473: I Left My Goldman Sachs Role to Write Fiction Novels: Here’s Exactly How I Did It

the bossbabe podcast

Natalie Ellis

Education, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Business, Self-improvement

4.9 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 24 July 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if the “dream job” you worked so hard to earn… wasn’t your dream anymore? In this episode, Natalie sits down with Lindsay MacMillan - a former VP at Goldman Sachs who walked away from a prestigious Wall Street career to follow a lifelong dream of becoming a published author. Since leaving Wall Street, Lindsay has signed major book deals with Penguin Random House, taken the TEDx stage four times, and created a multi-faceted creative business aligned with her values. Together, they unpack what it really takes to leave a good job, why the “Plan B” trap keeps so many women stuck, and how to navigate the financial, emotional, and identity shifts that come with choosing the creative path. This conversation is an honest, vulnerable, and deeply empowering look at what happens when you stop settling for a life that looks good on paper, and start creating one that actually feels good. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Why Natalie cut her trip short + the power of honoring your season 01:03 - From Wall Street to writing: How Lindsay made the leap from VP to published author 02:32 - The real reason people are quitting corporate (hint: it’s not burnout) 04:47 - Walking away from a “good on paper” job to follow your dream 06:58 - How Lindsay earned a VP promotion, and still knew it was time to go 09:05 - The simple shift that helped her unlock work-life balance (and still get promoted) 10:32 - Why prioritizing creativity made her better at her corporate job 12:31 - A realistic financial game plan for leaving a high-paying job 17:00 - How to build a portfolio career that funds your creativity and freedom 21:00 - The mindset shift that helped Lindsay stop working like she was still in corporate 23:01 - How to say no to misaligned money (and trust you’ll be okay) 26:17 - Why “pretty good” is the most dangerous place to be 29:21 - What it really looks like to build a creative career on your own terms RESOURCES + LINKS Get Lindsay’s New Novel: Summer On Lilac Island Build Your Freedom-Based Business Operating System™ This Summer At Our First-Ever Freedom High Summer School: A Live Challenge Designed To Help You Grow Your Audience, Make More Sales + Use AI Without Losing Your Voice. Save Your Seat Here. Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter & Get Insights From Natalie Every Single Week On All Things Strategy, Motherhood, Business Growth + More. Drop Us A Review On The Podcast + Send Us A Screenshot & We’ll Send You Natalie’s 7-Figure Operating System Completely FREE (value $1,997).

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to the Boss Babe podcast. Okay, I was supposed to be coming to you from the Cotswolds,
0:05.5	but we actually cut our UK trip short. And I am back in Austin now, which, you know what,
0:10.6	feels really, really good. There were so many reasons that we cut this trip short. We left later
0:15.7	than we were going to, and then we come back a couple weeks earlier than we were planning. And I just
0:20.0	think I
0:20.8	overestimated how easy it would be to travel internationally with being so pregnant. Like,
0:27.5	the trimester travel during a heat wave when you have no AC in the UK is quite an experience. Let's
0:34.7	put it that way. Put a toddler in the mix of that. And I was like,
0:38.1	you know what? I'm ready to get home, have my home comforts, be in my routine. I think that
0:42.4	would feel really good. And I think we're just going to do maybe a fun California trip or something
0:47.6	like that. That feels a little bit more manageable, let's say, as our kind of final trip before
0:53.1	baby arrives. But yeah, that is my little life update. But diving into today's say, as our kind of final trip before baby arrives. But yeah, that is my
0:55.3	little life update. But diving into today's episode, today's episode is for the woman who has
1:00.9	built a really beautiful resume, but can't ignore the whisper that there might be something more.
1:05.8	So I'm sitting down with Lindsay McMillan, who is a former VP at Goldman Sachs who walked away from Wall Street,
1:12.6	not because she hated her job, but because she loved the idea of something else more.
1:16.2	So she was in finance for six years with a promotion to VP at 28, which is wild.
1:22.6	And just after that promotion, she made the leap to pursue her dream of becoming a published author.
1:27.3	And not just any
1:27.9	dream. We're talking, Penguin Random House book deals and incredible, incredible love stories. And so in
1:33.0	this conversation, we talk about why leaving your career to do something else or pivot isn't always
1:38.8	about burnout. It could be about a dream pulling you forward. What it takes to build a double life as a corporate
	...

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