The Time Freedom Podcast

Vickie Lanthier Turned Down Six Figures to Work Half the Year

Episode Summary

Today on the podcast, Brian and Kirby welcome Vickie Lanthier. Vickie is a decorated Canadian military veteran, registered nurse, and the founder of High Agency Human. She's calling in from Albania, where she's spending two months living out her philosophy in real time. In this episode, Vickie shares how losing her six-figure government consulting job on a random Thursday became a key pivot point in her life. Within a week she had a plan: sell the house, sell nearly everything she owned, and buy herself the time to figure out what was next. Instead of scrambling back into the corporate world, she went on an expedition cruise to the Arctic. Now she nurses part-time, works about half the year, and spends the rest traveling, writing, and spending time with family.

Episode Notes

Top 5 Takeaways:

1. Your buffers aren't just financial. Vickie identifies four: financial, health, paperwork and plans, and skills. When life goes sideways, it's the combination that determines how fast you recover.
2. Selling the house and the stuff bought her something more valuable than equity. It bought her time and space to pivot without the weight of debt and maintenance pulling her under.
3. You can turn down more money if the cost is your time and energy. Vickie walked away from six-figure contract offers because the real price wasn't worth it.
4. Switching off autopilot requires six neurological components: buy-in, stimulation, intervention, reflection, sleep, and repetition. You can't just want to change; you have to create the conditions for it.
5. Living big doesn't require a specific income level. Vickie works about half the year, makes a fraction of her old salary, and is currently living in Albania for two months because she designed her life to allow it.

Chapters:

• 0:00 – How Major Life Events Shape Personal Growth
• 3:38 – Career Challenges and the Path Toward Financial Freedom
• 6:11 – Minimalism and the Pursuit of Time Freedom
• 14:53 – Navigating Life’s Difficult Moments with Support
• 17:53 – Discovering New Opportunities Through Time Freedom
• 21:02 – The Power of Life Buffers: Money, Health, Skills, and Systems
• 24:37 – What It Means to Be a High Agency Human
• 27:11 – Breaking Out of Autopilot and Living Intentionally
• 34:59 – Writing a Book to Create Impact
• 36:37 – Building Community and Sharing the Message

VICKIE LANTHIER

Vickie Lanthier is a decorated Canadian military veteran, registered nurse, author, and the founder of High Agency Human. Now a registered nurse, she started a hiking resource business that has donated over $27,000 to mental health and conservation charities since 2020, and is currently racing a friend to visit 50 countries. Her new book, High Agency Human: Navigate Adversity and Live Big, comes out March 24, 2025.

Connect with Vickie at highagencyhuman.com, or find her on Instagram and LinkedIn at Vickie Lanthier.