Way Out #25: From Corporate Climb to Making Wine with Sarah Lyons

What happens when you achieve the high-powered media executive titles and financial success you’ve spent your life chasing, but realize your deepest need is simply to create? Former HBO Max and DIRECTV senior executive Sarah Lyons shares her journey of building Lyons Vineyard, navigating the jarring identity shift after leaving corporate life, and designing a reality where you never have to wish away "five-sevenths" of your week. 🍷 Explore Lyons Vineyard & Order a Bottle: https://www.lyonsvineyard.com/ 💡 IN THIS EPISODE: The Importance of Creation (Art, Apps, and Wine) Sarah discusses how her lifelong need to create has connected every phase of her life—from painting and sculpting as a kid to cope with social stress, to designing and launching digital apps, to her current venture in winemaking. She shares why having constraints and parameters actually makes you more creative, and why she views a bottle of wine as a literal "time capsule" of Mother Nature’s changing variables each year. Childhood Agency and Independence Growing up as an independent only child of a Navy intelligence officer, Sarah learned self-reliance early. She credits her mother for fostering her sense of agency through a brilliant childhood rule: she could take any lesson or activity she wanted, but she had to research the cost, schedules, and details herself first and pitch it. Navigating the Corporate Identity Crisis For career-driven professionals, job titles often define how we introduce ourselves and evaluate our worth. Sarah opens up about the profound mental shock of leaving WarnerMedia and wrestling with the question: "Who am I if I don't have this job?" She shares practical tips on navigating this transition, including the psychological importance of maintaining a daily routine. The Blueprint for Optionality & Financial Literacy Sarah and her husband have always been highly conscientious savers, treating financial planning as a tool to purchase life flexibility. She shares how they run financial planning scenarios like a business, and how she is already passing this mindset to her 12-year-old son by explaining credit card mechanics, matching his savings, and helping him invest in an AI index fund. Essential Career Wisdom Sarah delivers two standout pieces of advice for corporate professionals: Always take every recruiter call, even when you are perfectly happy in your job, to build an active network of industry sounding boards and allies. Motherhood as a corporate superpower: When she returned from maternity leave, Sarah reflected on her new mindset: "If I can deal with a newborn baby, I can deal with any crazy executive at work." 🔗 CONNECT WITH SARAH LYONS Website: https://www.lyonsvineyard.com/ (Explore the backstory & order a bottle!) Newsletter: Sign up on her website to receive personal updates straight from the vineyard. **About 101 Ways Out** For more inspiring stories and to see how you can change your life, visit [www.101waysout.com](www.101waysout.com) #Entrepreneurship #CorporateExit #FinancialLiteracy #Winemaking #LyonsVineyard #CareerTransition