Big Sis Briefing: Practicing What I Preach

For the past few years, I’ve been quietly building towards something…

After hours, on weekends, whenever I could find a spare moment during the day. Tapping away at the bigger vision for my life and following the breadcrumbs of my joy. Brick by brick.

If you’ve been around a while, you’ll know that my whole approach, whether it’s on the Counsel podcast, in a Career Big Sis session or through DMs with junior lawyers and law students, is built around this idea:
“You get to design a career that lights you up. One that’s yours. One that doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s.”

The truth is… lately, I haven’t been walking that talk.

I’ve been helping my Little Sis’s and Bro’s figure out what makes them tick. I’ve sat across from them, saying things like:
✨ What would you do if you weren’t scared?
✨ What feels expansive and lights you up?
and the big one…
✨ If we all got paid the same amount of money, what would you choose to do?

Meanwhile, I’ve been the one staying in the safe lane. Saying no to opportunities I wanted to say yes to. Ignoring the ideas that lit me up because I couldn’t find the time.

There’s been a pull building in me. Quiet at first. But lately… it’s been impossible to ignore and after months - years, even - of trying to strategise, rationalise and timeline it all perfectly, I realised the real question wasn’t how will I do this? It was how can I not?

So here we are!

After 15 years as a corporate lawyer, most recently as Head of Legal for APAC at a global tech company, I’m stepping into a new season. A full-time leap into the work that has been whispering to me from the sidelines. The work I always made room for… just not enough room.

Until now.

Because if I’m being radically honest with myself? It’s soooo time.

I’ve chased all the traditional markers of success.

I’ve climbed. I’ve ticked the boxes.

I’ve done the work I thought I should be doing until I realised I’d reached the end of the road for that version of me.

That’s not failure. That’s data. That’s clarity. That’s growth. Like I always say, when you have new information, you can make new decisions. You just have to give yourself permission to do so.

The final nudge came when…
I had to turn down a speaking opportunity in Melbourne that I really wanted to attend because of my full time job commitments. It was the kind of thing that made me feel alive, but I couldn’t say yes to it.

This wasn’t the first time this has happened to me, but this one stuck with me. My tolerance for not being able to go all in had tripped over some invisible line and into a space I could no longer ignore.

So, I started writing things down. Notes to myself. Voice memos. Little reminders of why I needed to do this. I’ve got the list handy for the days that I doubt myself (and I know they will come… “you stepped away from that salary, with those benefits, for this?”)

I kept circling back to one line from Gary Vee: “Success is not about money. It’s about happiness.” and then there were the words from my brother, who said: “Sis, peel the safety seal and rip the bloody lid off it."

But maybe the most unexpected one: my dad, who looked at me and said he’d be disappointed if I didn’t do this. That stopped me in my tracks. I didn’t know how much I needed his permission, until I had it.

So that’s where we’re at. I handed in my notice a few weeks ago, I have five days of full time salaried, safe and stable work to go. Then…

The seal’s off. The lid’s gone. I’m doing it.

But from this moment on, I’m all in!

✨ More time for podcasting (and all the ideas I’ve wanted to try)
✨ Career Big Sis strategy 1:1 sessions and group
✨ Digital products to glow up your career (coming soon)
✨ Workshops and training for legal teams
✨ Speaking gigs
✨ Writing and storytelling
✨ Connecting with values-aligned brands who want to partner for real impact and not just to tick a box (this you? let’s chat!).

This is a shift, a refocus, a return to alignment.

I know what’s waiting on the other side of this is even better than what I’ve left behind. Because, it will be mine, and no matter what I learn and discover about myself, I won’t have to wonder ‘what if’ any more.

This is not one day. This is day one.

If you’ve been feeling the pull too: if you’re itching to do something different, to create something that’s yours, to live in alignment with what you are really passionate about… I hope this is a sign for you.

The doors are open and I’m taking that leap of faith. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but I’ll figure it out like I always do.

I’m finally practicing what I preach again.

Mel 💖

ps: i’ll be documenting the journey in my usual behind the scenes style on Instagram @theinhouselawyer - see you there!