161: Breaking Out of Sleepwalking At Work To Succeed On Your Own with Lauren Goodell

“I closed the biggest deal of my life playing Candy Crush on my phone over Zoom… I could do this in my sleep at this point.” — Lauren Goodell One moment, Lauren Goodell was operating at the highest level — thriving in corporate tech, leading the room, closing deals most people never touch. And then, something became clear. The work wasn’t hard anymore. The risk was gone. The challenge had faded. What once demanded everything she had now required very little. In that moment, her future shifted. Not because she failed — but because she succeeded. And she knew that mastery without growth is just another form of standing still. So, she walked away. What followed wasn’t instant clarity. It was friction. Failure. Momentum earned the hard way. Today, Lauren is building technology that handles the prep work she got bored of — so people can focus on the conversations that actually matter. That moment — the quiet realization — is where her story really begins. Connect with her on LinkedIn & learn more at getZinnia.ai Success doesn’t always signal arrival. Sometimes, it’s the cue to begin again. Anaïs Nin said it best: “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”