I was one of those people who did affirmations every day but I never knew that, while they made me feel good, they weren't really effective in changing the way I thought... until I was trained in the neuroscience behind how our brains work and discovered these 5 tricks that would CHANGE EVERYTHING!!!

So here's the deal.... I don't want you to waste your time doing "feel good" affirmations that aren't effective. I mean, if you're already spending the time listening or writing them every day, then heck, don't you want to make that time investment as effective as possible.

Affirmations that aren't addressing these five mistakes are like the fad diet you go on to lose weight. You might get a temporary "feel good" fix that fools you into thinking the changes are permanent but very soon, everything reverts back to where you were before you started.

And I don't want that for you!

So here are my tips written down but be sure to listen to this episode for the examples because examples are...

My latest guest, Debra Johnstone, shares two major midlife transformations on today's episode that I'm sure will inspire you.

Debra was 49 when a calling that she could no longer deny, led her to making a major career change. This calling was a nudge she had had earlier in her life but which she suppressed for all of the same reasons many of us ignore whispers we get from the universe: it's SCARY and we don't know where to begin! 

But as she neared her 50th birthday, the whisper became too loud to ignore! So she took the first step to begin her research about coaching. And surprise!!! An old email that she had saved had everything she needed to take her next step.

As a result of that first step, Debra has creating a successful coaching business called "Transformational Pathways Australia" and created her signature program "Mindset 4 Business Success" along with her signature product called "Your Success Planner."

She speaks on stage and has been providing transformational...

Happy Anniversary to Not Your Average Lives and Happy Birthday to me!!!

Today's podcast was inspired by my look back at the last 12 months. We typically tend to forget our accomplishments and focus on what we didn't get done so one of my regular mindset practices is to celebrate my accomplishments every single month and document them.

So the exercise of looking back over the past 12 months was not too hard because I had it all written down, but it still amazes me because my natural inclination, which is pretty common for most of us, is to think I didn't do enough.

What also amazes me is that what I ended up accomplishing in my 61st year changed so much from what I set out to accomplish, and even so, it turned out to be my best year yet! And I know that's because I kept following my gut!!!

The older I get, the more aligned I become in what I know I'm here to do and the happier I become as a result of that which results in a deeper conviction in helping others find their unique...

In this episode, I get to catch up with a friend so it's a bit different than most of my interviews. We cover a lot of topics, some sad and some happy. But that's life, right?! We never know when a phone call will change everything, and that's what happened to my guest Amber Lawrence, in late 2019.

You'll learn a lot about Amber, who opens up about dropping everything to make sure her mom was taken care of in her last days, while also running her online business as an Essential Oils Expert.

Amber is proof that you CAN make massive adjustments quickly to adapt to the curve balls life throws at you. And you'll hear how she's currently living a minimalist lifestyle, traveling around the US in her RV with her husband and 2 Dachshunds! How cool is that?!

I met Amber back in my Beachbody Coaching days and she lit up my online "challenge" group with so much energy and spunkiness. I loved her from the get-go!!!

And as I got to know her better, I learned she had a deep love of essential...

This topic came to me as I was lying in bed this morning thinking about the women who have been in my "Ignite Your Second Half Soul" training and are soooo ready to stop settling for what they don't want and begin taking action on what they DO want.

But like so many of us, it's easier to see the obstacles than the opportunities. I see many hesitating on going ALL IN on my program "The Second Half S.P.A.R.K. School," and some have even sent me emails explaining why they can't, because they have found some obstacle that is bigger than their ability to see the unknowns.

And the funny thing is... THAT is what my program will help them do!!! SEE OPPORTUNITIES that they can't see for themselves right now.

And I so get that because in this episode I share what was going through MY MIND as I was hesitating on signing up for a book writing program when one of my big goals this year is TO WRITE MY FIRST BOOK.

It's so much easier to listen to our logical brain that always seems to say no to...

For the first time, I have three guests on at once! And what fun it was!!! They are women who I've gotten to know very well over the past 3 months as they just recently graduated from my Second Half S.P.A.R.K. School.

Today's episode is a conversation with Kim Jarzinsky, Sandy Stalmach, and Janice Lee who shared their experience over the past 90 days as they transformed from stuck, passionless, and in some cases, very depressed, empty nesters into Sparked Second Half Souls, now living from a very lit up place and more connected to who they are than they've been in a long time.

Listen in as they look back on their biggest AHA moments, key turning points and self discoveries from their recent transformational experience now that they've stepped into who they are meant to be.

They also talk about how valuable the support system was to their growth and how much they learned from the like-minded sisterhood and the friendships that developed through the process all because they finally...

In today's episode I talk about the importance of adding silence into your life, especially if your life is consumed by an overflowing task list and you have a hard time sitting down, like the old me. And for those of us who've had the belief that busy = achievement, practicing silence can be downright difficult.

In the episode I also mention the free training I'm currently doing and the impact that a powerful "Future You" visualization I take the participants through is having on them. I share some of the reflections they've given me after going through it and you can tell how its opened up a connection to a deeper part of them.

As I've brought more silence into my life the past couple of years, it has opened up so much clarity and goodness into my life. I believe Silence has given me soul-aligned direction to the path I'm now walking that I realize I couldn't find when I was too busy being busy.

Now I use a variety of tools including, meditation, yoga, journaling, floating (and...

“Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, ‘This is the real me,’ and when you have found that attitude, follow it.” - William James

Authenticity is tricky. Some of us who are living unauthentically, have no clue we are and that doing so is harming us. So we continue to plod through life not getting in touch with who we really are and what our particular personality characteristics and strengths are, and as in my guest, Nancy Dubé's situation, leave us hurtling towards an eventual, and likely devastating, health crisis.

Nancy, a recent graduate of my Second Half S.P.A.R.K. School, learned that she was, in fact, not showing up in life authentically, or as Alex Paulos, creator of the Paulos Personality Typing Method says, she was wearing a personality mask. When she was "typed" by Alex, it was hard for her to hear because no one wants to think they are...

In this episode I talk about some of the reasons why we may wear a mask and hide from our authentic self:

• We want to please others.
• We adapt to a certain situation or expectation to be accepted.
• We don't want to rock the boat or ruffle any feathers.

I also share the consequences of living inauthentically such as:

• Health issues
• Lack of motivation
• Loss of energy
• Negative energy/vibes
• Lack of passion
• Bad attitude
• Negative impact on relationships with loved ones

I referenced a past episode where I talked about this with personality expert, Alex Paulos. You can find that fascinating conversation in Episode 57.

Also make sure to tune in to learn more about Second Half S.P.A.R.K. School student, Nancy Dubé' and her incredible journey back to her authentic self that comes out on Monday, January 25th.

If you'd like to connect or reach out to ME, you can find me at:
Website: www.notyouraveragegrandma.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LaurieColvinWright
Instagram: ...

No matter where you are in your life journey, whatever your age is, there is hope. Finding the right people to help and support you and doing the work to make your life better will get you unstuck from the life you wish to change.

This is exactly the story of my guest, who is a recent graduate of my SPARK School, Laura Strachan, an empty nester and a long term cancer survivor. Laura has always kept herself busy with other things in life but she didn't have a clear path. She had no goals, her marriage was stagnant and her children were worried because they saw that she was unfulfilled.

As they say, there is a perfect time for everything. Laura came across my workshop as a late attendee and immediately jumped into the assignments. She took action and everything changed for her on that first day because she was determined to change for the better and do the work she needed to do to get out of the rut she was in.

Now, Laura is a wonderful example that if you are determined to work on...