MEDIA KIT
Downloads, Interview Topics, and Media Inquiries
Shanelle Porter-Simmons
Author | Speaker
Shanelle writes and speaks about growth, reinvention, and choosing a new path.
Media Downloads
The hardest move isn't starting over, it's walking away from what still works.
About Shanelle
Shanelle Porter-Simmons is an author and speaker shaped by a pivotal realization: reaching the end of her goals didn’t mean she was finished growing. After a career defined by individual accountability and high-stakes leadership as a Marine Corps officer and elite athlete, she confronted the same question many high achievers face: what comes next when success no longer feels fulfilling?
That question became the foundation of her book, Try a New Path. Shanelle explores how conformity, doubt, fear, and comfort quietly shape our decisions, and how people can continue to grow long after reaching milestones.
Her work invites readers to rethink success, move beyond autopilot, and step forward with clarity even when the next path isn’t fully visible.
Her writing speaks to the moment when effort has paid off, but meaning still feels unresolved.
About the Book
Try a New Path is a practical and inspiring guide for anyone navigating change—by choice or by circumstance.
Drawing from her experiences as a Marine Corps officer, elite athlete, and leader in high-stakes environments, Shanelle Simmons examines how conformity, doubt, fear, and comfort quietly shape our decisions and keep us stuck in lives that no longer fit. With clarity, warmth, and hard-won insight, she challenges the belief that certainty must come before action.
Blending personal storytelling with research-backed frameworks, Try a New Path introduces the Five Pillars of Growth—Knowledge, Physical Fitness, Spiritual Grounding, Circle, and Mindset & Self-Talk—offering readers a clear foundation for moving forward with confidence, even when the next step feels uncertain.
This book is for professionals, leaders, and women in transition who sense there is more ahead but aren’t sure how to begin. Try a New Path shows that growth doesn’t require perfection—only the willingness to start.
Media Highlights
Early Praise
“Shanelle Simmons pulls back the curtain on the questions we all wrestle with—and proves we’re not alone. Try a New Path reminds us it’s not the doubt that defines us, but what we do next.”— Dr. Wayne Applewhite, Speaker and Co-author of You Know It’s A Verb, Right?
“From a coaching perspective, what Shanelle offers is transformative—because she doesn’t tell you what to do; she shows what’s possible when you choose honesty over expectation. A powerful companion for clarity, courage, and purpose.” —Sarah Carter, Executive Leadership Coach and Author of
All About Change: How to Successfully Make Personal Life Change
Speaker Topics
Her message is universal. Her focus is on helping women leaders recognize misalignment after achievement and choose a new path when the old one still works, using a practical framework grounded in real leadership pressure rather than theory.
Outgrowing Success: What to Do When the Life You Built No Longer Fits
A talk for accomplished women who have done everything right on paper but know that something deeper is asking for change. Shanelle helps audiences recognize misalignment, honor what they have built, and move toward what comes next with clarity and courage.
Success That Still Feels Off
Why achievement does not always lead to fulfillment, and what to do when success no longer feels aligned. This talk explores the quiet tension many high achievers feel after reaching goals that no longer reflect who they are becoming.
The Comfort Trap For High-Achieving Women
Comfort is not always peace. Sometimes it is the very thing keeping us from growth. This talk challenges women to examine the roles, routines, and identities that feel safe but may be keeping them from the next version of themselves.
Decisions in the Unknown: How Women Leaders Choose What's Next
A practical and encouraging talk about making clear decisions without having every answer first. Shanelle shares how women can move forward with confidence even when the future is unclear and the path is still unfolding.
Stop Negotiating With Comfort: The Quiet Choices That Shape A Life
The biggest turning points are often not dramatic. They happen in the private decisions we make every day. This talk helps audiences see how small acts of self-betrayal or self-trust shape the direction of a life over time.
Suggested Interview Angles
- Why do so many high-achieving people feel stuck after success?
- How does comfort quietly limit growth—even when life looks good on paper?
- What happens when discipline and achievement stop feeling fulfilling?
- Why do people wait for certainty before making a change—and what does that cost them?
- How can leaders navigate identity shifts during major life transitions?
- What does it really mean to grow when you don’t know what’s next?
