By: Nadina Tyropolis

I never realised how far I’d come until I stood on the TEDx red dot. Not discussing a brand launch, KPI’s or quarterly targets, but something real: knowing your personal values. 

For the first time, I shared my story without needing to impress, pitch, or perform. A talk that questioned societal conditioning I’d lived through for 15 years before breaking the mold. I never felt more grounded, an unexpected full-circle moment for someone who changed her postal code every two years.

But let me rewind.

Fall 2022.
I wake up and stare at the unfamiliar curtains. Then I remember. I’m in Korea. Jet lag isn’t kind-as it was only just yesterday that I was running barefoot, stilettos in hand, backstage at Milan Fashion Week averting a crisis. I check my phone. 511 unread emails, 30 unapproved workflows, 12 “friendly reminder” voice notes, and 6 messages from my dad asking, “What timezone are you in?”

I was living my teenage dream: a top role at Gucci HQ, global recognition, jet-setting, access to PR wardrobes, even a private concert where Will Smith dedicated a song to me, ok it was during soundcheck but it counts…

All this while repeating the biggest lies: If I worked harder, survived one more fashion show, traded sleep for deadlines, piled makeup over eczema, and endured performance reviews—things would align. Everyone did the same, why be different?

Where did this internal chatter originate? Family? Society? Mentors? Values instilled in me early, ones I fought hard to embody as an adult: Hard work trumps self-care. Wealth is the ultimate success metric. Vulnerability equals weakness. 

Until one day, somewhere between a red carpet event and another executive meeting, I realized I couldn’t hear my own voice anymore. My life had grown so loud with achievement, so focused on society’s definition of success, that I didn’t notice my soul going silent.

They call it burnout. I called it ending a 15-year cycle.

Let me be clear: this isn’t a “quit your job and move to an unpronounceable island” article. It’s an invitation—to question the mold YOU were handed. Is your life built for you or by you?

Because mine? Looked like a luxury penthouse without windows.
Impressive externally. Suffocating within.

A simple personal values exercise cracked everything open. Clarity hit: the life I’d built was completely misaligned with my deepest values—freedom, creativity, service. No wonder I was stuck in survival mode.

So I began dismantling.

Piece by piece, belief by belief, I unlearned what I thought success meant. I stopped chasing someone else’s definition of performance and started asking better questions: What am I truly giving up for this version of success? When did I last feel truly alive? What does a value-embodied life really look like? 

I quit my job, packed my bags, and booked a one-way ticket out of Milan. I trained my mind, body and soul until my ego cracked. I sat in ceremonies with shamans and healers. I cried until breathing felt impossible. I became my own guinea pig, realising that through 10 years of intense personal growth, I’d learned how to hold others as a coach. 

People said I was ruining my life by leaving a 15-year career. Maybe.
But what if I become fully aligned in the process? What if I found… me?

And I learned that finding out who you truly are and operating in alignment is the real success nobody discusses.

Fast forward to 2025. Stepping off the TEDx stage, my inbox was filled with messages from strangers saying: “Now I understand why I feel unfulfilled.” 

That’s when it hit me: this wasn’t just my story. It was about outdated systems that reward performance over purpose.

If you’ve made it this far, maybe you’re wondering. Is this a glorified start-over pitch?

It’s not.

You don’t need to burn down your career. But question if you are living your way or an inherited one—as a leader, partner, or friend.

Sometimes we need a little extra help. A coach, a therapist, a mentor, a good friend to gently ask: 

• Who’s making your decisions—your conscious self, or your conditioning? 

• Who set the rules for your life? 
• Are you performing a version of yourself, or are you aligned with who you truly want to be? Are you living a life chosen by you, or sustaining one handed to you in the form of an adult checklist? 
• Are you playing by others’ rules—or crafting a legacy?

Turns out, the only thing I ruined was the belief that there’s one right way to succeed.

And I’ve never felt freer. 

Will you join me on this side?

STRATEGY WITH SOUL
Nadina Tyropolis is an ICF PCC-certified Life Strategy Coach, TEDx speaker, and the founder of Dara Impact. With 15 years in global leadership roles at brands like Gucci, Sephora, and Adidas, and having lived in seven countries, she now helps high-achievers reconnect with their truth and build lives rooted in clarity, purpose, and personal alignment. Through her “The Alignment Code™” framework she blends strategy with soul, drawing from her lived experience of burnout, reinvention, and deep inner work. Whether guiding individuals or facilitating transformation in teams, Nadina creates spaces where real breakthroughs happen—grounded, honest, and unapologetically human.