As a teen, the biggest desire in my heart for the future was to have children and be married. My experience as a **latchkey kid** in a single-parent household drove that desire. I wanted a different life for my kids, so when my marriage ended, I lost a part of my dream for the future—and the title of being a ‘wife.’
My second desire was to be a business owner. It didn’t matter what kind of business—I just didn’t want to work the way my mother did: working hard to fulfill someone else’s dreams while shelving her own.
By the time I was 21, I had gone out on a limb with my future, ignoring my family’s request that I find a ‘more sensible career.’ Instead, I followed my gut and became a makeup artist.

I worked on movie sets, music videos, and eventually found my footing in weddings—building a ‘mini empire,’ a solid career in the niche of luxury weddings. I opened a charming makeup studio in downtown Whitby, Ontario, and took on a team of 15 artists. I took pride in my professional title: Nationally Published Master Airbrush Makeup Artist, Founder of The Makeup Room Studio. I went to college, not university, and without letters behind my name, I really leaned into my self-imposed title. It became who I was—a part of my self-worth. I worked diligently to achieve those accomplishments. It was a badge of honour I carried proudly because it was an achievement that very few people could relate to.

But life took a turn, as it always does. One day, after a time of intentional prayer, I felt the Holy Spirit urging me to change direction. I ignored and fought the idea of closing my studio. I was not a willing participant in this plan—after all, I was in my ‘Michael Jordan’ era. Why in the world would I close my studio? I couldn’t shake the feeling, and ultimately, I knew the idea wasn’t mine.

One day, I called my family and made a decision. I walked away from a thriving six-figure makeup business, a team I adored, and a career I’d built over 20+ years. When I locked the door of my makeup studio for the last time, I looked up at my name on the awning above my head and thought: “Oh my gosh, who the heck am I now?” My heart felt like it went clunk inside my chest.

The realization that my life and self-worth were intertwined with the words on my business card finally hit me: my impressive title was gone. In that moment, it felt like my self-worth went with it. Though it was hard to see at the time, as I was grieving the loss of who I was—the loss of my marriage, the title of wife, and now the loss of my business—I eventually realized this was Day One of starting over.

People Make Plans and God Laughs

It took almost 16 months to wrap up my bookings, with my last wedding on NYE 2019. Three months later—do you remember what happened next? Weddings and funerals were cancelled, people stayed home, and the entire event industry imploded.

I remember one morning, crawling back into bed and sobbing after reading an article about a restaurant owner shutting her doors and giving all the food in the commercial freezers to her employees. So many entrepreneurs lost everything. Meanwhile, I had dodged a big bullet. I realized the runway God had given me to change directions before it was necessary saved both my sanity and my finances.

Learning to Live Without Labels

During those quiet months of 2020, stripped of my business and my identity as a wife, I faced a question that terrified me more than any financial uncertainty: Who was I when no one was watching?

Without my business card to introduce me or my makeup brushes to define my worth, I had to sit with the uncomfortable silence of not knowing. The world had slowed down, and suddenly, all the busyness that had masked my identity crisis was gone.

I started asking myself hard questions. Who was the woman beneath all those impressive titles? What did I actually enjoy doing when there was no applause, no publication, no external validation waiting at the end?

The answers didn’t come easily. For months, I felt like I was floating in limbo between who I’d been and who I might become. Some days I grieved the confident businesswoman who could command a room. Other days, I felt excited about the blank canvas in front of me.

Discovering My Transferable Gifts

As the fog of grief began to lift, I realized that my years behind the makeup chair had given me something far more valuable than technique or industry connections—I had developed an ability to see people’s potential and ask the kinds of questions that helped them feel truly seen.

For over two decades, I’d been someone’s confidant during their most vulnerable moments. Brides shared their deepest fears, their family dynamics, their dreams for the future. I’d learned to listen not just to what they were saying, but to what their hearts were really asking for.

This wasn’t just about makeup. This was about transformation—about helping people become the truest version of themselves.

The Birth of My Second Chapter

In late 2020, still uncertain but willing to trust the same still, small voice that told me to close my studio, I took my first step toward becoming a Life Alignment and Human Potential Coach. It felt terrifying to claim a new title when I was still healing from losing my old one.

But this time was different. Instead of building my identity around what I did, I began building it around who I was becoming: someone who helps other quiet dreamers remember who they were on their way to becoming before life got in the way.

What I’ve Learned About Letting Go

My worth isn’t tied to my work. I spent years believing my value as a person was tied to my professional achievements. Losing those titles taught me that I am valuable simply because I exist, not because of what I produce.
Skills transfer, but purpose transcends. The technical skills from my makeup career were specific to that industry, but the deeper abilities—connecting with people, seeing potential—God gave me those abilities, and they transfer into anything I put my hands to.
Divine timing is real. What felt like the worst possible timing (closing a successful business) turned out to be God’s perfect protection. Sometimes what looks like loss is actually His love in disguise.
Freedom lives on the other side of attachment. When I stopped clinging so tightly to who I thought I should be, I created space for who the Lord meant for me to become.

An Invitation to Your Own Liberation

If you’re reading this and feeling the weight of your own impressive titles, I want to invite you to consider this: What if who you are is so much bigger than what you do?

What if the career you’ve built, the roles you’ve mastered, the achievements you’ve earned—what if these were all just preparation for something you can’t even see yet?

Starting over in midlife isn’t about throwing away everything you’ve accomplished. It’s about taking all that wisdom, all those skills, all that experience, and asking God: “What do You want to do with this next?”

The answer might surprise you. It might scare you. It might require you to let go of titles that once defined you.

But on the other side of that letting go?

Freedom. Purpose. Peace.

And the most beautiful discovery of all: you were never really your titles anyway.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future." – Jeremiah 29:11

God sees you not as CEO, founder, or master of anything. He sees you as His beloved daughter, fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). Your worth was established long before your first business card was printed and will remain long after your last title fades.

You were always so much more.

The woman God created you to be doesn't need a title to validate her existence. She doesn't need external achievements to prove her worth. She is enough simply because she belongs to Him.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." – Romans 8:28

Even in letting go. Especially in letting go.

What title are you holding onto that might be keeping you from your next chapter?

About the author of this month’s HER STORY

Nicole Richards is a Life Alignment and Human Potential Coach who helps quiet dreamers rediscover their true identity in Christ while pursuing their God-given purpose. Website: www.nicolerichards.co

Learning to Live Without Labels: What I’ve Learned About Letting Go