Three Years In: The Story Behind The Opt In Podcast (And Why It Still Matters)
I have been podcasting for 3 years.
That sentence alone feels wild to say.
In December of 2022, I launched The Opt In Podcast as a labor of love. I didn’t have a marketing strategy, a monetization plan, or a grand vision for what it would turn into. What I did have was a deep desire to say the things I wish someone had said to me earlier in my career.
This episode, and this blog, is a walk down memory lane. But more importantly, it’s a reflection on evolution, reinvention, and what happens when you keep showing up even when the path isn’t clear.
The Career That Looked Successful (But Felt Lonely)
I spent my entire career inside corporate America. Financial services. Technology. Large, global organizations with complex politics and very rigid rules.
From the outside, it looked like success. From the inside, it was isolating.
I didn’t have mentors who looked like me or lived a life like mine. I didn’t have a blueprint for navigating promotions, politics, or major life moment, like pregnancy, inside a system that was never designed with people like me in mind.
So I learned the hard way.
Every lesson was trial and error. Either something worked and I tried to repeat it, or it didn’t, and I had to figure out why after the damage was done. That pattern followed me for decades, all the way to the C-suite.
The Idea That Sparked the Podcast
Long before the podcast existed, I had the idea for it.
I wanted to create something that felt like virtual mentorship. A place where people could learn the real rules of the road: how influence works, how promotions actually happen, when to stay, and when it’s time to go.
When I took that idea to corporate communications, the answer was a very firm no.
At the same time, I was encouraged to be the polished spokesperson. The curated example. The approved voice.
That contradiction stuck with me.
When I left corporate in the fall of 2022, one of my non-negotiables in my next role was this podcast. I wanted to take the gloves off. I wanted to be unfiltered. I wanted to tell the truth.
And that’s how The Opt In Podcast was born.
The name was intentional. You get to choose what you opt into, and what you don’t.
The First Version of the Podcast
The first year of this podcast was unapologetically about corporate success.
If you go all the way back to the beginning, you’ll hear episodes about:
Navigating office politics
Becoming influential
Getting promoted
Knowing when to leave
I said the things the C-suite doesn’t want said out loud. On purpose.
This was a public service podcast. And then, like it often does, life intervened.
When Everything Changed
By mid-2023, things started to unravel.
The startup I had joined wasn’t what it seemed. My personal life became very public in ways I never expected. By October, that role was gone, and I was unemployed, uncertain, and questioning everything.
And yet, every week, I kept recording this podcast.
Honestly? It felt disingenuous at times. I was giving advice about careers and leadership while I was personally lost. I didn’t want to go back to corporate and I didn’t know what was next.
So I did what I could. I spoke from experience. From lessons already learned. From a version of myself that had clarity, even if the present version didn’t yet.
The Accidental Pivot
By early 2024, something shifted.
Without a grand announcement or rebrand, the podcast evolved. The conversations moved away from corporate career tactics and toward business principles, frameworks, and decision-making.
Small business owners became the focus; not because I planned it, but because it reflected where I was and what I was building.
The heart of the podcast didn’t change. You still get to opt in. You still choose what advice to take and what to leave behind.
What changed was the lens.
Consistency as a Quiet Commitment
One thing I’m deeply proud of is this: I committed to one episode a week, and I kept that promise.
No breaks. No seasons. No disappearing.
Not because it was easy, but because I believed consistency mattered more than perfection. And along the way, something unexpected happened.
This podcast built a muscle I didn’t know I needed.
It strengthened my ability to communicate in long form. To tell stories. To articulate ideas clearly. To turn lived experience into frameworks others could use.
Ironically, I started this podcast to teach and I learned just as much in the process.
Where We Are Now
Today, The Opt In Podcast is a business-focused show grounded in principles, not trends.
We talk about:
Business strategy
Operations
Leadership
Planning
Decision-making
Growth without burnout
Every episode is meant to be a resource you can return to when you need it.
I don’t obsess over downloads or rankings. I care that the information is accessible, honest, and useful.
The Commitment Going Forward
On the third birthday of this podcast, here’s what I’m recommitting to:
Transparency. Honesty. Evolution.
You’ll continue to hear real stories, sometimes delayed, but always true. You’ll get lessons from inside my business as it grows and changes. And I reserve the right to reinvent this podcast again if that’s what’s required.
If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s this: certainty is an illusion. Growth requires choice. And opting in is always yours.
Thank you for being here, for listening, reflecting, and growing alongside me.
