Awe & Gratitude: Five Years
Today marks five years of self-employment.
Five years since my last day as a full-time employee.
Leading up to today, I was struggling to decide how I wanted to mark the occasion.
Instead of posting a listicle like “The Five Things I’ve Learned in Five Years of Self-Employment,” I’ve decided to share a story.
A story that celebrates the people I've met along the way: the supporters, advocates, connectors, clients, and all those who’ve believed in me when my own belief sat on shaky ground.
A story where success is not measured by accumulation, but rooted in circulation.
A story that has stretched my own perception of what’s possible.
In July of 2024, Brené Brown posted about “alternative-life-jobs,” those in-another-life-I-would-[fill in the blank] dreams that many of us carry. She noted the “correlation between [her] job picks and what [she] wants more of in [her existing] life,” and invited others to share their alternative career ideas in the comments.
This concept is something I often touch on with clients. So, as I scrolled through the hundreds of responses, I saw an opportunity to create a few new connections. Whether or not this led to new clients, I knew these commenters and I shared, at the very least, a sense of imagination.
I was selective and intentional in my approach, trusting that I’d only reach out if I felt a genuine pull to do so.
This is how I met Ann de Passos.
Ann’s response to Brené post piqued my curiosity. As I read through her profile, I learned that her work focused on Polyvagal Theory, something I was newly familiar with at the time. LinkedIn showed we had one mutual connection: the generous and kindhearted storyteller, Bobby Herrera. (How Bobby and I first connected is another lesson in possibility... and a story for another time.)
On top of that, I noticed that Ann spelled “organizational” with an “s” rather than a “z,” traditionally, a British spelling. As many of you know, moving to the UK has been on my bucket list for a long time. Sure enough, Ann was located in London.
So, I sent a connection request with a personalized note, explaining the context behind my random reach out and asking how she knew Bobby.
As you might have guessed, Ann accepted, and paired her response with a curiosity of her own: “What is a Wayfinder coach? It sounds lovely.”
We exchanged a handful of messages back and forth. It wasn’t long before we were sharing book recommendations and other sources of inspiration. She felt like a kindred spirit from day one.
Eventually, I asked Ann if she’d be willing to meet via Zoom. I was genuinely curious to hear more about her work, and there’s only so much nuance and depth that can be discussed via DM.
Again, Ann agreed.
I’ll never forget the energy of that first conversation: instant comfort, ease, familiarity. Even over Zoom, Ann radiated safety.
After a brief exchange of “hello” and “it’s great to finally meet you,” Ann leaned in toward the camera and said, “This might be strange to say, but I feel like I’ve known you forever.”
The only strange part of it was, I felt exactly the same.
Needless to say, a true friendship took root that day. And while this is a lovely story in and of itself… the story doesn’t end here.
You see, Ann introduced me to her business partner, Kim van Niekerk. Together, Ann and Kim are co-creating The View Looks Good, an approach to leadership development that centers your nervous system as the instrument through which you lead. Not long after our first conversation, they invited me to join as a guest on their podcast.
Later, Ann introduced me to Noella Moshi, a TedX speaker and the founder of One Advisory. I joined Noella on her podcast, What Grows, a few months later. Noella has since introduced me to a friend of hers in Nigeria. That friend went on to introduce me to another friend in New York.
Ann also introduced me to Hannah Grinsted, an Organization & Culture Design Consultant (among other things!). After sharing some of my trials and tribulations of business ownership with Hannah, she introduced me to Ellen Donnelly. A week later, I hired Ellen as my business coach (the best investment I’ve made in my business since my certification). About a year after that, Ellen hired me to fill a part time Client Experience role on her team.
Through Ellen’s group programs, I’ve met a dozen new friends and collaborators across counties like Germany, Italy, and around the US and UK. Including Teresa Beehan, who hosted me on her Sensitive Professionals podcast at the end of 2025.
Unbeknownst to her, Ann has created a world-wide ripple effect in my life and business. One random LinkedIn request turned into more than I could have ever expected: more friendship, collaboration, connection, opportunity, and even a client or two along the way.
This is what success rooted in circulation looks like.
I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to fully repay Ann’s generosity and impact back to her directly. But what I can do is promise to pay it back, to pay it forward, to keep her generosity and impact in circulation in whatever ways I can.
This has been one of the greatest lessons business ownership has instilled in me. It’s a lesson in abundance, generosity, possibility, and reciprocity. A lesson that prioritizes genuine connection over a specific cherished outcome.
And Ann’s story is only one example.
Similarly, I could have written about how Kari Smith introduced me to Anne St. Amant, who introduced me to Rachel Kurth. Together, Anne and Rachel invited me to host a workshop with their networking group The Dot Twin Cities. Through that workshop, I met Katie Kelbrants who has since become a client and has introduced me to a number of other individuals as well.
I could write dozens of stories like this - unexpected ways I’ve met incredible people!
I don’t share these stories to brag… I sincerely hope this doesn’t read that way. I share these stories from a place of deep joy and gratitude.
As an introvert, exposure has been one of my biggest challenges over these past five years. But as I once heard, “There is nothing generous about remaining hidden.”
If you had told 2021 Sarah that, in just five years, she’d have a web of genuine friends and connections across 22 states, 9 countries, and 4 continents… she would not have been able to fathom it. Even today’s version of Sarah is still in awe of this fact.
And yet, here we are.
With a heart full of wonder, awe, and gratitude for every single person I’ve met along the way.
What past Sarah might have struggled to believe was, in fact, possible.
The truth is, I would not have the opportunity to continue doing work I love if it weren’t for the abundance of this circulation. And, if it weren’t for people like you!
Regardless of where the next five years lead, these relationships and this philosophy will stay with me. It has created (and, I believe, will continue to create) more possibilities than I could possibly imagine.
