching ballroom dance to our community. And soon, I’ll officially be a published author, the culmination of this incredible year of transition and discovery.
Here’s what I’ve learned on this journey: Fear often holds us back from our dreams. But it starts to lose its grip the moment we take action toward what calls us. Life is fleeting; tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. So, how do you want to make the most of it?
I’m cheering you on—because the world needs who you were made to be.
-- Jenn Todling
Jenn is giving away copies of Dancing on My Own Two Feet to three winners. Email [email protected]
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
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