Becoming Your Best Version

Kim Rahir is a 60-year-old mother of three who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) ten years ago and decided to ignore her doctor's advice and muscle her way back to a happy life. She did not want to have the identity of a sick person and undergo lifelong treatment for her MS. Instead, after one year of exercising, she felt "normal" again. She continued to train and worked her way to become European Champion in Masters Weightlifting in her age and weight category last year. She started exercising in earnest six years ago and has had no relapses or treatment for her MS.

Her journey inspired her to leave her career in journalism in her 50s and become a health coach for middle aged women, with a focus on reactivating and rebuilding muscle. Today, she helps women tap into an abundant source of vitality by reactivating and maintaining their muscles, while ditching diet culture conditioning in favor of eating to nourish and flourish. Kim helps middle aged women drop weight, get strong and boost energy by leveraging muscle mass and mindset work.

Kim offers inspiration and insight for all of us in this episode. "I literally muscled my way out of illness and I now help midlife women deal with a host of health symptoms by building muscle and strength," Kim says. "My story made me change my career from journalism to coaching and I’m on an empowering muscle mission to help women claim their place and their happiness in midlife. I think that focusing on muscle (beyond just training and eating) can be a powerful driver of self-care and empowerment." Her mission is to "help women embrace muscle and strength as the one-stop-shop solution for a host of health problems often from our thirties onwards." Her approach is to turn scientific knowledge about human health into actionable tool kits for everyday life.

Kim works with women in person and online. Her clients can reach out to her 24/7 via an app and can feel supported by her all the time. After only two weeks of training with Kim, her clients report that they "feel different."

Kim's “Fabulous In 15” program--requiring only 15 minutes a day-- is a holistic coaching approach that helps women implement lifestyle changes that are sustainable with a step-by-step build-up of small habits and mindset techniques that help them stay the distance. "With a routine tailored to where they are at, they can start strength training safely immediately and eating intentionally to improve their quality of life without getting derailed when life gets in the way," Kim maintains. After feeling betrayed by her physical body, Kim now believes in the "simplicity of physical strength."

Kim is the mother of three grown children. She is German, speaks languages and lives in sunny Spain. She strives each day to learn something new, connect and to give back to others.

How to get in touch with Kim:

You can access a free assessment tool about your health and strength at https://kimrahir.com 

You can also follow her on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-rahir/

https://www.facebook.com/kim.rahir/

https://www.instagram.com/kim.rahir/

If you want to get in touch directly, you can email Kim at

[email protected]

After her daughter left for college, Allie Hill was shocked to find she felt lonely, a bit lost and a little purposeless. Allie spent months wondering what she was supposed to do with all her free time now that no one needed her 24/7 as a parent. She marveled that there were so many resources available when her daughter Izzy was a baby, but none for mothers making the transition to empty nesting, despite the fact that 22.2 million people become empty nesters every year in the U.S.

Eventually, Allie figured out how to re-define her purpose which, for her, meant getting back to writing, launching a blog, becoming a certified coach, and feeling happy and fulfilled again. This is when she decided to become the resource for Empty Nest moms who struggled in the same ways she did. Allie is now the author of The Girlfriend’s Guide to Empty Nesting, as well as a life coach and speaker helping moms navigate their next chapter after the kids leave home. Her book tour has started in Colorado.

Allie Hill spent 15+ years as a journalist, working for AP Radio in London, was the West Coast editor at Daily News Record, and is a certified DesireMap Facilitator for author/speaker Danielle LaPorte. She’s earned life coaching certifications from both The Life Coach School and Oprah's life coach, Martha Beck. Allie’s been featured on national television, is regularly interviewed on a variety of podcasts, and shares her knowledge in workshops and trainings throughout the United States. 

Becoming a life coach reinvigorated her entire life. She helps her clients who struggle with a loss of identity after becoming empty nesters, and assists them in finding a new life purpose. "This is my time," Allie says, and she helps others believe in themselves and pursue their new life chapters with joy, as well. "How do you want to show up in every situation?" Allie asks. We can set intentions for each thing that we do, every day, and maybe a bit differently when our intense periods of everyday parenting have ended.

Find out more about Allie on her website:

To order her book, The Girlfriends’ Guide to Empty Nesting:

Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/Girlfriends-Guide-Empty-Nesting/dp/B0CQ1BWJXT

Kindle version:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQZCN6G6

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/alliehillcoaching 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/alliehillcoaching

Rimi Chakraborty traded in the trappings of status, affluence and the insatiable desire for more, for true success -- living with purpose and meaning. When the traditional metrics of success and external validation became soul-sucking rather than soul-filling, Rimi left a successful career to pursue her dreams at the intersection of health, happiness and balanced living. Today, Rimi integrates her world class education, business acumen, and nearly 25 years of experience and certifications in yoga and meditation into leadership consulting, 1:1 executive coaching and transformational retreats. Rimi is the co-author of Beyond Resilience to ROOTsilience, released on February 14, 2024.

Her fantastic new book, co-authored by Functional Medicine Health Coach Samantha Anderson, provides ancient wisdom for modern leadership, addressing each reader's unique vulnerabilities and symptoms.

This book offers readers a guide tailored to individual needs, including:
-A revolutionary Rootsilience Leadership Map to recognize the interconnectedness of your leadership behavior and your emotional, physical, and mental signs of ease and dis-ease and integrate deep learning.

-Practical leadership exercises, healing foods and recipes, and go-to practices for movement and meditation that result in conscious leadership tools we all can use.

-Access to "Beyond the Book", an online platform for guided videos, resources and an online community sharing journeys to become a Rootsilient leader.

Online courses and retreats at Rimi's gorgeous retreat center in the Azores complement the book and its profound teachings. The authors have embarked on a book tour, currently focused on the northeast U.S.

Rimi holds an MBA from MIT Sloan, an engineering degree from the University in Pennsylvania and more than two decades of training and experience in yoga, mindfulness and energy healing. Rimi provides leadership development consulting that focuses on whole person health, fostering enhanced employee engagement, morale and general well-being. Rimi lives in the Azores, Portugal, at her lodge and learning center, where she leads transformational retreats and leadership workshops. Rimi shares deeply in this episode, discussing her challenging childhood, how she chased perfectionism while climbing the ladder of success, how she and her co-author bonded over the pandemic and birthed the Rootsilience book to help others who were stretched beyond their limits, and how she found her rootedness after she trusted her gut and honored her deep knowing. Learn more at www.rimichakra.com.

Find out more about her book Beyond Resilience to Rootsilience: https://www.rootsilience.com/

Follow on social media:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rootsilience

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rootsilience/

Hanna Olivas is the CEO and Co-Founder of She Rises Studios, as well as an author and public speaker. Hanna was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, and has paved her way to becoming one of the most influential women of 2024. Her passion is empowering other women to become leaders.

Hanna also founded the Brave & Beautiful Blood Cancer Foundation. Her journey started in 2017 when she was first diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. Her terminal diagnosis led her to realize that life is "not a race, it's a journey," and sometimes a "tug of war," in trying to determine what she can and cannot control. She believes that each day we can wake up and "become something better than we were the day before," recognizing that we are our "only limits" in who we want to be, how we feel, and how we love and respond to life and to the people around us. She no longer engages in drama, but rather strives to become part of the solution, of the peace one can experience, by forgiving and loving unconditionally.

She Rises Studios, founded by mother-daughter duo, Hanna Olivas and Adriana Luna Carlos, is an Empowered Women's Multi-Digital Marketing Studio and Publishing Company dedicated to inspiring, educating and celebrating women navigating diverse challenges. She Rises Studios is a publishing and public relations firm for women entrepreneurs. Under Hanna's and Adriana's visionary leadership, the studio has created an environment where women uplift one another, fostering personal growth and resilience. She Rises Studios stands as a beacon of empowerment, championing the strength, education and fearlessness of women worldwide.

One of She Rises Studios' outlets is Fenix TV, available in 136 countries via Apple TV, Roku, the Fenix TV app, and other streaming services. Fenix TV has a library of empowering content on a wide range of topics by 100 TV hosts who deliver presentations akin to TED Talks, as well as broadcasts of festivals and summits. An upcoming documentary on Fenix TV will include the voices of 100 women across the globe speaking on how they view health, wealth and culture. Another is called "Empower Her," featuring everyday women seeking empowerment from other human beings, with a core value of collaboration.

Hanna's motto is to "unleash her" for good in the world. She has assisted clients in leaving their 9-5 jobs to earn seven figures as entrepreneurs pursuing their true life's callings.

"Every day you wake up and get to decide who you want to be," which, for Hanna, means giving to the world and her family and friends without expectations.

Learn more about this extraordinary human and her work at the links below: 

Website: https://www.sherisesstudios.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sherisesstudios/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sherisesstudios_llc/

YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNYFsDMtobMZFED0iXU_LkQ

LinkedIn:    https://www.linkedin.com/company/she-rises-studios/ 

Twitter/X:   https://twitter.com/sherisesstudios

Hazel Secco is the founder and CEO of Align Financial Solutions, LLC. She brings more than a decade of financial industry experience with a passion for advocating women’s financial wellness as a Certified Financial Planner and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA). Hazel's mission is to empower women through education, enabling them to make informed decisions with confidence and clarity. Having experienced the financial and emotional strain of divorce in her family of origin, she became a CDFA to better understand and support her clients during this challenging transition. She prioritizes addressing women's holistic well-being by collaborating with other wellness practitioners and healthcare professionals.

Hazel's dedication to empowering women to take control of their financial lives is deeply personal. She successfully navigated her journey as a business owner, mother and wife, confronting personal challenges stemming from her cultural background and upbringing. Hazel, unafraid of vulnerability, shares her own experiences to uplift women facing similar situations. Her commitment to women's wellness, both as a mother and a female business owner, coupled with her collaboration with other wellness professionals, distinguishes her as a true pioneer in advocating for women from diverse perspectives.

Hazel's first "discovery meeting" with potential clients begins with an exploration of what is most important to that person. "I try to help a client determine what they want to secure for their financial futures, when they want to retire, when they might want to go back to work [if they were at-home parents] or if they want to change their career paths or go back to school," Hazel says. Clarifying such desires can inform how one should plan for divorce and separation of assets. "It is frightening for women who may not know where to start or what to do," Hazel adds. "Qualitative answers [to the questions I pose] can take a long time to answer." Hazel and her team can help alleviate financial concerns that are often attendant to what can be an emotionally draining process. "A CDFA is the first divorce professional one should reach out to so that you can understand your options," advises Hazel.

Hazel came to the U.S. from South Korea in 2010 to pursue her studies, graduated from University at Buffalo, SUNY with a BA in Psychology and remained in the New York/New Jersey area.

Hazel's company assists women with retirement planning, risk assessment, divorce financial analysis and investment management. Many of her clients come to her via referrals from collaborative divorce attorneys and therapists. I wish I had met her before I got divorced!

Learn more and follow Hazel at the links below:

Website: ⁠www.alignfinancialsolutions.com⁠

Facebook: ⁠www.facebook.com/alignfinancialsolutionsllc⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/hazel-secco/

Elaine Reynolds has been a Master Personal Trainer for more than 20 years. She teaches women over 50 to not give up or give into the seemingly crazy things happening to their bodies. Elaine hit an exercise plateau in her 40s and wondered if that was just the way things would be for her in midlife. She felt that yoga was not enough for her to keep her muscles toned. She started experimenting with 20-minute workouts that incorporated low impact cardio, power yoga and pre- and post-workout stretching, and found her Zen.

Her online programs, ZenStrength50plus and the ZenStrength50plus taste-test that she calls the Lengthen & Strengthen Your Body Program, give women a holistic and challenging way of training, with a planned system of body-shaping 20-minute online workouts and mindset shifting techniques. Elaine designs workouts that won’t wreck you but will give you toned muscles and flexibility. She maintains that working out is 80% mindset, so her workouts are layered with mindset training. "Intentional workouts," Elaine says, will build confidence and make one's body stronger and less achy. She encourages her clients to build positivity clues into their days to reflect their goals.

Twice Elaine has sold all of her possessions to follow her dream to be an expat. Eight years ago, at age 50, she had an epiphany and brought a one-way ticket to Bali! After stints in Italy, India, New Zealand and Australia, Bali now feels like home to Elaine. You can find her cycling through the villages of Ubud or at a cafe with a cappuccino in hand. Elaine appreciates the power of now. "Even a boring day can be a beautiful moment," Elaine declares with joy!

Learn more and follow Elaine:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/corestrength50plus/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/coreStrength50plus/

Try her freebie Hip & Glute Strengthening Sequence, with a bonus workout:  https://corestrength50plus.com/how-to-fix-a-flat-butt/

Siobhan Farr is the founder of Digital Nomads Beyond 50 ("DBN50"), which is a global resource network to inform and inspire location-independent aspirations for those in their late 40s+. As a community, DNB50 creates connections throughout the world with others who currently travel/work remote, are planning to, or are just curious about Digital Nomad life.

As a result, she pivoted her plans and became an "Unintentional

Siobhan's personal experience growing her Urban MosaiX MeetUp to 1300+ members helped her in this endeavor.

This May, DNB50 will host the 3rd Annual LifeMap and in late July DNB50 will host Connect CoLIVEwork for Experienced DNs. These are the first Digital Nomad CoLiveWork events specifically designed for older nomads!

See https://digitalnomadsbeyond50.com/2024-lifemap-colivework-medellin-colive-cowork-midlife-digital-nomads/ to learn more.

Siobhan is truly a HomeFree Digital Nomad. She has no permanent base; her home is wherever she lays her head on the pillow that night.  

From September to December, she returned to Dallas to assist with in-person Medicare and ObamaCare Annual Enrollment. The other eight months of the year, from various global locations, she served her clients via internet.

As a solo Digital Nomad in her 60s, and a woman of color, Siobhan wants to inspire others to banish the belief that it's

One of Siobhan's tips: Try the Gratitude - Journal app, which allows users to include photos of vision boards and more when creating searchable gratitude lists.

Learn more at her website: https://digitalnomadsbeyond50.com/

DNB50's offerings also include a stellar podcast. Below are the top three DNB50 podcast interviews:

T•Mobile Radio Diaries 29m:03s
https://spoti.fi/3NiY6pY

She Hit Refresh 42m:48s
https://bit.ly/SHR-DNB50-Interview

Erica Ginsberg is the author of the much-needed book, CREATIVE RESILIENCE, released on December 5, 2023, [https://www.ericaginsberg.com/books] and blog [https://www.ericaginsberg.com/blog], which help artists reframe the challenges of the creative process and creative life. The book features experiences of artists from a variety of disciplines, ages and backgrounds. Topics include motivation, self-confidence, blocks, rejection and balancing creative pursuits with the rest of life. CREATIVE RESILIENCE "is the book I was born to write," Erica says. It draws from her journey and those of others with whom she has worked, recognizing that the creative process is part of everything that we do, whether we are artists or not. In the book, Erica helps readers navigate their own creative processes. She encourages readers to think of their motivations behind their creative endeavors as a way to stay focused on why they choose to do what they do and to not allow discouragements and rejections derail creative projects. "Know what your best is, which is a spectrum [depending on various factors on a given day]," says Erica, "and continue to strive, while being realistic," as you move forward. She observes that rejection can be used as a form of feedback.

Erica has drawn on creativity in a variety of different roles: writer, documentary filmmaker, story consultant, and project manager. While working at the U.S. Department of State, she pursued her masters degree in film and video and co-founded the documentary film organization Docs In Progress [http://www.docsinprogress.org], serving as its founding executive director for more than a decade. Docs In Progress is thriving, but it took three years before its founders were able to pay themselves for their work. She also co-hosts The D-Word [http://www.d-word.com], a peer-to-peer global community for documentary professionals.

One of Erica's documentary film projects is called "Creative Feds," about musicians whose "day jobs" were working in federal government agencies. The film explores the ways these individuals balance their two careers and how having a creative outlet is essential and can feed all parts of a person's life.

In addition to working in the arts, Erica organizes professional development study tours to the United States for mid-career professionals from around the world as a Senior Program Officer with Meridian International Center. She finds joy in travel, painting (though she does not consider herself a painter), collage, reading, nature hikes and spending time with friends, family and her dog Lulu. Her goal is to always keep learning something new.

If you are in the Washington, DC area, come to Erica's book talk on CREATIVE RESILIENCE at Docs In Progress (8560 2nd Ave., Silver Spring, MD) on January 17, 2024 from 6:30-8:30 pm.

Learn more about Erica's work at

Follow her on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/erica.ginsberg

https://www.facebook.com/erica.ginsberg

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericaginsberg/

Petia Kolibova Burns is an abundance and light activation coach. She grew up in the Czech Republic, lived all over the world, and joined this podcast from Las Vegas, where she lives with her husband and four-month-old baby girl. Petia grew up not feeling that she belonged anywhere. She "ran away from life, outsourcing her happiness," and suffered through decades of an eating disorder, despite the fact that she was winning fitness contests and was being told that she had the "perfect body." After discovering, honing and honoring her own gifts, she began guiding other women to intuitively connect with their inner visions so that they could experience personal and professional magnetism and become "unapologetically abundant." 

Her mission is to empower visionaries who are on the path to embodying their fullest self-expression. She helps others learn "to soulfully expand into a quantum leap in all dimensions of their lives."

Petia gives her clients clarity and steps to unlock their divine feminine and adopt an abundance mindset. Her approach as a business and life coach is holistic. Not only do her clients succeed financially, but they also create deeper healing and develop a new sense of self worth by working with Petia. Her mentorships typically last at least six months.

Petia offers free "abundance activation calls," which is her way of paying forward the blessings, growth and lessons she has learned over the course of her life. On January 24, 2024, women may join her "5 Steps to 5 Figures" one day masterclass, in which participants can learn "to create sustainable 5-figure income streams without burnout." Sign up here:

For a free abundance activation call: https://petiakolibova.com/abundance-activation-process/

To learn more about Petia's work, go to her website: https://petiakolibova.com/

https://www.instagram.com/petiakolibova/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/unapologeticallyabundant/

Listen to her wisdom on YouTube or her Unapologetically Abundant podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/@AbundanceActivated

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unapologetically-abundant/id1458932675

Annie Gaudreault teaches women in midlife how to feel great! This vibrant, wise, French Canadian made a huge pivot in her life when she left her 25+ year career as a brand consultant working with Fortune 500 company executives to serve the wellness needs of those living busy lives.

"In my early thirties I had three different careers and was doing well professionally, but personally I wasn’t doing well and was totally burnt out, " Annie says. "Then I discovered running and became an endurance athlete in my late thirties, completing over 10 marathons and three long-distance triathlon Ironman competitions, all while running my business."

While marathoning and Ironman competitions may not be in the near future for many of us, Annie coaches her clients to make time for what matters to them. She was guided by someone who told her to take a look at the magazines she tended to buy which, for her, were all health and nutrition-related. So she got off of the corporate world treadmill and followed her passions.

"I took a total career shift and went back to school in my forties and am now a certified holistic nutritionist and founder of VEEV Health & Wellness," says Annie. "I help women in mid-life make sense of all the health and wellness information so they can make informed decisions and establish habits and systems that support their best health and best life and realize that some of their best years are yet to come."

Annie invites listeners to take on activities that align with who you are. Maybe we extroverts can start with dance as exercise, for example. Solo hiking may be more appealing for those who are more introverted. Her point is to start making healthy changes in our lives because we care about ourselves.

Annie also advises that we can stop judging foods as good or bad. While undoubtedly some foods provide more nutritional value than others, we can simply start to make better choices about what we eat. That will, in turn, make us feel more energetic.

Annie shared many pearls of wisdom and helpful information for those of us who need motivation, especially following holiday binges. Check out her beautiful website, veev.ca. You can start with her free offerings, which include an intial 30 minute complimentary session to explore your individual health challenges, or her 3-minutes-to-read newsletter that covers such matters as trends in nutrition supplements and how to make mindset shifts. Clients come to her for not only weight loss and nutrition, but also for help alleviating brain fog, joint pain, anxiety and depression through healthy habit changes.

She is a regular speaker to the media, corporations and lifestyle organizations on various health topics. You can learn more about and connect with Annie at:

veev.ca

https://www.instagram.com/veev_wellness/

https://www.facebook.com/veev.ca

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anniegaudreault/

Email her directly at [email protected]