Calm the Chaos

Tracy McCubbin is the author of Making Space, Clutter Free: The Last Book On Decluttering You'll Ever Need (June 4th, 2019). She has always referred to herself as "Obsessive Compulsive Delightful," but who knew she could turn that trait into a booming business? While working for a major television director in Los Angeles, Tracy discovered she had the ability to see through any mess and clearly envision a clutter-free space. Coupled with keen time-management and organizational skills, Tracy soon found more and more people were asking her for help. Before she knew it, dClutterfly was born.

Ten years and thousands of clients later, dClutterfly is Los Angeles' premier organizing and decluttering company. Tracy is a regularly featured expert on Hallmark's Home & Family, has a column on MindBodyGreen, and has regular declutter segments on Fox 5 and ABC Eyewitness News, KTLA Morning Show, KCAL9, and Good Day Sacramento. She and her company have also been featured in Real Simple, Women's Day, and ShopSmart.

When not decluttering, she is the proud Co-Executive Director of OneKid OneWorld, a non-profit building strong educational foundations for children in impoverished communities throughout Kenya and Central America.

She lives in Los Angeles and knows where her keys are.

In my discussion with Tracy, we discuss the following

Tracy didn't start dClutterfly until she was in her forties! It's never too late to discover your passion!

The Book, Making Space, Clutter Free: The Last Decluttering book you'll ever need focuses on the seven emotional clutter blocks and why we feel stuck with our stuff! Tracy shares ways to break free from these emotional clutter blocks!

After her first book, Tracy noticed that even after getting a space organized people were still bringing in "stuff" to their spaces. There is this hole that is inside of us, something missing that we are needing to fill and unfortunately for most, we fill with things. She then wrote the book, Make Space for Happiness which focuses on our clutter magnets!

The shopping and the stuff are not making us happier.

How can we make space for happiness? We discuss that first step!

Tracy shares the first steps in working with a client in organizing and decluttering their space! Words of wisdom that you too can incorporate when you are taking those first steps!

Decluttering is an emotional process and Tracy shares how to move past the emotion so you can feel the lift of having a clutter-free space. For items you have been gifted from a relative it's important to realize that someone else's history is not your history. Do you use it? Love it? If not then it's time to pass it on to someone who will use and appreciate it!

We discuss inspirational stories to get you motivated to tackle your space!

Tracy shares her Senior Downsizing checklist and shares some of her top tips!

Are you ready for Tracy's challenge? Give a listen!

Resources and Links

Connect with Tracy McCubbin

Purchase Tracy's Books here

Grab the Senior Downsizing Checklist

Connect with Deborah Voll

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Kurt Leichty is an Air Force combat veteran and former Police Officer. He has taken his training and experience from both of those worlds to create a fitness program for military members, cops, and firefighters. His certification is from the National Strength and Conditioning Association and is specifically designed for him to focus on these special populations of tactical athletes. He uses the same training for our heroes that he does for the public. This year, or early in 2023, Kurt will be opening a non-profit gym called MetaFit where the public can come train side by side with the heroes and learn to train like the heroes.

I personally work with Kurt and he was able to help me build my confidence in the gym to lift free weights and tackle those intimidating machines! Kurt is the real deal and works with clients both in person and virtually. If you are on the fence about strength training, I encourage you to reach out to Kurt for support and motivation! I have definitely noticed a difference in my overall strength when in the garden, swimming, or riding my bike!

Here is what Kurt has to share in this episode!

It's important to lift heavy and be consistent to get results

Women lifting heavy is the most efficient way to lose weight, burn more calories, and tone your body!

Lifting heavy can help with muscle strength and bone density. As we age, this is a big concern because if we were to fall later in life we need bone density to heal!

Building muscle will cushion your bones so if you do fall, your bones are better protected from a potential break.

Kurt shares his journey and what inspired him to begin working with people and how he feels he is promoting goodness in the world.

When people focus on fitness and health then they are more positive, happier, and feel that they can accomplish more and go after their dreams!

Kurt shares that in your strength training journey, by month two you will start to feel the difference in your strength, by month three you will see the difference in your body, and by month four, people will start noticing that something is different about you!

Why it's important to lift every day and how to rotate your strength training to accomplish this goal.

Why it's important for Kurt to have a nonprofit organization where the general public, police officers, and military members can work out together.

How to spice up your lifting program so it doesn't become dull

How you can get your feet wet with your own routine by following Kurt on Instagram where he encourages and shares exercises for you to try! All Kurt's links are in the show notes.

Why it's important to overestimate the amount of support you will need to accomplish your fitness goal and rally those around you to help, including your personal trainer.

Any of the money you pay for personal training with Kurt goes back into the programs and the building for the community in Utah.

Resources and Links

Follow Kurt Liechty on Instagram

Check out MetaFit

Connect with Deborah Voll

Take The Midlife Quiz

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Tania Vasallo is the founder of The Courage To Be Happy, a global community of high-achieving women entrepreneurs working to become financially empowered and independent. She also hosts Increase Your Income and Impact, her signature live event to help women expand their businesses and mindsets.

Born to a Spanish father and an American mother and raised in Spain, Tania was constantly in search of freedom from a patriarchal society. She now specializes in transforming a mindset of lack to a mindset of abundance and prosperity so that her clients discover their own autonomy in their personal and financial choices. With her guidance, her last Money Magic Miracles cohort of 28 women made over one million dollars collectively in just eight weeks.

Tania lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her husband, daughter, and multiple pets.

Tania shares her journey with money and how learning from her mistakes, she helps to empower women and work through their money mindset!

You will learn how to

Take the first step in tackling your money mindset

Why it's important to get curious about how you handle money and how things happen

What are our thoughts about money and how to shift the paradigm

What are your money "blocks"

How to advocate your power with money

Examine your beliefs surrounding money

Steps to learning more about your money!

Common mistakes that women make with money!

What is a wealth account and how can it provide you freedom with money

Grab Tania's free guide: Women's Top Money Mistakes! Link in the show notes.

Links and Resources

Connect with Tania Vasallo

Grab Tania's Free Guide: Women's Top Money Mistakes here

Connect with Deborah Voll

Take The Midlife Quiz

Passion and Purpose Digital Workbook

Over the past five years, Mike and Kim Barnes found themselves navigating problems they never saw coming from their parents: Alzheimer's, pacemakers, COVID pneumonia, and the tough decision to move parents into retirement communities.

They've learned to balance the many facets of parenting aging parents, including medical, financial, and everyday-life decisions, emotional rollercoasters, protecting their parents from scams, and more, all while parenting their college-age kids, and building their careers.

Mike & Kim each spent 30 years on TV. Kim's TV career includes 15 years as an award-winning reporter and news anchor and Mike's includes 29 years as an award-winning sportscaster.

They've realized that so many adult children go through the same trials with their parents, yet hardly anyone talks about it. Most struggle in silence. That's why they created a community to provide information, resources, and support.

We are all aging gracefully including our parents! Now is the perfect time to get ahead of the game and start having conversations with our parents and children about not only the legal aspects of our estate but all the other pieces of our lives that we need to know in order to transition to being an advocate for our parents!

This information doesn't need to be a mystery! If everything is summarized in one spot then it will make the journey smoother for everyone!

Mike and Kim have created a community, Parenting Aging Parents where you can access information, resources, and a Facebook community so you are never alone.

Here is what we explore in this episode!

• Mike and Kim share their journey as they navigate these waters with their parents! You don't know what you don't know!
• How to balance Kids, careers, and aging parents
• Navigating these waters with their parents has ensured that they have their "ducks in a row" for their children. We can be better prepared for our children!
• What are those practical questions everyone 40+ needs to ask their aging parents?
• Make sure you are on the same page with your siblings about expectations for your parents' well-being. This can solve a lot of miscommunication and hurt feelings going down the road.
• Besides the financial aspects do you know the passwords for the computer and bill paying sites? If you had to step in on a moment's notice, would you be able to pay their bills for them?
• How to protect your parents from internet scams!
• How to communicate to your parents how you are trying to help and give them a gift in helping.
• How Mike and Kim are working towards making this community to the workplace. As employees with aging parents, it's important to be informed and be prepared so employees are not worried about "what if". It makes for a more productive employee! Can you introduce Mike and Kim to your organization?

Where is the best place to go if you are wanting more information on helping your parents? Go to their website: https://parentingagingparents.com/ from there you can access the interviews, resources, and their handbook: The Caregiver's Key

This information will help you to deal with the crisis at hand with your loved one and you won't be needing to scramble with all the other details of their lives as you'll have their booklet.

Resources and Links

Connect with Parenting Aging Parents

Grab The Caregiver's Key

Connect with Deborah Voll

Take The Midlife Quiz

Passion and Purpose Digital Workbook

Deb Johnstone is a professional speaker, writer, transformational coach, stylist, midlife transition mentor, and yoga teacher. She is the founder of Women Reinventing MidLife and Transformational Pathways Australia.

Deb is the creator of her signature program HER Rediscovery and the Women Reinventing MidLife Club. She's the host of the YouTube channel, WRM TV, and host of the WRM Summit Series where she supports women in the middle phase and beyond to rediscover themselves, build confidence and find new exciting directions.

Deb shares the following

• Her journey and how she hit a turning point in her life with the loss of her father. For Deb, she lost her foundation, sense of identity, confidence, and motivation. Working through the grief process she experienced some "aha moments" and shares those with the listeners. Deb then shares her exploration process and how she rediscovered herself. It was then that she created her Facebook community and then the summits were born!
• As women in midlife, we have wisdom we have gained over the years. How do we utilize that wisdom to grow and possibly help others!
• What was Deb's biggest lesson from the loss of her father and how that has impacted her life?
• As we nurture others do we run the risk of losing ourselves?
• What is Women Reinventing Midlife? It's Deb's group platform where she helps women rediscover who they are now and enable them to gain clarity of direction.
• Deb shares details about the Women Reinventing Midlife Summit and how you can sign up for this free event that starts on July 25th, 2022!

Links and Resources

Connect with Deb Johnstone

Sign up for the Women Reinventing Midlife Summit! Link here

Connect with Deborah Voll

Take The Midlife Quiz

Passion and Purpose Digital Workbook

Emee Estacio is the Founder of The PAME Code. She is a chartered psychologist with over 20 years of experience in health, community, and positive psychology. Her passion is to help people embrace their true worth, so they can live happy and fulfilling lives. Throughout her academic, coaching, and research career, she has worked closely with individuals and communities to unlock their full potential using simple and easy to apply methods for limitless success in life. She is the #1 best-selling author of the "Psychology in Your Life" book series, including titles such as "The Imposter Syndrome Remedy", "Change Your Life for Good", and "Fear is Not My Enemy". She is also now helping aspiring authors fulfill their lifelong ambition to write and publish their own books with her flagship course, "Self-Publishing Made Simple".

Emee shares with us the following

• How she made a major career pivot after the arrival of her son! How that decision was in alignment with what she wanted to prioritize for not only herself but her child. Great words of wisdom for anyone at a crossroads in life!
• How she started to question her identity and went into a crisis where she was in a cyclone of feeling down, lethargic, and stuck in a cyclone of imposter syndrome and her own identity crisis.
• Emme shares how with the support of people around her she was able to get the help she needed and shares how you can too!
• How one friend reached out during this period of time threw her a lifeline and helped to get Emme the appropriate help.
• It's OK to accept help when you need it!
• How important it is to make a conscious decision and set the intention that you are going to take the steps to move forward.
• It's not only important for ourselves but to be a role model to our children that it's ok to stop and take time for self-care
• It is normal to experience self-doubt when you are trying something new!

Emee's Tips for Dealing with Imposter Syndrome!

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Is that true?
• Is it logical?
• Is it constructive?

Do you have any evidence to support what you are thinking about yourself?

Emee gives a lot of great examples with some specific thoughts one may have while experiencing imposter syndrome!

Emee shares her business, Self Publishing Made Simple! She combines her expertise in psychology and self-publishing to help entrepreneurs to write and self-publish their stories! She has created a community for coaching, community, and support.

The doors will be opening in the first part of July for her group program and you can connect with Emee in the show notes below!

Links and Resources

Connect with Emee Estacio

Connect with Deborah Voll

Take The Midlife Quiz

Passion and Purpose Digital Workbook

Linda Ward is a Writer and Life Coach living in Minnesota. She specializes in helping mature women find everyday happiness and satisfying life. She zeroes in on life after divorce, retirement transitions, and finding courage no matter what the circumstances. Her inspiring new eBook is called, "Crazy Simple Steps to Feeling Happier. " Linda's Professional background is Social Work and Counseling.

Linda shares how she came to write her book: Crazy Simple Steps to Feeling Happier and shares some of her favorites during our discussion! Steps you can implement right now! No purchase necessary ( wink, wink)

During our conversation, Linda shared that it was through her own life circumstances that she found her inner courage. A difficult time where she had to dig deep to find and even surprised herself with how much courage she had in those times and still holds on to today! Now Linda is passionate about helping others to find their inner courage!

Here is what else you will learn from our discussion

• We can often make finding happiness too complicated. It's really simple! There are simple things you can do each day to lift your mood.
• Parenting adult kids can be agony and the first step is to let go and how you can transition into parenting adult children!
• Courage is needed in everyday life!
• Linda shares how she found her inner courage and how you can too!

Throughout Linda's experiences she has learned that even if life feels out of control, you can have the inner peace and courage to deal with it!

Resources and Links

Connect with Linda Ward

Linda's Book: Crazy Simple Steps to Feeling Happier

Connect with Deborah Voll

Take The Midlife Quiz

Passion and Purpose Digital Workbook

Book Your Spot for the Free 60 minute Clarity Session here

Jean Atman is a Consciousness Coach and Quantum Healer. Her greatest joy is to spark awakening and facilitate deep level healing in the collective. She has been called to reach beyond her beloved practice and is on a mission to assist in the ascension process on a grander scale.

Jean is passionate about sharing her wisdom, tips, and tools that have proven to be the most effective in influencing her journey as well as for her clients!

What You will learn in our conversation!

• How to stop living on the basement floor and rise to a higher level of vibration! You don't need to sit and suffer! Rise from the basement to the PENTHOUSE!
• The first step towards raising your vibration!
• Things in the universe are happening FOR us!
• Who are you surrounding yourself with each day? Are you surrounding yourself with others that can help you rise to the next floor?
• You are more powerful than you think!
• What you are resisting is the exact thing you need to sit with right now!
• 2022 is a powerful year for purging and letting go! How do we "uplevel" and drop things off? Letting go of old belief systems, pain, and hurt
• How does our subconscious mind hold all the old belief systems?

Jean shares her group coaching program Limitless she will be launching on June 21st you are pop over to her website and check out!

Links and Resources

Connect with Jean Atman

Connect with Deborah Voll

Take The Midlife Quiz

Passion and Purpose Digital Workbook

Book Your Spot for the Free 60 minute Clarity Session here

Cassie Christopher is a Registered Dietitian, Emotional Eating Expert, and owner of Cassie Christopher Health Coaching. She has a Master's degree in Nutrition and specializes in helping women in midlife and beyond find the Courage to Trust themselves around food. She helps women stop the cycle of all-or-nothing dieting that leads to numbing emotions with food so they can develop a supportive relationship with food, their body, and their health, so they can eat with joy instead of eating to seek joy.

Cassie shares why an "all or nothing" dieting causes women to struggle and that compassion for ourselves is the answer! She has definitely turned her pain and life experiences toward helping others and has created a program to support her community!

In my conversation with Cassie, we explore the following

• Food is not the problem ( and neither are you )
• It's time to start listening to your body. It will provide you the clues so you can make choices that support you instead of numbing out and restricting your foods!
• How to learn to have courage and trust surrounding food.
• How to "debrief" after a situation where we have lost control or sense of "will power".
• What you can do instead of stress eating and how to calm your cravings!
• How to jump off the dopamine wagon with certain foods!

The Four Pillars of the Courage and Trust Method

• Calming the Nervous System
• Self Compassion
• Listening to Ourselves

Cassie shares her free resource: You're Done with Dieting but still want to heal emotional eating" with the Calm the Chaos community! The link to this resource is in the show notes!

Resources and Links

Connect with Cassie Christopher

Debbie photo: https://cassiechristopher.net/about-me/#deb

"You're Done Dieting but Still Want to Heal Emotional Eating": cassiechristopher.net/free

Courage to Trust Method: https://cassiechristopher.net/courage-to-trust-method/

Book a free Compassionate Clarity Call with me: https://cassiechristopher.as.me/compassionate-clarity

Connect with Deborah Voll

Take The Midlife Quiz

Passion and Purpose Digital Workbook

My guest this week is Sheree Clark, a Midlife Courage Coach who calls her practice Fork in the Road. Sheree says she became a courage coach because she believes "it takes guts to live the second half of your life for you when you've lived the first half for everyone else."

Sheree has written and presented on topics ranging from managing regrets and finding your passion to overcoming career burnout. A serial entrepreneur, Sheree owned a successful advertising agency for over 25 years before pivoting to become a life coach when she was in her 50s. But Sheree didn't abandon the creativity of the advertising world when she started her coaching practice. She's well-known for her fun talks and presentations as well as the unique exercises she's developed to help clients in achieving their goals.

In her personal time, Sheree enjoys spending time in her art deco home which has been featured in a variety of publications. Sheree and her Maine Coon cat Lotus also work on their yoga poses.

Here are some things that Sheree shares with the listeners!

• If you want something different for yourself you can absolutely have it! No matter what anyone else says, including the voice in your head!
• Unhappiness or unmet potential is one area of your life that steals the joy from other areas of your life.
• One thing you need to have in to be able to make changes or shifts in what you really want is courage. Courage can be created, renewed, and even borrowed.
• At any given moment we are all at a Fork in the Road. Sometimes it's a big decision or smaller choices that are just as important.
• It takes guts to live the second have of your life! Especially when you've lived the first half for everyone else.
• Trust the messages you get. They come through to you at any time. Tune in and be present to yourself.

Links and Resources

Connect with Sheree Clark

Link to Sheree Clark Summit: Why Midlife is a Time for Action! Link here

Connect with Deborah Voll

Take The Midlife Quiz

Passion and Purpose Digital Workbook