27. Anna Lundberg - on quitting "success" to pursue your passions

Here at Smashing the Ceiling we love to showcase the careers of women who have taken the road less travelled, and there's so much to discuss on that front with today's guest, Anna Lundberg, a woman who has always forged her own path.

She freely admits that she has always been one to keep her options open, choosing the International Baccalaureat instead of 'A' levels, Philosphy, Politics and Economics at uni, and a Masters in Political Science, International Law and International Economics. Her quest to work for the UN didn't quite pan out, and she started her career with Proctor and Gamble, where she spent 7 years, initially in brand management and then the brave new world of digital marketing.

Digital marketing was barely a thing when Anna started at the company in 2007 but taking a leap into a new world led her to places she wouldn't have expected. However, whilst on sabbatical in 2013, she decided there was more out there with her name on. She established her own digital marketing agency in 2014, and whilst freelancing between international jaunts, she took a coaching course in 6 months that was meant to take 2 years.

She now runs One Step Outside, a personal coaching and training companies for ambitious individuals and teams who want to make a difference without sacrificing their health and relationships to do so - so tune in to hear more!

In this episode we discuss:

• What Anna wanted to be when she grew up

• The various jobs she tried at school, none of which contributed to her future career!

• Her undergraduate studies at Oxford, taking a Masters in Geneva and her unsuccessful attempt to work at the UN

• Starting work at Proctor and Gamble, and breaking into the new sphere of digital marketing

• Realising the disconnect between where she was professionally and where she thought she should be, and starting to think about other options for her career

• Being bold and stepping outside your comfort zone, shrugging off her “Good Girl” mentality

• Quitting your job without another one to go to

• Starting her new business on her return from her travels, and getting that off the ground

• The ins and outs of running a small business, including lone working from home and the financial insecurity of self-employment

• Being patient when you’ve started a new venture, and having realistic expectations

• Anna’s “hippy period” (her words, not mine!) and how she ventured into the coaching world

• The concept of One Step Outside and what Anna does now, challenging people to move from ‘comfort’ to ‘growth’

• Why everyone needs a coach!

• Her new podcast, “Reimagining Success” and thinking about what you really want from life

Where to find Anna:

• The OneStepOutside website: https://onestepoutside.com
• The Reimagining Success podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/reimagining-success-with-anna-s-e-lundberg/id1444846932?mt=2
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaselundberg/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/annaselundberg

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