Episode 9 – Find Your Life’s Work With Anastasia Tripolskaya

Loree Philip: 00:02

Hi, and welcome to the Daring to Leap podcast. I'm your host, Loree Philip. I'm so excited to dive into this week's episode with you. On this week's episode, we have a special guest, Anastasia Tripolskaya is here, and we are discussing her career leap from consulting at Deloitte and her framework and coaching program on How to Find Your Life's work.  

Loree Philip: 00:26

Let's dive in. It's our very first guest episode for the podcast. I'm so excited, Anastasia Tripolskaya is here. Anastasia is a certified career clarity, life purpose, and business coach with over ten years of experience. She is the creator of find your life's work coaching program. And what's more interesting about Anastasia and why she's here is because she was my coach when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my career, and I didn't have a clue where to start. So I know she knows what she's talking about, and I can't wait to have this conversation with her so she can share some of her tips with you. So welcome Anastasia. I'm so glad you're here.  

Loree Philip: 01:39

I'm so glad to be here. This is very exciting. Thank you for inviting to the podcast. Absolutely. I'm so glad you're here, and I think I want to start off our interview today with talking about your career journey. Why did you leave deloitte and what was it that led you to take your own leap?  

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 01:54

I worked in marketing and strategy consulting, doing a lot of software implementations for large corporations. And in many ways, it felt that something I can definitely do. I have so much skill for it, and I felt very confident and successful in my work.  I got promoted. I was put on those large, massive projects. I led a lot of them. And it felt like, yeah, on the outside, my whole career looked so shiny. I would travel mandatory before work. My resume was so sparkle, I could get on any project that I wanted.  

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 02:10

My pay, of course, felt so comfortable. But on the inside, I felt like with time, I went further and further away from myself. And at some point, I realized that there is just that big scream inside of me that I just couldn't do this anymore. I felt like, yes, I'm put on those big projects, but I'm not put in a position where I can be myself to the fullest. And so you understand who I am. I am a very free person. I love to just speak my mind. I have so much energy and happiness in me. And I felt like in corporate, yes, I was going and going higher and higher in ranks, and I felt very successful, but I just didn't feel happy on the inside. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 02:57

And that was very painful for a person who is so free and happy, just generally speaking. And at some point, I realized that there were three values that were violated to me in the job and in the role that I was. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 03:10

So, number one, it was the lack of meaning. I felt that I just wasn't doing the work that making a difference in the world in the way I wanted to make a difference. And I also felt that I wasn't just myself, really, to the full extent of myself. I felt like I'm limiting my own potential by staying in a career that was not necessarily aligned with my purpose. And I didn't even know what my purpose was. Clearly at that point, I was starting to even realize, like, oh, my gosh. I had this big question of, like, what could I be doing it? But I just didn't know yet. And also, the lifestyle was not sustainable. I'm married, and at that time, I'm traveling Monday through Thursday every single week, and I was never home. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 03:50

Like, I would see my husband only on weekends, and I would work half of those weekends. I would work 60 8100 hours each week. And it just felt. Like looking into the future. It wasn't a sustainable lifestyle. And so I knew I needed something to be different. I just didn't know yet what that difference could look like for me. And that's where I started to ask big questions. And what got you to what you're doing now? Some of the big questions that I was asking was so if this is not what I want to be doing then what is it? And it was painful because I couldn't necessarily answer that right away. But I knew deep in my heart that for years I had this big dream that one day I wanted to start a business that helps people. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 04:37

I had that dream since I was 14 years old. I didn't know what business, what kind of people. I just knew in my heart I really wanted to do that. And actually that's one of the reasons why I even gotten myself into consulting. Because I thought that this can help me build my skills, work on big projects, learn from the top corporations and then also lost myself along the way. But that's not what I intended to do when I got to that path. And I knew that, okay, if this is a business then what kind of business? And then I started digging and I started to ask myself, so what makes me truly happy? Who am I truly now? And who do I want to become? Because who I felt I became was not the version of me I was really satisfied with. Because when I was 17 I did this project in high school. It was a happiness project. And I realized that a lot of adults in my life who kind of left lived in this state of they settled and they were successful ish. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 05:34

But they were not necessarily at all like their eyes weren't shining. They were doing life on default like operating autopilot. And I refused. My whole nervous system told me no. I promised to myself to never become that. And the years went by and I became that. I became. Very successful on paper, but not fulfilled. So I started digging, and the big realization that came to me was that my whole life, I found myself in those big conversations, life changing conversations with many people, where somehow I would ask people, so what is it that you want to do? What is your big dream? Oh, you want to start a business? What kind of business? So tell me more. And somehow people around me would start changing their careers. They would leave their job, they would start businesses. They would start to believe in themselves more. There was more confidence. And I was coaching and mentoring people on the side my whole life. That's just how I am, how this is the human I am. And I realized, wow, this is where I can help the most. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 06:31

And I also reconnected with my purpose. And I understood that it was for me. And now I live up to my purpose, which is actually helping people align with their purpose so they can truly maximize their potential and make a greater impact on the world. 

Loree Philip: 06:45

Yeah, I can totally relate to that because those were some of the questions I was asking myself back a few years ago when I was thinking about, what is it exactly do I want to do if it's not this? And one of the things that came up for me was that in my career, I was kind of going through the motions, and I was doing pretty well. 

Loree Philip: 07:08

And I thought, well, how powerful, what it would be possible for me if I loved what I was doing, if I aligned it with my strengths and just really was invested in it.

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 07:36

And that's actually a good point, because so many entire achievers, people who have been in whatever career path they've been in, whatever industry you're used to succeeding and being maybe one of the best in whatever you're doing. But imagine now if you also loved it and aligned with your strengths and purpose. Wow. Like, it means you can succeed like, ten times beyond that. And because you will now tap into your potential, it's an entirely different way of living. 

Loree Philip: 07:51

So now you're focused 100% of your time helping people find their life's work. What are you noticing about your clients and why they're thinking about switching careers now? Are there any trends you're seeing with that? 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 08:06

Yeah, I see a massive, massive shift in people's priorities. A lot of people are realizing that it's not enough anymore to have have stable career, to have security in their life. They want more. They want more meaning, they want more happiness. They want more fulfillment. They want more impact and purpose. And I see from so many conversations that people feel like they put a little bit in a box in their roles and they just want more freedom to express who they truly are. They don't necessarily even realize what who they truly are even means just yet. But they feel disconnected, they feel misaligned, and they feel like something is missing in their life. And they're trying to now realize, like, okay, so this is where I am. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 08:53

I feel like the change is coming. But there's that fear of change because change can be scary, especially if you're a professional who've been in your career for a number of years. Like you, I think, been with Boeing for 16 when you came to to me 15 years. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 09:09

Right. And it's scary. Of course, you have a whole everything is set up now. You know how to operate in that realm, but what else could you be doing? And so now people have this question, and that's why they come to hire a coach, because they feel they are not sure how to navigate this new chapter of life. And the big question that they have is like, okay, if this didn't work for me, what else could I be doing? But now I have more priorities. I have a priority to not only be just successful, but also happy and fulfilled. And this is the work we do. We go deep and really understand what it would look like for them. So let's go on that a little bit. I have listeners that if they're thinking I have this idea of maybe I could be doing something else. 

Loree Philip: 10:01

What advice do you have for a person who's thinking about it, but just wouldn't even know where to start? 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 10:11

That's a great question. And I would say the start is really in the decision. It's in the decision to say, oh, all right, I've been on this path and now I want more. And to really promise to yourself that you will understand what that more and what that new path can even look like. To really turn that clarity into a project, into a goal. Because I see so many people, so many talented, brilliant professionals being stuck for years, sometimes for decades. I had a client who've done it for ten years, for twelve years. She knew she didn't want to do it. She still stayed in there for ten years, has kids now, she has obligations. But what can help you really get going is to ages decide, okay, I'm going to make it happen, turn it into a project and a goal and say, I'm going to really understand what it is I want and how to make the transition and give yourself maybe even a timeline. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 11:04

And once you do that, you'll see there are many ways, but you will really need to prioritize your self discovery. Because if you're just going to hope that the answer is just going to appear to you one day, you're going to wake up and know, well, it might happen that years from now with a lot of digging and trying, but really, you can really fast track this process and how I help my clients to really understand what it is they want. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 11:27

It's a four step system. It starts with a rediscovering yourself. And what I mean by that is really digging into what is your first of all zone of genius. Because when you're operating from your zone of genius, wow, like you feel in a state of flow much easier, you're so much happier, you're so much more impactful. You can succeed much more. And the work just doesn't feel like playing like work anymore. It feels like play. So that's the foundation then, reassessing your values, because where you were three years ago, ten years ago, when you were choosing your major, when you were choosing your previous job or urban career path, you're in a much different place now. And there's probably some misalignment in your values. So dig into what's truly important for you career wise, but also 360 outside of your work as well, because your career will impact every area of your life. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 12:12

Your health, your time with yourself, your time with your family, your lifestyle, your income, everything so really important. And then it's also understanding what are maybe some of your biggest passions, what are the things that, you know, you feel interested in but don't think about passions as something like, oh, I'm passionate about, I have to monetize it, or start a career from it. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 12:32

Start a business? No. A lot of people assume that what they need is passion in order to really change careers. Passion is just one component, really. When you think about passions, think about something that it's not only you have this big interest towards, but it's also something that practically you also can see yourself doing. And you have that interest that will last a long time. You actually want to start prioritizing that self care, that that time with yourself, like having more balanced life. And all of this is connected. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 13:01

So now as you're reevaluating your life, really thinking 360 about what matters to you. So that's the foundation, like on rediscovering yourself, that's pillar one. And then it's about, I call it freeing your dreams, or dreams and desires. Because a lot of the times I see, especially when it's people who've been in a career path for maybe 57, 10, 15 years, long time, it feels like you're living in a little of it on default. And everything seems familiar, but you're not necessarily connected with your true deepest desires. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 13:32

And because maybe sometimes you leave them this sense of I have to earn, I have to provide for my family, I have to do this, I should do this. You see that pressure you put on yourself? It's about really slowing down and really reconnect. But what I actually want, what I desire, because dreams and desires, they have energy, they have power and they can really pull you in a different direction. But with dreams that are also comes that's here sometimes. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 13:56

So in this whole process, it's also important to recognize what pulls you forward, but also what scares you, maybe holds you back a little bit. And the career exploration and career change process is really also about making mindset shifts. It's really important to really distill what are those biggest fears and maybe let go some of them and really understand what kind of person do you want to become. And then from that vision, from that idea, from really clear picture of your whole life, not even just career paths, really, then start asking, how can I create that? So instead of operating from the fears level, from the now level of like, oh, I have this career and these skills, what can I be doing now? And looking at jobs that are similar to what you've been doing, but when you look at them, you don't want to do any of them. 

Loree Philip: 14:43

I had this actually I was evaluating a bunch of different things. But what I noticed is I thought it would be easier if I just took the experience I had and maybe put it in a different company or a different industry, something I was more excited about. And when I played it forward, I was like, I'm going to go do this job and in a couple of years I'm going to be in the exact spot that I was. And so I really had to expand what I was thinking about in terms of my career, open up that box a bit more and start playing around with what else is possible. And I will tell you what, doing this right now wasn't even on my list.

Loree Philip: 15:29

So this is exactly what happens to, I would say, majority of people, they tell me they fell into something they happen to be good at, but it's not something they chose with their whole heart, you know? 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 15:40

Yeah. And it's scary to sit down and ask those big questions because it's unfamiliar, it's new territory, and what if they choose something wrong again? And that it's a big fear that you're a failure. And making a mistake is a lot of time and energy goes into that. And I totally understand that. And actually that is why it's very important to before you commit to any of those dreams ideas, it's really important to test some of your hypothesis. And I call that test, like being like a scientist, really, you have an idea. But I mean, not every idea, of course, but some of your really serious ideas. Go ahead and do it in a small scale. Don't yet start new master's degree or an mba or a business. No, it's the ultimate test. Of course, that will give you a lot more clients. But before you do that, there are many ways to test it in a quick way that will give you maybe with you, you decide to become a coach. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 16:30

The certification, the training was helpful, right? Maybe working with some people, having those conversations was helpful. There are many ways to test and even before you go into testing. So I walked you through two out of four steps, and I call it life's work, clarity, method. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 16:46

So one is rediscovering yourself. Then it's freeing your dreams. Number three is clarifying your purpose. And that's so crucial. It's really reconnecting with your biggest why? Like, why are you here on Earth? What kind of legacy do you want to leave? Because once you know it, wow, you have so much more meaning. You have so much more to give to the world. And no matter what obstacles now you face, you can overcome that because your purpose is so much bigger than who you are and whatever is you're facing. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 17:11

And then it's about doing step number four, which is crystallizing your vision. And it's all about the research. So you're researching your existing ideas and new ideas and then testing some of your hypothesis. And the whole purpose has been to narrow down your options and really get crystal clear on what kind of industry you want to go to, what kind of roles. Maybe it's a business or maybe it's a book. Maybe it's, again, staying employed, but in an entirely different way. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 17:33

So really opening up yourself for opportunities and really having that open mind that anything is possible.

Loree Philip: 17:48

That's really great. I love how you created the steps to help people see the process and how to get through it. What kind of results are you seeing with your clients?

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 18:00

It actually just depends. Some people do make a shift, maybe they change an industry, but they stay in similar roles but still move into an entirely different role. Like , I have this former client, Christine, who went from being unfulfilled and really have no idea what it is she wanted in an industry that she just felt like it's not for a cup of tea. And she understood that she actually wanted to help people more. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 18:15

And she went into a new industry, raised her salary, and now actually feels like she's aligned on values and the mission and that is what she was lacking. Some of my clients, they start businesses. Some of my clients decide to write books. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 18:31

I had a client who was a chef at the restaurant, and so he realized he cannot be behind in the kitchen all the time. It's actually draining his health. So he decided to actually stay in the restaurant industry, but now is in the form of being a consultant and started actually a startup and now helping other businesses, other restaurant businesses. So it just all depends. There's no one way, there's only your way.

Loree Philip: 19:09

hat's one of the things I really want to stress in almost every episode of my podcast, is it's all about what each individual wants and where they want to go, and it's up to them and that's the beauty of it. Right, so I think we're going to start to wrap up the interview here. But I want to know, how does it feel to be living your purpose and having your dream business?  

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 19:24

Oh, my gosh. Feels so different from not living your purpose. It just feels like every day you wake up with a sense of calm and peace that you just know why you're doing this. And it's so rewarding and fulfilling to be able to help people by being myself, but also enjoying what it is I do. And also. The direction, see where I'm headed in the future. There's endless amount of opportunities now. And when you are connected with your purpose, you don't see obstacles as roadblocks that you can't overcome. 

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 19:51

They're temporary challenges, that's how I view them. Purpose is so much bigger than you. It's there for years to stay and you're really aligned with it. You're here to help people in a much more impactful way. 

Loree Philip: 20:07

t's so true and that's the broader purpose. I'm trying to support other people and it does help me push through like you're describing, because I'm like, you know what, I need to keep doing this because I am helping people and it is making a difference and that's exactly the goal of it. So where can our listeners connect with you?

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 20:30

You can connect with me on my website, which is findyourlifeswork.com, or you can find me on Instagram. It's Anastasia Tripolskaya. I'm there, you can message me and we will have a conversation. Actually, if you would like to learn more about the Lifestyle Clarity Method, you can watch my free master class called how to Find a Fulfilling Career. So you can use your gift to help others and change careers constantly. So go to my website, findyourlifeswork.com and you'll find it there.

Anastasia Tripolskaya: 20:58

And I can't wait to see where your journey takes you. And Laurie, thank you so much for this opportunity and for you, just dip stepping into your power and your reliance brilliance and being yourself. You have so much to bring into the world and I cannot wait to see how far you go with this because this is incredible what you're doing right now.

Loree Philip: 21:17

Thanks so much, Anastasia!  And for the listeners, we will add all the links in the show notes for you so you can connect with Anastasia. And yes, I appreciate you being the first guest and I love everything comes full circle here where I couldn't have asked for a more perfect guest. For my podcast is somebody that helped me personally, so that's how we'll close out. 

Loree Philip: 21:41

Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you've enjoyed it, I would love for you to take a look at Anastasia's free Find Your Life's Work masterclass. You'll find a link to it in the show notes. Hope you all have an amazing week. Until next time. bye.