I was fired from a tech startup and moved to Costa Rica to build my own business. I’m healthier, calmer, and more confident now.

• Jennifer Lankford started a public relations consultancy and moved to Costa Rica after losing her job at a startup.

• He is now focused on aligning his work with his personal values ​​and prioritizing his lifestyle.

• Lankford’s daily routine in Costa Rica includes waking up early in the morning, hiking, surfing and studying strategically.

This article as described is based on a conversation with him. Jennifer Lankford45-year-old CEO Lankford ContactHe moved to Costa Rica. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I am the CEO of Lankford Communications and I live in Jaco, Costa Rica. I’ve lived in Portland and the Bay Area before. My company is away.

I have spent the last 20+ years in the field of strategic communications and public relations. I worked at many technology companies before becoming a senior marketing manager at Intel. When my business unit dissolved, I took a role at a startup called Buoyant in 2017 and was subsequently promoted to a senior position at a fast-growing security startup, and at the time I felt like I had “finally made it.”

It seemed like a prestigious role and I was really starting to climb the ladder in my career, taking on a major role in a hot new venture in town. Things did not go as I expected and I was fired from the security initiative in January 2019.

I had previously consulted between roles, so I went back and started my own PR consultancy. So I decided to leave my life behind and moving to Costa Rica. I’m very happy here.

I was fired a few months before the startup was acquired

Leaving an exciting venture was traumatic. It happened suddenly and left me doubting myself. In hindsight, it was just a bad fit and I should have seen it sooner. The culture’s values ​​did not align with my own.

I had tied much of my identity and self-worth to my success in this role, but after the initial shock wore off, I realized I was more relieved than angry. Instead of rushing into another similar job, I asked myself a more fundamental question: What kind of life am I actually optimizing for?

I launched my website in a few days. I quickly signed my first clients and rented my first office in Portland in January 2020. This only lasted a few months before the COVID-19 shutdown, but things got better. Suddenly, the validation I once sought from titles and bosses began to come from building something that was truly mine.

An idea I’ve been thinking about for years has finally come true: moving somewhere else. Costa RicaA place I have visited several times. Surfing It was my first love before my career got in the way, and the pandemic proved that working remotely could support the lifestyle I dreamed of. At the end of 2020, I gave myself permission to design my business around my life, rather than around it.

I’ve never been this happy

I am no longer willing to organize my life around therapeutic systems or organizations. burnout ambition and constant growth as the only measure of value.

I design my program around focused, high-impact strategic work rather than constant availability. I am more selective about the people and companies I work with. I choose leadership teams that value diversity, transparency, and long-term thinking, and products that solve real problems.

I walk regularly, surf almost every day and spend most of my time outdoors. I adopted two rescue dogs who bring structure and joy to my days. I’m fitter than ever, less stressed, and more present than ever.

Perhaps most surprisingly, my work is progressing in the ways that matter most to my clients, with clearer strategy, stronger positioning, and more impactful results.

Days are simple in Costa Rica and my mornings start early

I wake up around 5:30 in the morning to the sound of birds, make coffee, and start the day with a walk on the beach or a long walk with my dogs before the heat sets in. After that, I sit down to do the work I’m most focused on: strategy, writing, and collaborating with clients.

I rarely attend meetings late in the day and usually work about 25 hours Monday through Friday. But my output is higher than when I worked twice as hard. I also earn six figures.

I will cool off by swimming in the afternoons. practice your spanishRead a book or take a nap before finishing your work and heading to the beach for sunset. I have a lot of friends here and it’s a very international community.

Living closer to the equator has reset my relationship with time and rest. I’m usually in bed by 8pm and get up with the sun.

I would tell those who feel stuck in their careers to question their inherited assumptions about success.

Rethink the idea that going down the stairs means failure, even if temporary. I always encourage women to develop their careers and create real businesses. financial security — I couldn’t do this move without doing it myself. I had a pillow, great servants, and a thriving business, so I wasn’t too worried about money. I then refinanced and sold my house in Portland to buy a house here.

Where I want you to be more mindful is how much weight we place on titles, prestige, and momentum within systems that don’t provide the same care or loyalty. Staying in environments that drain you too long can be a trap in itself. When companies fail to value their employees, choosing to work for yourself can be a direct path to autonomy and greater joy.

You don’t have to destroy your life to make a change, but you do need to be honest about what your job is costing you physically and emotionally. For me, walking away didn’t mean giving up; was choosing my physical and mental health. The goal is not to deny success, but to define it more carefully. What kind of lifestyle do you actually want to live, starting when?

If your personal pursuits need to take a higher place in your life than they do now, make room for them. Sometimes the most meaningful change isn’t a big move, but the decision to stop procrastinating on the life you actually want.

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