Late Bloomer Living Podcast

EP 58: Julie Holly - Becoming the Next Version of Yourself

Julie Holly started off her career as a public school teacher after graduating early from college.  She thought she had it all figured out and was on her way to a “successful life”, until life threw some “smack downs” her way.  She pivoted to a real estate career for some time before deciding that she really wanted to pursue a childhood dream.  Allowing herself to pivot and follow her instincts has prepared her for the next leg of her journey in which she’s combined teaching, writing and real estate investing into a new mission that is filling her with energy and purpose. 

EP 57: Wendy Deacon - Permission to Play

Wendy Deacon is a master of PLAYtime!  She left a successful corporate career and took some time to think about what she truly wanted to do next.  She ended up writing a book which has since led her to establish a company called DestinationU with the mission of empowering women to identify and create the lives they truly want to live.  She also leads the Inspiring Your NEXT Community! which is a community of women over 40 who are going after their next adventure and prioritizing playtime.  Do you want to explore more but need ideas or are unsure where to start? Do you feel like there must be more fun out there?

EP 56: Deena Baikowitz - Talk to Strangers

Deena Baikowitz started doing stand up comedy when she was 50 years old! As a coach, she helps professionals develop new business and career opportunities through strategic networking, branding, and marketing.  Deena brings her signature fireball energy to every space and every audience. Her happy place is in a room full of people – both virtual and live.  A turn of events during the Covid shutdown meant that she had to relocate from her beloved home in New York City to Toronto where she’s been isolated for 7+ months.  As an extrovert with an expertise in networking the lack of direct human connection has been a distinct challenge for Deena, but she’s learned a little something about herself along the way and she’s keeping her options open as she navigates a life she didn’t plan on.

EP 55: Julie Carrick Dalton - A Bumpy Yet Worthwhile Journey

At 51, Julie Carrick Dalton has finally found her stride.  Her debut novel Waiting for the Night just launched in January as a Most Anticipated 2021 Book from CNN, USA Today, Parade, Newsweek, and Buzzfeed, and was an Amazon Best Book of the Month. She’s also a brand new organic farmer.  She bought a tract of forest that was in danger of being timbered and developed and managed to preserve 92 acres of forest and built a small farm from scratch all while writing her book and raising four young kids.  She acknowledges it’s been a bumpy journey, but well worth facing the hard work, mistakes and rejections along the way. 

EP 54: Broc Edwards - The Search for Midlife Mastery

Broc Edwards has some questions about mastering midlife, starting with how do you do it?  At the age of 50 he started a new podcast called, “Midlife Mastery” to explore that question and look for answers.   In this conversation we talk about the quest and what it means to age with purpose and curiosity.

EP 53: Stephanie Mojica - Wanderlust

Stephanie Mojica wanted to travel for the longest time.  She had a career as an award winning reporter, but after some time in that career she realized she wanted more control over her life and her schedule.   She started several side hustles to explore what else she might do, eventually establishing an online business coaching people to write their own books as thought leaders.  Once she had a solid online business, she started getting curious about being a digital nomad.  Some major life events inspired her to finally take the leap.  We talk about how she gathered the courage to pursue her dream and how it’s working out so far.

EP 52: John Flaherty - It’s Been a Year!

It’s been a year!  This is episode 52.  That’s 52 weeks of midlife reinvention stories out in the world!  For this special episode, I’m talking to John Flaherty, my husband.  John is a classically trained actor who is slightly obsessed with Shakespeare, music, motorcycles and classic cars.  He teaches theatre and directs the classical productions at Sacred Heart University, and is also the Operations Manager for Hannes Precision Industries, a manufacturer of precision screw machine parts.  This year he worked on a project with our kids to renovate and revitalize a 1974 VW Bug Super Beetle that was about more than car restoration.  We had a little sit down to discuss our concurrent projects with all the challenges, pitfalls and wins involved.

EP 51: Mike Morawski - Lessons Learned

Mike Morawski is a 30 plus year real estate investment veteran. He is an entrepreneur, author, real estate trainer, public speaker, and personal coach with strong personal resilience and a deep desire to help others live an extraordinary life. He has coached hundreds of real estate investors to fulfill their dreams while staying connected to their values.  Mike has always believed that transparency and honesty are central to any successful business and personal life.  The 2008 world economic crisis presented his business with major challenges.  The impact that had on his company and its real estate holdings left him scrambling to protect the company and its investors, but Mike let his guard down and let his transparency slip in the process.  In this episode, we talk about what he learned and how forgiveness is key to the healing process and finding resilience.

EP 50: Vanessa Joy Walker - Make Room for Joy

Vanessa Joy Walker is a Life [After Crisis] Strategist and coach who has shared her story of hope, perseverance, and joy with thousands of people worldwide as a featured speaker.   Her life experience is vast and includes; seasons of abandonment, betrayal, cancer, infertility, and grief.  As she says, “It’s the ragged edges that actually make a difference.”  We talk about how our crisis and pain is what uniquely qualifies us to make a difference for other people and she encourages us to get real about pain while cultivating joy in the middle of life's most complicated seasons.

EP 49: Michelle Widmeier - The Power of Resilience

Michelle Widmeier is a chiropractor and acupuncturist who has been studying and working in the field of holistic medicine for over 20 years.  The Covid shutdown was, of course, a massive roadblock for her private practice.  Her response to the shut down was ingenious.   She chose to entirely rethink her business and reinvented it with the new name, Ground Control Wellness.  She created a mobile chiropractic, acupuncture and wellness clinic designed to respond to the needs of her patients.  What does that mean?  It means she bought a van and outfitted it for the safe treatment of her patients.