Ani Filipova on Unlocking Untapped Potential and Building a Portfolio Career

In a recent LinkedIn post, Ani Filipova shares a powerful personal narrative about overcoming internal barriers to achieve significant life and career changes. The former regional COO at Citi highlights how untapped potential often lies dormant in unexplored areas of our minds, which she metaphorically terms “spare rooms.” Filipova uses her own experience to illustrate how these “rooms” – representing aspirations for quality family time, entrepreneurial ventures, and personal well-being – can remain closed for years due to demanding professional lives.

The Metaphor of Unopened Doors

Filipova recounts her time as a busy regional COO overseeing operations across 16 countries at Citi. During this period, she acknowledges the existence of these “spare rooms” in her mind, each representing a deeply held desire. She describes them as being “perfectly arranged in my mind. Doors closed. Always ‘nearly ready.'” This vivid imagery underscores the common tendency to postpone personal fulfillment in favor of professional commitments, even when those aspirations are clearly defined.

“You have spare rooms in your head you haven’t walked into in years. I had three of them.”

The turning point, as described by Filipova, came after a particularly exhausting late-night work call. The inability to relax or sleep, coupled with a racing mind, prompted her to finally confront these metaphorical rooms. By “really walking through it. Sat in it. Felt what it would actually feel like to live there,” she experienced a profound realization.

From Stagnation to Action

This moment of deep introspection served as Filipova’s “tipping point,” shifting her mindset from passive acknowledgment to active pursuit of her deferred dreams. She emphasizes that this wasn’t an overnight transformation but a deliberate process. “Over the next two years, I made the moves that changed everything,” she states, indicating a sustained effort to bring these aspirations into reality.

Filipova extends this insight to hundreds of senior professionals she has since spoken with. She argues against the notion that such inaction stems from laziness or ingratitude. Instead, she posits that the primary obstacle is often the lack of a clear roadmap.

“You’re not lazy. You’re not ungrateful. You’re not wrong for wanting more. You just haven’t been shown a concrete path from where you are to where those rooms actually are.”

Bridging the Gap with the Portfolio Career Accelerator

To address this common challenge, Filipova has developed the Portfolio Career Accelerator. This program is designed specifically for senior professionals who find themselves in a similar situation to her past self. She explains that the program includes a diagnostic tool:

“It includes a quiz that shows you exactly where you are in that journey… Take the quiz. See where you actually are. It might be your tipping point.”

Filipova’s message is one of empowerment, encouraging professionals to acknowledge their own “spare rooms” and to seek or create a tangible path toward fulfilling them. Her journey from a high-pressure corporate role to realizing her multifaceted aspirations serves as a compelling testament to the power of confronting internal barriers and taking decisive action.