Feminine Roadmap

Today on Feminine Roadmap guest Molly Galbraith talk about how women can change the world. Molly is the co-founder of Girls Gone Strong and the author of, “Strong Women Lift Each Other Up”. She believes it is important for all women and girls to authentically support each other. She wants to help women overcome their own struggles with not feeling “enough” and thinking that we must compete with one another because there isn’t enough to go around. As a fitness professional Molly has had to work through her own struggle with comparison and that journey to self-acceptance and empowerment has lead her to this mission. When women feel strong, confident and empowered in their bodies and lives then she believes they can change the world. That level of confidence frees their energy up, their focus, away from themselves to the purpose that they are here to fulfill. Molly has laid out practical steps we can take to not only be inspired to become strong women but to actually accomplish it. This episode is full of wise, applicable counsel, clear strategies and strong encouragement. Yes, women can (and do) change the world and you are invited! Grab a cuppa something wonderful, a girlfriend and start that journey today- just click play! And if you would be so kind, please subscribe and rate this episode. We would be ever so grateful!

Today on Feminine Roadmap we are talking about aging audaciously with Lisa Levine. Lisa is an age activist and author of “Midlife No Crisis: An Audacious Guide to Embracing 50’s and Beyond”. Lisa’s message is designed to empower women in midlife to pause and take a good look at what they want for the second half of their lives. Reconnecting with the possibilities that are out there to tap into, embrace and make a reality is a key mindset for aging audaciously. Lisa encourages listeners to pause, take a breath and follow the yes- that thing inside of you that is flickering. Audacious aging is really about taking risks, however small, consistently each day to develop the habit of hearing your inner voice and following that. Sometimes though there’s another inner voice that is a bully and a harsh critic, Lisa points out that just because that voice tells you something doesn’t make it true. Navigating the challenges and changes of moving beyond the paradigms that the world tells us takes awareness and self-compassion, another key component that Lisa focuses on. Audacious aging requires us to trust ourselves, slow down, and make small moves. Everything may be changing right now but it’s ok. If we don’t know what’s next, it’s ok. Everything we do in this life is a choice so why don’t you choose to join us as we talk about audacious aging? Grab a cuppa something wonderful, your best friend, and hit play for this audacious and empowering conversation!

Today on Feminine Roadmap: what to do when times get tough. Often life is not the way we think it should be, it’s more often just the way it is. Struggle and triumph, joy and pain are all a part of the human experience. You know the saying, “Into every life a little rain must fall”? Well what happens when it’s a torrential rain? The struggle to accept when things get tough can be overwhelming but it doesn’t have to be. Gina shares her in the moment, from experience strategies to help you weather when times get tough. Through a series of tried and true steps that are designed to be used in the midst of the tough times, Gina helps guide you through the process. She encourages listeners to begin with accepting the reality that it is a tough time and identifying your role in overcoming it. Many times we find ourselves feeling frustrated, angry or wanting to avoid tough times but if we really want to experience breakthrough then we must turn to face it. If you find yourself struggling with a tough time, how to overcome it and want some help navigating the sometimes murky waters then this episode is for you. Grab a cuppa something wonderful, a good friend and join us! Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss future conversations and please give a good rating for this episode! Thank you!

Today on Feminine Roadmap we talk about the process of living brilliantly resilient. Guests Mary Fran Bontempo and Kristin Smedley share their mission to help others live brilliantly resilient so that they can come through struggles and setbacks brilliant and not broken. Resilience, it turns out, exists in everyone, we don’t have to go look for it but only to activate it. Both women learned this when they experienced major personal setbacks that were catalysts for them to activate their own resilience. When the women met they realized that they shared intense sucker punches from life that they were both able to overcome. Together they decided to create a platform to help others activate their resilience just as the world was collectively experiencing shut down due to the pandemic. Join us to hear about their amazing journey and the powerful process that they developed to empower people to be brilliantly resilient. Grab a cuppa something wonderful, a friend in the trenches with you and press play!

Today on Feminine Roadmap Gina is saying hello from the hallway of life. Of course, she isn’t in a physical hallway but in a holding place she “affectionately” calls the hallway. Life is full of seasons, situations, stops, starts and decisions so Gina breaks down what her current holding place (or hallway) is. This raw and uncut chat is from a place of not having answers but seeking to find the lessons. Most of us have been in the hallway of life where all doors seem to be closed and the keys you possess don’t seem to be able to unlock any of them so we sit and wait. Unfortunately, sometimes the sitting and waiting creates resistance and complaining. Gina believes that even in that there is a lesson to be learned and a gift to be found. She talks about her own hallway struggle with dissatisfaction and frustration, resistance and bad attitudes. But in this conversation, she wants to share how she has been leaning in a bit more, finding that light, that gift, that lesson. If you find yourself in a place of pause, a hallway without open doors, Gina gets it and wants to share that journey with you. She also wants to remind you that this is a season, this too will pass and we’ll get through this together. Grab a cuppa something wonderful, a hallway friend, and join her for this honest conversation.

Today on Feminine Roadmap we are talking about getting lean in midlife with Juline Gurney. Juline is a 57 year old mom, grandmother and bikini fitness competitor. Juline shares how she was not always fit and healthy, as a matter of fact she had a wake up call at 38 years old that changed her life. After suffering a stroke, she had to completely rehabilitate for 6 months. Juline has taken her health journey and created a mission to help other women to change their lives while changing their bodies. She believes that we women can do anything we put our minds to including reclaiming and reshaping our bodies. Even if your goal is not to get on stage in a bikini (spoiler alert – it wasn’t hers either), you can get your body to a place that feels good and right for you. Juline takes time to debunk midlife fitness myths and to make fitness less intimidating. Whether you are super fit, sort of fit or having a fit – this conversation is for you. Juline’s story, practical advice and strategies are just the tools that can begin (or support) your fitness journey. This is the perfect episode to grab a cuppa something wonderful (think water), a good girlfriend and go take a walk while you listen to this empowering conversation!

So this is 54… Gina reflects on what 54 years of living has taught her. Life has been an adventure, a journey, a challenge, a mystery, and so it continues. As Gina ponders,”So this is 54,” she also draws lessons and perspectives that can empower life right now. Living life is a gift and when it is lived by degrees then we can build a life that we enjoy and can be proud of. So the question is: “What can you do?” Our age is just a marker along the road of life not a definition, our age allows us to chronicle who we’ve become, what we’ve done and where we’ve been so that we can chart a course for the next part of this journey called life. So many of us have accomplished so much that we don’t give ourselves credit for. Birthdays are a great time to reflect on the life we’ve lived so far and to consider: what can we do going forward? Life is lived in the moments, the daily decisions and actions we take so what can we do by degrees to make our midlife our best life?

So this is 54 is Gina’s starting point. What is your starting point? What can you do to make this next day, week, month, year the best one yet? Remember what you have already accomplished so far and know that YES YOU CAN do the next thing- not all at once, not perfectly, but just by degrees. Go ahead, grab a cuppa something wonderful, join Gina and get ready to start rocking your midlife.

Today on Feminine Roadmap guest Alexandra Levin encourages listeners to define their own authentic beauty. In a culture that values erasing any traces of aging and pursuing the appearance of youth as the standard of beauty, this conversation seeks to broaden the definition of beauty. Midlife is a season of many changes in our lives, not just our bodies but in our minds as well. Defining our own authentic beauty is an important part of the aging process. Alexandra has chosen to embrace the changes on her face and body, looking at the lines and wrinkles as reminders of the life she’s lived. She believes that her wrinkles are full of her life’s story and she loves that. Alexandra sees those changes as the authentic expression of who she is. She challenges listeners to think about the reasons why we want to change the way we look. Is it to gain approval? Is it because it’s expected of us? Is it because someone else has told us to? If we struggle to change how we look to be “good enough” then we are projecting that we are not good enough as we are. Alexandra wants women to love themselves first enough to care about what’s best for them rather than to conform to whatever someone else wants. One of the key steps is to give ourselves permission to free ourselves from external definitions of beauty and create our own. The next step is to engage in what brings us joy and not allowing anything around us to steal that joy. Grab a cuppa something wonderful, a sister friend and join in on this age affirming conversation. Be reminded that only YOU can define your own authentic beauty.

Today’s episode is a cuppa encouragement for you as 2021 gets rolling. Gina shares how she is taking on the new year and encourages us to do things a little differently. Using a life color wheel she’s taking on 7 key areas of her life and challenges listeners to step back in order to reconnect with who they really are. After fulfilling so many roles in our lives Gina focuses on remembering those bits and pieces of us that have been either lost or set aside over the years. Why those bits and pieces? Because in those bits and pieces we can reassemble the person we were, who we wanted to be and the things that we dreamt of doing. Grab a cuppa something wonderful and join Gina to talk about where you are now and where you want to go in the new year, maybe pick up a few pieces of encouragement to help you create the year that you want to have. www.feminineroadmap.com/episode208/

If you’ve ever wondered what life is like after 90, just ask Sylvia Anthony who believes life begins at 90. Sylvia knows what she’s talking about too because in 2020 she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Her inspirational story is one of perseverance and focus. Sylvia believes "the golden years" are a time to gear up and get busy, not relax and take it easy. She has faced many hardships over her lifetime but she says they have made her stronger and more determined. After losing her second husband to cancer she became the founder and president of Sylvia's Haven, a shelter for women and children near Boston. Through her ministry at Sylvia’s Haven, she has helped transform over 1086 lives in the past 35 years! This organization is everything to her, she even calls it her "magnificent obsession!" Sylvia has also authored a book about her life called "Till the End of Time" which was published when she was 85 years old. In her book she tells the story of being born an unwanted child, abused and neglected by her parents but loved and cherished by her grandparents. Her story takes us through all of her challenges and triumphs including an abusive marriage resulting in 3 children, to becoming a single mother and finding love in a second marriage. While she admits that life hasn't been easy throughout the years, Sylvia firmly believes that God not only gives her courage during times of hardship, but also keeps her healthy so that she may realize a dream of hers which is to open up a shelter, Sylvia's Haven, in all 50 states! Join us for an inspiring conversation with this amazing 91 year old dynamo who is living a vibrant, active and incredibly meaningful life helping homeless women. Grab a cuppa something wonderful, a good friend and get ready to get inspired! www.feminineroadmap.com/episode207/