We’ve all been there...looking a monumental birthday strait in the eyes thinking, “Yeah, no thanks. Hard pass on the balloons and forced cheer.” That’s exactly where our guest, Stephanie McLaughlin, found herself — staring down 40 and realizing she was in no mood for some cookie-cutter party.

So, instead of throwing some cliché party for her 40th birthday, she launched her Forty Drinks Project — 40 drinks, 40 people, 40 places. No deadlines, no pressure, just Stephanie reconnecting with people who’d been part of her wild ride through life. Think of it as her own sassy spin on that old TV show “This Is Your Life” — except with fewer cringey moments and way more real talk. What started as a boozy adventure turned into a year-long transformation. Conversations...reconnections...truths she didn’t even know she needed. And by the end? Her life had done a total 180. Every conversation, every reconnection peeled back layers she didn’t even know were there. She didn’t just mark her 40th; she redefined it.

Stephanie turned 40 into a damn midlife awakening. What were her revelations, you ask? She realized that in our 20s and 30s, we shrink, we defer, we ignore our gut feelings. But when the midlife awakening hits (around 40-ish), your intuition starts knocking. If you try to ignore it, it’ll go from a gentle tap to a full-on, no-holds-barred smackdown until you finally get the message. And that message? Baby girl..It’s all about trusting yourself.

Yes, it’s uncomfortable. Yes, it’s scary. But here’s the truth bomb: your instincts are your personal GPS, and they don’t need validation from anyone else. Following them might lead you down paths you’ve never seen before — but that’s where the magic happens.

Today, she’s spilling the tea (or maybe the martini) on how this project woke her up to the power of midlife transitions. We’ll talk about how embracing your intuition and shaking off those old “shoulds” can lead to breakdowns, breakthroughs, or — if you're lucky — a little of both.

So grab your drink of choice and get ready, because Stephanie’s about to show us how to navigate midlife with challenge and cheer and, maybe, change your life in the process.

In this episode, Stephanie teaches

1. The midlife transition marks a shift from relying on advice from external sources — friends, family, media, and mentors — to embracing our own internal wisdom, experience, and intuition to guide our decisions and shape our lives.
2. We close off parts of ourselves in our 20s and 30s to defer to these external messages. Part of the midlife awakening is starting to listen to what bubbles up in our own intuition.
3. It is a process. We need to tune into ourselves and we need to start weighing the "shoulds" with what our bodies, internal "information systems" and intuition are telling us is right for US.
4. If you don't wake up and stop paying attention to the external voices, our own internal voice will come with a whisper and get louder until it hits you with full force with a message that cannot be mistaken. And when you learn to listen to your instincts, they will never steer you wrong.
5. There's bravery that comes with following your instincts because they will take you down a path that you've not been down before and that feels uncomfortable

To follow Stephanie:

Website | fortydrinks.com

Instagram | @fortydrinks

Here's the deal, ladies. We all have those moments in life when we look in the mirror and wonder who is that woman staring back at me. We all lose ourselves sometimes. But, in those moments...like Stephanie...we can make a choice. We can allow us to let life get us down OR we can lean into the discomfort, make new choices and transform our lives....what path will you choose? If you want to forge a new life for yourself, you don't have to do it alone. Follow us on Facebook and find us on Instagram. Let's transform our lives together. Cheers to that! 🍸