From 68 Jobs to Recovery: A Journey of Grit, Humor, and No Regrets

Hello and welcome to The Universal Laws with Kristy Sturdivant podcast.

What does a life look like when it spans 68 different jobs across 55 years? If you ask Janet Heron, author of the upcoming memoir Blood, Sweat, and No Regrets, it looks messy, colorful, exhausting, and entirely worth living.

In the latest episode of the podcast, host Kristy Sturdivant sat down with Janet to dive into her unbelievable life story. From babysitting at age 13 to working as a household manager for billionaires, a radio disc jockey, a postal worker, and a decorated school teacher, Janet has lived a dozen lives in one.

Here are a few key takeaways and profound lessons from her extraordinary journey.

1. Categorizing a Lifetime of Work

When preparing her memoir, Janet broke her 68 jobs down into four distinct categories:

Jobs to grow a backbone on: Early responsibilities that forced quick maturity, like babysitting neighborhood kids for 50 cents an hour.

Jobs performed to eat and survive: Essential hustle during tough times, including housekeeping, dishwashing, hostessing, and farm labor.

Jobs that didn't feel like work: Fun adventures, like running a local health store or supervising concert cleanup crews at Red Rocks.

Jobs signaling adult success: Major milestones, such as winning Teacher of the Year awards.

Looking at work through these phases reveals how every single job—no matter how small or grueling—serves a unique purpose in shaping who we become.

2. Navigating Addiction and Finding Resilience