Women of Influence Preview #23: Donna James (plus my thoughts on Meghan Markle)

Donna James was doing work she loved, leading several financial services subsidiaries of Columbus-based insurance giant Nationwide. Then she had a stroke. "It was what the doctors would technically call a mini-stroke, but it didn't feel mini to me," James said during a recent taping of our Women of Influence podcast. James, who was only 49 at the time of her stroke, recovered, but she saw the medical scare as a reason to think about what the shape of her career should look like. “It caused me to rethink. It was a moment for pause, and to say, ‘Ok, what is it I really want to be doing? What else do I want to do?’" James said. "And I knew I wouldn’t be able to figure that out if I kept doing what I was doing.”Check out our biweekly podcast preview episode to hear more from James on her decision to leave Nationwide and ultimately launch her own business, Lardon & Associates. You'll also hear some thoughts from me on one of the biggest stories of the week (think British royals) and how its relates to the question we ponder on this podcast.