ABOUT STACEY

My journey from depleted and pissed off

to energized and inspired.

Depleted and pissed off. That’s how I felt for all too often during the last few years of my hotshot New York City advertising career. For years, I worked with the world’s biggest brands on their advertising campaigns. I created partnerships between global media like Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated, CNN Networks, and Fast Company, and brands like Lexus, Hilton, American Express, and LVMH. For years, the work was thrilling, energizing, and even glamorous.

I rose up the ranks by creating innovative deals that made tons of dough for everyone involved. I navigated airports, recessions, tech bubbles, and industry disruption on a regular basis. Most of the time, I was crushing it – nimbly putting out fires, appeasing grumpy clients, and babysitting frazzled colleagues. And while I was lauded for making sense of the chaos, I started to feel like I was being crushed – by office politics, 24/7 demands, endless meetings, a brutal commute, and a nagging sense that my work had no meaning.

Then, it got worse. I stopped sleeping. And when I did sleep, I broke teeth grinding through the stress of my job. I had no time for hobbies and barely knew the community I’d lived in for five years. Every day I would wake my daughter just before 7am so I could say goodbye before slogging through my commute. My husband seemed like an old friend I ran into every once in a while, over a pile of laundry or school forms. I swear my cleaning lady spent more time at my house than I did.

My career had become painful. I was missing so much of my life working my ass off.

Then one day as I sat listening to a guest speaker at my umpteenth global team meeting, a light bulb went on. Our speaker closed his remarks saying:

“The future does not fit into the containers of the past.”

Those words hit me like ton of bricks. He was speaking about the advertising business, but to me, it was a crystal clear call to make some changes in my life.

I’ll admit my immediate inspiration faded — as I let the pressure cooker corporate world consume me again. But I kept coming back to that quote again and again. (I even had the quote imprinted on a set of mugs for my team.)

I built a support system. I worked with a trusted mentor and surrounded myself with new people and new ideas. I read books and steeped myself in TED talks. I worked on my mindset and confidence because I knew there would be naysayers who might push me off course. I leaned on anything that fostered forward action towards my goal of a new “container”.

Today, I love the work I am doing. I have a career that energizes and inspires me every day. Many of my skills and expertise areas have translated to my new career vision. In all things (career and otherwise), I strive to honor my core values: discovery, authenticity, and connection. When I look back, I can track all of my successes to these three loves, and all my failures to ignoring what matters to my soul. Today, I live my values by helping others discover and design their own blueprint for happiness, fulfillment, and reward in life and work.

RENEW. PIVOT. THRIVE.

Are you ready to renew, pivot and thrive?

Tell us what you want to work on.

I am stalled in my career even though I have great experience.
I was a rockstar, but don’t know where I fit in anymore.
I need to kick my job search into high gear.
I want a better work life, but can’t get motivated.
I am failing as a leader and need to step up ASAP.
I don’t have enough executive presence.
My team is a mess and I don’t know what to do.
My organization is struggling with collaboration.
My talented team has bad habits and I don’t know what to do.

LET’S CONNECT

THRIVE & GIVE.

This year, I have made a goal to live my values more fully. I am donating 5% of my annual business profits from Staaterman Enterprises, LLC to the West Essex YMCA ‘s Annual Fundraising Campaign. West Essex YMCA is a division of the Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges, a 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator, and a 501(c)3 non-profit social services organization.

https://www.metroymcas.org/locations/west-essex-ymca/west-essex-ymca/

Why the Y? My family is a Y family. For more than 13 years, the Y has helped me and my husband navigate the complexities of being working parents by offering great programs and childcare options for our daughter. In 2019, I joined the West Essex YMCA’s Board of Managers and my 2021 give-back commitment more deeply aligns me with an organization I am proud to champion.

When you do business with my company, a part of your investment supports the YMCA’s mission to Youth Development, Healthy Living, and Social Responsibility. The West Essex YMCA prides itself on ensuring that no one is ever turned away from one of our programs because they can not afford to participate. The Annual Fundraising Campaign funds key programs and financial assistance to deserving individuals, families, and children in the West Essex YMCA’s New Jersey service area (West Orange, Roseland, Livingston, and Caldwell.)

You can make a donation directly to the YMCA here: https://givebutter.com/wey/staceyfeeney