At the Edge of What’s Next: Navigating Life’s Big Transitions

The yawning gap of what’s next and how to thrive in transitions

Photo by Válter Venâncio on Unsplash

There’s a moment when you step off the path you’ve been traveling and stare into the yawning abyss of what comes next. For the first time in a long time, there’s no checklist to follow, no plan waiting for you to execute -just space. Empty, vast, uncertain.

That’s where I found myself earlier this year. I stepped down from my job as CEO of Ancestry and decided to take a break; the first real break since graduating from business school. Since then, I’ve spoken with several dozen people in transition and have been fascinated by how they process these moments.

One senior executive told me that after 30 years, he woke up to complete silence for the first time. No nagging worries about the next board meeting, no persistent thoughts about slowing revenue, no cold sweats over the macro environment.

As I allowed myself that rare gift of space, all the ideas I’d kept bottled up over the years started to surface. I’d always wanted to write another book, but I never knew when I’d find the time. I had half a dozen ideas jotted down but no bandwidth to shape them. Just after my surgery, I reached out to my agent. That meeting became the anchor point to work through my ideas and refine my pitch.

Then I went to lunch with my friend Lindsay Trout, and she helped crystallize the idea: I wanted to write a guide to navigating life’s transitions for both the ones we choose and the ones that happen to us.

And so, Revolve: The Art of Strategic Transitions and Imagining What’s Next was born.

Transitions Are Inevitable

We are living through a time of unprecedented disruption. Careers, industries, even personal lives are shifting at a pace we’ve never seen. Sometimes disruption happens to us: a layoff, a move, a diagnosis, a divorce. Sometimes we choose it: stepping down, starting over, leaping into the unknown. Either way, we face a profound shift that we must navigate, whether we like it or not.

What I’ve realized is that we don’t have a clear roadmap for these moments. I’ve spoken to many people struggling to process transitions, both positive and painful. Some ruminate on what was; others rush to fill the void with the next thing. Not everyone has the luxury of a months-long sabbatical, but many don’t even take time to breathe, reflect, and look ahead.

I’ve written a lot about growth, but what about the in-between? The space between what was and what can be? That’s the space I want to explore and help people through.

A Framework for Strategic Transitions

Over the past month, I’ve built a framework for navigating transitions. It’s designed to work whether you take a weekend to reflect or a year to reset. It doesn’t require a sabbatical just intentionality and reflection.

I’ll share parts of that framework here in the coming months. I have a draft worksheet ready if anyone in transition wants to use it and share feedback. I’d love to pressure-test these ideas, hear your stories, and learn from your experiences.

The Story Behind Revolve

The inspiration for Revolve first sparked years ago when I spoke with Brad Smith, former CEO of Intuit. After stepping down from an extraordinary career, Brad found himself staring into his own abyss of “what’s next.” Rather than leap into the next thing, he paused to reflect, reset, and reimagine. His wisdom guided me when I joined Ancestry four years ago.

When I pitched Revolve to my agent, her response surprised me. She said, “I need this book now.” She was navigating a major life transition herself. That’s when I knew I was onto something bigger.

Every year, millions of people go through major life transitions:

• Over 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer

• More than 600,000 couples divorce

• Over 30 million Americans move to a new state

• Nearly 40% of workers change jobs or industries

Change is constant. Sometimes we choose it, sometimes it’s forced upon us. Either way, we’re left to navigate the fallout—and the opportunity.

Why Transitions Matter

A friend of mine was laid off after years on an executive team. It shook him to his core. His self-worth was so tied to his role that losing it made him question everything about himself. It took months for him to stop fighting the last battle and begin imagining what the next chapter could look like. He rushed into the next thing partly because he hadn’t given himself the space to process.

That’s why transitions are so important: they force us to confront the uncomfortable truth that our identities are not as fixed as we think. They give us the chance to reset, reflect, and reinvent.

The Meaning Behind Revolve

The word Revolve came to me as I sat with the concept of change. It’s not just about evolving—it’s about first resetting: resetting expectations, identity, pace—then evolving into something new.

Revolve = Reset + Evolve

It’s not a one-time event. It’s a cycle we go through again and again. And if we learn to navigate it well, each revolution can move us closer to who we’re meant to be.

Transitions aren’t failures or losses; they’re invitations:

• Invitations to let go of what no longer serves us.

• Invitations to rethink the stories we tell ourselves.

• Invitations to imagine new possibilities.

That’s what I hope Revolve will be—a guide, a companion, a call to action for anyone standing at the edge of what’s next.

Come Along the Journey

I hope you’ll join me on this journey. I’ll be sharing pieces of the framework here, and your thoughts, experiences, and feedback will help shape the final book.

Change is inevitable. Growth is optional. Let’s (re)volve together.

---

Interested in starting this journey now? Leave a comment and I will send you the link for a sneak peek at the framework!