I Thought I Was Winding Down. Turns Out, I May Have Been Winding Up.

I thought I was winding down. Turns out, I may have been winding up.

A few months ago, I thought I could see the end of my career approaching.

Not necessarily because I wanted to retire. But after more than 30 years, it felt like perhaps it was time to step aside. To appreciate what I had done, take down the shingle and quietly move into whatever came next.

But something unexpected happened.

I started having new conversations.

New ideas began taking shape.

I found myself reshaping my own brand, reconnecting with people and preparing to pitch work I genuinely want to do.

In some ways, it feels like starting over.

Except it isn’t.

Starting over suggests leaving everything behind. This feels more like carrying everything forward—the experience, the mistakes, the instincts and the judgment—and using it all to build something new.

Maybe we spend too much time looking at age as a signal to wind things down.

Sometimes the next chapter begins just when you think the story is ending.