The hidden cost of staying put.

I never know who I’m going to meet every time I hit “Join Meeting.” Today, meet Christine.

There’s a moment when you realize you’re not where you’re supposed to be. Maybe it was masked by busyness, or buried under the weight of “shoulds” and obligations. Maybe it was drowned out by the noise of success—the promotions, the title, the paycheck. But then, something forces the silence. A funeral. A hard conversation. A moment of clarity.

That was Christine’s reality. She grew up in a hardworking, middle-class family where success meant security, and security meant staying the course. She followed the path she was supposed to—college, corporate career, climbing the ladder. Now, she was at the highest-paying job of her life, living in a beautiful home with a family she loved. But when she called me, she wasn’t celebrating any of it. She felt trapped. Numb. Like she had built a life that looked perfect from the outside but felt completely empty on the inside. She wanted more for herself, for her family, but she didn’t know what “more” even looked like. And after the sudden death of a family member, the weight of it all hit her like a freight train—this isn’t what I want anymore.

That’s the hardest part of this whole thing. The knowing that you need to make a move but having no idea what the move is. Christine thought maybe a franchise would be her path. She did the research, talked to consultants. Nothing clicked. She didn’t see herself in the consulting space, even though she was the only one in her company with her level of expertise.

Sound familiar?

Most of the people who find Normal 40 are precisely here. They’re not desperate. They’re not broke. They’re not running from anything—they’re searching for something. The problem is, they don’t know what it is. And that’s why they feel stuck.

But here’s what Christine had already done—something most people never get to. She had admitted out loud that she wanted something else. And that? That’s the first domino.

By the end of our call, she had a plan. No, not a perfect plan, not a guarantee, but a decision. She would start talking to people—honest conversations, not just Googling and thinking about it alone. She would get clear on what she actually wanted, not just what she didn’t want. And she would stop waiting for certainty before she made a move.

And months later? She took her shot. She changed companies. Not because the paycheck was bigger—although I bet it was—but because she wanted control over her time, energy, and future. She bet on herself. And now? She’s in the game.

You have to take the shot when it’s your time to shoot.

Christine is taking her shot. She has seen the price of waiting—and paid it.

Today, you have a shot—and you’re holding the ball.

Will you take the shot, or run out the clock?

Need to ramble on it? Book one.

You’ll be glad you did it.

Lon -

https://linktr.ee/lon.stroschein