What does it take to walk away from 15 years at a prestigious company like IBM when you're ambitious, driven, and have two young children at home? In this deeply practical conversation, Laura Rotter sits down with Lisa Cassidy—former IBM consultant and organizational change specialist—who shares her journey of taking what she calls a "power pause" to recenter herself and her family after feeling stretched too thin.

Lisa grew up in a log cabin in rural Maryland, where her parents made intentional choices about money—no mortgage, modest vacations, but heavy investment in education. Those early lessons about values over lifestyle gave her the foundation to make bold decisions decades later. After spending her twenties exploring three different industries in three different cities, earning her MBA, and building a successful 15-year consulting career, Lisa heard a quiet voice saying "you're doing too much." With the support of her husband David, she made the intentional decision to resign—but not before taking a leave of absence to ensure she was making the choice from a place of calm, not chaos.

This episode is essential listening for any woman who feels like she's barely keeping her head above water, any parent trying to balance career and family, or anyone wondering if it's possible to pause without losing momentum. Lisa shares the financial preparation that made her pause possible, the questions she and her husband answered together to align on money values, and why success is really about the ability to choose how you spend your time.

💡 Education as generational wealth can enable life choices: Lisa's parents lived in a small home without a mortgage and skipped fancy vacations to invest heavily in their daughters' education—including boarding school and college. This pattern, passed down from her grandfather paying for her father's law school, gave Lisa the foundation to later afford her own power pause.

💡 Know yourself before you know your next role: Through exploring three different industries in three different cities in her twenties, Lisa learned that relationships and variety were more important to her than any specific field. Knowing what motivates you—not just what sounds impressive—is critical to long-term career satisfaction.

💡 One in three working women will pause in the next two years: According to The Power Pause by Neha Ruch, one in three women currently working will pause their careers in the next two years, and 90% will return. You're not alone if you're considering this.

💡 Make the decision from calm, not chaos: Lisa took a leave of absence before resigning to ensure she was making the choice from a centered place, not from burnout. She worked with a coach, journaled extensively, and had deep conversations with her husband about money values before taking the leap.

💡 Success is the ability to choose how you spend your time: By buying a small house in Maine where cost of living is lower, sending kids to public school, and being intentional about expenses, Lisa and her husband created the financial flexibility to have choices. Money enables choice, but choice is the real measure of success.

Connect with Lisa:

LinkedIn

Resources:

The Power Pause

Suzy Welch Podcast

What happens when a seasoned finance professional with an MBA and 26 years in construction loses nearly $2 million to a Ponzi scheme? In this candid and empowering conversation, Laura Rotter sits down with Lauri Kibby—Managing Partner at Seleen Brighthouse real estate investment fund—who turned one of her most devastating financial mistakes into a mission to educate and empower women investors.

Lauri's journey from growing up with money as a "weapon" (despite living an upper-middle-class life) to becoming a successful entrepreneur and developer reveals powerful lessons about financial resilience, self-trust, and the importance of knowing your complete financial picture. After discovering she'd been caught in a Ponzi scheme in 2023—lured by greed and the failure to trust her own gut instincts—Lauri didn't hide in shame. Instead, she founded Seleen Brighthouse to provide women access to real estate investment opportunities typically reserved for the ultra-wealthy, along with the education and community they need to become sophisticated investors.

This episode is essential listening for any woman who wants to take full ownership of her financial life, whether you're preparing for the great wealth transfer, managing an inheritance, or simply ready to stop outsourcing your financial decisions. Lauri shares why women need to look beyond the two-year horizon, how to build fundamental self-trust that creates wealth, and why knowing your net worth is one of the most empowering things you can do for yourself.

💡 Even finance professionals fall for scams—and that's the point: Lauri, with her MBA and decades of investment experience, lost $2 million to a Ponzi scheme because greed overrode her gut instincts. If it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone. The antidote is education, community, due diligence, and trusting the "pit in your stomach" when something feels off.

💡 Most women don't know their true net worth—and that's disempowering: Women often can't name all their assets, forget about old 401(k)s, and don't have a consolidated view of their financial picture. Knowing your complete balance sheet—assets and liabilities—is incredibly empowering and usually reveals you're worth more than you think.

💡 True financial success comes from daily impact, not account balances: After comparing herself to ultra-wealthy family members for years, Lauri redefined success as the impact she makes in relationships every day. Better relationships lead to better decisions, which lead to better financial outcomes—not the other way around. And fundamentally, most people have always been okay, which should give us power to do big things without fear.

Connect with Lauri:

Website

LinkedIn

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Disclaimer: Please remember that the information shared on this podcast does not constitute accounting, legal, tax, investment or financial advice. It’s for informational purposes only.