Old Chicks Know Sh*t Podcast

On today’s podcast episode we’re talking about why midlife is actually the perfect time for radical personal change. 

Meet Sue Willoughby, a powerhouse coach who  guides women over 40 to break through their personal barriers using the transformative power of Equus Coaching. Yes you read the right Horses, who help her clients discover the profound impact of non-verbal communication and self-awareness through interactions with horses.

Sue’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. Raised by a single alcoholic parent, she learned resilience and self-sufficiency early on. She faced numerous challenges, from coming out at 17 to attempting suicide at 19. Her life took a turn for the better when she found support and the opportunity to relocate, return to school, create a new career and became a successful real estate investor.

With a lifelong passion for horses, Sue transformed her love for these majestic animals into a coaching career, providing the support she once needed. Sue’s life is a testament to stepping out of comfort zones—she’s been a nightclub DJ, standup comic, actor, private pilot, and Roller Derby referee.

We talk about why midlife at midlife we are perfectly prepared to make big life shifts and the role of intuition in guiding our decisions and the need to trust and listen to our own inner voice.

It’s a fascinating conversation that offers much insight into how we navigate the inevitable changes that we face at this time of life.

Web: http://www.willoughbycoaching.com/ IG: http://www.instagram.com/sue_willoughby FB: https://www.facebook.com/willoughbycoaching LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suewilloughby/

On this weeks episode of the podcast I’m fan-girling a bit because I get to interview a woman that I have been following for more than 20 years. I was a religious reader of her magazine column in the 90’s and have purchased all of her books. Today she shares with me her inspiring multiple reinvention stories from an overweight unhappy housewife  in an abusive marriage to fitness icon to tragedy, bankruptcy and finally discovering her true self.

Tosca Reno, is a  New York Times bestselling author and founder of the Eat Clean diet movement who became a model and celebrity in the fitness world in her 40’s at time when it was unheard of for a woman of her age, only to have it all come crashing down after the death of her stepson and husband. Faced with having to reinvent her life yet again Tosca began a deep emotional and spiritual journey of self-discovery and healing. 

Through this journey, she  learned the importance of authenticity, emotional self-care, and connecting with her inner self. Tosca discusses the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone and embracing change in order to live a fulfilled life. She shares her own journey of letting go of her old identity in order to find her true self. 

More about Tosca:

Hi! I'm Tosca Reno, a New York Times best selling author and founder of the Eat-Clean Diet. Thanks for joining me. I've created this short course to help introduce the concepts of my Eat Clean System. After thousands of group and personal coaching sessions with my clients over the years, it's clear there is a need for greater clarity about how to Eat Clean and implement it into your life.  

You can find her at: @toscareno on IG, Facebook and YouTube

The journey of reinventing yourself to find yourself and live your best midlife  is often not an easy one. It requires us to step out of our comfort zone to confront ourselves time and time again. Today I’m chatting with Theresa Lear Levine, an EFT Master Practitioner and Hypnotherapist and author of a book called Becoming More Me who helps her clients align with their most authentic life through an integrative approach to nervous system regulation, subconscious mind work, law of attraction, and energy strategy.

In this episode, we dive deep dive into:

• Releasing Fears & Limiting Beliefs: Discover how shedding doubts can help you align with your true self.

This conversation is a reminder that true growth starts from within and that we all have what it takes to find our most authentic selves and live a life that feels truly meaningful to us.

You can find out more about Theresa and her work here:

becomingmoreme.com

theresalearlevine.com

@theresalearlevine

youtube.com/@theresalearlevine

This episode of the podcast is all about empowering women take control of their finances to create the life they want.  My guest, Libby Wildman, is a financial planner with 35 years of experience in helping her clients reach their financial goals while wading through all the details and the emotions to arrive at a place where your money is a tool that helps you achieve your life goals. She is skilled at helping you have your money work for you and implementing proven strategies to have you arrive at a place where you know what your money can accomplish for you.  She is a continuous student in both tax and estate planning as well as understanding the psychology behind the “money brain”.

In this conversation we explore the reasons why many women feel disempowered around money, including societal conditioning and intergenerational beliefs.  We also talk about the beliefs and behaviours that might be holding us back from the financial life we want. Libby shares practical advice and strategies for achieving our financial goals, even when we think we might be behind or its too late. We also dive deep into the topic of finances and relationships with what Libby calls financial infidelity. She shares the importance of open communication and aligned goals. 

We also dive deep into the idea of finding meaning and purpose for your life while also planning and saving for retirement,  how we define retirement  and the different ways to approach work and financial security in later stages of life 

This is an informative and insightful episode that will definitely make you think about how you are approaching your finances in this chapter of life. 

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Libby Wildman a principal at Davis Rhea Financial has over 35 years of financial services and planning experience. Libby has the expertise, education and industry knowledge to provide insight and the right answers for her client’s individual questions and circumstances. She is a continuous student in both tax and estate planning as well as understanding the psychology behind the “money brain”. Libby believes that as humans, self connection drives so much of our behaviours. To this end she creates retreat experiences, to help people know their purpose and work on their relationship with money. She also founded a women’s entrepreneur community, The Collective, to help women scale and feel seen while connecting with other super successful female business owners.

Find our more about Libby at:

www.LibbyWildman.com

LinkedIn: Libby Wildman

Instagram:  Libby Wildman

Today’s guest is Jean Peleen, an 83-year-old writer, speaker, and activist who refers to herself as a serial re-inventionist. She has reinvented her life over and over again from stay-at-home mom to lawyer, to elected official, to model and actress and so much more.  We chat about the inspiration behind her multiple reinventions and how she knew it was time to move on from one phase of her life to the next. Jean emphasizes the importance of embracing new opportunities, learning new things, taking risks and living boldly, even if it means starting from scratch.  And she shares her winning formula to help us do that. 

We also talked about the importance of older women taking on new roles as leaders, teachers, and mentors and the need to find ways to connect with younger generations. 

This was lively conversation that contains so much insight and wisdom from a women who has most definitely been there and done that. She has much to share with the world through her reinvention experiences. This conversation was pure gold. I just love learning from the women who have gone before us.  I  hope you enjoy it as much  as I did. 

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Jean Peelen is an eighty-three year old first time writer,  leader of many lives and  believer in living life boldly. Currently exploring who we are when we are old. She is the founder of  “Old Women Who Write” a writing group for women to create, express themselves and share their wisdom with the world. 

You can find out more about Jean at:

https://www.oldwomenwhowrite.com/

 https://www.jeanpeelen.com/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeanpeelen

Although on the surface today’s conversation appears to be about weight loss and fitness but  it goes so much deeper than that. 

My guest is Julia Lin, author of 'My Power Decade’, body builder and fitness coach who shares her inspiring transformation story from being sick and overweight to competing in fitness shows at the age of 62.  

What I love about Julia’s story is that it’s not just about physical transformation. She shares the deep mindset and spiritual journey that has lead to her living as the best version of herself in all areas of life.

Julia shares that the foundation of any lasting physical or life change is built from the inside out.  

We chat about self love and acceptance, having a vision vs a goal, working through limiting beliefs, getting your mindset right and tuning into soul whispers to guide your path.  

I loved this conversation so much as we touch on all my favourite things. Julia is a such an inspiration  for all of us looking to live our best lives well into our later years.  

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Have you embraced your grey hair? I am always in awe of the beauty of women who own and rock their silver tresses. I will admit that I am not quite there yet. But I think about it often.

In this episode of the podcast I chat with  Alexis Eizinas , the founder of Silvering Beauty, a beauty company for women embracing their grey hair. Silvering Beauty offers innovative products and education for women with silvering hair, helping them embrace their natural beauty. 

We discuss the societal stigma around grey hair, the internal growth that comes with embracing it, and the importance of redefining beauty standards. Alexis shares her journey of starting Silvering Beauty and the challenges she faced in creating products specifically for women with silvering hair. She also educates us on the unique qualities of silver hair  - did you know that grey hair is not actually grey, its translucent? And as a result we need to take special care of our silver tresses. We also talk about scalp care, and the impact of silvering hair on makeup choices. 

Our conversation also explores the concept of authenticity and the empowerment that comes from embracing one's natural self. With the tag line Wisdom. Is. Beautiful, the Silvering Beauty brand  is all about  inspiring women to embrace their silvering hair and feel confident in their own skin.

An inspiring story about how Alexis found purpose by using her expertise and experience to uplift woman as they age.

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Alexis Eizinas is the founder of Silvering, the first North American beauty brand to provide cosmetics and haircare uniquely designed to amplify — never hide — the true beauty of naturally silvering hair. Leveraging over 30 years of experience in the beauty industry and her experience trying to find products that worked with her own silvering hair, Alexis created a truly innovative and contemporary product line for the modern woman who has ‘embraced her greys’.  Silvering launched in 2023. The company's tagline Wisdom. Is. Beautiful. -- speaks volumes about Alexis’ mission to change the way all women perceive silvering hair, to see it as a powerful, beautiful outward expression of growing up. Nothing to hide here.

Instagram: @Silvering_Beauty

Facebook: Silvering Beauty

Website: www.SilveringBeauty.com

In todays episode I chat with Jennifer Cooper who is the founder of Jennifer Magazine, an online publication which is challenging the cultural narrative for women over 40. Known as the “Anti- Cosmo” its all about the resilience and power of women at time where they are often being overlooked and underestimated.  She shares her personal journey and the challenges of starting the publication that steps out of the mainstream while also stepping into the unknown and challenging what she thought possible for herself. 

This conversation explores the themes of women as change makers, challenging age stereotypes, embracing the future, finding purpose and meaning, unraveling limiting beliefs and choosing to create a life aligned with who you are.  We also chat about women supporting each other and power of collective support, inspiring others and expanding our understanding of possibility for orusleves. 

Jennifer is a force to be reckoned with in the digital magazine space. Her vision, tenacity and resiliency are so inspiring.

Key Highlights:

• Midlife is a powerful chapter of life that should be celebrated and embraced.

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Jennifer Cooper is an award-winning editor and producer with 15 years experience in producing content that empowers. She is the founder of the media company, jennifer.  Jennifer publishes an online magazine for women in midlife that is  ambitious, audacious, and quite frankly, beautiful. She also operates jenX, a membership platform delivering exclusive content that includes: live panels, member discussions, collaborations, and events. 

https://www.jennifermag.com/our-story

Judgement- a natural human tendency. We all judge- other people, situations and circumstances and most importantly ourselves. But did you know that judgment can also have a negative impact on our well being and relationships.

My guest today is Sally Arnold, an international mindfulness educator and author. We talk about why humans judge, the impact of judgment on our well-being, and the difference between judgment and discernment. We also explore how the stories we tell ourselves shape our judgments and how becoming aware can help open us up to new possibilities for ourselves. I also share my experience of catching myself in judgment and trying to judge less. j Sally gives us practical tips for detoxing from judgment and cultivating compassion towards ourselves and others. 

Our conversation highlights the importance of awareness and making conscious choices to live a happier and more expansive life.

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Sally Arnold is an international Mindfulness Educator, Speaker, Author, Awakened Living Coach, and Parenting Guide. She holds a Bachelors degree in Nursing, a Master's degree in Psychology and has extensive training in mindfulness education.

Sally is the founder of Mindful Compass. Mindful Compass courses and consulting are designed to offer skills to enhance resilience, compassion, and well-being. Mindful Compass curriculum has been taught to diverse audiences including healthcare professionals, attorneys, social workers, teachers, administrators, and general audiences.

Additionally, Sally has taught mindfulness to thousands of children, parents, and teachers. She has worked extensively with parents and families for over 20 years.

https://www.mindfulcompass.com/

https://www.mindfulcompass.com/awakened-living

If you have ever listened to the podcast you know that one of my pet peeves is the way older women are represented or rather under represented  in mainstream media,  unless of course  its in ads for retirement plans, meal replacement shakes and bladder leakage products. The common definition of beauty does not include women in their 50’s and 60’s and beyond.

My guest today is on a mission to change that. Robin Bobbe is the founder of Modern Agerer Casting, a casting agency that specializes in finding diverse talent of all backgrounds and ages. After starting a career in the fashion industry as stylist, she then went on the become an actress, a  casting director and then a commercial model in her 60’s. Confronted by the lack of diversity that the model agencies offered, she armed herself with a polaroid camera and began combing the streets in search of the authenticity that reflected more diverse faces.

We chat about:

• Her experience and insights in the industry from both sides of the camera

There are so many great insights and nuggets of wisdom in this episode. If you’ve ever thought, even for second, that you’d like to try your hand at modelling no mater how old you are Robin encourages you to take the first step by reaching out to her. 

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Robin Bobbe is the founder of Modern Ager Casting. She has over 40 years of experience working with professional models and actors as well as non-professionals.

She has worn many hats during her career in fashion, film and photography. Robin started her career as a stylist in Manhattan in the 1970’s. She spent the 80’s acting in Los Angeles and the 90’s behind the camera as an associate producer of documentaries of which one was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1999 she joined Photo Group a large print advertising production company, as an inhouse producer, but it was clear that casting was her real calling.

Street casting became her specialty. She left Photo Group to start her own casting company in 2001 which continues today as ModernagerCasting, stalking her prey wherever she goes.

In 2012, through The Actors Fund she started working with artists living with dementia offering creative activities which she continues to do today.

She credits her 60’s for being her most creative decade yet and come March 30th she’s looking forward to seeing what’s waiting for her on the other side of 70. 

https://www.modernagercasting.com/What-We-Do/1