Mini-Ep. 5 - Five Things I've Learned This Year

This the last episode and the final show in my 4-part finale. My last episode on The Five Things I l Learned This Year, after I'd done the show for a year proved to be quite popular, so I'm closing out with what I learned in this past decade. I learned so much and enjoyed reflecting on it. Let me know if any of it resonates with you here!  It's hard to believe this is it for Forties Stories. But this is evergreen content, so whenever you are listening I hope that it leaves you feeling comforted, inspired, and/or connected.  Please stay subscribed for any future updates.I'm planning another podcast for later this year that will continue to be focused on midlife women, so please connect with me on social media, or sign up for my newsletter at www.christymaguire.com to get further updates.   

Michelle Wright and I talk about how you can dive into your 40s, which is exactly what she did. We discuss the fit by 40s program she created for herself (and it's not what you think it is!), about how to be more than a mother, how depression caused her to learn what she needed, and why laughter is so important to our well-being.    This is the third in a 4-part finale for the show, and I'm so grateful to Michelle for letting me share it with you since we recorded it right after the Covid lockdowns began. It is the perfect final interview, and I know you will love our conversation as much as I did! Next week I'll share the 10 things I learned in my 40s.     Michelle Wright is a wife and a mother of two--a native Californian who now resides in Nevada. She is passionate about homemaking, homeschooling, and the power of self-care. Recently, she created a "she space" for herself--which is a space just for her that brings her joy, calm, and inspiration because she believes that with all that she is and that she does that she is worthy of being her #1 priority. A believer and follower of Jesus, Michelle believes we are here to live like we're alive so she created a community around the concept of Life-Giving Joy.    Michelle will be reviving her YouTube channel and starting a podcast later this year focused on emotional intelligence wellness, self-care, generational cycle breaking and motherhood. To connect with Michelle and get future updates, she asked that you email her at: michellenorelle7 AT gmail.com.    Please stay subscribed for any future updates.I'm planning another podcast for later this year that will continue to be focused on midlife women, so please connect with me on social media, or sign up for my newsletter at www.christymaguire.com to get further updates. 

Would you confront the friend who had publicly hurt you in middle school decades later? That's just what my guest Skye Pillsbury did on an episode of the Heavyweight podcast. I had questions. This is the second in a 4-part finale for the show, and I'm so grateful to Skye for letting me share it with you since we recorded it right before the pandemic. I know you'll love this episode!   Skye and I talk about the impetus for exploring this experience in a very public way, the importance of friendships in midlife, how your kids often reflect back to you, and how our 50s are still a vital time in our lives.    My guest today is Skye Pillsbury. Skye writes The Squeeze, a free, weekly newsletter for podcasters and audio professionals. It features a mix of investigative reporting, interviews, and industry gossip. Prior to her work at The Squeeze, Skye was the original writer of the Inside Podcasting newsletter; and creator, producer, and host of the award-nominated show Inside Podcasting. She's also served as a contributing writer at Hot Pod.   Find the Heavyweight episode we discuss here. Stay tuned over the next two weeks for the last 2 episodes in the finale. I am planning another podcast for later this year that will continue to be focused on midlife women, so please connect with me on social media, or sign up for my newsletter at www.christymaguire.com to get further updates.

I'm popping in for an update about where I've been these last few years, and for a mini-episode on the art of quitting. I recently turned 50 and have created the show's finale. Tune in tomorrow for a new interview with Skye Pillsbury and next week with Michelle Wright. After that I'll do a final episode on what I learned in my 40s.   So often we reach our 40s and have the desire to quit things, but Annie Duke, the author of the book "Quit" says because quitting isn't celebrated we don't have role models for it. I've been thinking about this a lot, since I stopped posting episodes after the pandemic started. I hope it gives you something to think about in your own life.   I'm really excited to be doing this, but I'd be lying if I didn't add that I'm also feeling a bit wistful. I am planning another podcast for later this year that will continue to be focused on midlife women, so please connect with me on social media, or sign up for my newsletter at www.christymaguire.com to get further updates. Instagram Thank you for tuning in and all your support!  

Today I've changed up my content calendar to bring you an episode that speaks more to where we all find ourselves today – dealing with the uncertainty of a global pandemic. I had this conversation last week with Kathleen McKitty Harris and feel this is an especially timely episode because she challenges us to see the wonder all around us, every day. That means even now while our autopilot has effectively been ground to a halt.   I want to give you content that you want, so I'm asking you help me do that by answering a survey that won't take more than 5 minutes of your time. You can even pause right now to do it - you'll find the direct link here: https://www.fortiesstories.com/anniversary   Kathleen McKitty Harris and I talk about how she gained confidence in her 40s to really embrace her calling, the quest for identity, and how she's feeling about the coming empty nest. We also talk about how we can weather life with confidence because of our experience and how we, as GenXers, have an opportunity to be a bridge to other generations.   I personally love how Kathleen captures both the beauty and absurdity of life, with a dash of humor, on her Instagram posts. In the episode she talks about how all we have are our stories -- and that every day we start a new one when we rise. We have more opportunity than ever to witness the ordinary now as we social distance, which I think gives us back a sense of control.   Kathleen McKitty Harris is a fifth-generation native New Yorker whose work has been published in Longreads, Creative Nonfiction, Sonora Review, McSweeney's, and The Rumpus, among others. Her essay, "A Timeline of Human Female Development," appears in My Body, My Words, an anthology centered on body image and positivity, and named by BUSTLE Magazine as one of "11 New Feminist Books That Could Totally Change Your Year."   Kathleen also performs as a storyteller at such venues as The Moth in New York City, and co-hosts the "What's Your Story?" reading series in her backyard in northern New Jersey, where she lives with her husband, two children, and an irredeemable dog.    Be sure to connect with me on social media to stay abreast of everything. I love hearing from you, so send me an email or leave a comment on any the episode on the website, which you can find at www.fortiesstories.com. I'll also tell you how to connect with Kathleen in the show notes - I hope you'll give her a follow her on Instagram.   Thanks for listening!    

This week marks the one-year anniversary of Forties Stories! So, I wanted to jump in here with a mini-episode about what I've learned this year. Do any of these resonate with you? To stay tuned to more future midlife content, please sign up for my newsletter at: www.christymaguire.com  

Today we're talking about what a midlife crisis might teach us. I had a great, and uplifting, conversation with Jacqueline Kerr. We talk about conscious parenting, why the question "what do I want?" is so difficult, and how her relationships improved after a midlife crisis. We also talk about why it's important that our kids see us struggle and the prevalence of gender bias, especially in academia. Jacqueline has some interesting advice for anyone dealing with a loved one with Alzheimer's that left me a bit teary. Jacqueline Kerr has lived all over the world and attended boarding school from the age of 10. She started her career in advertising, but wanted to use her persuasion skills for something with more purpose, so she got a PhD in physical activity promotion. She came to the US in 2004 for a postdoc, with no intention to stay, but ended up meeting her husband. She got her first professor job after writing a successful grant while on maternity leave. Jacqueline became a full professor in 2017 and got a $10 million grant, but it felt meaningless at the age of 45 and she left it all a just over a year later. Jacqueline is currently running a grant writing consultancy, hosting a midlife podcast, looking after her two kids who are 6 & 11, and taking improv classes – she's still on the journey, but is not tethered to a life that was no longer working for her. For similar episodes, check out: #27 - My friend Jo felt like she wasn't where she expected to be at 40. #30 - Catherine Schweikert said the traumas in her life caught up with her body in midlife. #21 – Barb Dvoracek realized that she was no longer having "firsts" and talks about the U-Curve. Be sure to connect with me on social media to stay abreast of everything coming in 2020. I'd love to know how I can support you on your journey, so send me an email or leave a comment on any the episode on the website, which you can find at www.christymaguire.com/forties-stories. I'll also tell you how to connect with Jacqueline and find her podcast in the show notes. If you are enjoying the show, please share it with a friend and get a conversation started. Thanks for listening and your support!    

I had an interesting and insightful conversation with Catherine Schwikert. We talk about how your triumphs and traumas affect your health and body, the power of using your intuition, and how she felt a deeper calling in her 40s. She discusses her idea of pragmatic compassion and how we can practice it in our lives to heal our bodies and souls. Catherine also shares some wisdom about how to better work in partnership with medical professionals. Catherine Schweikert was born in Texas and raised on military bases until the age of 10. Her family settled in California when her parents divorced. She was abused by an older family member, and at that time she discovered that her older sister was actually her mother.  She struggled with her identity and her place in the world for many years and eventually found her solace in books, education, and her insatiable quest for healing.  Catherine has been practicing medicine as a physician assistant for the last 20 years in both emergency departments and urgent care. She is currently working on her PhD in applied psychophysiology to better understand trauma and the human body response to it and how it relates to physiological illness.  She blogs at pragmaticcompassion.org and is currently in the final editing processes of her first nonfiction book. The book describes her personal experiences and how she rose from the confusion of a traumatic childhood to heal and share her compassionate pragmatic methods to help others heal.  Catherine does not discuss any abuse in this episode. If you have suffered any kind of trauma, including generational trauma, I hope that you will find some hope in this episode, even if just the tiniest glimmer. I know that often resources feel scarce, but I encourage you to check out Catherine's blog for some additional support. If you are enjoying the show, please leave a rating or review and share it with a friend. Thanks for listening!  

What better way to ring in the new year (and decade!) then to discover your strengths and use them to create meaningful work and a fulfilling life. I wanted this conversation to go live on the last day of 2019 because it is more practical and action-oriented than my usual episodes. There's a lot of excitement – and hype! – around 2020 and many of us are planning our year and even thinking more long term, so my guest, Hallely Azulay, offers some valuable insight and tools. Halelly and I talk about the formula for determining your strengths and how those strengths should guide you more than an elusive search for your "passion," and how to be more positive about networking. Hallely busts the myth that women, especially those in midlife, aren't strong – physically, emotionally, and psychologically. She shares how a number of childhood moves made her determined and what she's most excited about now. Halelly Azulay is CEO & leadership development strategist at TalentGrow LLC. An expert in leadership, communication skills, emotional intelligence, and authentic networking, she develops leaders that people *want* to follow. She is the author of two books, Employee Development on a Shoestring and Strength to Strength. Halelly offers actionable leadership insights and advice as a sought-after speaker and workshop leader as well as on her blog and her leadership podcast, the TalentGrow Show. You can find the show notes, and how to connect with Halelly, here: https://www.fortiesstories.com/episodes/celebrate-and-share-your-strengths-halelly-azulay-49 I'll share my other 4 top strengths in the comments section on this episode, and invite you to do the same. Were there any surprises? I'd also love to know if you generally pick a word of the year? It's not something that I've ever done before, so I'm looking to all of you to see if this is something you find helpful. I've narrowed in on one, but I can find myself getting a bit twitchy narrowing it to just one. Let me know what you've picked or if you are word-curious and we can figure it out together. I would be remiss if I ended the year without letting you know how truly grateful I am that you have tuned in and supported me and the show – since I first hit publish in March. Thank you to everyone who has rated or reviewed the show – I know you get so many requests to review podcasts, books, small businesses, and everything else. I read every review and love hearing from you! I'd love to know how I can support you on your journey. You can find me on all the social media platforms or shoot me an email. I look forward to sharing more stories with you as we navigate midlife together -  and hope that 2020 is a year for discovery and growth. Happy New Year!    

I hope that today's conversation and past episodes on this show will leave you inspired to live out loud. By sharing our stories, we feel connected. We feel seen. We feel less alone. And that's my mission.   Allison Hare and I talk about being multipassionate, how women too often suffer in silence, and how she regained her voice and power on the birth of her second child. Allison shares a very personal and poignant story about how she became obsessed with her post-baby body and how one simple question brought her back to reality. You'll also hear about her 2020 goal and a great productivity hack that's helped her to be more creative.   Allison Hare is high tech sales professional, speaker, and activist. She is the host and producer of the Little Left of Center podcast, where she interviews culture changers and the most fascinating people who veer off the path of convention and change the way we live. She is launching a new podcast course called Press Play Podcasts in January.   Please head over to www.fortiesstories.com for the show notes and to connect with Allison. Every episode has a comments section, so please check it out and share your thoughts. You can also email me or find me on social media.   Finally, I am always looking for news on what 40-something women are doing and achieving, so please send me any stories, news pieces, or leads. If you are enjoying the show, I hope you will forward it to a friend and get a conversation started.   Thanks for listening!