Burning the Rulebook: Notes from the New Life
Post 01 — The 40 Factor Begins
There’s a moment — not loud, not dramatic — when you quietly decide to stop abandoning yourself. This is mine.
A blank page used to terrify me.
Now? It feels like a dare.
I’m Karolina.
For 16 years, I built things that mattered — schools, award-winning curricula, programs that changed lives. I taught in international classrooms, led global teams, and coached people through some of the most defining and deeply human transitions of their lives.
Somewhere along the way, I realized I’d stopped asking myself the most important question:
Is this the life I truly want — or just the one I was taught to perform?
That question cracked everything open.
Now I’m not just guiding others through transformation — I’m walking through it myself.
Still leading. Still coaching. But this time, from the inside out.
Then I turned 40, and everything got a little louder — the questions, the discomfort, the sense that something had to change.
Not all at once, but enough to make me pay attention.
I started living with more honesty. I let go of the things I thought I should want. I got clear on what actually mattered.
I’m not in Italy yet. I’m not a mother yet.
But I’m making space for both — and for the kind of life I used to think was out of reach.
This is The 40 Factor — the raw, unfolding story of what happens when you stop performing and start living. Not from a script, but from your gut.
Why this, why now
I started this because:
The version of success I was living didn’t feel like mine anymore
I got honest about what I actually wanted — and I couldn’t un-hear it
Turning 40 didn’t feel like an ending; it felt like a beginning I didn’t want to miss
This space didn’t come from strategy. It came from the spark that shows up when everything safe stops working.
I’m NOT here to teach or preach.
I’m here to write my way through it — and maybe remind you that you're not the only one feeling the pull to something truer.
If You’re in a Season of Change, You Belong Here
It’s for women who:
Have stopped waiting to be chosen
Have made bold decisions quietly — career shifts, leaving relationships, starting over without applause
Are becoming mothers in unexpected ways, or carrying the weight of wanting to
Have outgrown a life that once made sense, and are slowly, bravely reaching for something more honest
This isn’t a space for performing or pretending.
It’s for real conversations. For honest moments.
For the in-between, the questions, the figuring-it-out-as-you-go.
What to Expect From Me (And This Space)
I’ll be writing every other week — sometimes more if the spirit grabs me. Here’s what you’ll find:
Essays on sobriety, embarking on solo motherhood, identity, desire, and choosing again — even when it’s late, even when it’s hard
Reflections from my work as a coach — not advice, but offerings from the frontlines of transformation
The Italy Diaries — not a fantasy, but the real work of making a dream come true
Eventually, private voice notes, live circles, and deeper spaces for paid subscribers
Right now, everyone gets everything. When I open up paid tiers, it’ll be about intimacy — not access.
If You Feel the Pull, Come With Me
👇 Subscribe below to follow this unfolding.
I won’t promise answers.
But I will promise truth.
And company, if you want it.
P.S. Know a woman who’s rewriting the rules, or longing to? Forward this to her. Let her know she’s not the only one.