A few weeks ago, I was rummaging around in my grandmother’s things and found an old postcard I sent out in July 2003 to my cherished list of agents and producers in hopes that somebody, anybody, would hire me as an actor, pleasseeeee. Despite (or maybe because of) my long stint as the infomercial spokesperson for The Ab Lounger, I remember that time of life as my “failed actress era”.

When I looked at the back of that card, I thought: Damn, girl, what were you thinking with those fonts? But, also, you were booked and busy. I’d forgotten all of the projects it listed, things I’d done, but erased from my memory. I realized looking back that the lasting feeling of failure wasn’t the result of the number or type of projects I’d gotten, but all the ones I didn’t get. Like so many of us, I believed rejection was the problem. I don’t believe that anymore. I am pretty certain rejection is the goal.

Looking back at that card now, without the rejection scoreboard running in my head, all I could see were the yeses. And I felt so proud of little Aransas. In our latest episode, that version of me from almost a quarter of a century ago (gasp!) got to meet up with current 51-year-old me, and Jess Kaplan, host of the Nopes + Dreams Podcast, who is trying to sort out her own feelings about her career as an actor and writer by talking to other creatives about rejection.

Jess is an actor, a writer, and the host of Nopes + Dreams, a podcast about creativity and rejection. Her spec scripts got the attention of Lorne Michaels’ company, Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, and LeBron James’s SpringHill Entertainment. CBS Studios and Frolic Media optioned her TV show. She premiered a one-woman show at the Orlando Fringe Festival. For ten years, she has taught monthly writing workshops to people affected by cancer through Red Door Community.

This episode is a different format than our usual shows, since Jess and I interview each other. I think we found some pretty great lessons on dealing with (and maybe actively seeking) rejection in this episode. I hope you’ll listen to the full episode, but for now…

Eating Nos Like Cheerios: 5 Ways to Build Your Rejection Tolerance

The goal isn’t to stop getting nos. The goal is to get so good at digesting them that they become your morning fuel. So here are the five things we came up with that actually work.

1. Make nos the objective, not the obstacle. Instead of setting outcome goals (”I want to get booked”), set behavioral goals (”I’m going to get rejected 10 times this month”). The no becomes the win.

2. Watch for the all-yes warning sign. If you’re getting a lot of yeses right now, that’s worth examining. It usually means you’re only asking for things that feel safe, which may mean you’re not growing. Nos are proof you’re reaching.

3. Say “that was the goal” out loud. When the no comes, your brain needs a new story to tell itself. “That was the goal” interrupts the spiral before it starts. Say it out loud, even if you don’t mean it yet.

4. Precision manifest your ask. Vague asks get vague results. “I want to meet people in the film industry” helps nobody. “I want to meet independent filmmakers in Miami who are excited to work with local creatives” gives people an actual assignment for helping you. The more specific you are, the easier it is for someone to say yes.

5. Name the awkward. When asking feels hard, say so. “This is uncomfortable for me to ask, but it would mean a lot if you...” is almost always received with warmth. Honesty about the discomfort is disarming. It also makes you sound human, which is the whole point.

Lift Jess Up:

Listen to Nopes + Dreams wherever you get your podcasts, follow Jess at @nopesanddreamspod, and visit nopesanddreamspodcast.com. If you know someone in the Miami film community who makes independent projects, reach out to Jess and make an introduction.

PS: Here’s the front of the postcard in case you want to see how cute I was

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Give me an assignment, and I will slay it for you! I’ll stay up late, go deep on the research, find the angle nobody else thought of, and deliver something that exceeds what you asked for. My family, colleagues, clients, and neighbors know me as someone they can count on. If you are in my orbit and have a dream, goal, or problem, I am your person. I will get into it with you, stay up late thinking about your situation, send you the article, make the introduction, and show up to your thing. I am a badass, unrelenting courage investor in others’ dreams.

Betting on other people is a joy for me and one of my greatest strengths. But it’s also a way that I mitigate risk. It is kind of like boxing in a padded room. It softens the rejection, cushions the disappointments, and if I’m doing it on someone else’s behalf and I get knocked down, I can still get back up because it’s not entirely my fault.

Sound familiar? I suspect you are a spectacular investor, too. You have funded a kid’s dream while yours stayed on hold, been the wind beneath a partner’s career, taken on extra work so a colleague could shine, met every expectation your parents had for you. Maybe, like me, the only portfolio you consistently underinvest in is your own.

While my default has often been to place my bets on others’ priorities and permission, and downplay my bets on myself, the times when I’ve bet big on myself have been the most growth-filled, energizing, and empowering (also terrifying, but hey, that’s why we enlist that courage capital).

When I was acting in my 20s and not getting the roles I wanted, feeling like the victim of a system that didn’t understand me and casting agents who were too busy to see my potential, I got together with a group of talented friends, and we created the opportunity ourselves. We produced On the Verge, a female, character-driven play off-off-Broadway, and I starred in it. It worked. I got more work from the gatekeepers, but more than that, I learned that if I wanted anyone else to bet big on me, I needed to place my bets on me first.

When I was laid off after 18 years with my company, I toyed with betting on another corporation, but in the end, I decided to gather up my courage capital and go all-in on my little girl dream of being a media host. Ok, that’s a lie. I didn’t go all-in. If you’d have asked me, I’d have said I was all-in, but in truth, I was making messy, tiny baby bets. But they were mine. There was no manager approving the budget or strategy, just me deciding that what I wanted to build was worth building.

I’m still learning to bet bigger on myself. For me right now it looks like investing in coaching and professional support for my own work; blocking real calendar time for my writing (not the leftover time, the good time); saying no to things that promise good money, but pull me away from what I’m investing in; telling you here what I’m building; admitting my biggest, craziest dreams out loud; and initiating opportunities instead of just applying to those that others initiate. I still bet big on others. AND, I’m committed to betting on me as unrelentingly as I do everyone else that I believe in.

I’ve done extensive research to understand the different ways that we women diminish and downplay our bets on ourselves. If you want to raise the bet on yourself, here are 10 ways you could double down this week.

1. Say no to one thing this week you’d usually say yes to out of obligation, and reinvest that exact time for something on your own list.

2. Track the number of times you say “I think,” “just,” or “only” for one day. Don’t downplay that wisdom you worked so hard to earn, friend.

3. Sit at the front of a room you normally sit in the middle or back of.

4. The next time someone compliments your work, say “Thank you, I worked really hard on it” and then stop talking.

5. Quote a slightly higher rate for your work than you normally would to the next person who asks.

6. Send an email asking for specific help from someone you’ve been thinking is probably too important to ask. If you’re a paid subscriber of this Substack, you can practice this at our next Lift & Be Lifted Session tomorrow!

7. Write down five things you are really, really good at. Put them on a Post-it in your workspace.

8. Invest something that feels precious to you (like money or time) in your dream this week.

9. Plan a gathering around something you care about. Invite people over to share your art, and maybe they can share theirs too. You don’t need a venue or a budget or all the answers, just a reason and a group text. You’ll figure out the rest.

10. Apply for something you’re pretty sure you won’t get, like a job, grant, speaking slot, or residency. Not because you’ll definitely land it, but because you’ll become someone who puts herself in the running.

How do you prove to yourself that you’re all in on yourself?

If you’re looking for someone to help you bet big on your dreams, reach out by replying to this email! I help my clients do big, brave things!

Let’s bet big this week!

Aransas

P.S.: If you could use some dedicated time to get clear on what you actually want and get ready to make it happen, snag a spot at our next retreat. It sells out every year, and for good reason.

I cleaned out my closet this weekend. It was a belated seasonal switch: pulling things from bins and trying to figure out what actually fits this body, this month, this year. For 25 years I knew that if something fit one summer, it would fit the next. But that era is over. Dresses that were too small last year fit now. Pants that were loose in the fall are not anymore. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, other than the obvious: I am different this year, so my body must be too.

And then I thought about this week’s guest…

spent nearly 25 years as a social worker running federal programs for low-income families. She was devoted to it, but she also needed something light and creative as a relief from the weight of systemic challenges her clients faced.

So she started styling her friends, and before she had a name for it or a plan or any fashion credentials whatsoever, Susan was a personal stylist, a local magazine style editor, a television contributor, and the woman behind The Midlife Fashionista, with 45,000 followers and 2.4 million blog views. Susan has collaborated with national and global brands including Chico’s, Clinique, Easy Spirit, Braun, and L’Oreal.

When her styling clients started asking if they could bring their donated clothes to her office so they could go directly to women who needed them, she set up clothing racks in her government office. In 2016, that became Uncommon Threads, an innovative nonprofit in Lawrence, Massachusetts, one of the poorest cities in the country. With an innovative "outside-in, inside-out" approach, they help low-income women see and feel their true potential by using clothing and image as tools for building self-esteem and self-worth. Unlike other organizations that solely focus on work attire, Uncommon Threads addresses all aspects of a woman’s clothing needs while nurturing personal growth through self-esteem-focused styling sessions and workshops. They serve more than 8,000 women a year now.

In 2018, Susan was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). During treatment, she had to step back from Uncommon Threads, hire a new director, and trust that what she’d built would continue to grow. It did. She used that time to co-found CLL Women Strong, the first national support group for women with CLL, and Kicking Cancer in Heels, an online platform providing resources, community, and hope for women impacted by cancer.

This episode is about a lot of things. It’s about fashion and midlife bodies and building a platform when you don’t know what you’re doing yet. It’s about what cancer teaches you about timing. And it’s about the one thing Susan believes most: that overanalyzing is the thing that actually holds us back.

What the Research Says:

The concept Susan and I discuss, enclothed cognition, was named by researchers Hajo Adam and Adam Galinsky in 2012. Their work found that clothing doesn’t just reflect our psychological state. It actively shapes it. What we put on affects attention, focus, and cognitive performance. For midlife women navigating identity shifts and new chapters, the first decision we make every morning may be more powerful than we’ve been giving it credit for.

Lift Her Up:

Follow Uncommon Threads and visit uncommonthreads.org. If you are in the Greater Boston area, Uncommon Threads turns 10 this fall and is throwing a birthday bash on September 17th in North Andover, Massachusetts. They need sponsors and silent auction items, and the details are all on the website. Find Susan’s daily midlife fashion inspiration on Instagram. And if you are living with or impacted by CLL, CLL Women Strong is the first national support group built specifically for women with this diagnosis.

Every dollar of paid Uplifters subscriptions goes into a community fund we use to donate to the nonprofits, books, and causes our guests champion. To celebrate Susan and the work she’s built, I made a donation to Uncommon Threads on behalf of our Uplifters community. If Susan’s story moves you, please join me in supporting Uncommon Threads.

Huge thanks to Dina of for nominating Susan!

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Over the last few weeks, my goal has been to prove to you, one stubborn assumption at a time, that it’s not too late to do big, brave things. Welcome to the last installment of this little series.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4: In for a penny, in for a pound.

When I got laid off after almost twenty years of working in corporate, I kept circling a rather frustrating question: Was it a waste to start something brand new after pouring all that time, energy, and I-know-what-I’m-doing-ness into one thing? I kept thinking that maybe I should keep doing the thing that clearly wasn’t working for me since I’d already invested so much into it. Yes, I knew that route would pull me further away from the things that most energized and excited me at that point in my life, but making a pivot felt like a waste of my prior investments.

This is what economists call the sunk cost fallacy: we keep pouring money, time, or energy into something because of what we’ve already invested, not because of what it’s actually worth to us going forward. The classic example is the movie ticket. You’re twenty minutes in; the movie’s terrible, but you paid $18 for it, so you stay. The $18 is gone either way, and sitting through the rest of the movie doesn’t get it back. All it costs you is two more hours of your life watching something that stinks.

Now swap “movie ticket” for “career,” “marriage,” “business,” or “eighteen years of working in corporate”. By midlife, we’re not talking about $18. We’re talking decades of time, energy, money, and, ahem, our entire identity. Pivoting away from that is less like watching a bad movie for two more hours and more like setting the theater on fire.

So instead of cutting our losses, we dig in (at least I did). We try to manufacture more energy and passion for the thing that isn’t working anymore, because admitting it might be time to walk feels like a waste. We let the past investment decide our path, instead of asking whether the thing is still worth investing our future in.

I’ve been thinking about this because I sat down yesterday for a pre-interview with , a wildly successful artist, author, and illustrator. Over the last two decades, she built what, for many, would be the dream career: a life as a full-time artist, including a thriving online and brick-and-mortar shop, a team she loved, and big client commissions. And she just made the decision to close it, because every time she analyzed why she was keeping it all going, every single reason was about someone else. Her team, her partners, her customers. But never herself.

It takes a whole lot of courage to shift gears, even more so when we’re cruising down the road at 90 miles per hour. When Lisa slowed down long enough to ask herself what was right for her now and what she wanted for her future self, the answers were very different.

“What would it mean about the last twenty years if I stopped?” builds fear. “What’s right for me right now?” builds courage capital.

And when we slow down and look at the whole picture, we will likely find that nothing was wasted. The skills we build don’t disappear when we change direction. They come with us. The only thing that’s actually a waste is the damn energy we spend defending a decision that no longer fits, instead of redirecting that same energy into something we actually care about now.

P.S. Shout out to vision boards. Every year at our annual Uplifters Retreat, we make vision boards. Last year, I put three names on mine of women I wanted to interview for the show. Lisa was one of them.

If you could use some dedicated time to get clear on what you actually want for the year ahead and get ready to make it happen, snag a spot before they’re gone. It sells out every year, and for good reason.

I spent this week thinking about all of the little ways we hedge our bets on ourselves while betting big on others. We’re so good at showing up for our friends, neighbors, partners, kids, bosses, clients, mentees. Those bets matter. But, friends, we gotta bet on ourselves too.

Meeting up with other Uplifters is a big way I double down on those bets. Through our Lift & Be Lifted sessions each month, I build my courageous community and practice asking for support and working through the weedy messes that zap my courage.

Through our weekly co-working sessions on Zoom, I invest in the work that matters most by putting it into a little cocoon to protect it from distraction.

Through our annual retreats, I give myself space to reflect on what’s working and what isn’t and create clear roadmaps for focusing my time, energy, and creativity.

As an Uplifter, these are all here for you, too. I hope you’ll join us.

Click into today’s -co-working session to reflect, reconnect, and reenergize.

Every week we meet up on Zoom to remember one good thing and one worry or challenge from the week, because celebrating the good stuff and working through the tough stuff is how we keep doing big, brave things.

You’re invited, and we’d love for you to join us at the link below.

Every Friday from 10-12 ET, on Zoom. Here’s our flow:

• 10:00 - Set intentions and reflect together

• 10:15 - Three deep breaths, then dive into solo work

• 11:00 - One-song dance party to shake things loose

• 11:03 - Second solo work session

• 11:59 - Close and pat ourselves on the back

🎵 This week’s dance party

Read more

This month for Simmer Summer, we are riffing on the power of R&R.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Have you ever been told you're too sensitive? Too emotional? That you just need to toughen up? If so, you might be a highly sensitive person. And if you’re in midlife right now, you might be noticing that your stress, overwhelm, and exhaustion are getting harder to manage.

In this episode, licensed occupational therapist, certified perimenopause and menopause coach, and functional pelvic health practitioner Dara Steinberg explains what it means to be a highly sensitive person (HSP) and how it shifts in midlife.

Research by psychiatrist and researcher Elaine Aron found that approximately 10% of every species, humans included, shares a nervous system that processes the environment more deeply than most.

Dara shares her own journey through clinical burnout, the physical toll of overriding her sensitive nature for years, and how she built her methodology, Slow Down to Become, to serve the women her field was failing. Whether you've always known you're highly sensitive or you're only now starting to wonder, this conversation will help you see your sensitivity not as a flaw to fix but as a superpower.

What You'll Learn:

• What makes someone a highly sensitive person

• How the highly sensitive nervous system interacts with perimenopause and why estrogen fluctuations can intensify sensitivity for women in midlife

• The difference between everyday exhaustion and clinical burnout

• How to support a highly sensitive person, whether that's yourself, your child, or someone you love

• The five stages of Dara's Slow Down to Become framework for nervous system stabilization and building a life that’s a better fit for your operating system.

Her Courage Practice

Dara calls it the Safety Map, and it’s the first thing she recommends for any highly sensitive woman who is beginning to understand herself. It’s a free resource on her website, a personalized nervous system profile you fill out on your own, ideally with a cup of tea and a little quiet.

The map asks you to identify what makes you feel unsafe, what kinds of things are triggering to your system, and what brings you back to calm. The act of naming those things, writing them down, provides invaluable insight for understanding what your system needs.

Lift Her Up

Dara's website and free Safety Map: slowdowntobecome.com
Instagram and Facebook: @slowdowntobecome

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Hey, Uplifters!

July has been a delicious simmer of record-breaking heat and big cultural moments that seem to demand we step away from our screens and into time together IRL. My daughter graduated, tall ships from around the globe floated past my window, I got to play with and on their farms, and with my friends Karen, Kyia, and Joanne in Minnesota, and the sports fans (who are not me) were very well entertained. It was a spicy, flavorful stew, and on this advice from , I savored every bite.

🙌 Lift & Be Lifted: Our First Session

The highlight of the month, without question, was hosting our very first Lift & Be Lifted session for paid subscribers.

Women joined from New York to San Diego to Rochester to Fairbanks, Alaska. Each person came prepared to share not just what she’s working on, but what she needs: support, ideas, accountability, introductions. That second part is the one that made us squirm. We’ve been trained to carry it all ourselves and to look like we have it handled. But for most of human history, women did everything together. We soothed each other’s babies, shared the work based on who was good at what, and figured things out in community. This feels more like that.

The ripples have been remarkable. Every day since, I’ve been sending emails with the subject line: INTRO.

You can read the asks from our first session here, and jog your mental Rolodex to see if you can help any of your fellow Uplifters.

Our next session is July 28 at 7pm ET.

If you want in, become a paid subscriber and then register for July 28 here.

Subscribe now

🗽 Let’s Meet Up IRL

If you’re in Manhattan, join me and other Uplifters at these events this month:

Wednesday, July 22: I’m heading to Manhattan for South, an acoustic solo musical by , part of SheNYC Arts, the City’s premier festival showcasing new, original works by women, trans, & non-binary writers & composers.

Thursday, July 23: I will be at P&T Knitwear Books & Podcasts (180 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002) for the launch event and contributor reading of What Are You Waiting For? An Anthology, edited by Kathy Curto. The very uplifting is featured. Doors at 6:30pm, reading at 7pm. Tickets are $10 or the purchase of the book.

Comment below or reply to this email if you’re coming to either, and let’s make it an Uplifters meetup.

🏡 The Retreat is Back

I am absolutely giddy to announce our 2026 Uplifters Winter Retreat.

We’re heading back to Red Bird House in the Catskills, a stunning wellness house created by the legendary and , both of whom you may have heard on the podcast or met at Uplifters Live.

This is our third annual winter retreat, and it has become, for those of us who’ve attended, the most meaningful weekend of the year. It’s a chance to give ourselves the real gift of rest in the hectic holiday season, to connect deeply with other Uplifters, and to launch into the new year with clarity and momentum instead of scrambling to find our footing in January.

Kristy Jeansonne, who has attended the last two years, puts it this way:

“I will never not attend this retreat. Everything I put on my vision board and the plans I make there change the entire year for my business and my life. Instead of spending the first six months trying to figure out my priorities, I launch into the year refreshed and ready to go.”

Details and registration here. Spots are limited, as always. Don’t wait.

🎙️ On the Pod: Simmer Summer

This month’s episodes are leaning into the season. Consider this your invitation to turn the heat down on the hustle and let things get slow and rich and flavorful.

Coming next: Dara Steinberg, a licensed occupational therapist, certified peri/menopause coach, and functional pelvic health practitioner who helps highly sensitive women in midlife naturally ease symptoms of exhaustion and chronic pain and make new, aligned life choices from a place of authenticity.

📖 In the Newsletter: It’s Not Too Late

Over at the Substack newsletter, we’re continuing the It’s Not Too Late series.

📚 What I’ve Been Reading

The Substacks I Keep Coming Back To

I always read , but I was extra delighted this month to see two women I adore featured there. First, my pal Lakshmi Rengarajan, from episode 128 talking about AI and dating. And then the extraordinary Lisa Congdon, whose story of trusting the evolution of her creative life is one I keep thinking about. If you don’t subscribe to , consider this your nudge.

And every single issue of Closer to Home by . Maggie founded my favorite small bookshop ever and now shares her life and design wisdom in a newsletter that aims to help us all feel more at home in our lives. I always feel better after reading it.

Books on My Nightstand

Perfect Unfolding by Kristy Halvorsen. I truly cannot overestimate my love for this book. Kristy is a firefighter-turned-coach who sold her house and everything she owned and has been living off-grid in an Airstream for seven years, moving with the seasons, and figuring out the most challenging wilderness is the one inside. It has me thinking deeply about how I show up in my day-to-day life, even though I am decidedly not living full-time in an RV. (Which was also super interesting to read about.) A perfect summer read

Was That Racist? by A useful and powerfully written book that I think should be on everyone’s reading list right now. Dr. Carter is a social psychologist who offers clear, research-backed frameworks for navigating the questions so many of us are afraid to ask out loud. It’s rigorous and readable, which is a rare combination.

No Name Bastard by Tori DaCosta. Tori wins best title. This is a beautiful memoir meets practical leadership guide about learning to lead yourself well, the distinction between what you can control, manage, and influence, and how to stop carrying what was never yours to hold in the first place.

Shaken to the Core by Dara Levan. Fiction! And a total Uplifter journey. If you want a novel that will make you think and feel in equal measure, try this one.

A Weird, Wonderful Discovery

Gertie. I can’t tell you too much because I don’t want to ruin it for you. What I can tell you is that it’s a short weekly episodic that arrives in your inbox, it features spectacular photography from Sirli Raitma, and it has made me laugh and gasp and root for someone in a way I didn’t expect from something I can read in three minutes. Sign up and thank me later.

Please Celebrate These Women With Me

Two of the women who make this show possible through their support of the podcast recently released books!

CJ Lake’s Eugene Pioneers: Frontier to the American Heritage is out now. CJ is a Brooklynite and history buff who wrote and published a book in her 50s while teaching full-time in NYC public schools! I can’t wait to read it!

And I just ordered Wendy Richardson’s brand-new Real Estate Systems That Work. Here’s what she said when it landed: “My book is now published on ALL platforms! This is a labor of love and there were many times I wanted to throw it in the trash! My dream is now a reality.” She has an interview coming up on the pod later this summer, and I cannot wait to share her story.

💬 The Big Question

Someone dropped this in my brain, and I can’t remember who (if it was you, please shout so I can give you credit):

If you could take a year off, what would you do?

I’ve been sitting with it all month. Hit reply or comment below and tell us.

Until next time, let’s keep lifting and letting ourselves be lifted.

With love and good trouble, Aransas

Every week we meet up on Zoom to remember one good thing and one worry or challenge from the week, because celebrating the good stuff and working through the tough stuff is how we keep doing big, brave things.

You’re invited, and we’d love for you to join us at the link below.

Every Friday from 10-12 ET, on Zoom. Here’s our flow:

• 10:00 - Set intentions and reflect together

• 10:15 - Three deep breaths, then dive into solo work

• 11:00 - One-song dance party to shake things loose

• 11:03 - Second solo work session

• 11:59 - Close and pat ourselves on the back

Read more

This month for Simmer Summer, we are riffing on the power of R&R.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Somewhere in our 40s or early 50s, most of us start to notice that our brain isn’t quite doing what it used to. Words disappear mid-sentence; we walk into a room and can’t remember why; we read the same paragraph three times and still can’t process it. Maybe we start to wonder: is this just stress? Or is this something worse? Research suggests dementia has become the most feared health condition among people over the age of 50, surpassing heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

Christine Despres spent more than 30 years as a registered nurse and director of nursing, caring for dementia patients. She lost her own mother at 57. She says that what we are experiencing in perimenopause is almost certainly not that. What it is, though, is our brain sending signals about how to better protect it from cognitive decline.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Why you can lose up to 30% of brain function during perimenopause and what you can do about it right now

• The four lifestyle areas that can prevent up to 50% of cognitive decline, even with a genetic predisposition or family history of dementia

• The MIND diet for cognitive health

• Why quality sleep is essential for brain health and Christine’s top micro habits for protecting your sleep during the menopause transition

• Why brain fog and memory lapses are usually data, not disease, and what to do with that information

• What blood work to request and why knowing your numbers is the first step to protecting your future self

You’ll also get to know Christine, a total Uplifter. After decades of running a skilled nursing facility in a small Montana town while raising her daughter as a single mom, midlife afforded her the flexibility to do something she’d long dreamt of: start her own wellness practice.

She packed up her house, moved across the country to Atlanta, and started over. All while going through perimenopause.

She is now the founder of The Wellness Navigator, a brain health and metabolic wellness coaching practice for women in midlife and beyond. She is a Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach, a Certified Dementia Practitioner, and an Elite Brain Health Coach.

She is one of us: a woman doing a big, brave thing in midlife, figuring it out as she goes, and using everything she’s learned along the way to help other women do the same.

Her Courage Practice:

Christine’s single most powerful shift has been in her morning and evening routine, based in neuroscience.

The brain processes roughly 60,000 thoughts a day, and it latches onto whatever direction you give it in its most receptive moments: first thing in the morning, before you reach for your phone, and last thing at night, as you’re drifting toward sleep. Christine starts each day with a simple intention: today is going to be a great day. I am open to what’s coming. I can handle whatever comes my way. She ends each night with gratitude for what was good. And her brain, she says, takes those directions and works all day to make them true.

The habits accumulate. But the mindset, she says, is 95% of the work. Everything else follows when you believe it’s worth building.

Lift Her Up:

Christine offers a free monthly Brain Boost, a live virtual event on the first Wednesday of each month at 10 AM Eastern, along with a quiz designed specifically for midlife women: Why Does Everything Feel Harder After 40? Head to thewellnessnavigator.com to find both. And if you’re ready for personalized support, her four-month coaching program is built around your individual blueprint for aging well.

Other Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• The POINTER Study on lifestyle factors and cognitive decline

• Joyspan: The Art and Science of Thriving in Life’s Second Half by Dr. Kerry Burnight Ph.D

• Function Health Panel (Dr. Mark Hyman’s biomarker panel)

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Over the next few weeks, my goal is to prove to you, one stubborn assumption at a time, that it’s not too late to do big, brave things.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3: Permission to Sunset

Last week, we stood outside dripping in a brutal heatwave, sweaty enough to look like we’d just hopped out of the shower, because we wanted to watch the sky turn a vibrant orange behind the carousel at our town’s annual Fireman’s Fair.

Everybody loves a sunset.

So, why is it that we hold such a punishing double standard for ourselves when it comes to closing doors we once opened? Maybe because I’m creative and artsy in a world that deems those things less serious, I always quietly believed that if I changed careers or even just let a different part of myself take the lead, I’d be seen as less credible and serious. Like I’d be revealing that the first version of me was never the real deal.

But when I look closely at those who inspire me most, it is never the people who picked a lane at twenty-five and stayed in it out of loyalty to their younger selves. It is the people who are always growing and evolving (even if they have stayed in the same career). I held myself to a standard I didn’t hold anyone I admired to.

There’s a shame that comes up for some of us when we think about changing our minds. We bubble over with feelings that we’ve wasted precious time and see the imaginary jury forming to wag a finger at our flakiness and lay down the verdict that we weren’t brave enough, or smart enough, or strategic enough to make the right choice the first time around.

But let me be the kinder voice on your shoulder for a minute and remind you that your past self, even your one-year-ago self, wasn’t living in this body, this moment, with these needs, this exhaustion, or this hunger. She made the best call she could with what she had. Holding your right-now self hostage to a decision built for someone who no longer exists isn’t loyalty. And trying to wedge your current self into a box built for who you used to be isn’t going to fit any better than that dress you wore in your 20s does.

Your now self deserves sparks and fireworks just like the ones we watched last week. She deserves great big fiery explosions of joy and anger and moments of lighting up the night. And if the things you enthusiastically said yes to decades ago are no longer giving that to you, then let this be your reminder that it is absolutely, 100% not too late to change course and sunset those versions of your life and set out in search of a sunrise.

What if the brain fog, the exhaustion, and the restlessness of midlife were not problems to fix, but invitations to finally slow down? In the latest episode of The Uplifters Podcast, I talk to bestselling author and yoga nidra teacher about using sacred micro-rituals to reclaim our attention, presence, and purpose.

What You’ll Learn:

• The four pillars of a prosperous life — Prosperity, pleasure, purpose, and spiritual liberation

• Micro-rituals for reclaiming our attention — Simple, accessible practices that take seconds but change neural pathways over time

• How to build a second act with intention — What Tracee learned leaving a high-powered film career to follow her dharma

• What real wealth looks like for women in the second half of life — Why rest, radiant health, and the support to pursue your purpose are all forms of prosperity

Her Courage Practice

During this conversation, Tracee teaches us about her threshold practice. Despite its beautiful simplicity, I’m still working to make it an actual habit, but even with patchy practice, I’ve found it centering and calming.

Here’s how it works:

Every time you walk through a doorway, you pause for one breath and silently repeat an intention you have set for yourself.

What happens over seven consistent days, she says, is measurable: the forgetfulness eases slightly, you start to notice the natural pauses in your day (the carpool line, the kettle boiling, the space between meetings) as moments that belong to you, and you begin to replace what is not life-affirming with what is. The threshold practice is one piece of a larger daily arc she walks through in the episode, from a bedtime analog cocoon (phone across the room, three breaths with your hand on your heart) to a conscious morning to reconnecting to intention throughout the day.

She is not asking us to add more to our lives. She is asking us to be present in the life we already have.

Lift Her Up

Tracee’s new book, Living Ritual: Infuse Each Day with Purpose and Spirit (St. Martin’s Essentials), is available for pre-order now and releases on August 25th. She is also offering a free 16-day morning ritual experience, 20 minutes each day, live and recorded, for anyone who wants a community container for this work. Find details at traceestanley.com and follow her on Instagram at @tracee_stanley.

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Over the next few weeks, my goal is to prove to you, one stubborn assumption at a time, that it’s not too late to do big, brave things.

Part 1: You Can’t teach an Old Dog New Tricks.

Part 2: That ship has sailed.

No, this has nothing to do with the Tall Ships that are set to pass by my house later this week. If I miss seeing them, a window will close.

Most of the ships we say have sailed on us are simply docked waiting for us to jump on board. But this “too late” assumption is often the result of a rigid view of what success should look like.

Candace Thompson-Zachery, a dancer and arts advocate who transitioned to arts administration and coaching in midlife, helped me understand this when she said, “It’s never too late to make a decision that is in alignment with your true desire. Sure, maybe if you wanted to be an Olympian and you’re 75, maybe that’s not an option. But maybe there’s another Olympics you could join. Being older makes certain things less realistic, but the essence of the thing is probably still within reach.”

We came up with this example: if your dream is to be a singer and you’re 65, what’s stopping you from going to an open mic? Maybe you’re not recording Grammy Award-winning albums. But could you sing at a local fair? Probably. Could you experience the joy of hearing people clap for you at the end of a long high note? Absolutely. And if the Grammy really is the goal, you’re moving closer to it by singing than by sitting around thinking about whether it’s too late to sing. Plus, you’re performing in front of people who might help you move closer to your goal and strengthening your performing muscles. By performing at the local fair, you might discover that you don’t actually care about the Grammy. Maybe what you really care about is performing for an audience, or being in community with people who love music, or the songwriting more than the performing.

You cannot discover the essence of your desire by thinking about it. You have to move toward it, even in the smallest way, to find out what it actually is.

“Is it too late?” is a thinking problem, and we cannot think our way out of a thinking problem. The only way out is action.

So, a few questions:

Which of your proverbial “ships” have actually sailed? And which ones could you hop aboard through tiny, active experiments?

What’s your version of the local fair? The smaller, realer, readily available shot at the thing you wanted?

The Tall Ships will pass my window whether I’m watching or not. That part’s out of my hands. Most of our other ships are still out there floating, waiting for us to swim toward them.

Happy Friday!

On Tuesday, we met for our first Lift & Be Lifted monthly meetup for Uplifters paid subscribers. We had women from New York to San Diego to Rochester to Fairbanks, Alaska. Each guest was asked to join with an intro that shared what she’s working on and something she needs support, ideas, accountability, or introductions around. As usual, I saw a little jolt of awkward anxiety pass over a few faces with that second question.

As Uplifters, as women, we’re conditioned to serve and carry and tolerate, while also being told that we shouldn’t have needs or desires or be supported. Of course, that’s a pretty new phenomenon because for most of history, women were doing everything together, sharing the duties based on their strengths, learning from one another how to prepare the animals for the feast, how to soothe a newborn’s cries, how to navigate relationships. And now, we’re over on our little screens typing away alone, feeling like we must be the only ones who don’t understand this or that technology, who get rejected, who feel inadequate or uncertain.

I’m absolutely convinced that the antidote is honest, brave togetherness. So, that’s what we’re practicing over in this corner of the internet. It feels really, really good because not only do we remember that we are not the only ones who need help, but we remember how valuable our gifts and resources are to others.

I have spent this week in a flurry of emails with the subject line: INTRO, connecting this woman to that woman, with their exceptionally generous and thoughtful offers of support. And we aren’t done. I’m sharing the asks with you in hopes that you’ll do a little jog through your mental Rolodex to see if you can think of ways to support these Uplifters. If you have an idea, an introduction, or an offer for anyone on this list, reply here or send me a message, and I’ll connect you.

Here are the asks that were shared:
- A small business owner curating handmade jewelry, accessories, and clothing from women- and minority-owned makers, looking for introductions to boutiques, pop-up markets, or other spaces
- A longtime leadership coach and competitive bodybuilder (at 72!), building a new fitness coaching practice, looking for 5 people to join a discounted 2-month coaching package in exchange for testimonials.
- A job seeker with a background in DEI, ESG, and chief of staff roles, looking for introductions into mission-driven organizations, nonprofits, or corporate impact teams.
- A writer looking for introductions to literary agents who represent middle-grade children’s novels.
- A chief of staff in local government, with a background across nonprofit, law, and mediation, in the middle of a career transition, looking for introductions, leads, or ideas.
- A sex and intimacy coach looking to talk to people who are interested in the topic but wouldn’t pay for coaching around it, about the gap between wanting support and being willing to invest in it.
- An entrepreneur building a family communication and financial planning app, looking for honest feedback on the concept.
- A relationship and resilience coach looking for speaking opportunities, like a TED-style talk on resilience or relationships.
- A mom figuring out her next chapter, with a big dream of opening a bed and breakfast, looking for creative funding ideas.
- A new entrepreneur launching a hair accessory line on Amazon, looking for testers willing to leave honest reviews.

Can’t wait to see you all at the next one!

Click here to join our next co-working cocoon

Every Friday from 10-12 ET, on Zoom. Here’s our flow:

• 10:00 - Connect and share

• 10:15 - Three deep breaths, then dive into solo work

• 11:00 - One-song dance party to shake things loose

• 11:03 - Second solo work session

• 11:59 - Close and pat ourselves on the back

🎵 This week's dance party.

Thanks, truly, for reading and being on this ride with me,

Aransas

Month-at-a-Glance

This month, we’re sharing stories about four different types of permission:

Sofia Kavlin, the visionary behind the Unsent Letter Mailbox, gave herself permission to ASK for support, and in walked her creative soulmate, Bonnie Blue Edwards. Listen HERE.

, lit her AARP mailer on fire and created a print mag for Gen Xers. Listen HERE.

Sarah Nelson of Sexual Empowerment in Midlife, gave herself permission to DESIRE. Listen HERE.

This week, Sarah Kauss, founder of S’well, sold her company and gave herself permission to SLOW DOWN.

In her 30s, Sarah Kauss bootstrapped S’well, one of the most recognizable and iconic purpose-driven brands of the last fifteen years, with $30,000 of her own savings. It grew to $100 million in revenue, and she sold it in 2022.

We spend a lot of time on this show talking about how to build big, bold things in the second half of our lives, but today, we’re going to focus on what comes next. The key questions we explore, many of which were provided by our Uplifters community:

• How do you build a company with an exit in mind?

• What is it like when your photo is taken off the website of the company you built from the ground up?

• What do you do with all of your knowledge, experience, and creativity when your focus is no longer on growing a business?

• How does this kind of epic ride shift your priorities in midlife?

You’ll learn the answers to all of these questions and so much more in this generous and bravely honest conversation with Sarah Kauss.

Lift Her Up

If you’re looking for insight from a wildly successful founder who loves sharing her knowledge and experience, check out Sarah’s office hours, follow her on Instagram, connect with her on LinkedIn, or see what she’s building now at Avignon Partners.

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I’m kicking off a series here over the next few weeks with one goal: proving to you, one stubborn assumption at a time, that it’s not too late to do big, brave things.

Part 1: You Can’t teach an Old Dog New Tricks.

We adopted a middle-aged dog just before the pandemic. We called him Arlo, because with his fluffy white hair and serious face, he looks like an old man, namely the musician Arlo Guthrie. His legs are short and stocky like the rest of our family. He fit right in.

I’d never had a dog or been responsible for one, so I just assumed that the adage about teaching old dogs new tricks meant our dog was incapable of change and our job was simply to learn to adjust to the quirks he’d developed over a very tough early life. I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t bother to do even 10 seconds of research to confirm my assumption was true. I just went with it.

Then one day a few years in, my teenage daughter decided to teach him to sit. He caught on so quickly that she showed him other “tricks.” It only took a few hours before he was sitting and staying and even fetching. It turns out that dogs never stop learning. In fact, older dogs often have longer attention spans and are less easily distracted than energetic puppies, making them excellent students.

Of course, if you’re reading this, you’re not a dog (though if a dog is reading this, please, please reach out). So, is it too late for us humans to learn new things? Nope.

Neuroscience has proven that our brains retain their neuroplasticity — the ability to form new neural connections, build new skills, and rewire existing patterns — throughout our entire lives. We do not have a fixed, finite window for learning. But, it is vital that we believe in our ability to learn new tricks. A three-month study of older adults who simultaneously learned photography, Spanish, and drawing found that a growth mindset, believing that they could learn new skills, led to greater cognitive gains than believing they were stuck with the skills they had. Just as with Arlo, our old dog assumptions about our capabilities for learning and growth can stop us before we even get started.

I find it incredibly inspiring to hear about skills that people have learned in midlife, so if you’re reading this and you’ve learned some new tricks in midlife, share them with us in the comments!

Paid Subscribers: tomorrow night, Tuesday at 7 pm ET, is our first-ever Lift and Be Lifted Zoom, which I am super excited about. RSVP here if you want in.

Happy Friday!

It officially feels like summer around here now that the girls finished school this week.

What I find myself wanting now is simply good hangs with good people.

If you feel that too, here are a few ways to find your people inside the Uplifters community this week. All three are for paid subscribers. Every dollar from paid subscriptions goes directly to supporting community through donations, book buys, etc. Between Uplifters Live and podcast subscriptions this year alone, we’ve donated almost $7,000 together. If cost is ever a barrier, though, just reply to this email.

1. Say hello in the subscriber chat. Just introduce yourself. Tell us who you are and what you’re working on. That’s it. It’s a low-stakes, high-return way to connect.

2. Join our Co-Working Cocoon every Friday. Next one is starting in one hour. We gather to co-work in community. The first 15 minutes are a check-in, then we put our heads down and work for 45 minutes, pause for a one-song dance party (yes, really), then we go back into focus for another hour.

3. Join our first-ever Lift and Be Lifted Uplifters Zoom this Tuesday, June 23 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT.

Uplifters Live in March was one of my favorite days in recent memory. Over 100 of us in a room together, operating under a shared agreement to lift and be lifted. We boldly named what we were working on, said where we could use support, and pooled our resources. Since then, so much has grown from that one day: new literary agents signed, a TEDx booking, new clients, new followers, new retail placements, friendships, and a lot of much-needed moral support.

I kept thinking: why does this only happen once a year?

So I’m bringing it to Zoom. My hope is that this becomes a regular monthly gathering where we can connect, celebrate what we’re building, name what’s getting in the way, offer what we know, and lift each other higher.

Come prepared to share a little about what you’re working on and one thing you could use support with, whether that’s an intro, a resource, likes and follows, or just someone to cheer you on.

RSVP HERE

Can’t make it Tuesday? No worries. This will be monthly, and once we see how the first one goes, I’ll send details for the next few.

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Month-at-a-Glance

This month we’re sharing stories about four different types of permission:

Sofia Kavlin, the visionary behind the Unsent Letter Mailbox, gave herself permission to ASK for support, and in walked her creative soulmate, Bonnie Blue Edwards. Listen HERE.

Last week, , who lit her AARP mailer on fire and created a genuine print mag for Gen Xers. Listen HERE.

Coming up, Sarah Kauss took S’well from $30k in savings to over $100 million, then sold it. In midlife she gave herself permission to SLOW DOWN.

And this week, Sarah Nelson of Sexual Empowerment in Midlife, who spent 30 years believing it was her job to keep everyone else happy. In midlife, she gave herself permission to DESIRE.

Put on your Enya record, girls, because today, we’re gonna talk about SEX!

took the good girl lessons to heart growing up: be agreeable, don’t make anyone uncomfortable, and if you’re having sex, make sure it’s with someone you intend to marry. She married her high school sweetheart, the first and only person she ever slept with, had a couple kids, and got a good job.

On the outside, it looked like a full life. And in a lot of ways, it was. But there was a part of her that had loved sex since she was a kid playing with dolls and having fantasies that never got integrated into her grown-up life. Her body and her desires felt like something to be ashamed of, so she hid them.

Then a friend told her he’d opened his relationship. And she realized on a visceral level that she wanted that too. In the latest episode of The Uplifters Podcast, you’ll hear

• What her husband thought about all of this

• What her relationship with other sexual partners looks like now

• How she handles this as a mom of two young kids

• And most of all, what she’s learned from her research about sex in midlife

Her Courage Practice

Years ago, Sarah did one of those values exercises you can find online: a long list of positive adjectives, narrow it down to your core ten. She still goes back to that list 15 years later, for every hard decision: relationships, professional opportunities, all of it.

5 Ways Sarah Shows Us How to Build Our Courage Capital:

1. She let curiosity outrank fear. When she decided to explore opening her relationship, Sarah didn’t have a plan. She just followed her curiosity.

2. She separated her voice from the noise. Sarah spent years unable to tell the difference between what she wanted and what others told her to want. She did the unglamorous work, in therapy and in her body, to learn her own needs.

3. She redefined what a boundary actually is. Not “please change your behavior because it upsets me,” but “I get to behave differently because of how I feel.”

4. She let her values do the deciding. Joy and integrity sit at the top of Sarah’s list, and she still uses them, fifteen years later, to weigh every major decision.

Lift Her Up

Check out Sarah’s fascinating writing and learn about her coaching at sarahnelsoncoach.com.

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Month-at-a-Glance

This month we’re sharing stories about four different types of permission:

Last week, Sofia Kavlin, the visionary behind the Unsent Letter Mailbox, gave herself permission to ASK for support, and in walked her creative soulmate, Bonnie Blue Edwards. Listen HERE

Coming up, Sarah Nelson of Sexual Empowerment in Midlife spent 30 years believing it was her job to keep everyone else happy. In midlife, she gave herself permission to DESIRE. Sarah Kauss took S’well from $30k in savings to over $100 million, then sold it. In midlife she gave herself permission to SLOW DOWN.

And this week, !

spent decades as a creative director in advertising and then a tech industry writer, all while being the primary earner, caretaker, and support system for her family. She was good at being good for everyone else.

Then she turned 50. She ended her marriage, burned her AARP card, and one day, in the shower, she had a vision: a print magazine for Gen Xers who are kicking ass in the second half and have exactly zero interest in being told where to retire. She would call it Geezer.

Like so many of us, Laura spent most of her life with a voice in the back of her head saying she was good but not good enough. Reliable, but not capital-C Creative. That voice kept her in the back seat of her own creative life for decades, making things for other people because it was safer than tossing her innards out and asking, “Is this okay? Am I all right?”

Founding Geezer was the first time she dared to come out as the badass creative force she always was. She didn’t hedge her bets, either. She took all of her stock options, laid them on the table, and Geezer mag was born. The result is a lushly printed quarterly by and for Gen X. It’s grand in scale, its stories and art are wildly ambitious, and you can get a copy of every issue by subscribing to her Substack, so go do that now!)

Geezer magazine

Geezer is the only print magazine for Gen X exploring the agony and ecstasy of aging—because midlife is weird in ways no one warned us about.

By Laura LeBleu

5 Ways Laura LeBleu Shows Us How to Build Our Courage Capital:

1. Start with the resources you’ve already earned. Laura didn’t start from zero. She brought thirty years of creative experience, business knowledge, and yes, stock options to the table.

2. Name the limiting beliefs and move anyway. The “good but not great enough” voice didn’t disappear when Laura launched Geezer. She just stopped letting it make the decisions.

3. Lead with “I don’t know what I’m doing.” It sounds counterintuitive, but Laura’s greatest community-building tool was radical honesty about her knowledge gaps. People want to help. Let them.

4. Have a strong POV. Geezer is polarizing by design. Some people love the name; some hate it. A strong point of view repels the wrong people and magnetizes the right ones. You can’t make something true enough to move people while also trying to please everyone.

5. Ask yourself: if not now, when? This was Laura’s throughline. Life is short. Do the big, brave things.

Lift Her Up:

Go subscribe to Geezer Magazine at geezermagazine.com. Use code UPLIFT15 for 15% off your first subscription.

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Each month, I gather up the best conversations with women over 40 doing remarkable things, the ideas fueling our courage, and what I can’t get enough of right now.

Hi friends,

We made it to June. School is wrapping up, summer is stretching out ahead, and as always, this community has been busy doing big, brave things. Here is what’s in the batch this month.

In Community

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to our Shopping and Sangria evening at TTH Vintage benefiting Hearts of Gold.

I am so excited to announce a new benefit for our paid subscribers: Monthly Lift and Be Lifted meetups. Once a month, starting Tuesday, June 16, we will capture some of the magic of Uplifters Live on Zoom to do what this community does best. Midlife women with decades of careers and roles and hats worn between them are wildly, freakishly resourceful, so we will use the time to move further and faster, together. We are really pretty magical.

Subscribe now

On the Pod

May was for mothers, money, and menopause.

🎧 Four very different takes on motherhood from Ruthie Ackerman, Katie Horwitch, Sarah Gormley, and Shayla Martin. Listen HERE.

🎧 Dr. Kimberly Derezil, MD, a doctor and certified wealth manager, on how to avoid massive financial losses during menopause. Listen HERE.

🎧 Women’s health advocate Rebecca Bloom on what happens when women get sick. Listen HERE.

🎧 And Jacquelyn Fletcher Johnson and Christy Kercheville on finding renewed purpose in the wake of cancer. Listen HERE.

June is for the permission we wait for that only we can give.

Way back in episode 79, Kerry Brodie shared that when she had the wild idea to start a nonprofit to help immigrants get into the workforce, she also had a million reasons she wasn’t the right person and it wasn’t the right time. Her husband asked, “Whose permission are you waiting for?” She realized she only needed her own. Today she and Emma’s Torch have served over 500 students and created more than $21 million in increased wages for graduates.

This month the pod brings stories about four different types of permission:

Sofia Kavlin, the visionary behind the Unsent Letter Mailbox, gave herself permission to ASK for support, and in walked her creative soulmate, Bonnie Blue Edwards.

Laura LeBleu spent 54 years telling stories for everyone else, sure she wasn’t creative enough to make her own publication. In midlife, she gave herself permission to BEGIN, set her AARP card on fire, and published Geezer magazine.

Sarah Nelson of Sexual Empowerment in Midlife spent 30 years believing it was her job to keep everyone else happy. In midlife, she gave herself permission to DESIRE.

Sarah Kauss took S’well from $30k in savings to over $100 million, then sold it. In midlife she gave herself permission to SLOW DOWN.

New Friends

The Uplifters podcast is built on the idea that Uplifters rise higher together, that when we pool our midlife wisdom we can do remarkable things. Each guest nominates a woman who inspires her, which means I get to talk to amazing women all day, every day. Here are a few of the uplifting women I met this month. Follow them. You will be so glad you did.

• , a rest and ritual teacher whose work centers on purpose and stillness.

• , the filmmaker behind Ramona in Midlife, get it now on Prime and Apple.

• , an author, attorney, and executive leader who helps people redefine success and navigate change.

• Kristina Godfrey, who has run Godfrey Social PR since 1997 and is devoted to helping women grow into their best selves.

• Christine Despres, a longtime nurse turned brain health and wellness coach helping midlife women age well, including those caring for aging parents.

• Jessica Hansen, a voice coach and performer exploring what happens to our voices in midlife.

• Jennifer Shay Carta, an accomplished actor turned author writing her way through midlife.

• Dara Steinberg, an occupational therapist and menopause coach who helps highly sensitive women slow down and heal.

• , founder of Relationality, mapping how teams make decisions to build healthier, better-matched cultures.

• Robinson, a film producer, writer, and director, and the creator of the film Late Bloomers.

• Tori DaCosta, author of No Name Bastard, on what we can actually control, manage, and influence.

• Adora Winquist, a modern-day alchemist working in vibrational medicine, energy healing, and essential oil alchemy.

• Wendy Richardson, a real estate agent and coach.

• Rebecca Cohen and Seema Aghera, the co-founders of Brooklyn Book Bodega.

Uplifter Updates

Every month I ask our community to share their wins and the ways we can lift each other up. Here are a few highlights:

is getting close to launching her first product. She credits this community with giving her the confidence to chase something that had been sitting on her someday list for a long time. It is a set of hair bands with a message, designed to be meaningful reminders throughout the day, and she is preparing for an Amazon launch. She is looking for product testers to give feedback. If you are interested, reach her at jaclyn@whereheregear.com.

Rachel Josephson of Fils & Poisson hosted her first pop-up shop!

Jodi Miller is making the t-shirt every woman needs. The Lift Heavy Club is for those days you are having a hot flash while taking over the world. I think they’d be the perfect thing to wear while reading .

’s career book, Closing the Fulfillment Gap: How to Design the Work Life You Want, is out September 15. For anyone feeling stuck, unsure of the next right step, or simply ready for a boost in purpose, this one was written for you. Pre-order it here, and look for Helen on an upcoming episode.

created Love Is Community Suppers, a passion project where she brings her love of cooking, baking, and hosting to the table. Guests come as they are for a free meal, dessert, and real conversation. If you’re in Westchester, check out her events.

(episode 6) completed her first 100-mile run. Her fourth memoir, capturing the journey of the JFK 50 Mile Race, is out now.

(episode 7) is building out her coaching work with couples and a group for women in relationship transition, and hosted her very first retreat. She is also in the early stages of a writing project on communication and resilience.

(episode 43) had her podcast, Well...Adjusting, featured by Apple Podcasts. She is still acting in a business where “no” outnumbers “yes” by roughly three bagillion to one, and holding it all a little more loosely. Follow her at @realrobhops.

got resourceful. After years of needing an extra set of hands at work, she found a way to bring on a couple of contractors who start this week, plus a side gig to help fund them.

Kimberle Lau (founder of Bake Me Healthy) is co-hosting the first Long Island Female Entrepreneurs (LIFE) and Lattes event with Elizabeth Kressel. If you are building a business, growing a side hustle, or just want to be in a room with ambitious women who get the journey, this is your space. Come for the cappuccino, stay for the community. Register here.

Michelle McGovern is celebrating her twins turning 6. They were born in May 2020, at the height of COVID in New York City, while Michelle was seven months pregnant and COVID positive. Happy birthday, girls.

Want to be included in next month’s Good Batch and stay connected to what other Uplifters are building? Join us as a paid subscriber and come find your people in our chat.

With love, Aransas

I keep this print by the graffiti artist Steve Powers, AKA ESPO over my desk at all times to remind me. Every week will have lights, and every one will have darks. And every week we will meet up on Zoom to remember one good thing and one worry or challenge from the week, because celebrating the good stuff and working through the tough stuff is how we keep doing big, brave things.

You’re invited, and we’d love for you to join us at the link below.

Every Friday from 10-12 ET, on Zoom. Here’s our flow:

• 10:00 - Set intentions and reflect together

• 10:15 - Three deep breaths, then dive into solo work

• 11:00 - One-song dance party to shake things loose

• 11:03 - Second solo work session

• 11:59 - Close and pat ourselves on the back

Read more