Identity Reinvention Episodes

Getting fired can punch a hole straight through your identity, especially when your career has been the proof that you’re “doing fine.” Mary Korn’s story cuts through that illusion. She had the title, the money, and the corporate ladder momentum, yet privately felt misaligned and depleted. Then she gets fired from a job she took in desperation and suddenly has to answer the scariest question of all: what now, with kids to support and no clear runway?

Success can look flawless on LinkedIn while still feeling wrong in your body. That tension is exactly where my conversation with Yvonne Furneaux begins and where it gets most useful for anyone thinking about identity reinvention, career change, or a second chapter beyond a corporate title. Yvonne spent more than 25 years in corporate communications, employee experience, HR, and DEI leadership, and she shares what she learned from working within large systems that don’t treat everyone the same.

A layoff. A cross-country move. A booming coaching practice. Then a stroke that forced a hard pause. Chip Scholz’s story is a sharp reminder that career and identity reinvention rarely unfold as we script them, and that “success” can still quietly pull us away from the life we actually want.

Your job title can make introductions easier, but it can also quietly take over your identity. In this episode, I’m digging into what happens when we tie our self-worth to corporate roles, company logos, and the status that comes with them, then suddenly realize it feels unsettling or empty.

Your career can provide you with status, structure, and a straightforward answer to the question “Who are you?” Then one day, that answer stops working. Maybe you’re tired of climbing the corporate ladder. Maybe your role disappears in a layoff, merger, or firing. Or perhaps you decide to walk away. Whatever the reason, you might find yourself in a strange middle ground. No longer where you used to be, but not yet where you want to go. I’m Eric Dickmann, a former corporate executive who spent o...