THE FOUNDATION
ORIGIN
Try a New Path began as a book—but while writing it, I realized it was a responsibility. I created it for people in transition who look successful on paper, but feel called to something more aligned. That message became The Fifth Path—a platform to turn growth into real-life action.
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VISION
Women lead from authenticity. They break inherited limits. They move forward boldly—especially when the “safe” path still works.
I exist to make sure the women qualified to lead the next generation are the ones doing it—grounded in experience, guided by clarity, and carrying wisdom that can’t be taught in theory.
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MISSION
My mission is to equip and elevate women qualified to lead the next generation by helping them choose authenticity over approval, break inherited limits, and take bold action—especially when the “safe” path still works—through coaching, teaching, speaking, and practical tools grounded in real-life experience so they lead with experience, clarity, and wisdom.
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Meet Shanelle Porter-Simmons
I’m Shanelle Porter-Simmons—retired Marine Corps officer, former professional athlete, HR leader, and author of Try a New Path. I help high-achievers who look successful on paper but feel misaligned inside move forward with clarity—especially when the “safe” path still works. This work is about breaking inherited limits, choosing growth on purpose, and building the next chapter with intention.
Path & Purpose
Transitions don’t just show up as career moves. Sometimes they look like they are becoming empty nesters, wondering who they are when the house gets quiet. Sometimes it’s becoming a wife and realizing love doesn’t automatically give you direction. Sometimes it’s divorce—starting over when you didn’t plan to. Sometimes it’s a promotion you worked hard for… and then you get there and think, Wait—why do I still feel off? Sometimes it’s retirement, a relocation, a health shift, a new identity, a new season. It can go on and on—because life is a series of transitions that introduce the unknown.
In those moments, “comfort” is convincing. It tells you to play it safe. To shrink your dreams to match your certainty. To coast on what you’ve already proven.
This book is my answer to that moment.
Try a New Path is for the high-achievers, the leaders, the builders, and the quietly restless—people who look successful on paper but feel the pull toward something more aligned. It’s for anyone who knows they’re not meant to rest on their laurels, but wants a real way to keep growing with intention—mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and through the decisions that shape what’s next.
That’s also why I founded The Fifth Path, LLC.
The Fifth Path is the platform I created to expand the message behind the book—so the principles don’t stay on the page. Through coaching, speaking, and resources, I help people apply what they’re learning in real life: making decisions in the unknown, building discipline when motivation fades, and choosing growth even when the old version of life still “works.”
Because we’re not meant to sit comfortably and watch the world.
We’re meant to keep learning—keep becoming—and then turn around and teach what we’ve learned to the people coming behind us.
WHAT INSPIRED MY GROWTH SYSTEM
A few books that shaped the thinking behind Try a New Path—and the foundation of The Fifth Path.
- Think and Grow Rich — Napoleon Hill
- The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself — Michael A. Singer
- Mindset — Carol S. Dweck
- Mind Magic — Dr. James R. Doty
- A Liberated Mind — Steven C. Hayes
- Principles — Ray Dalio
- The Laws of Human Nature — Robert Greene
- Burn the Boats — Matt Higgins
- Let Your Life Speak — Parker J. Palmer
- The Denial of Death — Ernest Becker
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki

