This "lessons learned" episode was inspired by a download I had this past week about regrets that nudged me to share a couple of my own personal experiences with them.

One I share was a big regret for a long time, but fortunately it was diffused over time and is now no longer a regret at all. Another one was destined to be what I call a "deathbed" regret that I nipped in the bud because I finally took action to prevent that missed opportunity from happening.

As you can hear in my voice, I'm pretty passionate about this subject because I don't want you to get to the end of your life with ANY regrets! So start thinking about potential regrets you MAY have based on something you desire but haven't pursued.

And tune into why you desire them to ensure it's a desire of the heart because those will become the biggest regrets.

Perhaps the examples of scary actions I took to avoid future regrets, that have worked out pretty well for me, will inspire you to take action to avoid your own...

My guest for this week’s podcast is Valerie Trumbower, a DONA Certified Postpartum Doula, a Certified Lactation Counselor and a mother of three, including identical twins. Her online courses, The Bump-to-Baby Roadmap & Expecting 101...You’re Adopting™ have helped hundreds of families (and grandparents!) prepare for life with their newborns. 

Over the past 8 years Valerie has been helping hundreds of parents adjust to their new family so that they can approach the newborn stage with as much calm confidence as possible. And so that they know what to do with their little newborns.

In this episode, Valerie and I talked about:

• Understanding what a Doula is and what they do
• How she learned about postpartum and birth Doula and how she started
• Best qualities to look out for if you want to be a Doula
• Necessary tips for grandparents to best help our children navigate new babies

Many people are probably not familiar with what a postpartum doula is. You may decide...

This "lessons learned" episode was inspired by my recent free training and the questions I've received by some who've attended.

It got me thinking about how, when we are trying to make a decision - especially when it's something we want (but something that may be a bit scary and out of our comfort zone), we use time as an easy excuse. And when we do this, it's through a lens of lack vs. a lens of abundance.

We look at what taking this action will COST us in time vs. what we will GAIN from the time we put in. Will it take time from our already busy schedule and cause more overwhelm, or will the time we take give us more quality of time in the future?

Two completely different perceptions when changing the lens we look through, right?!

Let's use some example questions to show the difference when looking through the lack vs. the abundance lenses. (I'll use questions related to enrolling in the Second Half S.P.A.R.K. School since they are what inspired this episode and the best examples...

My special guest this week is one of my amazing Second Half S.P.A.R.K. School™ students, Denise Hughes. Denise shares her story of signing up at a very low point in her life, when she was suffering from “long” Covid with very little energy and very far from living her best life.

But fortunately, like all of my students who decide to take action, she was finally ready to do something about it and she knew she couldn’t do it on her own… 

Denise’s story is nothing short of remarkable as it shows how our path to the dream life we desire is not always what we think it will be. But Denise shows how once we shift our internal energy by changing our mindset, we begin to attract what we desire. 

She is also a testament to how staying in abundance, no matter how hard your journey gets, and continuing to apply the tools she learned in the Second Half S.P.A.R.K. School™ brought her to where she is today, with more balance and happiness than...

Today's lesson is about a specific download I had recently that I shared in my free training series that really resonated with the women who were participating this past week.

This lesson was a great reminder to me that downloads aren't just messages that are for us but ones we are meant to share. It was so amazing to receive this download and then to turn it into a lesson for others and see it shift perspectives and make an impact.

So which of the 3 Ds, if any, are you most guilty of? 

It was wonderful to receive another example of how nudges, if we pay attention and act on them, lead us to where we are meant to go and teach us beautiful things - and often create a ripple effect.

And because I love alliteration, let me end by saying... Downloads are downright delightful and definitely make a difference!

Today’s guest is Frederica Wagner, (aka "Fred") one of my students from the Second Half S.P.A.R.K. School™, who shares her story about how she transformed her life in record time, finding motivation, energy, and happiness, along with her authentic self who she had lost.

Fred - a 72 year old divorced mom of adult children, and a grandma, who recently celebrated 24 years of sobriety - recognized she had reached a new low point in her life where she had no direction, no focus, and sadly, no desire. In her words, she felt stuck, stagnant and miserable. 

Shortly after admitting to herself that she needed help, she stumbled upon the Second Half S.P.A.R.K. School™ where she found the support she needed. Once she made that commitment, she was ALL IN, and by following the program to a “T”, she got the breakthroughs she needed, becoming an inspiration to her fellow students.

Fred is a great example that if you show up and do the work, you’ll get the...

In this month's episode of my "Just Friggin' Do It" series, I talk about the 4 biggest actions I took that led me closer to the life that I believe I came here to live as the most authentic version of myself.

All of them came from my gut, meaning something deep inside of me pushed me to do them, while my brain was, in most cases, trying to talk me out of them. .

These were actions I had never done and all of these life shifts have happened in the last 16 years of my life, after I finally, at age 47, admitted to myself that I was not living the life I wanted to.

Looking back, I know my gut had been sending me signals of dissatisfaction in both my marriage and my career for a long time, but I ignored them. Then one day I found it more scary to keep living the life I was settling for than to start taking action and figure it out.

Little did I know where it would lead! And little did I know that that confused, empty, unlit version of me was totally misaligned with my authentic self and...

Today I have no guest interview because I have an important topic I want to talk about - what it means to be ignited. It’s top of mind because I have a free training on this very subject coming up in a week, and it might just be the right next step for anyone who listens to this episode and feels unignited.

• the definition of ignited
• real life examples of what it feels like when you aren’t ignited
• what I’ve learned about the subject 
• what to know if you’re feeling unignited 

Why is it that so many of us feel guilty for wanting more?  There is nothing wrong with wanting more and wanting to feel more excitement in your life. It’s time to make getting that internal wick lit your #1 priority!

If you’d like to review the words I shared on the episode, I’ve included them here as follows:

Anxious, Average, Ambivalent, Annoyed, Apathetic, Ambiguous, Bored, Beaten, Blah, Behind, Busy, Burned Out, Challenged, Confused Chaotic,...

Today's lesson in trying came from a recent direct message I received from someone on Instagram, who shared with me that she's very unhappy with her life but told me she was "trying." Over the course of the conversation, it became apparent to me that all she was doing was thinking about taking action but never really doing anything to make changes.

So I took that as a sign to add this topic as a great "lesson learned" topic!

Like I mention at the beginning, the word "try" isn't always disempowering. It depends on the context with which it's used. The point I'm making is we often use it as an excuse to get out of something we need to get done.

So listen in to what I've learned, as both a user of the word myself and hearing it often as a coach, how it's one of those words you need to watch for, and my best tips for what to do when it crosses your lips which I include here as follows:

• Start to be aware of how often you use it and notice when other people use it.
• Why did you feel the...

This week’s guest is Jen Rigley, a former Marketing & Sales Executive who has perfected the art of the pivot, staying positive when facing life's challenges. She is the visionary behind and founder of the Flourishing Over Fifty brand whose sole purpose is to inspire women over fifty to live the life of their dreams.

In this episode, Jen and I talked about:

• The story behind ‘Flourishing Over Fifty’ and the realization of her later-in-life purpose
• How she personally defines a pivot 
• The two important pivots she’s experienced in her life
• What to do when you’re stuck or facing a pivot

Jen is a mom to three beautiful young women, a wife, a daughter, and a sister to three women. She also does management consulting and works with both start-ups and Fortune 500 companies.

Her goal is to inspire YOU to be ready to pivot when life says it's time - whether by necessity or your intuition talking to you. And when that time comes, know that you are the...