Alana Sparrow

I’m 57, and I’m not “winding down.”

I don’t have kids.
I don’t have one home.
I don’t have f’cks left to give.
I don’t have “settled” energy.
I don’t takes meds of any kind.
I don’t have a retirement countdown.
I don’t have one identity I can explain.
I don't take shit from any one but June.
I don’t have “age-appropriate” ambitions.
I don’t have any interest in living like I’m done.
I don’t have time to live a life that doesn’t feel like mine.

I’m 57, and my life isn’t what I imagined.

It's so much better. Truly.

Here’s why:

I’m more grounded than I’ve ever been.
I’m more myself than I’ve ever been.
I’m more free than I’ve ever been.

And I'm on the other side of the fresh hell that is menopause.

So there's that.

Take this as your friendly reminder:

Build the life YOU want. Not the life others want you to want.

PS: Happy Friday, and 2 bucks if you know who June is.

24 years ago this week at 33, I left the corp world with no “real” plan other than not to repeat the previous 10 years.

If I ever became stuck in a job (or business) again…

( the exact 4 things I'd do )

It wouldn’t start with updating my résumé.
Or posting a single piece of content.
Or rewriting my LinkedIn headline.

It would start with getting 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 on four things:

1. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁?
   Not the vague version. The real one.
   The work that matters. To me.
   
2. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴?
   Not just skills. Value. Perspective. Power.
   The stuff that changes outcomes.
   
3. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘁?
   Stay. Leap. Lead. Build. Shift.
   Doesn’t matter— until I know.
   
4. 𝗪𝗵𝗼’𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿?
   A company. A cause. A client.
   If you don’t know who you’re calling in, no one hears you.

Without this fundamental clarity?

–  It creates friction.
–  You lose momentum.
–  You start second-guessing.
–  You might even lose 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵, in yourself or from others.

And that’s not just a professional problem.
That’s a personal one.

Maybe you like the work
but hate the environment.

Maybe you’re in the right room
but they don’t see you.

Maybe you’re in the wrong industry,
chasing someone else’s definition of success.

And no, entrepreneurship isn’t the answer for everyone.

I’m not here to sell it.
Unless it’s what you 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 want.

And it gets you where you’re 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 going.

But this? This is for everyone:

–  You deserve to feel fulfilled in your work.
–  To see the ripple effect of your contribution.
–  To know you’re making an impact.

And if you’re an employer reading this:

Companies are healthier when people know their worth.
Teams are stronger when clarity drives action.
And lives change when people stop settling.

So….

–  Don’t rewrite your résumé.
–  Don’t update your title.
–  Don’t post a single thing

Until you know exactly what you want, what you bring, what you’re here to do, and who it’s for.

Clarity isn't a warm-up.

Its the work.
It’s the shift.
It’s the difference.

Don't move until you got it.

Don't move until you got it.

Here’s how I work with $3B brands.

I don’t sell them anything.

I just see something they can’t.

This week it was market share.

How to hold what they’ve got and take more of it.

And the whole time we’re talking, I’m not translating in my head.

I’m not nodding along a half-beat behind, hoping I catch the next reference.

I already speak the language.

Their world, the way they talk about their world.

They were focused on their own brand story.

While they talked, I could see that same story running down through every supplier under them, and why their customers would actually care about it in each market they’re in.

That wasn’t the thing they walked in thinking about.

I walked them to it.

And they got it.

Getting into big rooms isn’t the hard part.

Plenty of people can land the meeting.

Being the person they don’t want to end the call with is a different skill, and it isn’t your deck or your credentials.

It’s whether you can stand inside their world and see what they can’t see from in there.

Took me years to build that.

On purpose.

Anyway.

Got in the car after, said out loud to nobody, well that was fcking productive.

Then I drove to a summit.

What’s the room you’re trying to talk your way into right now?

AI helps you post 50 comments a day.

( they're complete garbahge )
said in my best French accent

The 1% told you to comment.

Using AI? Erm no, they did not.

It's a shortcut. But it's a shortcut straight off a cliff.

I get it. I did it once, when I first started.
( literally ONCE )

Thankfully, my friend Nick straight up called me out in the comments.

Then made a post about it.
( not singling me out, but still. oof, oof. )

I NEVER did it again.

Not because of the public drag.

But because I saw what a train wreck it was for the conversation, and my brand.

Here's the thing:

– You might be an A-Level leader.
– You might be the next Steve Jobs.
– You might be the next Pulitzer winner.
– You might actually solve my exact problem.

None of it matters Jeff, if:

– You look like you're phoning it in.
– You sound like a glorified chatbot.
– You're not fooling 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦.

Now, when it comes to AI comments?

I'm like a former smoker who found Jesus.
I freaking loathe them.

Mostly because:

– They're intellectual cotton candy. Zero substance.
– They regurgitate what I just said but never as good.
– They ask me questions I literally just answered.
– They make posts look like a bot farm.

That last one? Ruins it for everyone.

A quality comment can lead to an ICP sliding into your DMs with this gem:

"Hey Alana, saw your comment on Sarah's post about pricing psychology and had to reach out. That bit about knowing your value vs embodying it? Yeah. That's exactly where I'm stuck. Would love to chat if you're taking on clients."

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 what a real comment can do.What are your takes?
Love 'em or loathe 'em?

Hear the algorithm update will be dingin' ya hard for them.

PS: Look for my faster-commenting tips in the comments, including an AI hack that doesn't make you look like a spam bot.

PPS: This video is NOT AI...It's actually me...It's the result of high quality writing, delivery, directing, filming, and editing. It's literally what my agency specializes in.

____
Dropping gems for CEOs, Executives, and Expert Founders M-F 6:30am EST.

A family of iguanas crossed the bike path in front of me yesterday. Mom. Three babies. Right of way granted to no one because they did not request it.

I had to brake. I had to wait. I had to be a guest in their crossing.

If those iguanas had behaved the way I have watched smart professionals behave on LinkedIn, here is what would have happened.

They would have paused halfway across to check the temperature of the bike path. One of them would have circled back to make sure the crossing was aligned with Q3 priorities. The babies would have been told to wait, this isn't the right moment. Someone would have suggested a smaller crossing first as a test. Someone else would have quoted a senior iguana on the importance of strategic patience.

And then they would have turned around and gone home and posted a carousel about the courage it takes to consider crossing a road.

Mama iguana did none of that. She had business on the other side and she conducted it. With three children. At eleven in the morning. Across the body of a stranger's bike path. Without apology.

I'm sharing an episode of a private podcast for the people who have been on the curb taking notes about crossing for longer than they would like to admit.

It is not the kind of episode that will make you feel better about staying where you are. It will get you off the curb.

Grab it here: https://lnkd.in/eet_2-XG

Be more iguana.

You’re lying about time. And it’s bankrupting you.

Three months no workouts. Zero follow-ups on a $20K client. DMs stuck in drafts.

My mentor didn’t ask “why” I was so “busy.”

She just said: “Stop calling it time. Call it what it is…you’re terrified.”

Damn.

She was right.

I wasn’t short on hours. I was short on conviction.

The $20K client? I didn’t “forget” to follow up. I felt like an imposter asking for the close. So I ghosted the close instead.

The workouts? I knew staying in hustle-mode felt productive. Moving my body meant sitting with what wasn’t working.

DMs? Sending them meant being seen. And being seen meant someone might actually respond.

Here’s the thing nobody tells you about “I don’t have time”:

It’s a permission slip to stay small.

Because if you admitted the truth…

“I’m avoiding my messaging because I don’t trust it yet”
“I’m scared to follow up because what if they say no”
“I’d rather stay invisible than risk being judged”

…then you’d have to do something about it.

And doing something means discomfort.

So here’s your mirror:

Replace “I don’t have time” with “I’m choosing not to prioritize this.”

Say it out loud. Watch what breaks open.

Because the founders and executives closing $100K+ deals? They’re not managing time better than you.

They’ve just stopped lying about what they’re actually avoiding.

What are you calling “no time” that’s really just fear dressed up as productivity?

Drop it below. One sentence. I’ll tell you what I see.