VA Success Spotlight: meet Debbie

Meet Debbie Guerrant, Atlas Sky Virtual Solutions.

Debbie was a high school science teacher for 30 years.

She loved it. It was fulfilling. She felt like she had purpose. But it was also 60 hours a week. Constantly thinking about everyone else. Always on. 

After the pandemic she took a sabbatical to rest. She had every intention of going back. 

But every time she sat down to update her CV, she couldn't do it. She'd stare at her laptop and then shut it. "I'll do it next week," she told herself. 

Week after week. The same thing. 

Eventually she realized: she didn't want to go back. 

Here's the thing about Debbie. She would have told you she wasn't a techy person. She was intimidated by all things digital. But when the pandemic hit and she had to teach online, she got a crash course in figuring it out. And she did. 

That's when she started thinking: what if I could work remotely? What if I could have a flexible schedule? What if I didn't have to work for a boss anymore? 

She found Virtual Assistant work. She found VA School. And everything changed. 

But it wasn't easy. 

For 30 years, her identity was wrapped up in teaching. When she stepped away, she felt guilty. She questioned herself. Did she make the right decision? Was it okay to stop pouring herself into hundreds of teenagers? 

She told me: "For 30 years I thought about everyone else except myself. It's okay to step away from that and do some things I want to do." 

That permission changed everything. 

She's honest about what it cost, though. Debbie still misses teaching. She won't pretend she doesn't. There was real purpose in it, and she felt the loss of that. 

But here's how she made peace with it: "When you make a major life change, there's always going to be things you say yes to, and when you're saying yes to those things, you have to say no to some other things. You just have to make sure that what you're saying yes to is worth it." 

And after two years of reflecting? She can say it was worth it. 

Now Debbie works 10 to 20 hours a week, and that's on purpose. She's been traveling nonstop for two years. Right now she's pet sitting in Taiwan for seven weeks. Then Sydney for seven weeks starting in November. 

She explores during the day and works in the evening. She stays in regular neighborhoods, not touristy resorts. She's made friends with locals in countries all over the world. 

She didn't replace her teaching income. She didn't want to. She wanted time freedom more than she wanted more money. 

Here's what she said that I want you to hear: 

"The journey is your own. You make it what you want it to be. There is no secret formula. There is no requirement for how you have to make this work. Make it your own and do what you want with it. That's the beauty of this. The freedom." 

If you've been staring at your laptop and shutting it. If you keep telling yourself "next week." If you know something needs to change but you don't know what... 

Maybe this is it.