Episode #1
Welcome to the premier episode of the Midlife Career Rebel Podcast. I'm excited to be launching this podcast, and I'm even more excited that you're here listening in.
In this first episode, I want to dig into the why and how of this podcast, infuse a bit of my own story in there, and share what this podcast is about.
First and foremost, I think it's important that you know that I'm on a mission to help high-achieving women at midlife unapologetically live life on their terms and do the meaningful work they're meant to do in the world. Whether in their current setting, in a new venture, or through living their entrepreneurial dream, my vision is for midlife women to unplug from what I call the "career matrix" and step into the power of who they are.
As I define it, the Career Matrix is a set of patriarchal old vocational paradigms and rules that we've accepted and been conditioned to follow concerning our careers. You know the old "go to school, get a good "respectable" job, play the corporate game, climb the career ladder, make lots of money, and then retire, at which point you can live your life and do what you want." But, of course, that's assuming you haven't crashed and burned out trying to be something you're not, following other's ideas of success, falling prey to imposter syndrome or perfectionism, or "playing the game" that wasn't written for you or by you, and where, by the way, those rules kept changing.
Those who are ready to unplug from the career matrix and become a career rebel are those who have said to hell with the prevailing wisdom that you just need to hang in there, pay your dues, work more or harder, sacrifice your mental and physical health, along with your family and happiness by sheer grit and willpower. And the reason this podcast focused on high-achieving professional women at midlife is because we grew up in a time where we fell for that shit (oh, by the way, I drop a few choice words every now and again, so brace yourself if you're going to start following me), have achieved success, but now feel trapped, unfulfilled, scared, and unsure how to get out or what to do next. And at this age and stage in-game and in our lives, don't know how to leverage your brilliance, reposition yourself for what you want, or deal with the haters and naysayers (including those in your mind) that are telling you just stay put, settle, you're doing just fine.
If you're like me, you're not interested in living a "good enough" life or settling. You want more, and quite frankly, you deserve more!
Second, I jokingly refer to myself as "over-educated," having earned two doctorates (one in jurisprudence - a fancy word for law - with a focus on employment, labor law, and employment discrimination litigation—and one in human development and social systems with an emphasis on gender and racial identity development and structural inequity.) I also have two masters, one in human development and the other in organizational development, and I've earned post-doctorate certificates from Harvard, Oxford, and Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business. In addition, I've been trained in group dynamics and psychology of team development, applied social psychology, image consulting, brand management and development, career, corporate, and executive coaching, and I'm a certified life coach through The Life Coach School.
I've also held positions as an HR Director, executive recruiter, organizational consultant, director of diversity and professional development, employment and labor attorney, associate professor, academic director, and associate dean, and I've run three successful award-winning businesses.
I've personally worked in the healthcare, transportation, non-profit, governmental, law, direct sales, and academic industries. I've coached leaders in all of these industries and pharma, finance, and tech.
I share all of that to say that when it comes to women's life and career experiences, I have a unique understanding, experience, knowledge, and perspective from a theoretical, methodological, practical hands-on, and emotional side. This allows me to understand what's going on and why and how to change it.
I'm also considered a thought leader and expert in this area as a member of Forbes Coaches Council, Newsweek Expert Forum, Harvard Business Review Advisory Council, and Entrepreneur's Leadership Network. In addition, I've been on the TEDx stage (you can find my talk What Did You Leave Behind, on my YouTube channel), I'm an international keynote author and have coached a Grammy Award Winner and Paralympic Gold Medalist.
To the outside world, it may look as if I've had a lot of careers and held disparate positions, but to the multi-passionate career rebel, it's clear that in each role I've held, I've developed and honed my zone of genius. From the time I was 22, working in a secretarial pool while working through college, I knew then that I wanted to help people enjoy, be respected, and rewarded for what they do and help organizations create a space where that can happen. And nothing has really changed over 30 years later. I help my clients see the same connections in their lives and career.
But it wasn't until I started leaning more into mindset, thought work, and the connection to career management and development about 16 years ago, starting with my doctoral research, that I began to see that we've been sold a bill of goods. It's time for us to stop hiding in the shadows of others' expectations, others' ideas of success, and career progression plans, and start creating and realizing our own visions, purpose, and life's work.
That's why I created this podcast. After teaching, training, coaching, and speaking with women worldwide, I knew people weren't having this conversation, but it desperately needed to be had. That having a career and life you love doesn't start with your resume, it starts with you….with your mind. With what you believe to be true about yourself and your career and what's possible for both. To help you see that your career is just a part of the ecosystem of your life, and once you're clear about that, so much more becomes available to you.
So each week, I'll share insights, ideas, real-world experiences, and how to navigate challenges facing women in the world of work and the new work revolution. Your career requires both an inner and outer game approach. The inner game is how you deal with your thoughts around self-confidence, imposter syndrome, people-pleasing, perfectionism, and all of the other mind-games your brain likes to bombard you with. The outer game includes the strategies and actions you need to take around such things as goal setting, networking, creating boundaries, changing careers, promoting, and more you to realize what you want. You must understand your thoughts drive your feelings which fuel your actions that create the results in your life. This is foundational to achieving anything you want, and that's what we'll talk about each week, right here.
That's what I have for you today, my bold and courageous listeners.
And hey, if you've listened to this through here, then you can rest assured that you're in the right place. So please rate, comment, and subscribe so I can get the word out to others about this podcast. Thanks for listening, and until next time, have an amazingly rebellious week!
