Let me guess where you are right now. You can tell me if I'm wrong.
You've read these emails. You know Lean Out! exists. You've heard how it can help you carve your path toward careeer independence. And you still haven't enrolled. Not because you think the plan wouldn't work, but because some quiet part of you isn't sure it would work for you.
I want to talk to that part today.
Here's what I see constantly, and it gets me every time: women who run entire teams, who fix the things nobody else can fix, who have fifteen years of receipts, frozen at this exact spot. The plan isn't hard for them. The doubt is. When a title, pay band, and performance review have been your mirror for fifteen years, looking for your worth outside that structure feels like stepping off a cliff. (A woman in my community put it in five words: she wanted an identity separate from work. Fifteen years in, she wasn't sure she had one.)
So let me say this clearly: the doubt is the normal part. Every woman standing where you're standing has it. It disqualifies you from nothing.
And it's exactly what I faced. After my company fell apart, I had to figure out what I was worth outside of a corporate structure, and then go get paid for it. I did it scared. And here's where it landed me: I have nothing left to prove. The thing I'm most grateful for isn't the company I built. It's that I am never again at anyone's mercy.
I want you to see what's on the other side of the doubt, concretely. Your expertise named so clearly you can say it at a dinner party without flinching. The boring infrastructure (banking, contracts, invoicing) live and waiting. Your story written down. Your launch email drafted, sitting in a folder, ready for the day you choose. And the part nobody tells you about: you sit differently in your Monday meeting when you know, quietly, that you could leave.
Notice I said could. Most of the women in this cohort will still be employed when it ends. Plenty will stay for years, on purpose. That's the point. The plan in the drawer means your decisions get made from choice instead of fear.
As for the doubt itself? That's what the Lean Out cohort is for. (There is nothing like the moment when a woman you just met says exactly the thing you've been thinking.) After nearly 20 years in corporate, Tara, a member of my community, told me The Riveter didn't just help her clarify the future she wanted. It gave her the confidence to create it.
βLean Out! runs July 8 to 27. It'll help you chart your path to working on your own terms. If you enroll by this Friday you'll receive $400 at the early bird price.
You don't have to be sure of yourself to enroll. You just have to be willing to find out what you're worth.
I already have my guess.
You're not alone in this.
Amy
β
PS: I'm hosting a Q&A this Thursday, June 25th at 1:00pm ET to share more about the path to work independence and answer your questions. We'll also share more details about the Lean Out! cohort. Register now if you want to chat live:
β
β
β
β
β
β
