Highly Flammable

Well, the tables have turned! 🔥

This week on Highly Flammable, my good friend Marie—who also happens to be my very first podcast guest—is taking over the microphone and putting ME in the hot seat.

And let me tell you, answering the questions is a whole different experience than asking them. Ha!

🔥 Come hang out with us!

Love these conversations? Join the Highly Flammable VIP list! Every week, I share a personal note, a little behind-the-scenes scoop, and the thoughts, laughs, and occasional overshares that don't always make it onto the podcast.

Think of it as a little midlife girlfriend energy delivered straight to your inbox. No pressure to have it all figured out. Just good conversations, fresh perspectives, and a reminder that there's still so much life to live.

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Marie and I go all the way back to our single-girl days, so she knows a version of me that you haven't met yet.

We talk about why I started Highly Flammable, how a podcast inspired by perimenopause turned into something so much bigger, and what I've learned from the incredible women who've shared their stories with me.

We also get into the woman I was in my twenties, the unconventional choices I've made along the way, and how I spent some time believing that the spontaneous, spicy, glittery parts of myself needed to be put away.

Spoiler alert: I'm bringing her back.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why I started Highly Flammable (and the story behind the name)

• What interviewing women in midlife has taught me about identity, confidence, and change

• How this podcast has unexpectedly lit a fire in my own life

• What I'd tell my 29-year-old self

• Motherhood, getting older, and what I'm dreaming about next

• Why I'm done believing that growing older means growing out of the parts of myself I love

If there's one thing I know at 49, it's that we're only here once. And I plan on having a damn good time.

Let's stay connected!

Follow Highly Flammable on Spotify so you never miss a Tuesday episode.

Find me on Instagram: @gillianchristie

And if this episode made you laugh, think, or remember a little piece of yourself you'd forgotten, share it with a girlfriend.

Because women in midlife don't get a roadmap. We get each other. ❤️

What do you want your money to make possible in midlife?

A career change? More freedom? Knowing you can take care of yourself? Or enjoying the life you’ve worked so hard to build?

Jean Chatzky, founder of HerMoney and author of The Forever Paycheck, joins me for an honest conversation about money, financial independence, retirement, and starting over.

Jean shares what happened the year she turned 40: her father passed away, she got divorced, and she got fired. We talk about rebuilding, why owning her own home mattered so deeply, and what she’d say to a woman who feels financially behind in her 40s or 50s.

We also explore the other side of saving: why spending can feel uncomfortable even when you have enough and how to make room for joy along the way.

Join the Highly Flammable VIP list: Personal notes from me, behind-the-scenes moments, and first access to what’s coming next. Join Here!

In this episode:

• What money makes possible in Jean’s life today

• The money beliefs we bring with us from childhood

• Her dad’s private bucket list—and Jean’s marathon at 60

• Divorce, starting over, and building financial independence

• What to consider before keeping the house in a divorce

• Feeling financially behind in midlife

• Why catching up involves more than giving up coffee

• Money avoidance, shame, and getting clear about your numbers

• Spending on things that bring you joy

• The Forever Paycheck and planning for retirement income

• Becoming more confident in your choices as you get older

Connect with Jean:

HerMoney and the HerMoney podcast:
https://hermoney.com/

The Forever Paycheck: Grab a copy on Amazon and keep the conversation going! Find Jean’s book on Amazon⁠

This is an affiliate link, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Discover your MoneyType:
https://moneytype.hermoney.com/

Financial counseling resources mentioned in the episode:
https://www.afcpe.org/

Connect with Gillian:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gillianchristie/
Highly Flammable VIP list: https://gillianchristiegroup.myflodesk.com/highlyflammable

If this conversation made you think of a friend, send it her way. We don’t have to figure all of this out alone.

This conversation is for general education and shares personal experiences. It is not individualized financial, investment, tax, or legal advice.

What does playing small actually look like when, from the outside, your life already looks successful?

Autumn Ceniza spent ten years as a stay-at-home mom before getting into real estate, building an incredibly successful business, and eventually creating Coterie, a private community for women entrepreneurs built around real connection, bigger conversations, and women helping one another step into what’s next. But one of the most interesting parts of her story is realizing that even as her life expanded, there were still places where she was downplaying herself, questioning whether her success was luck, and worrying about being “too much.”

In this conversation, we talk about going back to work after years at home with kids, the courage it takes to stop shrinking, women and money, outgrowing old versions of ourselves, and what can happen when you finally trust that you’re allowed to keep evolving.

We also talk about the difference between 31-year-old Autumn and 41-year-old Autumn, and the younger version of herself who used to dream big before life taught her to be more practical.

In this episode:

• Going back to work after ten years as a stay-at-home mom
• The fear of being “too much”
• Why women sometimes downplay their own success
• Taking more ownership of money
• Outgrowing friendships, roles, and old identities
• What midlife can reveal about who we were before the world got louder

Connect with Autumn

Instagram: @autumnceniza
Coterie: @meetcoterie

Connect with Gillian and Highly Flammable

Instagram: @gillianchristie
Listen to more episodes of Highly Flammable wherever you get your podcasts.

Permission, Out Loud

Permission, Out Loud is this Thursday at 12 PM Pacific.

It’s a live one-hour Zoom for women who know there’s something they want, but keep talking themselves out of it. We’re going to say some of those things out loud, quiet the committee in our heads a little, and be in a room of women who get it.

Tickets are $19. Save your spot here!

What if confidence isn’t knowing exactly how everything is going to work out?

What if it’s trusting that you’ll be okay even when you don’t know what happens next?

This week, Gillian sits down with entrepreneur Claire Risoli for a conversation about self-trust, doing things scared, and the kind of clarity that can come in midlife when you start caring a lot less about how your life looks and a lot more about how it actually feels to live it.

Claire’s path has been anything but linear. She’s moved through music, marketing, entrepreneurship, network marketing, motherhood, and restaurant ownership, often saying yes before she felt completely ready and figuring things out along the way.

But what happens when something you worked incredibly hard to build no longer fits?

Claire and Gillian talk about the confidence that comes from doing, the difference between pushing through fear and knowing when it’s time to change direction, ambition, freedom, motherhood, and giving yourself permission to want something different.

And stay until the end. Claire shares a story about her family that brings the whole conversation full circle in a way neither of them expected.

In this episode:

• Doing things scared instead of waiting to feel ready
• Why confidence is built through action
• Trusting yourself when you don’t know the outcome
• Knowing when perseverance becomes something else
• Changing your mind about something you worked hard to create
• Why midlife can change the way we define success
• Ambition, motherhood, freedom and self-trust
• The small choices that can change a family’s trajectory

Connect with Claire

Website: clairerisoli.com
Instagram: @claire_risoli

Connect with Gillian and Highly Flammable

Instagram: @gillianchristie

Want the behind-the-scenes notes, what didn’t make the edit, and first access to what’s coming next? Join the Highly Flammable VIP list

Permission, Out Loud 🔥

October 22 at 12 PM Pacific · Live on Zoom · $19

If there’s something you keep wanting but keep talking yourself out of, come spend an hour with me.

My hope is that you leave feeling clearer, lighter, more excited, and a little more brave—with more trust in yourself and a clearer sense of what your next yes might be.

Join Permission, Out Loud

This isn't a transition. It’s a takeover.

What happens when you’ve spent years talking about reinvention — and suddenly you’re right in the middle of your own?

Wendy Battles, host of Reinvention Rebels, joins me for a candid conversation about what it looks like to choose yourself in midlife, trust what you already know, and stop editing parts of who you are just to keep things comfortable. Wendy talks about how her understanding of reinvention has changed, why some realizations happen slowly, and what she’s learning about self-trust in this chapter of her life.

We get into the difference between knowing something needs to change and being ready to act on it, why discernment doesn’t always require immediate action, and Wendy’s idea that courage can be a choice — not just something we summon when life forces our hand, but something we practice when we decide to move toward the life we want.

We also talk about:

• the subtle ways we can start making ourselves smaller without realizing it
• choosing yourself without needing everyone else to understand
• rebuilding self-worth through surprisingly ordinary decisions
• why small acts of courage matter
• relationships, discernment, and becoming more honest about what fits
• what Wendy is officially done being sensible about
• finding delight even when the world feels noisy and uncertain

This week’s question:
Where could you choose courage on purpose — not because life is forcing you to, but because there’s something you want to move toward?

🔥 Permission, Out Loud — October 22
I’m hosting a one-hour live experience for women in midlife who are ready to stop talking themselves out of what they want. Spots are intentionally limited. Find the details and reserve your spot in the links below.

Listen to Wendy:
Reinvention Rebels — wherever you listen to podcasts.

Want first dibs on things like Permission, Out Loud?
Join the Highly Flammable VIP list for behind-the-scenes notes, what didn’t make the edit, and first access to events and workshops.

🔥 Permission, Out Loud: Grab your spot for Permission, Out Loud
💌 Highly Flammable VIP: Join the VIP list
🎧 Reinvention Rebels: Listen to Wendy’s podcast

📸 Reinvention Rebels on Instagram: Follow Reinvention Rebels
📱 Instagram: Follow Gillian @gillianchristie

This isn’t a transition. It’s a takeover.

What happens when you stop trying to prove you belong and start trusting that who you are is enough?

At 78, Marhnelle Hibbard has the kind of perspective that only comes from living through a lot of chapters: marriage, motherhood, business, reinvention, mistakes, success, and starting over more than once.

In this episode, we talk about self-trust, long-term partnership, the stories we carry about success, what changes when you stop hiding parts of yourself, and why midlife can be such a powerful moment to ask what still fits and what doesn’t.

There’s also a lot here about play, friendship, faith, courage, and the freedom that can come from finally being more fully yourself.

✨ Want a little more Highly Flammable between episodes? Join the VIP list for behind-the-scenes thoughts, things that didn’t make the edit, and first access to what we’re building next.

In this episode:

• How growing up in survival mode shaped Marhnelle’s independence
• What she learned about being strong without disappearing inside a relationship
• The beliefs she carried for years about being “qualified enough”
• Why self-acceptance changed the way she showed up in work and life
• How her definition of success has changed over time
• What she is discovering about friendship and play in this season of life
• The midlife questions she thinks more women should be asking themselves
• What courage looks like when you stop waiting to feel completely ready
• How faith has softened the way she sees herself and other people
• Why she keeps coming back to one simple question: why not?

Follow Gillian and Highly Flammable:
Instagram: @gillianchristie

✨ Join the Highly Flammable VIP list: Behind-the-scenes, off-cut conversations, and first access to events and whatever we light on fire next.

If this episode made you think of a woman who needs to hear it, send it to her.

And remember: it’s not a transition. It’s a takeover.

What’s gotten unexpectedly better with age?

At 49, Gillian is noticing that getting older isn’t making her less interested in life, it’s making her more selective about what actually feels good, matters, and lights her up.

In this short solo episode, she talks about deep female friendships, early bedtimes, disco in the kitchen, heirloom beans, thrift-store art, and yes… some very good orgasms.

It’s a funny, personal reflection on the little things that get better, the things that matter more, and the stuff you finally stop caring so much about.

If your priorities have quietly changed, and you're liking the new version of yourself, this one’s for you.

Join the Highly Flammable VIP list for behind-the-scenes thoughts, off-cut topics, and first access to what Gillian is building next.

Follow Gillian on Instagram: @gillianchristie

At 49, I’m still ambitious. I still want big things.

But lately I’ve been thinking a lot more about what actually deserves my time.

Inspired by Four Thousand Weeks and a few uncomfortable realizations about my own relationship with success, I’m looking at the difference between ambition and proving, the things we think we’re supposed to want, and what happens when you finally start asking: Do I actually want this?

This is a solo episode about ambition, motherhood, success, time and why I think midlife is making me much more selective about what gets the best of me.

🔥 Want more behind the scenes of Highly Flammable? Join the VIP list for extra thoughts, what’s happening behind the mic, and first access to what I’m building next.

We get into what it means to want big things without wanting everything, why “not now” doesn’t always mean “no,” and a few of the very random ways I’m realizing I may still be following rules I don’t even believe in.

And yes, somehow a Porsche makes its way into this conversation.

🎧 Listen now, and send this one to a friend who might also be asking herself: What’s actually worth my time now?

🔥 Join the Highly Flammable VIP list for behind-the-scenes notes, new episodes, and first access to what’s coming next.

Follow Highly Flammable:
Instagram: @gillianchristie

Mentioned in this episode:
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

Disclaimer: Personal stories and opinions shared on Highly Flammable are not medical advice. Talk to your own provider about your individual health and medical needs.

Erin Keating didn’t build a life she secretly wanted to escape. She wanted the career, the marriage, the family, the successful grown-up life she had worked so hard to create.

And then, somewhere along the way, being incredibly good at carrying all of it stopped being enough.

This conversation is funny, candid, a little spicy, and much less about blowing up your life than it is about coming back into it as yourself.

Want the behind-the-scenes version of Highly Flammable? Join the VIP list for new episodes, my thoughts after these conversations, and first access to everything I’m building.

Erin and I talk about outgrowing a life you genuinely chose, why pleasure became a way back to herself, ambition, motherhood, body image, dating, emotional availability, and what it means to still wonder whether you’ve really gone for it.

We also talk about why, after 135 episodes of Hotter Than Ever, Erin decided it was time to reinvent again and build Broad Collective.

Connect with Erin

Broad Collective: broadcollective.com
Substack: broadcollective.substack.com

Stay Connected with Highly Flammable

Make sure you’re following or subscribed to Highly Flammable so you don’t miss what’s next, and if you’ve been loving the show, leaving a rating or review helps more women find us.

Join the Highly Flammable VIP list for new episodes, behind-the-scenes thoughts, and first access to live workshops, events, and everything else we're building.

If this episode made you think of a woman in your life, send it to her. ❤️‍🔥

This isn’t a transition. It’s a takeover.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and reflects the personal experiences and opinions of the host and guests. It is not intended as medical, mental health, legal, or financial advice.

Lisa Jimenez and Gillian met nearly twenty years ago, when both were living very different versions of their lives. This conversation is the first time they’ve really sat down and caught up in years and there was a lot of life to catch up on.

After decades in corporate America, Lisa went on to create She Is Me Global, a community built around giving women space to tell their stories, be heard, and support one another.

In this episode, Lisa shares how that work grew out of her own experiences, why women need spaces to gather outside of work and home, and what she has learned about creativity, perfectionism, joy, self-forgiveness, and saying no.

They also talk about returning to parts of yourself you may have left behind and the things we can keep carrying long after we actually need them.

Content note: This conversation includes discussion of domestic violence, abusive relationships, and growing up around alcoholism.

We get into:

• Why women need a “third place”
• The connection between creativity and letting go of perfection
• Finding joy in ordinary things
• Anger, powerlessness, and self-forgiveness
• Returning to parts of yourself you left behind
• Saying no more often
• Creating the kind of community you wish already existed

Connect with Lisa:
She Is Me Global: Sheismeglobal.com
Lisa’s book: The Woman the Water Made

Join the Highly Flammable VIP list: Get on the list babe!

Make sure you’re following or subscribed to Highly Flammable so you don’t miss what’s next, and if you’ve been loving the show, leaving a rating or review helps more women find us.

Highly Flammable is rooted in personal stories and lived experiences. Nothing in this episode is medical advice. Please talk with your own doctor, therapist, or qualified provider about what’s right for your body, your health, and your life.