What Happens When the Path You Knew Disappears?

Ever felt like you’ve had to start again but this time, from even less?

It’s one thing to choose a new direction.

It’s another to rebuild from something that was taken from you.

Maybe it was an injury.

Maybe the contract didn’t come.

Maybe life just changed.

And suddenly, what once gave you identity, structure, even purpose is gone.

What’s left is quiet. A space that feels hollow. A question no one else can answer for you:

Now what?

That’s why Lexi Chambers’ story is something I personally love sharing.

She didn’t just change careers.

She changed platforms, from soldier to nurse, from nurse to advocate, all while carrying pain most of us can’t imagine.

What do you hold onto when everything else is taken?

Lexi lost her leg due to a chronic pain condition.

Two weeks later, the pain returned severe and constant.

No prosthetic. No easy solution. No timeline for recovery.

What she did still have? A core belief that her life could still be of service.

She’d joined the army to serve.

She became a nurse to help.

And when neither was physically possible anymore… she found a new way.

A different kind of uniform. A different kind of platform.

Same mission.

Can you lead with what you already have?

It didn’t begin with a grand plan.

It began in her kitchen with an NHS-issued wheelchair, too wide for her “so she could grow into it!

Then in passing, a comment to her partner:

“I wonder if I could wheel from John o’Groats to Land’s End?”

That question turned into 1,500km.

One push at a time.

No custom chair. No media team.

Just a willingness to start with what she had.

And that’s what is so fascinating for me.

She wasn’t chasing medals.

She was asking: “What if someone sees this and thinks maybe they can try too?”

“You’ve got a wheelchair? You can go for a wheel.”

There’s power in that kind of simplicity.

What if the real work isn’t the challenge but the doubt?

Lexi lives with pain, an 8 out of 10 baseline.

Training hurts. Public speaking isn’t easy. Fundraising is constant. And yet, she shows up.

Why?

Because her mission is bigger than comfort.

It’s about visibility.

About making people feel less alone.

About helping someone else believe they’re not finished even when life says otherwise.

“Your mind plays tricks on you. You just have to give it a go, you’ll be amazed at what you can do.”

We talk a lot about transitions in this space.

But the hard part isn’t moving on.

It’s believing that you still have value after the scoreboard stops counting.

Lexi proves that purpose doesn’t retire it just finds a new way to speak.

🛠 Three Grounded Ways to Start Your Own Transition

1. Revisit your mission, not your job title.

   You’re not starting from scratch. You’re starting from experience. What value were you creating before? Can that show up somewhere else?

2. Start with what you have access to.

   You don’t need the “perfect setup” to begin. Lexi had a secondhand chair and an idea. What do you already have that you’re overlooking?

3. Let others in.

   Lexi’s crew had no event experience. But they believed in the cause. Find the people who care more about your “why” than your resume.

What’s your version of 500 meters?

Lexi’s first training session was 500m. She cried. She questioned it.

But she did it again the next day.

That’s where it starts.

Not with 50km. Not with world records.

With one push. One step. One honest beginning.

So I’ll leave you with this:

🎧 Listen to Lexi’s full episode here: 2ndwind Podcast

📺 Watch on YouTube: 2ndwind Academy Channel

And ask yourself: what’s one quiet, steady move I can make today?

#CareerClarity #2ndwindAcademy