What if “I’m too old” isn’t a fact, but a story we’ve been telling ourselves for so long it started to sound true?

In this Nudge episode, I explore the particular gremlin that insists we’ve missed our chance or gotten too old for something—and the possibility that maybe we’re not too late at all. Maybe we’re just standing at a threshold, looking at doors we haven’t tried yet.

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In this Play Date episode, I’m talking with creativity coach, writer, artist, and podcaster Catherine LaSota about becoming your own authority—questioning the expectations you’ve absorbed, trusting the path that actually fits you, and building a life around your real values and needs instead of somebody else’s idea of how you should be doing it.

We talk about giving ourselves permission to make our own rules, creating lives that are sustainable instead of simply productive, following the threads that pull at us, and why fun isn’t nearly as frivolous as we’ve been taught to believe.

We also get into winding career paths, creative identity, and Catherine’s delightfully named Be Your Own Daddy approach to becoming your own authority figure.

And perhaps the most important point: you are never going to be the valedictorian of life. Which means maybe we can all stop trying quite so hard to earn the A+.

Find Catherine at catherinelasota.com and her podcast, Feed the Art.

Sign up for Catherine's free Fall Equinox Writing Workshop on Sep 22, 2026 HERE 

Making an independent podcast takes time, coffee, and yes, actual money. If this episode made you laugh, think, or see something a little differently, please consider supporting the show by "buying me a coffee" -- we all know how much I like a good cuppa.

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Have you ever caught yourself rushing when you have absolutely nowhere you need to be?

In this Nudge, I’m sharing the morning I found myself hurrying just so I could relax and meditate. (Yes, I see the irony.)

It got me wondering how often we rush simply because we’ve gotten used to rushing—and whether the pace of our lives might be a little more ours to choose than we think.

Consider this episode your invitation to question the hurry.

Making an independent podcast takes time, coffee, and yes, actual money. If this episode made you laugh, think, or see something a little differently, please consider supporting the show by "buying me a coffee" -- we all know how much I like a good cuppa.

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Somewhere around midlife, the roles that used to fit us start to feel like pants that won't button — and creativity, it turns out, is how we find our way back to who's underneath them. In this Play Date, I sit down with artist and midlife transformation mentor Minette Riordan to bust the myth that creativity = art (blame the Renaissance), explore why wordless collage can crack open truths we didn't know we were hiding, and talk about what happens when you finally give yourself permission to put art at the center of your life instead of cramming it into the leftover minutes. Along the way: the "cup and saucer" wisdom about filling your own well, why resistance is often just fear wearing a disguise, and Minette's gorgeously defiant mantra — be the queen of your own damn story. 

Making an independent podcast takes time, coffee, and yes, actual money. If this episode made you laugh, think, or see something a little differently, please consider supporting the show by "buying me a coffee" -- we all know how much I like a good cuppa.

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I grew up in the era of fine china saved for occasions that never came, and formal living rooms no one was allowed to sit in — a whole generation preparing for a party that never quite happened.

Turns out I never outgrew asking why. In this Nudge episode, I follow that question somewhere I didn't expect — from the stuff in our closets to the beliefs and dreams we've quietly packed away and stopped looking at altogether.

What are you saving instead of savoring? I have a hunch, by the end of this episode, you'll have some unexpected answers, too.

Making an independent podcast takes time, coffee, and yes, actual money. If this episode made you laugh, think, or see something a little differently, please consider supporting the show by "buying me a coffee" -- we all know how much I like a good cuppa.

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This is a Nudge with a twist — because last week, my friend Kim Turcotte (you'll remember her from our very first Play Date) sent an email that got me thinking, and I immediately texted her: "We need to talk about this on the podcast."

So we did. Kim and I dig into the phrase "the lazy days of summer" and why so many of us feel the pull to slow down right now — and why that pull isn't laziness, it's wisdom. We talk about the difference between stillness and rest, why summer's fallow time feels so different from winter's, and what Kim calls "untraining" ourselves out of a culture that only knows how to go, go, go.

If you've ever stood over your own to-do list demanding it hurry up and grow, this one's for you.

Kim shares more about living in seasonal rhythm through her Sacred Rhythms offering HERE.

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Sarah Raad has spent her career working with creative women who are stuck in the loop: overthinking, second-guessing, circling the same ideas, and never quite feeling ready. Sound familiar?

In this episode, we dig into why rest isn't laziness, why confidence isn't coming no matter how many online courses you take, and why picking one idea and letting the rest wait might do more for your creativity than chasing every single one.

You'll also hear about the surprisingly powerful case for doing things you're bad at, why creative women need space to think more than they need more advice, and how a monthly journaling session became Sarah's favorite thing she does.

Sarah is a coach and mentor for creative women, and writes the Substack Gather & Grow. Find her at www.sarahraad.com.

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My guest today is Kate Buckmeier — former neighbor, fellow quilter, and the mastermind behind something she calls The Grandma Project. Around her 49th birthday, the idea for the project arrived fully formed: twelve months, twelve activities pulled straight from the lives of her two grandmothers. Golf. Sauerkraut making. Contra dancing. Watching Days of Our Lives.

We talk about why women are so quick to talk themselves out of the ideas that come "fully formed," and why the word serve can feel like both a calling and a trigger. Kate opens up about growing up on her family farm in a small Minnesota town, the theme she calls "the dance between holding on and letting go," and what she now knows about connection, joy, and duty because of the women who helped raised her.

If this stirs something in you — a memory, an idea, a curiosity you've set aside — come find The Wonder Project, my free series of small invitations to reconnect with play.

And, for Kate's original blog post on the project, visit: https://katebuckmeier.com/the-grandma-project/

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Life gets busy. Responsibilities get loud. And somewhere along the way, many of us stop noticing the little things that make us smile. In this episode, we're exploring what happens when we get curious about fun again—and why rediscovering it doesn't have to mean making big changes. Sometimes it starts with a couple simple questions.

Links: 

https://annmarieboyle.com/the-wonder-project/

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If you've ever talked yourself out of the art class, the afternoon off, the thing that would genuinely make your life more beautiful — and told yourself it was about the money or the time — this one's for you. In this Nudge, I'm following a question that found me twice in less than a week: are you letting yourself have the things that bring you joy? Not the things you can justify. Not the things you've earned. The things that actually make you feel more like yourself.

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