From Job Loss to New Beginnings: My Journey of Reinvention

From the music industry to nonprofit food advocacy to a new life in a new state - and finally doing what I always wanted to do. Hearth Talks, episode 2.

In episode 2 of Hearth Talks, I share my motivation behind doing Hearth Talks, a new YouTube channel dedicated to women over 40, 50, 60, 70+ who are seeking personal growth, connection, and purpose.

Very briefly, I worked in the music industry for about ten years, was told by the CFO of a record company I was working at that I’d never get promoted, left and randomly found a job at a nonprofit. There, I was able to help hold factory farms accountable, launch programs on sustainable/healthy food, and eventually was executive producer of an animation called The Meatrix.

The Meatrix was wildly successful and led to a scholarship to the TED conference, where I mentioned to a new friend, Laura, that a talk that had mentioned food was incorrect. She looked at me and said “Put on your own TED.”

I was like, “what?” The TEDx program had just started, so I got one of the first licenses to do TEDxManhattan “Changing the Way We Eat” (which was an amazing experience).

(watch on YouTube!)

As that was going on, a coup started in the nonprofit I was at. I was eventually forced out, got a grant for my own nonprofit, and, well, hit perimenopause and basically broke and felt lost and without purpose in life.

On another note, I had also wanted to be a writer since I was fifteen but was steered into a business degree (which I hated). I eventually moved to London to get my Masters so I could study the craft. When I moved to NYC and started working in the music business, I thought I could write books on the side.

I got so many rejections (one told me to give up writing!) and I became so devastated that I packed all my journals away and put writing to the side as I dove into my nonprofit career.

Fast forward to 2020 and covid - that was the final push that got me out of NYC after thirty years. I landed in New Mexico, where I’m still living (and loving it). And if you watch the video, I share how I ended up going from nonprofit to doing what I always wanted to do - write fiction full time.

I’m sharing these stories to show that we each have a thread that runs through our lives, and it’s up to us to find it. What we might think is a bad experience can actually be a blessing. For me, I just needed time and perspective.

I know many women go through similar experiences when they get to their mid-forties and fifties, and, if that’s you, I want you to know you’re not alone.

I’m still coming out of my biggest life shift, and I’m hoping to share my journey as I go through it. If I can help one other person, Hearth Talks will be a success.

I hope you’ll join me as I dance into the best phase of my life.

More in the video.

Diane Hatz is an author, organizer, and inner activist. Join her email list to get more personal newsletters and much more.