Closing One Chapter Before I Start Another - Ep 1

This podcast episode actually started out as a voicenote to my email list - it’s a way I love communicating. Turns out a lot of you on my email list love this too… and instead of waiting for the perfect conditions to start my podcast, we’re going for it now. This is just the beginning and be warned - things change rapidly around here!So with this voicenote (aka first podcast episode), I’m finally showing up as I am, not as I thought I needed to be.Seven weeks ago, my beloved golden retriever Daisy passed away. And honestly? It’s been rough. Grief, crippling anxiety, menopause, and the kind of threshold moment that feels less like a stepping stone and more like wading through a deep, muddy riverbed. I open up about all of it, including how unkind I’ve been to myself lately, and the little pilot light inside me that keeps flickering despite my best efforts to douse it.But here’s the thing. That pilot light? She’s got something to burn for.I share the news that my online coaching and mentoring business has come to a close, and why. After 12+ years, the why had faded. And something shifted when I turned 50, this quiet freedom from needing external validation, that made it impossible to pretend otherwise.What replaced it surprised me. It was right in front of me the whole time.I’m launching a new business, My Pet Taxi, co-created with my son Samson, who is autistic and magnificent and ready to take on the world. The business picks up and drops off your beloved dogs to daycare, with a bigger vision of creating something replicable for other neurodivergent individuals down the track. It is infused with Daisy’s spirit, built on years of dreaming about how to support Samson’s independence, and honestly, it’s where my whole entrepreneurial journey has been heading all along.This episode is raw, real, and a little all over the place, just like life right now. But the pilot light is flickering. And she’s not going out. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit petabastian.substack.com