What happens when the job you’ve built your life around suddenly disappears?

For Eleanor Tweddell, it was the start of something she never expected: a total reimagining of who she was, what she wanted, and how she would define success on her own terms.

In this episode of the Hello Moxie podcast, Eleanor joins host Nicole Donnelly to explore the raw, real, and liberating truth about change—and why resistance, confusion, and uncertainty aren’t signs you’re broken. They’re signs you’re waking up.

Losing Your Job Can Be the Gift You Didn’t Ask For

Eleanor had spent 20 years working in corporate communications and sales roles for brands like Vodafone and Costa Coffee. She knew how to succeed in that world—until one day, she was made redundant.

“I describe it as the gift you never wanted,” she shares. “It gives you a break, whether you like it or not.”

Most people would immediately polish their resumes and start applying for jobs. Eleanor almost did the same. But something didn’t feel right. When she sat in her next job interview and was asked why she wanted the role, she realized: I didn’t. What she needed wasn’t another job. It was a complete reset.

The Power of the Pause

Instead of pushing forward, Eleanor did something radical—she paused. And it’s this step she now teaches as the first of her five-part framework for navigating what she calls “messy change.”

“Good change starts with stopping,” she says. “Even if it’s just a few seconds over a cup of coffee, that moment of pause helps you reset and re-energize.”

It sounds simple, but for high-achieving women taught to hustle and perform, permission to pause is revolutionary. And that pause opened the door for Eleanor to follow a different path—one that began not with a five-year plan, but a breadcrumb.

From Redundancy to Reinvention

That breadcrumb came in the form of a random Facebook ad for something called The Do Lectures—a creative retreat in rural Wales. Eleanor signed up without knowing exactly why.

“I showed up and instantly felt like a PowerPoint-and-spreadsheet person in a sea of creatives,” she laughs. But being out of her comfort zone reminded her of something powerful: being a beginner has its own kind of magic.

“You only get one chance to be a beginner at something. You can ask all the nosy, dumb questions. People will help you. They’ll open up. There’s no pressure to have all the answers yet.”

Redefining Success

One of the most liberating takeaways from the conversation is the idea that success isn’t a fixed point—it’s something you define for yourself, in your current season.

“When I was in corporate, I didn’t realize how much I’d internalized other people’s priorities,” Eleanor admits. “Now, my priorities are mine. Picking up my daughter from school. Having control over my time. That’s my version of success.”

It’s a shift many women are craving—especially those in mid-career or after major life changes like motherhood, burnout, or redundancy. Eleanor’s story proves that you don’t have to blow up your life to make a change. You just have to be willing to listen, get curious, and follow what feels true.

Reinvention Isn’t Becoming Someone New—It’s Taking Off a Layer

In one of the most memorable parts of the episode, Eleanor shares her admiration for Madonna—not just for her music, but for her mindset.

“Madonna said, ‘I’m not reinventing myself—I’m just taking a layer off.’ That stuck with me. I’m not becoming someone new. I’m uncovering parts of me that were always there.”

That idea—of reinvention as revealing, not replacing—perfectly captures the spirit of Hello Moxie. You don’t have to change who you are. You just have to give yourself permission to be more of who you’ve always been.

💡 Want more from Eleanor?

As a Hello Moxie Member, you’ll get exclusive access to Eleanor’s 5-step guide to navigating messy change—a practical, insightful roadmap to help you pause, play, and restart with intention.