Ep #72: Empowering Change: Transformation for Ambitious Women

The Reinvention Lab | Empowering Change: Transformation for Ambitious Women
The Reinvention Lab | Empowering Change: Transformation for Ambitious Women

Have you ever felt like you were just going through the motions after a loss, trying to change your way back to normal? What if, instead of attempting to modify your habits or routines, you allowed the experience of grief to transform you into someone new? Today, we’re exploring the critical difference between change and transformation, especially for ambitious women navigating life after loss.

As a coach, I’ve seen countless clients attempt to cope with grief by making surface-level changes, like switching jobs or adjusting their schedules. While these modifications can provide temporary relief, they often leave us feeling like something is still missing. True healing and growth require a deeper shift—a transformation of who we are being, not just what we are doing.

In this episode, we’ll dive into what makes transformation so powerful and how it can open doors to possibilities you never even imagined before your loss. We’ll explore why focusing on being different, rather than just doing different, is the key to accessing new levels of leadership and impact. If you’re ready to stop trying to change your way back to your old life and instead transform into the ambitious leader you were meant to be, this episode is for you.




If you’re feeling a pull towards something bigger, but aren’t sure how to navigate it, you need to join my coaching program for Trailblazers, because you don’t have to blaze these trails alone. Click here to apply now!


What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

  • The critical difference between change and transformation, especially in the context of navigating life after loss.
  • Why making surface-level changes, like switching jobs or modifying routines, often leaves us feeling like something is still missing.
  • How transformation allows you to create possibilities that simply didn’t exist before, turning the impossible into your new reality.
  • The power of shifting your focus from doing things differently to becoming someone different through your experience of loss.
  • How to use reflection points aligned with the nature of transformation to contemplate your journey and envision your next steps.
  • Why true transformation is about rewriting the narrative of your life, not just rearranging the pieces.
  • The importance of accepting that while we can’t control what happens to us, we have complete freedom in how we choose to create our future.

Listen to the Full Episode:

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Full Episode Transcript:


When did you last feel you were making a new life instead of just going back to normal? There is a powerful difference between simply changing and truly transforming. Let’s discover how this distinction could unlock new levels of desire and impact. Stay tuned.

Welcome to The Reinvention Lab: Where Ambitious Women Transform Loss into Legacy. Hosted by Master Certified Life Coach and fellow trailblazer, Sandy Linda, this is your space to discover how life’s biggest challenges can ignite profound transformation—where grief becomes growth, setbacks become stepping stones, and your unique story lights the way for others. If you’re ready to turn life’s challenges into opportunities for leadership, legacy, and forward momentum, you’re in the right place. Let’s dive in.

Hello, my fellow creative humans. Welcome back to a brand new episode. I am so excited to reconnect with you all in this new year. Last time we kicked things off by exploring the trailblazer archetype and inviting you to take a quiz to discover where you are in your grief recovery journey. I was thrilled to receive so many messages from listeners eager to learn more. It’s been wonderful connecting with you and hearing about the shifts you’re making. Letting go of old habits and embracing new ways of being that are propelling you forward.

A client recently asked a compelling question during coaching that sparked my curiosity. What’s the difference between change and transformation? That’s what I want to discuss today. I believe understanding this difference is empowering, especially for our listeners dealing with loss and rebuilding their lives. After loss, many of us try to change our way back to wholeness, adjusting schedules, picking up new habits, modifying our routines. But what if, instead of trying to change your way through grief, you allow grief to transform into something new? Someone who doesn’t need to get back to anything because you are launching into something new.

We are diving into the critical difference between change and transformation. Something I see so often in my work with women navigating life after loss. In the business world, we often hear the word transformation tossed around. Everyone wants to talk about their transformative journey or their transformative program. But here’s the thing, most of what we’re calling transformation is actually just change. And while both are valuable, they are different paths.

When loss enter our lives, it’s like the ground beneath our feet suddenly shifts. Our first instinct is to grab onto anything that might help us feel stable again. I remember after my own losses, I did exactly what so many of you have probably done. I reach for change like it was my lifeline. Change is about improving what already exists in your world. It’s when you take something that’s possible and make it better, different, or more efficient. Maybe you are already a successful executive and you’re working on becoming more organized or a better communicator. That’s change. You are improving what you can already do.

Perhaps you have changed jobs, thinking a fresh start would help you feel more like yourself again. I see so many women do this, leaving corporate roles for something different, hoping that a new business card would somehow make the pain feel more manageable. I did this myself when I left event management for real estate. Or maybe you have tried adopting new routines. You sign up for a 6 a.m. yoga class, downloading meditation apps, or completely overhauling your schedule. We convince ourselves that if we just structure our days differently, everything will fall back into place.

And then there’s our social circle. How many of you have found yourself seeking out new friends or professional networks? Maybe your old circles just don’t get it anymore. Or perhaps being around the same people reminds you too much of who you were before your loss. These changes are not wrong. In fact, they are natural responses to loss. They are like putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls of your house, when what you’re feeling is that the foundation itself has shifted.

Here’s what I have discovered through my journey and through working with countless ambitious women. Although these changes may provide temporary relief or even some certain improvements, they often leave us feeling like something is still missing. It’s like we are rearranging furniture in the room that no longer fits who we are becoming. This is where we need to think differently about what’s really possible. What if, and I want you to really sit with this question, instead of trying to change our way back to who we were, we could transform into something we have never been before. Someone who isn’t just coping with loss, but is actually accessing new levels of leadership and impact because of it.

Transformation is about creating what seems impossible. It happens when you alter the very essence of who you are being, and in doing so, you create possibilities that simply didn’t exist before. Think about it this way. After experiencing loss, many of us first try to change our way back to our old lives. We modify our routines, adjust our habits, maybe switch jobs. transformation, that’s when you allow your experience to reshape who you are, opening the doors to opportunities you couldn’t even imagine in your previous reality.

Here’s what makes this so powerful. When you transform, when you shift the fundamental way you’re being in the world, you gain this remarkable ability to turn what seemed impossible into your new reality. You’re not just doing things differently, you’re becoming someone different. And that someone can achieve things the old you might have dismissed as unreachable dreams.

This distinction isn’t just academic for ambitious women in our audience who are navigating life after loss, it’s crucial because while change might help you cope better with your new reality, transformation can help you create a new reality that’s even more powerful and purposeful than before. When grief strikes, our first impulse is to get back to normal. I remember thinking that’s what I needed, just to return to who I was before. But loss doesn’t work that way. Instead, it invited me into something I never expected, a complete transformation.

After experiencing multiple losses, I focused on changes, what I call doing differently phase. I stepped away from my event management career because being social felt impossible. I turned to real estate, thinking a quieter, professional path would help. And you know what? It helped. I learned about financial markets, connected with clients going through their own losses, whether from divorce, death, or career transitions. I was changing, adapting, and surviving, but something was still missing. I knew deep down that these changes, while it’s important, were not enough. That’s when I understood the difference between change and transformation.

Transformation started when I stopped trying to fix my way back to my old life. Instead, I asked myself, who am I becoming through this experience? This shift led me to discover my calling as a leader in the personal development industry, supporting others through their own journey of loss and renewal. There’s this traditional story we have all heard: get a stable job, work for decades, finally retire and enjoy life. My father lived that story. He dedicated 40 years to the medical industry. Only to have just two years of retirement before he passed.

It was a wake-up call that made me question everything about how we view careers and transformation. Sure, having a steady career can provide financial security. That’s the change mindset talking, right? It’s about improving what already exists, staying safe within the boundaries we know. But here’s where transformation comes in. What if instead of just changing jobs or climbing the corporate ladder, we transform our entire relationship with work and purpose? I see this all the time with the ambitious women I work with. Many of them resist career shifts because they’re held back to these old belief systems. Stick it out until retirement. Don’t rock the boat. This is just how it’s done. But true transformation happens when we dare to question these hunches and ask ourselves, Who could I become if I wasn’t limited by the traditional career pathways?

Here’s what I’ve learned about true transformation. It’s not about following the shoulds or fitting into someone else’s playbook. It’s about accepting that while we can’t control what happens to us, we have complete freedom in how we choose to create our future. When I finally released my grip on past interpretations of grief and let go of the bitterness about people who walked away, something extraordinary happened. I discovered a version of leadership I never knew was possible.

Yes, transformation is exhausting at first. When you are pushing against your own limitations and fears, part of you will always try to retreat to the comfort zone. But that very discomfort signals you’re on the right path. It’s not just about changing what you do. It’s about changing who you are. Today I don’t just help others cope with loss. I showed them how to use it as a catalyst for their own transformation. Because while change might make your current reality better, transformation creates a new reality you never even imagined was possible.

Here’s what’s beautiful about transformation. It doesn’t ask, how can I make this better? Instead, it asks what’s possible that I’ve never even considered before. That’s the difference between change and transformation in your journey. Change might get you a better position, but transformation creates a whole new game where retirement isn’t the goal. Living life to the fullest is your opportunity to raise the bar in becoming an ambitious woman leading life after loss.

Before I close, let me share some transformation reflection points to help you contemplate your journey and envision your next steps. What feels impossible in your current reality that you wish was possible? What kind of leader would you be if you allowed your loss to transform rather than just change you? What new possibilities might open up if you focus on being different rather than doing different? These reflection points are more aligned with the nature of transformation, which isn’t about doing, but about being. They invite deeper contemplation rather than just action. True transformation is about rewriting the narrative, not just rearranging beast pieces. And I want you to reflect on those questions I inquired and really dig deeper into what is possible for you to become that ambitious woman leader that you were meant to be. That is all I have for you today. Thank you so much for listening and I will catch you on our next one. Bye everyone.

Thanks for joining us on The Reinvention Lab. If today’s episode inspired you, don’t forget to follow and share it with someone who’s ready to turn their challenges into opportunities. Want to take your journey to the next level? Visit sandylinda.com/program and apply for coaching today. Together, we’ll turn your story into a legacy. Until next time, keep moving forward with purpose, passion, and power.

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