We were lucky to catch up with Dr. Sherry Walling recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Sherry, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

One of the most significant risks I’ve taken was leaving a full-time university professorship—a position I had prepared years for, following a rigorous five-year doctoral program and prestigious research fellowships at Yale and the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Despite being highly qualified and securing what many would consider a dream job, the reality of academia was far from my expectations. I found myself entrenched in a world of committees, hierarchical structures, and bureaucracy that left me feeling disconnected and disenchanted. It was a stark contrast to the idealistic vision I had of teaching, and I felt miserable. After three years, I knew I had to make a change, despite the immense personal and professional stakes involved.

Leaving the job I’d spent so many years preparing for was one of the most difficult decisions of my life. It echoed the unique mixture of excitement, anxiety, and mustered courage I’d experienced 13 years earlier when I drained my savings account to purchase a plane ticket to Ghana in West Africa. For a year. First trip out of the country. I was 19.

The transition was not without its challenges, but it propelled me into a career path that was truly aligned with my passions and values. I founded my own business and expanded into new roles as a speaker, author, and podcaster. This shift allowed me to engage with my work on my own terms, fostering a direct and meaningful impact that academia could not offer. It also reaffirmed that an orientation toward adventure and a willingness to take calculated risks are essential traits for any entrepreneur. We thrive on exploration and innovation.

The path of entrepreneurship is inherently risky and heavy with potential pitfalls and uncertainties. While that risk could be daunting for many, for entrepreneurs, it is invigorating. It pushes us to work harder. This willingness to step away from a career trajectory or get on a plane for an unknown adventure has always been my superpower as an entrepreneur and as an entrepreneur’s spouse.

Dr. Sherry, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Dr. Sherry Walling, and I specialize in helping brilliant people navigate the complexities of intense personal and professional challenges. My journey into clinical psychology, particularly in entrepreneurial mental health, was fueled by a deep curiosity about the human mind and a passion to make a tangible difference in the lives of others.

I am an expert in trauma, stress, and burnout, and my research has been published in academic journals such as the Journal of Traumatic Stress. I graduated from the University of California, Davis, and the Fuller School of Psychology. I hold a PhD in clinical psychology and master’s degrees in both psychology and theology, and completed research fellowships at Yale University School of Medicine and the National Center for PTSD in Boston.

I am the founder of ZenFounder, where we offer a range of services designed to support founders and entrepreneurs to ensure they thrive in their businesses and lives. These include tailored mental wellness strategies, crisis intervention, and ongoing support to manage transition, loss, and conflict. My approach blends rigorous academic training with the empathetic insight of a seasoned therapist and fellow entrepreneur.

My podcast and YouTube channel serve as platforms where I share insights on entrepreneur mental health and discuss topics such as burnout, coping with grief, depression and anxiety, psychedelic-supported therapy, and the life-saving value of a good hobby. These resources have reached over a million downloads, helping countless individuals find support and understanding in their entrepreneurial and personal journeys.

I’ve authored two books, “The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Shit Together” and “Touching Two Worlds”. The first provides practical advice on managing your mental health as an entrepreneur, while the second offers a heartfelt, incisive exploration of joy and aliveness in the aftermath of loss.

What sets me apart is not just my professional background but my life experiences. I have the “street smarts” of someone who has lived a lot of life, experienced poverty, grown wealth, been an athlete, bagged groceries, traveled the world, spent a year in West Africa, had children, sat with dying people, produced and performed in several circus shows, and spent time with people from all walks of life. On top of being an entrepreneur myself, I’ve been married to a tech entrepreneur for the past 24 years, which gives me a deep understanding of founders’ well-being challenges.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience, for me, is the ability to forge something beautiful and meaningful from one’s hardship. When my father died of esophageal cancer and my brother died by suicide, both within a span of six months, I was thrust into a crash course in death and grief. Simultaneously, I was running my own business, caring for three intense children, and dealing with my own existential questions as I transitioned “over the hill.”
During this tumultuous time, my life took another unexpected turn: I joined the circus. Trapeze and aerial arts, which had been casual hobbies, became essential to my mental health. Training became my sanctuary, a respite from the emotional heaviness of my life. It was a period where I desperately needed something light and playful—a break from the sadness and a pause from the emotional complexities that surrounded me.
From this personal journey, I wrote my memoir, “Touching Two Worlds,” and had the amazing opportunity to share my insights through a TED talk, in the hope of helping others grappling with their own grief. A year after, I collaborated with professional circus coach Lynn Lunny, who had lost a brother to suicide herself, to create a circus show inspired by my memoir.
Sharing my story has helped me deal with my own grief but most importantly, it helped others who are battling with loss, too. By putting my journey into art and words, I’ve been able to spread the word about how powerful movement can be for healing the heart, and how integrating our minds with our bodies and souls is vital for our well-being and thriving.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Of course, I have to say taking care of your mental health. This is of utmost importance for anyone working in the mental health field, but it’s just as critical for any high-performer or entrepreneur. This applies whether you’re an artist, a freelance writer, or own a boutique law firm, whether you are taking your first steps in the business or about to exit it.

Years ago, when my son was about a year old, I received an offer for a fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine. It was the final step in my doctoral experience, and I was fortunate to secure a place in one of the nation’s most prestigious programs. My husband and I were thrilled and decided to move across the country for this opportunity. I was excited, yet the stress was overwhelming. Suddenly, all the available time we had to nurture our relationship and family seemed to vanish.

At Yale, my research fellowship brimmed with opportunities that I was eager to seize, aiming to kickstart the academic career I had always envisioned. The program was packed with seminars, writing opportunities, and a mountain of papers to read. Networking events, guest lectures by field leaders, and intense study sessions filled my days. There was enough work to keep me busy for over a hundred hours each week. I was perpetually tired and emotionally exhausted. Yet, I couldn’t step back, take a break, or rest, even if as a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology I knew that sleeping and spending quality time with my loved ones was what I needed the most.

This has taught me that even if your business is thriving, you can still feel miserable, lonely, resentful, uncared for, unmotivated, lost, and meaningless. Success has many layers, and becoming masterful of your mental health is the cornerstone that sustains it all. To fully enjoy the entrepreneurial life, a founder must take responsibility for placing their well-being at the center, in spite of it feeling like a complicated balancing act. That is why helping founders thrive in their businesses and their lives has become my life’s work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.zenfounder.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.sherrywalling/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.sherrywalling
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherry-walling-phd/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sherrywalling
• Youtube: youtube.com/@sherrywalling?sub_confirmation=1
• Other: www.touchingtwoworlds.com Podcast: https://zenfounder.com/podcast

Image Credits
Circus show photos: Steve Bozeman All other photos: Bethany Birnie