Aligned

What happens when we follow the path we were taught would lead to success, only to discover that the life we've worked so hard to create isn't the life we actually want?For many lawyers, we've spent years chasing the next achievement: getting into a great law school, landing the prestigious job, making partner, earning more money. But what happens when our priorities change? When the career that once made sense no longer fits who we've become?In this episode of Aligned, I'm joined by attorney, entrepreneur, coach, and founder of Powerhouse Lawyers, Erin Gerner, for an honest, heartfelt, and sometimes hilarious conversation about redefining success, navigating life's transitions, and finding the courage to create a career and life that truly align with who we are.Erin shares her journey from Big Law to an in-house legal role, stepping away from practicing law after becoming a mother, building businesses, coaching lawyers, and eventually finding her way back to legal work on her own terms.We explore what happens when our identity becomes wrapped up in being a lawyer, why it's so difficult to let go of the expectations we've internalized, and how we can begin trusting ourselves enough to pursue what we truly want.We also talk about the unique challenges of midlife, including changing priorities, perimenopause, and the realization that what worked in one season of life may no longer work in another.In this conversation, we explore:Why a successful legal career doesn't always translate into a fulfilling life.The difference between what we've been conditioned to want and what we authentically desire.How becoming a mother or entering a new season of life can fundamentally shift our priorities and capacity.Why career paths don't have to be linear, and how we can give ourselves permission to pivot, experiment, and evolve.The power of community and surrounding ourselves with people who remind us of what's possible.How small acts of courage, including simply saying no, help us develop self-trust.Why fear, perfectionism, and the pressure to always get things right can keep lawyers stuck.How taking imperfect action builds confidence and helps us move toward meaningful change.One of my favorite reminders from our conversation is that we don't need to have the entire path figured out. We can simply take the next best step.And sometimes, the greatest growth comes not from achieving another goal, but from who we become when we're willing to feel the fear and move forward anyway.Whether you're questioning your career, navigating a transition, or simply feeling called toward something different, I hope this conversation reminds you that you're not alone, that there are many ways to define success, and that it's never too late to create a life that feels authentic to you.Connect with Erin Gerner:Website: ErinGerner.comPodcast: Powerhouse LawyersFind Erin on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.If this episode resonates with you, I'd love for you to share it with another lawyer who might need to hear this conversation. And please follow Aligned for more honest conversations about creating meaningful careers and lives.

What does it take to make a successful career pivot, job change, or turn a passion project into something more?In this solo episode of Aligned, Jessie shares the mindset shifts and mental habits that helped her gradually transition from practicing law into building her coaching, consulting, and retreat business.One of the biggest challenges for lawyers considering a change is the desire to have the entire path figured out before taking the first step. But career transitions rarely work that way. They require experimentation, a willingness to change direction and try new things, and the ability to let go of time or money you've already invested in a path that no longer feels right.Jessie shares some of the practices that helped her navigate that uncertainty, including:• Creating a compelling vision for what you want—not simply focusing on what you want to escape• Committing to that vision while staying flexible about exactly how you get there• Recognizing sunk cost bias and giving yourself permission to change course• Letting go of other people's opinions and focusing your energy on what you can control• Protecting your attention and eliminating distractions• Surrounding yourself with people and stories that expand your sense of what's possible• Taking consistent action, even when the steps feel smallJessie also shares how, while she was still practicing law, she created a vision board filled with women who had once been lawyers and had gone on to create entirely different careers. Those women became evidence for her brain that another path was possible.You don't need to know exactly where the path will lead before you begin walking it.Clarity often follows action. If you're contemplating a career change, building a side business, or wondering what your own "Act Two" might look like, this episode offers practical encouragement for navigating the uncertainty that comes with creating something new.Connect with Jessie on LinkedIn or through jessiebrown.org

What happens when we spend so much of our lives thinking, producing, achieving, and caring for others that we lose touch with ourselves?In this solo episode of Aligned, Jessie explores the transformative power of retreat—especially for women lawyers whose demanding careers and full lives can leave little room for creativity, embodiment, play, or feeling fully alive.Drawing from her own experience as a Big Law attorney, working mother, and now retreat facilitator, Jessie shares how stepping away from ordinary life helped her reconnect with parts of herself that had gone dormant. Retreat wasn't about becoming someone new. It was about remembering who she had always been.Jessie explores how nature-based and mind-body practices can help us move beyond the analytical, productivity-focused mode that dominates so much of legal life and reconnect with our bodies, creativity, intuition, joy, and the "wild woman" within.In this episode, Jessie discusses:• Why high-achieving women can become disconnected from themselves while caring for everyone else• The difference between simply being outdoors and mindfully immersing yourself in nature• Forest bathing and the restorative power of slowing down in the natural world• Why movement, music, breathwork, sound healing, and other embodied practices can offer something thinking alone cannot• Jessie's own experience of rediscovering parts of herself through transformational retreats• The "wild woman" archetype and reconnecting with our instinctual, creative, embodied selves• Why taking time for yourself can ultimately benefit your family, colleagues, clients, and community• Simple practices you can try at home to cultivate more presence, freedom, joy, and alivenessJessie also recommends The Wild Woman's Way by Michaela Boehm for women interested in simple practices for reconnecting with their bodies, sensuality, freedom, and aliveness.If you've ever felt that life has become more of a grind than an adventure—or wondered whether some essential part of you has gotten buried beneath your responsibilities—this episode is an invitation to reconnect.Connect with Jessie:Jessie Brown, JD, PCC, is a former Big Law attorney and coach for lawyers. She also facilitates transformational retreats for women lawyers and workshops for law firms and legal organizations.If you're interested in Jessie's coaching, workshops, or future retreats, visit jessiebrown.orgIf this episode resonated with you, please follow Aligned, leave a rating or review, and share the episode with someone who might benefit.

What if discovering your purpose isn’t about finding one perfect calling but about noticing what makes you come alive?In this episode of Aligned, Jessie explores one of the questions at the heart of her work with lawyers: How do we create lives and careers that feel meaningful, purposeful, and true to who we are?Drawing from her own journey from Big Law to coaching and retreat facilitation, as well as her training as a Purpose Guide, Jessie shares some of the common beliefs and “shoulds” that can keep us stuck when we’re trying to discover our purpose.She explores:• Why purpose may be less about asking “What does the world need?” and more about asking “What makes me come alive?” (inspired by Howard Thurman)• What chronic stress and burnout can do to our ability to hear our intuition and recognize what energizes us• The powerful message Jessie received to “create a clearing in the dense forest of your life” (Martha Postlethwaite) and how creating space allowed her to hear her inner guidance• How your sense of purpose can evolve as your circumstances and priorities change • How to recognize clues to your purpose by paying attention to moments of joy, flow, aliveness, contribution, and meaningful connection• How you can curate your legal career around your values, strengths, and the kind of contribution you want to make• When it might make sense to stay in work that isn’t deeply meaningful because of financial or family priorities—and how to do that consciously• How a creative practice, side business, volunteer work, or other form of contribution can reconnect you with a sense of aliveness• The “default purposes” and inherited “shoulds” we absorb from our families, culture, and other people—and how to begin questioning whether they’re actually oursUltimately, Jessie sees purpose discovery as a journey of coming home to ourselves—letting go of what no longer fits and becoming more fully who we are.And perhaps the question isn’t “What am I supposed to do with my life?”Perhaps it’s simply:What makes me come alive—and how can I create more space for that?If you’re a lawyer—or anyone navigating a period of career or life transition—this episode invites you to pause, listen inward, and consider what your life might be telling you. Learn more about Jessie and her work with lawyers at jessiebrown.org.

What if thinking about death could help you live — and work — more fully?In this solo episode of Aligned, Jessie shares one of the most powerful tools she's found for cutting through fear and getting clear on what truly matters: contemplating mortality. Drawing on her own story of losing both parents during college, her training as a death doula with former lawyer Alua Arthur, and her time volunteering with hospice patients, Jessie explores how facing impermanence can dissolve the limiting beliefs that keep many of us stuck. Jessie walks through two exercises you can try yourself: a hospice chaplain's post-it note exercise, and the "two jars" practice for visualizing how much time we really have.She also unpacks the two most common regrets from Bronnie Ware's The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying — and why fear of disappointing parents, chasing approval, and financial scarcity often keep people from making the courageous choices they long to make.In this episode:Jessie's personal story of loss and how it shaped her early career choicesWhat she learned training as a death doula with Alua ArthurThe post-it note exercise from her hospice volunteer trainingThe "two jars" exercise for visualizing your remaining timeThe top two regrets of the dying, from Bronnie Ware's researchHow Internal Family Systems (IFS) work helps unpack the fears that can impact our work habits and job choicesResources mentioned:Alua Arthur's TED Talk The Five Invitations by Frank OstaseskiThe Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie WareConnect with Jessie:Website: jessiebrown.orgLinkedInIf this episode resonated, please rate, subscribe, and share it with someone who might benefit.