“It’s been 20 years since I left Good Morning America,” says Joan Lunden, author of the new book, “Why Did I Come Into This Room?: A Candid Conversation About Aging” (https://amzn.to/39rNtxV).  “I have an incredibly robust career in health. This is my new reinvention.” Lunden speaks with CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour about her three keys to happiness: 1. Staying engaged in life; 2. Keeping social connections well beyond the family; 3. Cultivating a sense of purpose—"that can be as simple as planting a garden".  Lunden believes that with 76 million Boomers at this pivot point we need to have open discussions about reinventing. To have a “life well-lived” Lunden says we need “to let go of things that don’t matter. Ask yourself: ‘Am I kind? Am I there for people?’ That will let you pivot.”

Journalist Dana Rubin had been writing speeches and op-eds and coaching executives on how to present themselves at conferences and commencements. One client was struggling with how her voice sounded on stage and Rubin “wanted to give her speeches as inspiration.” She climbed out of bed and grabbed one of the 102 speech anthologies on her bookshelf and noticed that every speech in there was from a man: from Cicero to Lord Asquith to Lincoln, FDR, Martin Luther King. “My head exploded,” Rubin says because she realized that women’s voices are “not valued.” That’s also when her new job as "advocate for women’s speech and voice" was born and her web bank, SpeakingWhileFemale.co , with 1800 speeches was created to support it. “I reinvented myself and this is what I do,” she says, noting that she funds the bank with speech writing and speaking fees. 

“Neither of my parents exercised; they were both functional alcoholics,” says Suzanne Frank, CEO of Frank Wellness Health Coaching, who had her first drink at age 10.  “I don’t think of myself as an alcoholic. But I wasn’t my best self and I was just following in the footsteps of my family.” One night, after her son entered the 4th grade D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, Frank decided she had had enough and quit her bad habits. But she realized she needed to replace them with things that still helped her relax and focus. Running a marathon had been a lifelong dream. So when a friend asked her to join a Super Sprint Triathlon — her career as a 50+ triathlete was born. “It took me one year of training to run 2.2 miles,” she laughs. Frank says getting unstuck is as simple as these three steps. 1:  Let go of something old. 2. Try an intellectual challenge. 3. Try something totally new. “Just do it!”

“Change is a given,” says Chip Conley, author of “Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder” (https://amzn.to/2SDjkG2) and founder of Modern Elder Academy (https://modernelderacademy.com/), “the world’s first midlife wisdom school".  “You need to adapt to it and be resilient.” Conley who sold his first business (a boutique hotel brand) and went on, after age 50, to become a mentor/intern at Airbnb speaks with CoveyClub founder, Lesley Jane Seymour, about how to use your accumulated wisdom and connections to create a leg up in the job world. “Become an SME: Subject Matter Expert — the librarian, the person who knows how [an industry runs] and who is in that industry,” is one of his pieces of advice. Conley says women adapt better to the modern workplace than men because we have “less sense of entitlement…and know how to do the work.” And it all begins by asking yourself: “What mastery can you offer to the world?” Now ask it 5 times until you get a real answer. 

“The wonderful thing with sibling love is that it comes with a deep, deep trust. You know almost everything about each other.”

So says Julie Pinkwater, co-founder, with her sister Royce, of Oathlife.com, a new premium oat milk with 15 grams of plant protein.  Pinkwater, a former magazine publisher (who launched More Magazine), reinvented first into the real estate business, joining Royce, a real estate veteran, to create Pinkwater Select, a boutique agency sourcing luxury properties around the world. When Royce needed a new “level of learning and challenge”, she reinvented into the “highly competitive” drink business with a product called Bonta.

“We know each other’s skill sets and don’t overlap,” she says, noting that the sisters also have “a challenge all siblings have—you bring all your childhood baggage with you,” says Julie: “There’s lots of joy, laughter, and tough days, too. But there’s no backbiting or infighting.  Our biggest problem is constant snacking.”

How does a professional musician and self-described “book worm” start a fabulous niche beauty product for under $20,000? By noticing a “glaring hole” with a “low barrier to entry” and jumping in. Amanda McIntosh, was on her way home from a concert when she realized she didn’t have any more washcloths for her special skincare routine. She was grossed out by the grey, half-wet wash cloths left on her shower rail.  “My practical brain got started, asking, ‘How do you change the process?’”  McIntosh began by researching how to make a washcloth that was stain-resistant, quick drying, and would “feel fancy.”  Dozens of trips to the fabric store led her to an incredibly soft polyester used in baby blankets that met all of her qualifications. Her washable makeup remover clothes called Take My Face Off, Inc (TakeMyFaceOff.com) was born. Today, Take My Face Off products  disrupt the unsustainable makeup wipe business by selling amusing reusable wipes that last for 4-5 years.  “I invested a good portion of my retirement account” to get started, she says. “I never wanted to lose more than I could earn back in a year.” 

“Women [who have had a career break] feel dislodged from the rest of the world and they feel everybody sees it,” says Mika Brzezinski co-host of TV’s Morning Joe, founder of KnowYourValue.com, and co-author with her sister-in-law Ginny, of the new handbook “Comeback Careers” Rethink, Refresh, Reinvent Your Success at 40,50, and Beyond” (https://amzn.to/2NqJBUM).  “I want to tell them, it’s all right not to know what’s next. They have value. They may have to take a big step back, use a side hustle or go sideways in the door.” Listen in as Mika and Ginny divulge some of their research on how to network more strategically, how to pitch your volunteer work to a corporate recruiter, and how to short circuit your negative mindset.