Forget the Fairy Tale & Find Your Happiness: Why Real Success Starts with Rewriting the Script

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Women were sold the idea that fulfillment came in the form of the perfect partner, marriage and children; what happens when the fairy tale doesn’t deliver?

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Once upon a time, women were sold the idea that love and fulfillment came in the form of the perfect partner, marriage, and children. That was the goal. That was the dream. And if we followed the formula, we were promised a happily ever after.

But what happens when the fairy tale doesn’t deliver?

That’s what I had to figure out for myself. Because no prince, no castle, and no magic wand was going to create the life I truly wanted. Real-life happiness isn’t about waiting—it’s about doing. And success? It’s about rewriting the script you were handed and crafting your own version of a happy ending.

living the dream

When I was growing up in a small town in Indiana in the ‘60s and ‘70s, I didn’t think I’d have a career. I assumed, like so many other girls at the time, that my life’s work would be managing a home and raising children. But then real life happened. The castle had a mortgage that Prince Charming couldn’t afford. College for the kids looked like it would only be possible with a mountain of student debt, it looked like they’d have to settle for crooked teeth, without expensive braces. And I had a choice: keep shrinking myself into a not-so-happy homemaker role or step up and figure out how to ride a white horse.

I wanted to give my three kids every opportunity to thrive. That purpose fueled my ambition. It gave me the courage to pivot careers and rebuild a professional life after taking eight years off to raise my children. I didn’t just return to work—I became a vice president of marketing at multiple Fortune 500 companies. I didn’t just settle for one career—I kept evolving. And in my 60’s, I earned a doctorate and launched a second act as a professor.

Rewrite the Script—On Your Terms

We all grow up with a narrative about what life should look like. For many women, it’s still tied to the idea of traditional success: marriage, children, and a neatly packaged, perfectly balanced life. But real life is messier than that. It’s full of twists and turns, reinventions and second acts.

For me, the script changed the moment I stopped asking what I was supposed to do and started asking what is it I truly wanted. I didn’t stay in a career that no longer fulfilled me. I pivoted. I didn’t let a detour (or eight years off raising kids) stall my ambition. I found a way back. And I didn’t let age define what was possible. Instead, I earned my doctorate at a time when many are thinking about retirement.

Here’s the truth: Your story is yours to write. No one else gets to decide your happy ending. And no, it won’t look like anyone else’s. It shouldn’t.

The Boldest Moves Bring the Biggest Rewards

One of the most defining moments in my life started with something as simple as my passion for tennis. In the summer of 1990, my family helped to host a group of young Soviet tennis teams in Indianapolis. At the time, the Cold War had barely thawed, and welcoming Russians into our home felt like an act of diplomacy. What I didn’t realize was that it would change everything.

That experience led to an invitation to Moscow the following year, just as the Soviet Union was collapsing. It was a world on the brink of transformation—chaotic, uncertain, and brimming with opportunity. That trip led me to a consulting role with Anheuser-Busch, and ultimately, to a pivot from finance to marketing that landed me in executive leadership roles across the globe.

It also reshaped my children’s futures. Exposure to different cultures inspired them to study abroad, work internationally, and embrace life beyond the borders of what was familiar. Today, my children’s careers and relationships reflect the global perspective they gained from those earlier bold decisions. 

Success isn’t just about career moves. It’s about saying yes to unexpected opportunities. It’s about trusting that the unknown isn’t a threat—it’s a doorway to something bigger than you imagined.

Every Woman Deserves a Crown—But She Has to Claim It Herself

The title of my book says it all: Forget the Fairy Tale & Find Your Happiness. Because real fulfillment isn’t about waiting to be chosen—it’s about choosing yourself. It’s about defining your own version of success and happiness, not trying to fit into someone else’s mold.

I believe every woman is a princess—not in the way fairy tales have traditionally defined it, but in the way that matters most. We all have our crowns—whether they come in the form of a degree, a thriving business, a passion project, or a life that feels truly ours. And we all have dragons to slay—whether that’s societal expectations, self-doubt, or the belief that we can’t have the life we want.

But in the end, this journey isn’t about finding a prince. It’s about finding ourselves. And that? That’s the greatest happy ending of all.

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You may also enjoy reading A Letter To My Younger Self: I Couldn’t Have Gotten Here Without You, by Christiane Northrup, MD.