Burn the Map

Shelley McIntyre

Burn the Map is for people who spent decades in corporate jobs and now need to figure out what's next. Host Shelley McIntyre is a former corporate strategist who left to become a coach. She knows what it's like to have your entire identity wrapped up in a job title, and what it takes to untangle yourself from it. Weekly episodes cover the messy middle of career transition: how to admit you don't want what you worked years to get, how to stop performing competence you no longer care about, and how to build work that actually fits instead of what sounds good on paper. No motivational fluff. No "find your passion" nonsense. Just honest conversations about what it takes to leave corporate life and not implode in the process.

  1. 29: Calling vs. Competence

    5D AGO

    29: Calling vs. Competence

    Follow your bliss. Pursue your passion. Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life. For those of us who never felt particularly called to anything, all of it can be a letdown. You wonder what's wrong with you. If you ever felt punished for not having a calling, this one's for you. Rather than brush it off as the realm of cult leaders and artists, I'll position it against competence and reframe calling into something accessible, grounded, and useful. In this episode, I break down how to find your version of a calling without waiting for divine inspiration or cosmic assignments. What you'll learn: Why competence alone is a bummer of a goalThe three questions that reveal where your curiosity actually livesHow to tell the difference between frustration and heartbreak (and why it matters)The simple formula for calling: value + interest + skillWhy your past expertise doesn't trap you into using it foreverHow a Flash developer who likes rocks found his next moveYou don't have to meditate on your purpose for 2 years or list every noble cause and choose one. Start with what you already have: your values, interests, and what you're great at. The call is coming from inside the house. Shelley McIntyre is a coach for people leaving corporate jobs who don't know what comes next. She spent years as a corporate strategist before leaving to figure out her own next chapter. Now she helps other people do the same without falling apart in the process. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge Strategy Session - A 90-minute conversation to help you move from stuck to starting. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership Program - Step-by-step coaching for people who left (or are leaving) corporate and need help building what's next. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Let’s connect: LinkedIn | YouTube | Website 4 Bold Moves to Get Unstuck - Free Guide

    8 min
  2. 28: Wanting to Want: Why You Can't Get Excited About Your Job Anymore

    JAN 27

    28: Wanting to Want: Why You Can't Get Excited About Your Job Anymore

    Are you familiar with the state of wanting to want? It feels miserable and heavy. Wanting to want is the annoying time before you can declare what you don't want and get on with figuring out what you DO want. It's the long middle before change can happen, full of effort, pressure, and constant self-judgment. In this episode, I explore why we get stuck trying to want things that look good on paper, where the pressure comes from, and how to get out of the spiral. What you'll learn: Why "good on paper" opportunities can trigger the wanting-to-want spiralThe self-blame tactics you use to avoid admitting the truthHow wanting to want shows up as declining job performanceThe three reasons performance slides (and which one is the sneakiest)What you're actually afraid to lose if you admit you don't want itWhy naming what you don't want is the first step toward clarityYour past desire doesn't obligate you to a future effort. Your current skillset doesn't trap you into demonstrating it forever. So here's a question for you: what are you trying to want right now? Shelley McIntyre is a coach for people leaving corporate jobs who don't know what comes next. She spent years as a corporate strategist before leaving to figure out her own next chapter. Now she helps other people do the same without falling apart in the process. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge Strategy Session - A 90-minute conversation to help you move from stuck to starting. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership Program - Step-by-step coaching for people who left (or are leaving) corporate and need help building what's next. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Let’s connect: LinkedIn | YouTube | Website 4 Bold Moves to Get Unstuck - Free Guide

    8 min
  3. 27: Reluctant Entrepreneur 3: Your First Move

    JAN 20

    27: Reluctant Entrepreneur 3: Your First Move

    You've worked through your resistance. You know what kind of entrepreneur you are. Now what? Most people stall here because they're waiting for the complete roadmap. But you don't need the whole plan, just one next move. And that move isn't what you think. Your first move isn't execution. It's learning. In this episode, I walk you through specific first actions based on the path you're considering: consulting/fractional work, buying a business or franchise, or starting your own company. These aren't overwhelming task lists. They're bite-sized learning moves that take 3-5 hours this week and don't require money or quitting your job. What you'll learn: Why experiential learning matters more than researchThe one conversation you need to have before taking any other stepSpecific first moves for consultants, franchise buyers, business buyers, and startup foundersWhat NOT to do this week (seriously, don't design a logo)How reluctant entrepreneurs actually become real entrepreneursThis is Part 3 of my Reluctant Entrepreneur series. If you missed Parts 1 and 2, go back to Episodes 25 (Unlock Resistance) and 26 (Find Your Archetype). You're not committing to a 10-year plan. You're committing to one week of learning. Shelley McIntyre is a coach for people leaving corporate jobs who don't know what comes next. She spent years as a corporate strategist before leaving to figure out her own next chapter. Now she helps other people do the same without falling apart in the process. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge Strategy Session - A 90-minute conversation to help you move from stuck to starting. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership Program - Step-by-step coaching for people who left (or are leaving) corporate and need help building what's next. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Let’s connect: LinkedIn | YouTube | Website 4 Bold Moves to Get Unstuck - Free Guide

    9 min
  4. 26: Reluctant Entrepreneur 2: Choose Your Archetype

    JAN 13

    26: Reluctant Entrepreneur 2: Choose Your Archetype

    After 20+ years in corporate, you already have an entrepreneurial operating system; you've just been using it inside someone else's company. In this episode, we explore the three dimensions that determine what kind of entrepreneur you are: who you work with, what you create, and your risk tolerance. Then we match those dimensions to specific business paths: fractional work, franchises, buying a business, or starting from scratch. This isn't a personality test. It's discernment training for midlife professionals who are done guessing. What you'll learn: Why most people choose business models backwardsThe three dimensions that reveal your entrepreneurial archetypeHow to match your operating system to the right business pathReality checks for fractional work, franchises, business buying, and startupsYour first step: identifying which dimension gives you the strongest clarityIf you haven't listened to Episode 25: Unlock Resistance, start there first. Next up in Part 3: Your first move based on your archetype. Shelley McIntyre is a coach for people leaving corporate jobs who don't know what comes next. She spent years as a corporate strategist before leaving to figure out her own next chapter. Now she helps other people do the same without falling apart in the process. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge Strategy Session - A 90-minute conversation to help you move from stuck to starting. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership Program - Step-by-step coaching for people who left (or are leaving) corporate and need help building what's next. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Let’s connect: LinkedIn | YouTube | Website 4 Bold Moves to Get Unstuck - Free Guide

    10 min
  5. 25: Reluctant Entrepreneur 1: Unlocking Resistance

    JAN 6

    25: Reluctant Entrepreneur 1: Unlocking Resistance

    You didn’t plan on becoming an entrepreneur. After decades in corporate life, you assumed you’d stay put, retire quietly, or at least have options. Then layoffs, ageism, and a shifting job market changed the math. For many people in midlife, entrepreneurship isn’t a dream, it’s a reluctant consideration. And that reluctance isn’t a flaw. It’s information. In this episode, we unpack what resistance to entrepreneurship is really protecting you from: fear of financial uncertainty, loss of structure, judgment from peers, and the grief of leaving behind an identity that once worked. We’ll also dismantle a few myths. Especially the idea that admin work is a monster, or that you need confidence before you start. This is the first episode in a three-part series on the Reluctant Entrepreneur. Today’s focus is unlocking resistance. Next, we’ll explore entrepreneurial archetypes so you can identify which path fits you best. Then we’ll talk about taking action without burning everything down. If you’re not excited about entrepreneurship (but you can’t ignore it either) this episode is for you. Shelley McIntyre is a coach for people leaving corporate jobs who don't know what comes next. She spent years as a corporate strategist before leaving to figure out her own next chapter. Now she helps other people do the same without falling apart in the process. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge Strategy Session - A 90-minute conversation to help you move from stuck to starting. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership Program - Step-by-step coaching for people who left (or are leaving) corporate and need help building what's next. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Let’s connect: LinkedIn | YouTube | Website 4 Bold Moves to Get Unstuck - Free Guide

    9 min
  6. 24: Asking For Help as an Entrepreneur

    12/30/2025

    24: Asking For Help as an Entrepreneur

    After decades in corporate, asking for help feels like admitting failure. You were the indispensable one, the person with all the answers. Now you're building something new and the skill you avoided most is suddenly essential. Asking for help isn't just awkward, it feels like a violation of the role you always played. Like you're bothering people. Like you have nothing to offer back. Like admitting you're incompetent. But here's the truth: most people actually want to help you. You're projecting your fear onto their generosity. And the belief that you have to earn every scrap of support? That's just old corporate wiring. Let's figure out how to ask for help without shame, build the support network you actually need, and stop treating relationships like a ledger that needs to balance every week. You'll learn: Why corporate trained you not to ask - How transactional work relationships became your template for all relationships, and why being a beginner again makes you panic that people won't want to be around youWhat help actually looks like now - The difference between hand-holding and building authentic connections through vulnerability, plus what kind of support you'll actually need (emotional, tactical, networked, and more)The counterintuitive truth - Why people want to help you (and how you're robbing them of something meaningful when you don't ask), plus what you always bring to the table even when you think you have nothingHow to practice asking - The "asking rehab" exercise that trains your nervous system to receive without immediately reciprocating, and why asking for help is actually a leadership skillShelley McIntyre is a coach for people leaving corporate jobs who don't know what comes next. She spent years as a corporate strategist before leaving to figure out her own next chapter. Now she helps other people do the same without falling apart in the process. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge Strategy Session - A 90-minute conversation to help you move from stuck to starting. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership Program - Step-by-step coaching for people who left (or are leaving) corporate and need help building what's next. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Let’s connect: LinkedIn | YouTube | Website 4 Bold Moves to Get Unstuck - Free Guide

    9 min
  7. 23: Don't Build the Same Box You Just Escaped

    12/23/2025

    23: Don't Build the Same Box You Just Escaped

    You finally escaped corporate. Three months later, you're at your desk at 8am sharp, working through lunch, feeling guilty about that doctor's appointment you're thinking of canceling. Again. You rebuilt the exact same prison you just left. Same hours. Same guilt. Same burnout. Here's what's happening: your corporate wiring is running your new system. Decades of conditioning about productivity, worth, and "acceptable" work doesn't disappear overnight. The box was the only system you knew, so you brought it with you. What's the point of leaving corporate if you don't take advantage of the flexibility? Let's figure out how to design work around your actual life, energy, and values; not replicate the system that burned you out. You'll learn: The corporate box you internalized - How productivity became hours in a chair, self-worth got tied to performance reviews, and why you learned to ignore your natural rhythmsSigns you're recreating the same prison - Why you default to 9-5, feel guilty for breaks, and skip the activities that actually energize youPermission to build something different - How to work with your chronotype, build in fuel (not distractions), and spread the weight your corporate job used to carryBe the manager you always wanted - Why you might have brought your tyrant boss with you (as a voice in your head), and how to become the fair leader you deserved all alongShelley McIntyre is a coach for people leaving corporate jobs who don't know what comes next. She spent years as a corporate strategist before leaving to figure out her own next chapter. Now she helps other people do the same without falling apart in the process. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge Strategy Session - A 90-minute conversation to help you move from stuck to starting. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership Program - Step-by-step coaching for people who left (or are leaving) corporate and need help building what's next. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Let’s connect: LinkedIn | YouTube | Website 4 Bold Moves to Get Unstuck - Free Guide

    9 min
  8. 22: Ignite Your Competitive Drive, GenX

    12/16/2025

    22: Ignite Your Competitive Drive, GenX

    You think you're not competitive enough to build your own business. But here's what I know: your competitive drive has been there all along, hiding in your irritation, not your achievements. That thing that makes you mutter "oh, absolutely not" under your breath? That's not complaining. That's your inner competitor pointing at what needs to change. In this episode, I'm reframing competition. Not as aggressive ego domination, but as focused determination fueled by your values. Your competitive energy might be the most underused intelligence you own. What You'll Learn: Why the GenX "slacker" label is keeping you stuck - You're not apathetic; you're selective. Learn the difference.How to remove shame from your competitive drive - Being ambitious about what you value doesn't make you a narcissistWhy resentment activates your competitive instinct - Your inner critic (mine's named Beyonce) has high standards worth listening toThe 4-step framework to turn frustration into fuel - From "this is unacceptable" to "here's what I'd change"Why midlife is the perfect time to get competitive - You finally know what's worth fighting forShelley McIntyre is a coach for people leaving corporate jobs who don't know what comes next. She spent years as a corporate strategist before leaving to figure out her own next chapter. Now she helps other people do the same without falling apart in the process. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge Strategy Session - A 90-minute conversation to help you move from stuck to starting. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership Program - Step-by-step coaching for people who left (or are leaving) corporate and need help building what's next. https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Let’s connect: LinkedIn | YouTube | Website 4 Bold Moves to Get Unstuck - Free Guide

    8 min

Trailer

5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Burn the Map is for people who spent decades in corporate jobs and now need to figure out what's next. Host Shelley McIntyre is a former corporate strategist who left to become a coach. She knows what it's like to have your entire identity wrapped up in a job title, and what it takes to untangle yourself from it. Weekly episodes cover the messy middle of career transition: how to admit you don't want what you worked years to get, how to stop performing competence you no longer care about, and how to build work that actually fits instead of what sounds good on paper. No motivational fluff. No "find your passion" nonsense. Just honest conversations about what it takes to leave corporate life and not implode in the process.