Nan Russell, now an author and speaker, met her husband in grad school and, almost immediately, they hatched a dream of living in a cabin in Montana by the time they were 50. Now, more than two decades, a child and a grandchild later, they do.

Her mother was the only woman in their neighborhood who worked. Nan went to Stanford, followed by graduate work in psychology at the University of Michigan. To stay in school, she worked at various odd jobs. “Anything,” she says, “even babysitting.”

Nan has been married to her husband Dan, a software engineer who can work from anywhere, for 32 years. After their son was born, she stayed home for a few years, then trailed Dan to Philadelphia, where she got a job as an executive recruiter. Shortly thereafter, she was fired.

“I didn’t think so at the time,” she muses, “but I deserved to be fired.” This changed her outlook on work. “I always did more than expected after that,” she says. She put this into practice at Macy’s, and her new philosophy paid off. She was offered a huge promotion in the human resources department. “I didn’t know what I was doing,” she laughs, “but I accepted it.”

Then, in 1985, QVC, which was just starting up, recruited her. Over the next 16 years, Russell held many posts at QVC, including vice president, reporting to the president and CEO and managing 500 people. She handled many special projects aimed at building the QVC brand, such as opening a QVC store in the Mall of America.

All the while, the mountains of Montana beckoned, glimmering in her mind’s eye. “I told everyone, my bosses, everyone,” she says, “that I was going to live in a cabin in Montana by the time I was 50,” she recalls. “But you know how people are—they don’t believe you.” Eventually, her boss realized she was serious and created an opportunity for her to work remotely, which she did for a short while.

Russell had always wanted to be a writer. So when she got to Whitefish, Montana, she approached a small, regional magazine and offered her services. This led to a syndicated column called “Winning at Working,” now in 80 publications. The columns led to speaking engagements, which led to a nationally published book titled, “Hitting Your Stride: Your Work, Your Way.”

So, is she retired? “No!” she laughs. “I would never retire. But I have more choices now. We have been to Africa, and we are going to China. I wish I had done this sooner.”

It’s not like she hadn’t thought about it ahead of time.