I built a career I'm proud of. It cost more than I knew.

For more than 20 years I worked in corporate high-tech, through urgent deadlines, unrealistic expectations and relentless pressure. I helped build a technology company that became successful, and I worked with talented people, many of whom became great friends. I don't look back on it with resentment. I'm grateful for it.

The company had goals. I had goals. For years, those ambitions worked extremely well together. I was a high performer: dependable, caring, always there when it counted.

What I didn't see was the personal cost. I was so focused on what the company needed from me that I stopped asking what my own life needed. My body gave me signs: panic attacks, headaches, sleepless nights. I ignored them, because I had goals to achieve.

Eventually, my body made me stop.

That's when I faced a hard truth. I had spent years building a vision for my career, and almost no time building a vision for my life. So I made a very difficult decision, and I resigned.

What finally changed things for me wasn't more time off. It was a coach who helped me see my work differently. That experience is why I do this work today.

I bring a scientist's way of thinking, an executive's experience, and the perspective of someone who has paid the price for success. The AIM Method is the process I wish I'd had.