ELITE ATHLETE | U.S. MARINE | AUTHOR & SPEAKER
The Life you built can no longer contain who you are becoming.
Break free from what is keeping you stuck, get clear on what you truly want, and move toward what is calling you next.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Try a New Path: Breaking Free, Growing Beyond Comfort
Part memoir, part roadmap, Try a New Path is for readers who know they are not starting over—they are building from experience. Through personal stories and practical insight, Shanelle Porter-Simmons helps readers examine the expectations that shaped their choices, redefine success for a new season, and trust themselves enough to move toward what is calling them next.
ABOUT SHANELLE
The lived experience behind the message
Former Elite Athlete | Retired U.S. Marine Officer | Author & Speaker
Shanelle's journey through elite athletics, military leadership, and reinvention shapes the message behind Try a New Path. Her work helps high-achieving women recognize when success no longer fits and find the courage to move toward what comes next.
THE ATHLETE
Learning discipline, resilience, and the courage to change direction.
Before becoming a Marine, author, and speaker, Shanelle competed at the highest levels of track and field. An NCAA champion and professional 400-meter sprinter, she learned that growth requires discipline—and sometimes the courage to choose a new path.
THE MARINE
Rising through service, leadership, and reinvention.
Shanelle entered the Marine Corps as an older, non-prior-service officer candidate and served for more than two decades. She became the first African American woman selected to command the U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Station Chicago and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
AUTHOR & SPEAKER
Helping high-achieving women answer what is calling them next.
After retirement, Shanelle confronted the question of who she was beyond achievement. Today, through her book Try A New Path, speaking, and using her framework - P.A.T.H. Method, she helps high-achieving women recognize when success has become a cage and move toward what is calling them forward.
THE IDEA BEHIND THE BOOK
The Book Became a Path Forward
Try a New Path explores why successful people still feel stuck, restless, or uncertain about what comes next. Through Shanelle's personal journey, the book reveals how conformity, doubt, fear, and comfort can keep us attached to a life we have outgrown.
THE FRAMEWORK
The P.A.T.H. Method TM
Introduced through the lessons of Try a New Path, this is a four-step process helps you recognize what is keeping you stuck, reconnect with what you truly want, prepare for your next move, and take action with confidence.
From successful but uncertain → to clear, prepared, and moving forward
P - Pause
See what is really keeping you stuck.
Step out of autopilot and identify whether conformity, doubt, fear, or comfort is influencing your decisions—so you can stop reacting and begin choosing intentionally.
A - Awaken
Reconnect with the woman beneath the expectations.
Separate what you genuinely want from what you have been trained, rewarded, or expected to pursue—and gain clarity about the life calling you forward.
T - Train
Build the capacity to move forward.
Strengthen the mindset, habits, knowledge, well-being, and support system you will need to make your next move without abandoning yourself along the way.
H - Honor the Call
Turn clarity into courageous action.
Make a concrete decision, create a path forward, and begin pursuing what matters to you instead of continually postponing it.
NEW PATH IN MOTION™
Continue the Journey Beyond the Book
The book helps you recognize the pattern. New Path in Motion helps you apply the P.A.T.H. Method™ to your own path with Shanelle guiding the journey.
The Pathfinder 5-Day Live
Experience
$97
Bring the lessons of
Try a New Path into your own life through five live one-hour sessions with Shanelle. Identify what is changing, examine what staying may be costing you, recognize the pattern influencing your choices, and create a practical first-move plan.
Benefits:
- Five live, one-hour sessions
- Guided instruction through the P.A.T.H. Method
- Practical exercises and reflection prompts
- Clarity about what is keeping you in place
- A focused next step toward your new path.
August cohort enrollment is now open.
Details, dates, and registration by clicking the link.
Complimentary Fit Call
Free - 30 minutes
If you have already identified a specific transition or believe you may need deeper strategy, implementation, or accountability support, complete a brief questionnaire and schedule a New Path in Motion fit conversation.
Benefits:
- Briefly share what you are navigating
- Determine which experience best fits your needs.
- Ask questions before making a decision.
After scheduling, you will receive a brief questionnaire to help Shanelle prepare for your conversation.
What Readers Are Saying
Readers are finding the courage, clarity, and encouragement to consider what may be calling them next.
A powerful and uplifting message that meets you where you are, offers encouragement, and gives you insight into your true choices. Shanelle motivates with genuine care and doesn't condescend.
*****
Kelly F., Amazon Reader
A remarkable book from a remarkable leader. Shanelle expertly articulates lessons learned from her decorated career and shows us that it's never too late to try a new path.
*****
Ali T., Amazon Reader
This is an inspiring read that helps us answer questions about ourselves, gives us reason to hope, and challenges us to ask what we are made of. It is filled with honest, heartfelt stories and sound concepts that encourage us to acknowledge what could be next.
*****
Wayne A., Verified Amazon Purchase
*****Testimonials excerpted and lightly edited for length.*****
Looking for Shanelle the Speaker?
Bring Shanelle Porter Simmons to your organization, conference, workshop, leadership event, book club, or podcast.
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