The Rise of the Soft Life: How I Stopped Hustling and Started Redefining Wealth

I used to think wealth meant working 60-hour weeks and hitting six figures. Now I think it means naps, boundaries, and saying no to anything that feels like a trap.

It took me years (and a near breakdown) to realize I wasn’t building a life I actually wanted.
I had a career that looked good from the outside but felt like hell on the inside.

Let’s be real…what’s the point of making more money if you don’t even have time to enjoy it?

That’s where the soft life comes in. And no, it's not about bubble baths and skipping work.

The soft life is about living with intention.
Choosing peace over pressure.
Designing your days, not just surviving them.

How chasing safety cost me peace

I didn’t grow up with financial security.
I grew up watching money get stretched too thin and stress show up in the form of unpaid bills and whispered arguments.

So I chased stability like my life depended on it.
I climbed the corporate ladder, checked all the boxes, got the degrees, earned the titles.

I made it. On paper.
I had the pension. The benefits. The steady salary.

But I also had a calendar so full I forgot to breathe.
I had a body breaking down from burnout.
I had a bank account that looked fine but a nervous system that was fried.

Because money can create options, yes.
But it doesn’t create peace.
And it sure as hell doesn’t create joy if you have to trade your soul to earn it.

That’s why this shift matters.
That’s why I talk about the soft life like my sanity depends on it.
Because in some ways, it did.

The rebellion is quiet and overdue

The concept of the soft life didn’t come from a finance textbook.
It came from women like us finally saying “enough.”

After years of glorifying the hustle, burnout became the baseline.
We were wearing stress like a badge of honor.

But when everything shut down in 2020, it forced a lot of us to take a long, hard look at what we were sacrificing.
And what we were really working for.

I remember talking to a client who told me she cried every time she opened her accounting software.
Not because her numbers were bad, but because she felt so disconnected from the life those numbers were supposed to support.

Another told me she’d “made it” in her business… but couldn’t remember the last time she sat down for dinner without checking Slack under the table.

That’s not freedom.
That’s a financial prison with fancy branding.

So we’re rewriting the rules.
We’re redefining what wealth really looks like…starting with how it feels.

Five ways to build your soft life (and still get paid)

1. Pay yourself first
   You built the thing. You carry the weight. You get the reward first.
   This isn’t selfish. It’s sustainability. 

If the idea of paying yourself makes you nervous, that’s a red flag in your pricing or boundaries, not your worth.

2. Plan for ease, not just emergencies
   Most people only think about saving when something breaks.
   But soft life finances are about creating space.
   A buffer to rest. A cushion for slow seasons. A little joy money for a last-minute getaway or random Tuesday splurge.

Let’s call this your “breathe fund.”
It’s the difference between surviving and actually enjoying the ride.

3. Invest in alignment, not just growth
   More clients, more revenue, more everything... sounds great.
   Until you’re running a monster of a business you secretly hate.

Sometimes, “enough” is the most profitable strategy of all.

4. Say no to unprofitable stress
   You can fire a client. You can ditch an offer.
   You can say no to the shiny thing that drains your time and joy.

If it makes money but costs your peace, it’s too damn expensive.

5. Define wealth in your own terms
   Maybe it’s flying south every February.
   Maybe it’s just not flinching when your phone buzzes with a bank alert.

If your finances support your version of peace, that’s wealth. Full stop.

You don’t need approval to do things differently.

If you’ve ever thought, “Once I make $X, then I’ll feel safe”… I get it. I’ve been there.

But let me tell you, when I finally hit that number, the only thing that changed was my tax bracket.
Not my stress. Not my sleep. Not my sense of self-worth.

It took unlearning decades of conditioning to realize I could build a career that served my life, not stole it.
That I could use my skills and my story to help other women find peace with their money without selling out their health to get there.

So if you’re tired of chasing, tired of pushing, tired of pretending everything’s fine when you’re running on empty…there’s a softer, saner way.

So what does your soft life look like?

Think about what you’re moving toward or what you’re walking away from.

You don’t need to suffer to be successful.
Soft is smart.
And peace is the real profit.

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