How an Unexpected Tool Helped Me Organize the Chaos After My Layoff
It’s been seven months since I was laid off.
Long enough for the shock to wear off.
Long enough for the question to settle in:
Now what?
Even if you’ve never been in that exact situation, you probably know the feeling. The initial disruption fades, and what’s left is the quiet overwhelm of: Where do I even start?
My head was swimming with ideas — that “I know something is here, but I can’t quite see it” feeling.
I wasn’t short on ideas.
I was short on structure.
The Misconception: “AI Builds Things”
I wasn’t looking for something to create a business for me.
I was trying to make sense of a business I had been building in pieces for over 30 years.
Make It Memorable.
Child Smart ID.
My Amazon books.
Pattern spotting.
Storytelling.
Clarity-first thinking.
The threads were there. I just couldn’t see how they wove together.
I had the blueprint.
I just didn’t know how to read it.
What I needed was a tool to help me organize three decades of experience into something cohesive — something that made sense not only to me, but to the people I was trying to serve.
I found that tool in ChatGPT.
I had experimented with it before my layoff, but I still had the same questions many marketers ask:
Would I lose originality?
Would it still sound like me?
Would it dilute authenticity?
Instead of overthinking it, I leaned in.
What Actually Happened: AI as a Thinking Partner
What became apparent very quickly was this:
ChatGPT was leverage — not replacement.
It helped me articulate instincts I had carried for years.
I’ve always been an intuitive storyteller. I’m good at feeling patterns. I can sense when something is “off.” But naming those patterns? Framing them clearly? That was harder.
It helped me find language for what I already knew.
It revealed common threads between my projects — the through-line from Child Smart ID to Make It Memorable to writing books like Hazel & Hawk. It showed me that clarity wasn’t just something I valued — it was something I consistently created.
All those elements were already there.
They just needed to be gathered and named.
It enhanced me.
It didn’t define me.
I’ve always had a knack for finding the right image to express a feeling. In many ways, ChatGPT did the same for my thinking.
It gave structure to ideas that felt blurry.
Specific Ways It Helped
Early on, it was practical:
- Organizing the structure of my website
- Clarifying service offerings
- Refining my LinkedIn profile after the layoff
Later, it became deeper:
- Helping me name strengths my husband has always described as “uncanny” — abilities I had dismissed as “normal”
- Recognizing the pattern recognition and clarity work I naturally bring to founders
- Creating and structuring stories like Hazel & Hawk, turning an idea into something tangible
Before, my brain felt like a web browser with 20 open tabs, two email inboxes, and an iPhone buzzing with notifications.
Slowly, the haze cleared.
The ideas didn’t disappear.
They became organized.
The Bigger Insight: Clarity Isn’t Created — It’s Woven
AI is just a tool.
And a tool is only as powerful as the awareness you bring to it.
Threads don’t become fabric on their own.
They need tension.
Structure.
Intention.
Clarity isn’t created out of thin air.
It’s woven from what already exists.
A measuring tape doesn’t build the furniture.
It helps you determine fit.
AI doesn’t create your vision.
It helps you organize it.
Clarity doesn’t replace you.
It reveals you.
Encouragement for the Overwhelmed Founder
If you’re feeling overwhelmed right now, I see you.
Overwhelm doesn’t mean you’re incapable.
It often means you’re carrying too much unorganized strength at once.
You don’t need another idea.
You might not need another certification.
You might not need a full rebrand.
You might not need another course.
You might need:
Reflection.
Organization.
Pattern recognition.
A better mirror.
Sometimes you don’t need something new.
You need help seeing what’s already there.
The Make It Memorable Bridge
That’s what I help founders do.
Not create something artificial.
Not chase the next shiny strategy.
But clarify what’s already present.
Whether that’s analyzing why your website and social media feel disconnected, or helping you define the tone and positioning that truly reflect your strengths — the work is the same.
It’s about clarity.
Make It Memorable — and Clarity Catcher™ — exist because I lived through the mental chaos of trying to hold too many threads at once.
Clarity wasn’t created for me.
It was uncovered.
And now I help others uncover theirs.
If you’re ready to stop chasing new ideas and start organizing the ones you already have, I’d love to help — you can start here.
You don’t need a new identity.
You might just need someone to hand you the flashlight. 🔦💚🐘
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