Julia Toothacre on Redefining Meaningful Work Through Life’s Seasons

About this episode

Julia Toothacre discusses how the definition of meaningful work evolves after becoming a parent and offers insights on navigating career challenges amidst changing priorities.

What does meaningful work actually look like once you become a parent? For many professionals, the answer changes. Priorities shift. Energy changes. The things that once felt exciting or important can suddenly feel disconnected from the life you want to build. Career strategist Julia Toothacre works with high-performing professionals who look successful on paper but quietly feel stuck, burned out, or misaligned. Her work focuses on helping people take ownership of their careers while navigating the pressures of family, ambition, and changing priorities. Julia explains why meaningful work is often misunderstood and why the answer usually isn’t a dramatic career overhaul. More often, it comes from understanding the season of life you are in and aligning your choices with what matters most right now. Julia shares how to: • Understand why meaningful work means different things to different people • Recognize when feeling “stuck” is coming from internal pressure rather than external reality • Think about career risk differently once kids enter the picture • Identify when a job is temporarily demanding versus fundamentally misaligned • Manage career transitions without making emotional…

People in this episode

Host: Michael

Guest: Julia Toothacre

Topics covered

• meaningful work
• parenthood
• career transitions
• burnout
• work-life balance

Keywords

• career strategist
• high-performing professionals
• internal pressure
• job alignment
• career risk

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Bluey

Books & works: Redefining Meaningful Work Through Life’s Seasons, Control Your Career

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