Late Bloomer Living Podcast

EP 77: Tossed and Tumbled Treasure Hunting with Rebecca Thompson

This week’s episode is about discovering joy in the midst of difficult times. Rebecca Thompson’s newborn granddaughter was near death just as the world was beginning to grapple with the Covid pandemic.  Her home organizing business was shut down as was her husband’s business. Like much of the world, they found themselves scrambling to do business online. During a lockdown walk in April 2020, Rebecca’s husband introduced her to sea glass and after collecting for a week, she found out she had a talent for wiring jewelry and set off on a new and unplanned adventure, sharing her creations from an old converted bike shed to people all around the world. Rebecca is now a proud owner of her second business called the Sea Glass Company which not only sells unique and bespoke jewelry, but has expanded into other creative mediums.

EP 76: For the Love of Books with Cindy Burnett

As a child Cindy Burnett wanted to be an astronaut… then she wanted to be a judge… She became a lawyer… then she became a mom… She became a mom who put herself into it with all the energy she’d once put into her career, volunteering for “all the things”.  As her kids got older she realized she needed something for herself.  She’d always loved books and reading…  She got a part time job at a bookstore in Houston then followed her instincts and took massive action towards building a new business around her love of books proving it’s never too late to follow your heart and it’s never too late to start your own business.

EP 75: Letting Go with Lou Blaser

I am so happy to welcome back Lou Blaser who is the editor of the Midlife Cues newsletter and the host of the podcast,  Second Breaks.  Lou wasn’t always a podcast host or media maven… In fact, she used to hate the sound of her own voice, but when Lou asks the question, “What If?”, she has a tendency to follow the question with massive action that leads her to great things.  It’s been a windy path that’s led her to hosting her podcast and writing her newsletter.  It took some time for her to figure out the right path for her, but she figured out a way to channel her curiosity, her love of research, and her reading obsession into something that is helpful for other people and allows her the flexibility she needs to start a new GRAND adventure… which you’ll hear all about in this episode.

EP 74 - Giving Thanks

Welcome to this special Thanksgiving episode…. It's short, but sweet.

It's that time of year isn’t it?   It's time to look back, and at the same time, look ahead.  Let’s talk about the power of gratitude.

EP 73: Learnings and Missteps with Jesse Hernandez

Jesse Hernandez is the host of the Learnings and Missteps podcast where he and his co-host Rene dig into the stories of the men and women who have built careers in the construction industry in an effort to Enhance the Image of Careers in the Trades.  His real super power comes from his desire to help other people.   He worked his way up in the construction industry, first becoming a Supervisor and Foreman, then learning how to train and develop other tradesmen as they make their way up to the next level of their careers.  Learning to develop other people led him to his own major transformation that was years in the making.

EP 72: This is Sixty! with Gail Gensler

Gail Gensler is sixty years old and still in “beast mode”.  What is beast mode you may be asking?  Well, Gail’s favorite workout, even with an arthritic shoulder is boxing!  For Gail, it’s all about mindset.   Her goal as she enters her 60s is to inspire women her age to dress, act, feel, and exercise the way they want.  In the past year and a half she’s reinvented herself as a pro-aging fitness enthusiast and lifestyle influencer on a mission to break down the barriers of institutional ageism.  She got tired of seeing advertising that always seemed to showcase impossible standards of youth and beauty and decided to do something about it.

EP 71: Flip Time/Love Life with Karen Briscoe

Karen Briscoe built an enormously successful real estate business in her fifties.  She is the principal owner of the Huckaby Briscoe Conroy Group with Keller Williams which has been recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of the 250 Top Realtor® teams in the United States.  Even with all the markers of personal success she felt as though there was something more that was hers to do.  She felt a calling to something beyond her real estate business.  People were encouraging her to write a book, but she told herself she was too busy.  Busy had become a competitive arena, a badge of honor for her. Then, she had an epiphany and realized that the only thing truly stopping her was herself.  She went on to write her first book which is a business book called Real Estate Success in 5 Minutes a Day: Secrets of a Top Agent Revealed and has since taken her "5 Minute Success" concept to multiple platforms, including several business books, a podcast and a facebook community.  And she’s just getting started!

EP 70 - Nicole Lewis-Keeber: You Belong Here

Nicole Lewis-Keeber is an expert in helping business owners understand how unaddressed trauma can hold them back in their business.  We talk about the sneaky ways that trauma can show up and about how she learned to set strong boundaries in her life thanks in large part to getting certified in Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead program.  After many years in practice as a therapist Nicole realized it was time for her to make a change.  She stepped away from her practice, worked another job and took some time to think about her next steps.  It took time, but she stayed open and finally found the path that she’s on today…  She's now been featured on numerous media outlets including Fast Company and NPR for her work in breaking the stigma of mental health and business ownership.

EP 69: Richard Haiduck - Finding Meaning in Retirement

Richard Haiduck is a former life sciences executive and mentor, and now has an active retirement. He is immersed in challenging the boundaries of his own retirement, while observing the experiences and areas of curiosity of his fellow retirees. At age 7, he was sure he wanted to be an author. Now, 66 years later, that dream has become a reality. He has written a book called Shifting Gears: 50 Baby Boomers share their meaningful journeys in retirement.  The inspiration for the book came from hearing about the meaningful journeys in retirement taken by his friends and colleagues.

EP 68: Dara Goldberg - Lovin‘ Midlife

Dara Goldberg of Lovin' Midlife was a Founding Partner and Vice President of a management consulting firm that worked mainly with nonprofits and philanthropies to help them increase their funding base and develop growth strategies.  She loved her work until she didn’t.  After beating herself up and a lot of soul searching, she eventually found the courage to walk away and is currently on the verge of something big.  She’s on a mission to make sure that other women in midlife don’t have the same experience she did and is bringing together a community to support women who are feeling lost in midlife and point them in the direction of both professional guidance and a community of midlife sisters who will embrace and support them.