The Power of One: One Act of Obedience

Sometimes the greatest breakthroughs begin with one act of obedience.

In this episode of The Power of One, Cathy Tooley shares the deeply personal story of losing the career she spent 30 years building and how that painful season became the beginning of a purpose-driven life she never could have planned for herself.

After dedicating decades to education as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal, Cathy suddenly found herself facing job loss, uncertainty, fear, financial pressure, and the reality of starting over.

What followed was not immediate success. It was a journey through surrender, faith, identity loss, entrepreneurship, and learning to trust God even when nothing made sense.

This conversation explores:

•  obedience to God 
•  career transition 
•  faith during uncertainty 
•  leadership and vulnerability 
•  entrepreneurship and purpose 
•  surrendering control 
•  trusting God’s timing 

One of the most powerful moments in this episode comes when Cathy realizes she had been praying “Thy will be done” while still trying to control the outcome herself.

That moment of surrender changed everything.

Key Takeaways:

•  Obedience often starts before you see the full picture 
•  Faith and fear can exist at the same time 
•  Losing one chapter of life may be the beginning of your true purpose 
•  Surrender is often the doorway to breakthrough 
•  Success does not come from chasing every opportunity 
•  One act of obedience can completely transform your future 

Whether you are navigating job loss, uncertainty, leadership pressure, entrepreneurship, or a season of transition, this episode offers encouragement for anyone learning to trust God one step at a time.

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//About

Cathy Tooley is the Founder & CEO of Tools for Success and a seasoned educator with over 40 years in K–12 classrooms and school leadership. From high school teacher to principal, Cathy has dedicated her life to supporting educators. In 2014, she launched Tools for Success to provide real, in-person instructional coaching—not just “PD in a box.” She’s the author of The Education System Is Broken, a national speaker, and a fierce advocate for teachers. Through this podcast, she’s spotlighting the ripple effect of great teaching.
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Transcript

The Shock Of Getting Fired

Cathy Tooley 0:00

And I remember running over to the window and watching that bus pull away from my house and thinking, I'm never gonna be in a school again. And it's like it was slow motion hearing these words. You are being fired. And then I'm hearing you won't have a job. Your paycheck is stopping in two weeks. I had to walk through what I call the remnants of my life. The boxes, the greenery, the posters that had decorated my walls and office for years. And all of a sudden it hit me. But I'm not living out the life. I'm singing out the words, Thy will be done, Lord, thy will be done. As long as you do it my way. And I went to my knees in my kitchen. And I said, I want the company that you told me about a year and a half ago. And let me get out of the way to create it. Hi

Control Issues And Real Obedience

Cathy Tooley 1:11

everybody, thanks for joining us for another episode of the Tools for Success podcast in our series that we're doing called The Power of One. So today, mine is one act of obedience. Now, there are some of you that are watching this podcast that are my friends and family because you feel bad for me and you want to watch my podcast. And what you know about your dear, dear friend Cathy Tooley, is she is many things if not controlling. I like to think that in my life I'm really good at it. You know what I mean? Like, like, I don't think of myself as controlling what I think is I just know best. Like, I don't need to rely on somebody else to do something that I already know how to do myself. Um, I don't uh people say how they should control it. I just don't think that's true. I just know how to do it, and I'm I'm quite embarrassed quite frequently that people don't know how to do it too. And so if they would just listen and do it the way that I do it, they would have it so much right. So have it, they would have it so right. Don't email me about the bad grammar. I caught it too. So I I when I was thinking about and praying about this podcast, the act of one, and then the act of obedience. I was a good girl growing up. When my parents told me your curfew was nine o'clock, Cathy was in by nine o'clock. When my parents told me you needed to get good grades, I got good grades. Um I was obedient, I always say, in my actions, but not in my heart and in my mind. In my heart and my mind, you didn't want to think hear what I was thinking or feeling. But the biggest and largest act of obedience came for me when it came time to start my company. Um, you know, I I was raised, like many of us, that you go to school and you work really, really hard and you get a job, and then you exchange your time for their money. Um, that's called a job. That's what the that's what the American market is built upon, right? You go give them your time, they give you a piece of the pie your money. So I did what all was right and good, and I went to college, and I got a degree, and I became a teacher, and I got my first job, and I taught, and then I moved on up the ranks, and I became an assistant principal, and I became a principal, and then I got fired. And the largest act of obedience in my life was about to happen. One of the areas that I struggle

Walking Out With No Plan

Cathy Tooley 3:44

with the most, this is gonna shock some of you, so I'm gonna brace it before I say it, is being still. I've learned in my life that if I keep things busy and keep things moving where I don't have to think, then I don't have to think. Right? Because sometimes with our own thoughts is the worst place to be. So as long as I just keep moving, I just keep moving. Matter of fact, my husband has said to me so many times, you never stop. And that's because I just didn't want to be with myself. So when I found myself without a job and I heard the Lord say these words to me. When I was being let go from the school that I was at, he told me that I could go upstairs and get my purse and things, and this was a Friday, and that I could come in on Saturday and pack up all my belongings. As he was talking to me, telling me that we're a million dollars in debt, you're the highest paid administrator, we'll give you a two-week severance package. Um, anyone ever seen that Charlie Brown? You know, ever watch Charlie Brown where the teacher always talked like this. That's what I heard. I remember seriously looking at his mouth, watching him talk, and it's like it was slow motion hearing these words. You are being fired. I remember shaking my head a couple times, thinking, let me hear that differently. And then I'm hearing, you won't have a job. Your paycheck is stopping in two weeks. I remembered like looking at his face, thinking, what? Like I'm I'm hearing the words, but it I I I I wished I wished I could explain it to you an appropriate. There's just not words. It was like it was an out-of-body experience. I'd never been fired from a job in my life. Never. Not from back when I started working at McDonald's when I was in high school. Never. I'd left jobs, but I'd never been fired from one. Because my dad always taught me, you know, you go to work, you do a hard, you know, you do what you're supposed to do, you work really hard, and you'll always be rewarded. And I had just come out of a principalship where they didn't renew my contract, and then I came to this, and six months now I'm being let go. So to say that I am gun shy to that whole story that dad taught me, which is just work really hard, just do a good job, you know, go put in a good day's work, and you'll always be rewarded. But here, do you hear that mentality? Exchange your time for their money and you'll always be okay. And I thought, I've done that, I've done these things, and now I've come from this to this, and here I am. And here is where that power of one act of obedience came for me. After we stopped the Charlie Brown, uh-uh-mm-mm-mm, and my brain had absorbed, you are being fired. You're about to not have a job. Your youngest is a freshman in college, and I don't know how you're paying for that. You're out, and you could come pack up your office tomorrow, and all of all of the logistics. I said, Okay. Okay. I said, is that it? Yeah, that's it. I got up and went upstairs, down the long hallway, up the stairs, down another long hallway, where all of my assistant principals were conveniently gone. I do know now he told them all to leave for the afternoon, so none of them would be there. Went into my office, grabbed my purse. I'm I'm I'll be honest with you, I don't remember making that walk. I don't. I went down the back steps as to not have to come back by that main office again, straight to my car. I put my purse on the seat of my car. And I looked like this at the building that 15 minutes ago I was their principal. And I heard the Lord say to me, Now

Mortgage Fear And A New Company

Cathy Tooley 8:02

will you live the life that I've created you to live? And here is what I mean by one act of obedience. I put my hands in the air. I looked up and said, I am scared to death. And I don't have any idea what that means. But I believe in you, Father. I believe in you. Guide me. The next act I made was to call our financial planner to set a meeting. Thank goodness my husband and I had invested well. Um, this was in November. There was no job that I was gonna get an education in that school year, and I knew that. And so I knew in the back of my mind that while I think the Lord had good plans for me in that act of obedience, right? Because, you know, listen, we kind of negotiate with this with the Lord, don't we, right? Like, I like that plan. I don't know what you meant by that plan, but I'm gonna get me a backup plan. I'm gonna go meet with my financial planner, and I'm gonna make sure that the mortgage can still get paid, our youngest can still be in college. You know, I don't even got this guy. You know what I'm saying? I didn't say the habit. I just said, let's make sure that we got the backup plan planned out, right? So I called our financial planner. He was out of the office. They said he would be in on Monday, this was a Friday, and the next code call as I made was my husband, who happened to be off work that day. And I said, he's obviously I'm calling it mid-afternoon, and he said, What's the matter? And I said, I just got fired. And he said, Are you okay? And I said, I think I'm numb. And he said, Do you need me to come get you or do you feel okay to get home? I said, No, no, no, no, no. I feel okay to get home, but I'm on my way home. He said, Okay, I'll see you when you get here. I do not remember that drive home. I remember that the radio was not on. But you know, I made the drive so many times. And when I walked in the back door, um, I came into the house and my husband embraced me as I as I knew he would, and he said, We're gonna be okay. Now, I took care of all of our finances, and I remember feeling in that moment easy for you to say, I know what my salary was. I know what your salary is, and we're not gonna be okay. We were living paycheck to paycheck like anybody else. We had money and savings and money and investments, but not billions and millions. And I remember saying to him, he said, What are we gonna do? I said, I'm gonna start a company. He said, What? I said, I'm gonna start a company. I'm gonna start my own company and I'm gonna write a book about our education system, not a nasty tell-all, but I'm gonna write the book that the Lord's laid in my hands. And I don't know what any of that means. I don't know how that's gonna get us a paycheck. I don't know how we're gonna make the mortgage. I have made an appointment with our financial planner. I named him for Monday, and I'm gonna see if there is money and investments to buy us time. And so I went up on Saturday and I packed up my office. 30 years. I packed up in boxes and put in the garage. But weirdly enough, through the weekend I was fine. I went to church on Sunday, I think I was numb. And then I will never forget Monday morning.

The Bus Ride That Ends A Career

Cathy Tooley 11:38

You know, my husband did what he always did, kissed me goodbye, and he went off to work. And I walked out in the living room and I sat there. For 30 years, I never saw buses roll up and down a street because I was already in a building by then. And I watched as the bus, I watched the buses come pick up students. Only time I ever saw that is if I was homesick or maternity leave. And I remember running over to the window and watching that bus pull away from my house and thinking, I'm never gonna be in a school again. And watch a bus. I'm never gonna be in a building where I've spent 30 years, where I'm receiving kids as either a classroom teacher, an assistant principal, or a principal. That's never gonna happen again. And then I went to go meet with our financial planner, and of course, as I walked through the garage, I had to walk through what I call the remnants of my life. The boxes, the greenery, the posters that had decorated my walls and office for years. And when I sat down in my van and I looked out to those things piled there, I thought, what do I do with them? Where do I put them? I remember when I closed my classroom and became an assistant principal, but still I was staying in the building. And even when I changed from assistant principal to principal or principal to another building and principal to another building, I was just moving the office stuff from one to another. But where does this go now? Where's its place now? Where does it belong in my life now? Where has what I have done for my whole life belonged now? So I went over and I met with our financial planner, who was nothing but good news. Um, because of the age that I had reached at that point, we could actually begin drawing monthly investments and not be penalized by the taxes. So I took care of all of the backdoor plan, you know, in case in case the Lord didn't have that part, I made sure the mortgage was going to be paid and all those kind of things. And then and then I got home. You know, now I'm pulling into I'm pulling into my driveway, and then I pull into the garage, and again, there is my life, 30 years sitting in front of me.

Chasing Meetings With No Money

Cathy Tooley 13:50

And for the next six months to a year, I need you to hear me say this. I controlled every step of my movement. I was looking for people who could meet with me, or I was looking for this connection who might be able to get me help here, or I had no idea who my company was. I thought I'm gonna be this keynote speaker that's gonna drive, fly all over the United States, and everyone's gonna book me. I had no credibility. And you know how many people do what I did? And then I met a gal who helped me really understand marketing and really brand. I had gone down and formed the name of Tools for Success. I'll never forget leaving the Secretary of State like I have a company. Well, that's like having a cookie two seconds after you eat it, you can do blap that for three hours. It meant nothing. I went over and I started a bank account. Whoop-dee-doo. I had to transfer money from our personal account to get up with the account. And it wasn't until about a year into the company, I don't know how many meetings I continue to go to. Oh, and I would always chase the next thing that I thought. Oh, this person wants to meet with me. That meeting in January is gonna be different. That meeting in January, and then that meeting in January would come, no different. Oh, but so-and-so wants to meet with me, and so-and-so is in charge, and blah, blah, blah. And then once I meet with them, it'll be really, really good. And then guess what? I had that meeting, and nothing was different. Oh, but you know what? She's friends with so-and-so who knows so-and-so, and they're a yuckity yuck. And so now I got the meeting with the so-and-so and the yuckity yuck. I chased that for a year. I don't know how many times I came home to my husband and I would say, I had a good meeting today, but ask me how much I put in the account. Nothing. If I did anything, I drew money from it. After about a year, I remember, I let go in November, I did not look for a job in education that spring. So it was early spring of the early fall of the following year, right? School years are already up and going. So now I've kind of given God an ultimatum. I'm gonna give it the remainder of this school year. If this company doesn't take off, I'm going to start applying for jobs back in the education. If I need to be a classroom teacher, a custodian, I don't care. I don't care. But I know schools. And I will never forget this day.

The Kitchen Floor Surrender Moment

Cathy Tooley 16:20

And that's why I called this one the power of obedience. I was sitting in my living room, it was a beautiful fall day. I was looking outside, and the buses had come to take kids home. And I was watching the kids get off the bus, feeling pitiful for myself, having no more power meetings set up. Y'all know what I mean? You know, there's that next, that next that's going to make a difference. I had made $1,000 in that first year in my company. $1,000. And I was on trajectory to make about $4,000, $5,000. And we were coming toward the end of the year, where not the end of the school year, but you know, where you file taxes in December. And I was at $4,000 then, which I guess some would say is a what 300% gain. Whoopee. And I watched the kids get off the school bus and I was making dinner. And something came over me. And I felt this thing of I can't do it anymore. And there was a song out of the time called Thy Will Be Done. Um and I just would I would play it over and over and over. And it came on on my little Alexa in the kitchen when I was making dinner, and I'm singing out the words. And all of a sudden it hit me. But I'm not living out the life. I'm singing out the words. Thy will be done, Lord. Thy will be done. As long as you do it my way. Thy will be done, Lord. Let's have a company, as long as it's the company I think it is. Thy will be done, Lord. Thy will be done as long as you're making me the money that I want to make. Thy will be done, Lord. Thy will be done as long as you're doing it on my timeline. And I went to my knees in my kitchen. And I said, I want the company that you told me about a year and a half ago. And let me get out of the way to create it.

Ten Years Of Growth And Hard Truths

Cathy Tooley 18:19

And ladies and gentlemen, ten years later, we have a hugely successful company. We are working in schools from New Jersey to California, anywhere and everywhere in between. I have consultants that work for me that I have no clue how or why I got them, other than Jesus Christ. That one act of obedience, that one act of surrender, deleted everything that had happened prior to it. I'm not going to tell you that it's always been beautiful days because it's not. I'm not going to tell you that I've always gotten every contract that I felt like we should have gotten, could have gotten, would have gotten, and didn't. I'm not going to tell you that it's always been 100% growth and that we've never ever seen anything go down. Although I will tell you this. We saw consistent, significant, over a thousand percent growth every year except for last. Last year we took a little bit of a dip. A little bit. I will tell you that my salary is larger than what it ever was as a principal. And I will tell you that I'm now sitting here recording a podcast, not because I'm super, but because I was obedient. And so here's my question for you. I

Scripture On Obedience And The Sendoff

Cathy Tooley 19:33

have a couple of verses that I think are just really poignant. James 1.22 says, if you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land. But if you resist and rebel, you'll be devoured by the sword. And Ephesians 6.1 says, Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Do what it says. And I, my one act of obedience was listening to the word and doing what it says. So I hope today this episode has inspired you wherever you are to take that one act of obedience, the power of one act of obedience, and see where it leads you in your life. Thank you so much for watching, and we'll look forward to joining you on the next episode.