Donn Durante

Author & Career Resilience Navigator

Career disruption compressed my pattern recognition from years to weeks. The third layoff hurt less than the first. By the fifth, I'd started looking for what came next before the official notice.That progression—watching my own recovery speed compress—revealed patterns worth mapping. The Goldilocks Journey doesn't prescribe solutions. It shares frameworks tested through lived experience for anyone navigating transition, rebuilding after setback, or questioning whether their path still fits.Coming September 2026 • Get early chapters and book launch updates:Subscribe on Substack →

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Book

THE GOLDILOCKS JOURNEY
Finding Your "Just Right" in a Complex WorldCareer disruption compressed my pattern recognition from years to weeks. Eventually I started noticing the patterns before they repeated. That recognition felt worth documenting—not as arrived wisdom, but as territory mapped through lived experience.This book draws on thirty years navigating instability: DJ instincts applied to career design, lessons from teaching English in Japan, trading family time for executive titles before hitting a wall, and five layoffs that taught me to work with polarities instead of seeking static balance.It explores four fundamental tensions: confidence and humility, freedom and stability, work and rest, self and others. The goal isn't perfect balance—it's recognizing when you're approaching edges and adjusting before you crash.No prescriptions. No optimization formulas. Just frameworks for navigating the space between extremes when the ground keeps shifting beneath you.COMING SEPTEMBER 2026Join the email list for early chapters, launch updates, and advance reader opportunities.

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About

I've spent three decades navigating the space between extremes—as a DJ reading rooms and finding gaps, as an English teacher in Japan learning cross-cultural translation, as a corporate executive who traded family time for six figures before recognizing that wall.Career disruption became my accelerated MBA. The third time hurt less than the first. Eventually I started looking for what came next before the official notice. That progression—watching my own recovery speed compress—revealed patterns worth mapping.The Goldilocks Journey grew from recognizing those patterns across different contexts. I'm not selling solutions. I'm offering frameworks tested through lived experience for others navigating similar terrain.Currently: Store lead at Men's Wearhouse, writing weekly on Substack, completing manuscript revisions, staying curious about what's emerging.

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