Surviving the Great Derailers: How to Get Back on Track After a Rupture, a Letdown, or a Slowdown
Last year, I had a vision for 2025:
Ease. Flow. A manageable to-do list.
I’d finally record the Great Work audiobook, release it with gentle fanfare in the spring, and enjoy the kind of work pace that includes breaks for yoga and PBJ.
I was feeling confident. Capable. Maybe a little pleased with myself.
Which, as you probably guessed, is a dangerous place to be.
Because the universe had other plans.
They arrived in the form of what I now call The Great Derailers:
The Rupture
The Letdown
The Slowdown
Let’s walk through the derailment, shall we?
1. The Rupture: The Website Meltdown No One Saw Coming
In preparation for launching the audiobook and second edition, I reached out to my SEO expert, Melissa, to do a light refresh on my website. Just a little tune-up, no big deal.
Except—big deal.
Melissa let me know that my site, which was originally built in the “olden times” (circa 2015), was a disaster. It was taking 45 seconds to load on mobile, and Google had basically ghosted it.
Organic traffic was dead. Paid ads weren’t even an option until the site was fixed.
The solution? Hire a website architect to fix the code—or rebuild the entire thing from scratch.
Fun fact: my website had 78 blogs, 32 landing pages, and 7 core pages. The “fix” option was estimated at $25,000.
So, instead of panicking (well, okay, after panicking), I made a decision:
I would rebuild it myself.
Using a Squarespace template.
In a week.
While prepping for the semester.
Honestly? It looks way better now. But “easy and breezy”? Not even close.
2. The Letdown: A Webinar That No One Came To
Still, I pressed on. While writing the new chapter for Great Work, I decided to host a special event to explore the ideas in community. Something fresh, bold, insightful.
Unfortunately, I think I confused everyone.
People weren’t sure if this was one of my monthly Great Work Series classes or something entirely new. The marketing was murky. The message unclear. And the result?
No one came.
I spent five hours crafting the deck. I de-fluffed my hair. I practiced transitions. I had punchlines ready.
And…. the Zoom room was empty—except for one kind soul who popped in for a minute, thought they were in the wrong place, and vanished.
Letdown achieved.
3. The Slowdown: The “One-Day” Audiobook That Took Two Weeks (and Counting)
Then came the audiobook. Finally. Just me, a mic, and my daughter’s walk-in closet (my “recording studio,” featuring stuffed animals and dreams).
I had one full day blocked off. I talk for a living. How hard could it be?
Turns out: very.
Halfway through, I stopped to revise the new chapter.
Then I re-recorded huge chunks after the engineer said my mic was “too hot.”
My software expired and had to be relicensed.
One day, my daughter was home sick, and I couldn’t use the closet.
I started wondering if I should just record it in my car like a motivational podcaster in the suburbs.
Two weeks later, I think I’m almost done. Maybe.
What’s Next?
Now that the website is up, the event is behind me, and the audiobook is (mostly) recorded, I’m ready to launch the second edition of Great Work. Surely that will go smoothly, right?
...Right? 😅
If You’ve Been Derailed Too…
If your year hasn’t gone to plan… if the “easy season” turned into a gauntlet… you’re not alone. Ruptures, letdowns, and slowdowns happen to the best of us.
But here’s the good news: it’s the community of people who nod and say, “Oh yeah—been there” that turns your personal drama into a funny story. The ones who remind you that these derailers aren’t proof that something is wrong. They’re proof that you are doing Great Work.
If you’re craving that kind of camaraderie, join us:
🌀 May 28: The Art of Working Together — How to Get the Most Out of Collaboration
🎉 June 10: The Great Work Book Launch Celebration
Come for the insights, stay for the people who get it.
We’ll laugh, learn, and keep going—hot mic and all.
