Annalisa Corti: Success Broke Me. Inner Alchemy Saved Me.

From the glittering promise of an international career to the quiet collapse behind closed doors, Annalisa Corti’s journey is anything but ordinary. Once driven by titles, achievements, and global missions, she found herself unravelling in the middle of what looked like a dream life. But it was in the depths of burnout, heartbreak, and rock-bottom reinvention that she discovered her true calling—not as a strategist or savior, but as an Inner Alchemist. Today, Annalisa helps others transform breakdowns into breakthroughs, merging soul work with business sense to guide a new generation of purpose-led leaders. Her story is not about bouncing back—it’s about rising whole.

What was going on inside you when everything on the outside looked “successful?”

On the surface, everything seemed pristine. I had a Duke University degree, an international background, spoke three languages and was on the kind of career path that made my father incredibly proud. I was working in international development, traveling across continents, and contributing to global missions. My future was set; I wanted to climb up the ladder as fast as possible to start running the public policy stage. But internally? It felt like I was slowly suffocating. I felt flat, moving forward by inertia, not by purpose. I was surrounded by smart, inspiring people — and yet I felt like a ghost. There was a chronic sadness, a quiet ache, that wouldn’t leave. Of course, I couldn’t name all of this. I was 28, living in New York City and felt almost guilty for my lack of excitement about it all. Now I know that the contrast between outer success and inner disconnection was the first whisper that something had to shift.

Was there a moment when you knew something had to change? What did that feel like?

Yes. It was two years later, I was almost at my 30th birthday, and I remember standing in a demined zone in Africa with a group of European delegates. We were reviewing a project site, and it hit me like lightning: I was being “useful,” but I wasn’t alive. Logically, I recognized the value of that work and that world, yet my heart wasn’t in it anymore. I was operating from obligation, not purpose. That day, I felt incredibly sad and hollow. Looking honestly at your life’s dream disintegrating before your eyes is tough, almost heartbreaking. I completely identified with that role, that career, that future. Without it, who was I going to be? 

Though I couldn’t name it or articulate it at the time, I knew I was out of alignment. A few months later, I took one of the hardest and most painful decisions of my life: I resigned from my role, left the field, and came home – to Tuscany, Italy – with no backup plan, just a deep knowing that something else was waiting.

What helped you find the courage to walk away from the life you’d built?

Honestly? Collapse. My body, my emotions, my spirit — they all gave out at once. I couldn’t pretend anymore. I wasn’t thriving; I was unravelling. 

In hindsight, I see that there’s grace in the fall. In Alchemy, we call it the Negredo Stage, where everything darkens. Everyone lives negredo once or twice in their lives, it strips you of everything false and sometimes of things you believe to be true but that are simply not working anymore. Life takes them away so you can seek newer and truer truths. 

In my case, I found myself in a Franciscan monastery, where I cried for five straight days. I kid you not. I think it was some sort of purification from false myths, lies I had been buying for years, guilt, sadness, a grand mix of things that needed to be cleansed. 

That’s where I met God, not in a traditionally religious way, but as essence, energy, life. During a morning prayer with the monks and sisters, I felt a pure white light pour into me. Picture it as a cloud of fluffy white light that enveloped me and penetrated my every cell and pore. I still get chills thinking about it. It was unconditional love, a love so grand and omnipresent that I had never felt; it was not human, it was so much bigger, and it wiped the shame, the fear, the disappointment clean. Once the moment passed, I felt lighter and infused with a sense of deep peace that dried up all tears and self-indulgence. 

That moment became my true beginning. It gave me the courage not to rebuild the old life, but to start something new, rooted in who I was.

What did starting from zero teach you about yourself?

Starting from zero stripped me bare. I had no titles, no income, no external validation. I had been traveling the world for 17 years, my Italian was rusty, and I had no connections whatsoever. 

I had to confront every internal pattern — the achiever, the fixer, the one who had to have it all figured out. What I discovered beneath that was presence. Quiet, powerful, grounding presence. I learned that I didn’t have to prove my worth through productivity. I learned that power isn’t loud — it’s clear. And I began to rebuild not from ambition, but from alignment. That changed everything.

How did that quiet time of healing reshape your idea of success?

It turned it inside out. I used to equate success with impact, performance, and external results. Now, success feels more like: Does my calendar reflect my values? Does my nervous system feel regulated? Am I enjoying the process, or am I performing for an invisible audience? Real success, to me, is deeply spiritual. It’s peace in the heart and clarity in the mind. It’s the freedom to choose what’s right for your soul, even if no one else understands it.

What was the hardest part of building something new after falling apart?

The doubt. Not just from others, though my father did not speak to me for a year after my return, but from myself. There were tough times where my core values were challenged and where I also learned that no one, not even my father, had the power to strip me of my identity. 

About 10 years after my return to Italy, I started a business and failed miserably because becoming a solopreneur takes much more than an idea and a passion (which I had), it takes marketing, sales and financial skills, which at the time I lacked. 

So I ended up broke, a single mother to two small kids, and had no clue how to market or sell what I could do. What kept me going was the inner discipline I had cultivated through healing. The reps I had done — emotional, spiritual, mental. Like a muscle you train at the gym. I had built a core of resilience. I knew the work worked, even if the results weren’t instant. The hardest part wasn’t the grind; it was not letting fear convince me to shrink.

How did your spiritual journey begin, and what did it open up for you?

It began with survival. I was broken and seeking answers. But it deepened when I discovered alchemical remedies and emotional integration work. That’s when it clicked: this wasn’t about escaping the pain, it was about walking in it, thanking it, transmuting it. 

My spiritual journey became a path of union between masculine and feminine, discipline and softness, strategy and surrender. When I integrated that within myself, everything around me changed. Love showed up. Joy returned. Clients arrived who weren’t just seeking business growth; they wanted soul growth as well. My work shifted from fixing problems to facilitating transformation.

What role has softness or surrender played in your growth?

A central one. For years, I led with pure masculine energy. My astral chart shows Mars full front and centre, so it has been natural all my life to lead with force, drive, logic, control, masculine energy, in other words. 

This natural imprinting got me far, but it also wore me out, and finally, I grew tired of struggling, fighting, holding up a shield and sword. 

I learned that softness isn’t weakness, it’s trust, self-love, and faith. Surrender isn’t giving up when it is a conscious and chosen response. When I started honoring the pauses, the intuition, the feminine rhythms within me, my power doubled. I could hold more, not because I pushed harder, but because I allowed more. Surrender taught me how to magnetize instead of chase.

How has your healing changed the way you help others?

Completely. I used to think helping others meant giving them the answer. Now I know it means holding the space for their clarity to emerge. My clients don’t come to me for formulas. They come for frameworks and fire. I guide them to see their patterns, reclaim their power, and lead from within. I don’t promise quick fixes, nothing that is worth something is quick in life or nature. I promise real transformation through daily commitments and presence.

What does it mean to you to live and lead from wholeness?

It means no longer outsourcing your worth, giving up on the “one-minute” magical recipes, and committing to your inner self before anything or anyone else. It means so longer cutting off parts of yourself to fit into roles or expectations. 

Wholeness is radical self-integration. It’s bringing your wild, your wise, your strategic, your soft — all of it — into the room. It’s leading from full body unity, not fragmentation, and it’s a daily practice. 

“Always stay connected”, this is my mantra. Some days, I lead with precision. Some days with prayer. But every day, I come back to the centre.

If this speaks to anyone reading — if you’re done with quick hacks and ready for something deeper — come find me. I share free tools on my website and insights on LinkedIn. I’m not here to sell you a miracle. I’m here to walk beside you with the lamp lit.