How to Pivot With Purpose (and Peace) — Lessons from Dr. Taryn Fletcher

https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/60OSC2S10lfeEAUBRnvayR?utm_source=generator

Most pivots don’t start with a grand vision.
They start with a moment that knocks the wind out of you.

For Dr. Taryn Fletcher, that moment came when she was sitting at the height of her career — a superintendent leading district-wide school reform — and learned that her third child had a 99.9% chance of being born with Down syndrome.

As she told me during our conversation on As Good As You Are, “I had spent twenty years in education, helping parents through their own fears. But suddenly, I was the one being consoled. And I couldn’t hold it together.”

That diagnosis didn’t just change her family’s story. It changed her definition of success — and became the spark for an entirely new chapter in her career.

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The Unexpected Gift of Letting Go

In the months that followed, Taryn faced what she calls “the shedding.” She had the life, the title, the accolades — but she was being called to redefine it all.

“I realized that so much of what I’d built was based on what I thought I should want,” she said. “It wasn’t until I let go of those old identities that something better could find me.”

Her son Amari became both her purpose and her mirror — showing her how to build a world where no one’s value or worth is ever in question. That mission grew into her business, her book, and her life’s work: helping others pivot toward purpose through her Brave Leader program.

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The Pivot Framework: Purpose, Integrity, Vulnerability, Ownership, Transition

When Taryn talks about “pivoting,” she doesn’t mean blowing up your life and starting over.
She means moving with intention.

Her signature framework spells it out:

• Purpose – Get clear on what you want to experience and the impact you’re here to make.
• Integrity – Align your actions with that purpose, even when people question your direction.
• Vulnerability – Confront the conditioning and guilt that keep you in the box.
• Ownership – Take full responsibility for the life you’re choosing — not the one handed to you.
• Transition – Make the leap. Take the aligned action that moves you from clarity to change.

“The grief in pivoting comes from releasing old versions of yourself,” Taryn explained. “But every single time I’ve done that, what’s waited for me on the other side has been better — not easier, but better.”

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When to Pivot (and When to Push Through)

One of the most powerful questions Taryn poses is deceptively simple:
Does staying where I am fulfill my purpose?

If the answer is unclear, she says, you stay there — in the stillness — until it becomes clear.
Because without that clarity, you risk chasing someone else’s definition of success.

She also points out how rarely women are asked what they want.
“So many of us are pursuing goals that we think other people want us to want,” she said.
“The first step to an intentional pivot is giving yourself permission to ask what you truly desire — not what’s expected of you.”

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Building a Business With Intention

When she finally stepped out on her own, Taryn didn’t wait for perfect timing.
She wrote a book while breastfeeding her infant son during the pandemic, turned her employer into her first client, and grew to six figures in 90 days.

But she’s quick to point out that growth alone doesn’t equal stability.

“One strategy might get you started,” she said, “but sustainability comes from solving real problems, pivoting daily, and building a business that can replicate your impact.”

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The Power of Everyday, Intentional Pivots

You don’t have to burn everything down to make a change.
Taryn calls these smaller shifts bold, intentional, everyday actions — the micro-pivots that realign you to your purpose before life forces a bigger one.

Every time you make a decision that honors your integrity, you’re pivoting.
Every time you choose self-trust over external validation, you’re pivoting.
Every time you release an old version of yourself, you’re evolving.

As Taryn put it, “The path might be hard — but it’s my hard. And that makes all the difference.”