Next Chapter

I have always considered myself a “What’s next?” person. What’s the next event? The next goal? The next opportunity? Who should I call? Who can I connect? What can we build?

For much of my life, there were answers. I built a career, selling, creating experiences, and bringing people together. I spent years turning ideas into programs and events and building relationships across this community. There was always something to work toward and, if I’m being truthful, I liked it that way. I like momentum.

So, you can imagine how comfortable I was when I found myself without a clearly defined “next” – not very.

My instinct was to find an answer and get moving. That’s what I’ve always done. This time, I didn’t. I gave myself time to sit with the question instead of rushing to answer it: What do I really want now?

I called it the Summer of Maggi. I had no idea where it would lead, but my plan was simple: Enjoy the life in front of me, try things that interested me, and see what happened. I decided to trust myself to figure out what came next along the way.

Five years ago, I got divorced, and much of what I had expected my life to look like changed with it. My kids grew up and faced challenges of their own. My career changed. I faced a health scare I never expected. Some relationships deepened, while others changed completely. Mostly, I kept moving.

This summer, I had time I hadn’t planned for, so I decided to travel. I spent time with people I love, climbed mountains, chased waterfalls, and walked on beaches. I wrote things down, asked questions, and talked with people doing interesting things. I paid attention to what energized me and what didn’t anymore.

I wasn’t starting over. A lot had changed in five years, and so had I. That changed the question for me. Instead of asking, “What should I do next?” I started asking, “What do I want now?”

As I traveled and talked with friends and people I met along the way, I started hearing the same questions in different forms: What do I want now? What do I want more of?

Our lives didn’t all look alike, but the questions did. Many of us had spent years building careers and families, taking care of people, meeting responsibilities, and just simply showing up. We weren’t unhappy with the lives we had built. We were asking what we wanted more of in them.

The more I heard it, the more familiar it felt. I had seen versions of this for years through WILMA Leadership. Women came into our programs wanting to grow – more confidence, stronger skills, and people who would challenge and encourage them. They also needed room to think, ask good questions, and recognize the strengths they already had and what they were capable of.

I spent years helping create those opportunities for other women. Now I’ve experienced their value from both sides.

Leadership isn’t only about leading other people. It can also mean leading yourself somewhere you haven’t been before. Being a beginner again. Saying, “I don’t know.” Changing your mind. Admitting that something that once fit doesn’t anymore.

At fifty-four, I’m learning in new ways again and bringing decades of experience with me. I started a business; I’m creating new experiences, trying new things, and putting ideas into the world before they feel completely finished. There’s a lot I’m figuring out as I go. It’s humbling, and it’s also really fun.

Curiosity, joy, adventure, and connection matter to me. They’re not things I want to save for when the work is done. I want them to be part of how I decide where to spend my time and energy. And I matter in that decision, too.

I don’t need to prove I can do hard things. I know I can. I’m much more interested in deciding which things are worth doing. I don’t need the next five years mapped out to make that choice.

I’m still curious about what’s next. I probably always will be. But I’m paying more attention to what I want now.

What do you want more of in your life right now?

Maggi Apel is the founder of The Good Energy Collective (thegoodenergycollective.com or @the_goodenergycollective). Apel co-founded and directed WILMA Leadership alongside Vicky Janowski from 2015 to 2025, helping thousands of women connect, grow, and lead.

To view more of photographer Daria Amato’s work, go to dariaphoto.com

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