#118 How an Educator Transformed Midlife Uncertainty into Mindful Entrepreneurship
With Vanessa Hutchinson-Szekely
Hi! New here? Welcome to the Uplifters! I'm Aransas Savas. I've spent the last 20 years at the intersection of behavior change research and coaching. On The Uplifters Podcast, we share diverse stories of women who have found something beautiful on the other side of the hard stuff. Despite self-doubt and fear (and honestly, who doesn't have those?), they've done big, brave things anyway, and show us how we can too!
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Listen to this episode for a bonus expert-led meditation with Vanessa that will refresh your afternoon and power your next brave step!
We’ve all heard (and lived?) plenty of stories about the paralyzing uncertainty that comes with a big career change, so it feels extra important to amplify stories like Vanessa’s. Yes, she left a 20-year education career to become an entrepreneur. Yes, there was a ton of uncertainty about how things would work out, but what kept her up at night and got her up in the morning wasn’t fear of what could go wrong, but the excitement of building her dream. "I was having the time of my life," she said about that first year. "There was not enough time in the day... It never felt like work."
Vanessa is a French-American educator who built her entire adult life within the safety of classroom walls, but a pandemic sabbatical in a tiny Alpine village (three kilometers outside civilization, next to a gondola, no less) changed everything for her.
What followed wasn't a careful, calculated pivot. It was more like what Vanessa calls "throwing pasta at the wall and seeing what sticks." She made things, she shared them, she learned from them. In short, she practiced all of the Courage Capital Habits. More on those ⬇️.
So, what happened? Vanessa launched meditation podcasts in two languages, earned her yoga teaching certifications, and built Big Belly Breathing, her platform for bringing mindfulness to families worldwide. She learned what so many Uplifters have learned: "We improve by producing and putting it out there... We have to just mess up and we have to be okay with messing up."
Her Courage Practice: The Afternoon Brain Refresh
Vanessa's signature practice centers around what she calls her "dried sponge" meditation ritual. Picture this: every afternoon, when her brain feels "like a dried-out, crispy sponge sitting on your sink for two days," she stops everything for transcendental meditation. The transformation she describes is visceral – "a graceful hand taking that sponge and dipping it into a bucket of water... it's juicy again."
This twice-daily practice (morning and afternoon) isn't just about stress relief – it's become her secret weapon for accessing creativity and energy. "So many times I'm in meditation and there's this thought and I'm like, 'Oh, I'll get to that later,'" she explains. Those subconscious downloads have become the fuel for everything from her bilingual meditation podcasts to her latest venture: a WNBA-focused podcast born from pure joy at Golden State Valkyries games.
Listen to This If...
You like the idea of a “midlife transformation” way more than the idea of a “midlife crisis”
You're curious about meditation
You want to hear how someone built a meaningful business by following joy and curiosity
You need permission to be messy, experimental, and delightfully imperfect in your next brave chapter
Lift Her Up
Ready to add more mindfulness to your family's life? Big Belly Breathing offers guided meditations in both French and English, plus journals and workshops for all ages. Find the podcast on any platform, visit bigbellybreathing.com for resources, and if you're feeling generous, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.
For WNBA fans, check out Valkyries Say Less for pure basketball joy and community celebration. And if you're in the Bay Area, maybe you'll spot Vanessa in her season ticket seats, evangelizing the power of women's sports with infectious enthusiasm.
Connect with Vanessa's work at bigbellybreathing.com or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Episode References
Big Belly Breathing podcast and website (bigbellybreathing.com) - Vanessa's guided meditation platform with over 100 episodes in French and English
Valkyries Say Less - Her newest podcast celebrating the Golden State Valkyries WNBA team
Breathe for Change - The organization where she earned her yoga teacher training and social emotional learning certification
Core Power Yoga - Where she discovered her love for teaching yoga
The Elles Collective - The francophone women entrepreneur group that became part of her support system
Insight Timer - The meditation app she recommends for building a consistent practice
Transcendental Meditation - Her personal practice and training background
More Episodes You'll Love
If Vanessa's story of midlife transformation and joyful risk-taking resonated with you, here are more Uplifters who found courage to reinvent themselves:
Start here: Konika Ray Wong (Episode 51) - The science teacher who nominated Vanessa and founded Girl Power Science with her daughter during the pandemic, flipping puberty education positive for kids ages 4 and up.
Career Changers & Second Act Stories
Julie Hartigan (Episode 8) - The engineer who left a lucrative tech career to become a chef and now leads empowering food-wine-culture trips for women to Italy.
Cleyvis Natera (Episode 63) - Always knew she wanted to be a writer but built a corporate career first. After almost losing her young son, she found courage to quit her stable job and become an award-winning novelist.
Heather Markel (Episode 34) - Spent 25+ years behind a corporate desk, then at 48 quit her job for a "six-month career break" that became six years of full-time travel across 39 countries.
Jennifer Maanavi (Episode 62) - Left her corporate career to co-found Physique 57, growing a barre fitness startup into a global empire.
Mindfulness & Wellness Warriors
Rachel Everson Fink (Episode 42) - Speech pathologist turned wellness advocate who discovered the power of boundaries and nature-based healing after breaking free from an abusive relationship.
Katie Horwitch (Episode 95) - Founded WANT (Women Against Negative Talk) and wrote "Want Your Self" after her own journey shifting negative self-talk patterns.
Dr. Shayna Kaufmann (Episode 99) - Left her successful forensic psychology career at 50 with no plan, eventually founding Embrace the Middle to serve women in midlife transitions.
Educators Turned Entrepreneurs
Jen Liddy (Episode 20) - High school teacher who escaped endless phone confiscation duties to become a copy and content strategist helping experts translate their brilliant ideas.
Rachel Lipson (Episode 4) - Started Blue Balloon music school in her studio apartment, growing it into a global network of 75+ teachers serving 400+ students worldwide.
Taylor Ratliff (Episode 54) - STEM educator who founded Chocolate Babies in STEM to create representation and accessible lessons for students of color.
The Art of Messy Beginnings
Caroline Scruggs (Episode 48) - Music artist who teaches "Embrace the Cringe" through her Uke Camp songwriting programs, helping people get comfortable being vulnerable beginners.
Angela Wilson (Episode 107) - Special education teacher who launched "Gifts No One Asked For," creating free watercolor portraits for strangers despite believing her art "wasn't good enough to share."
Kara Cutruzzula (Episode 36) - Writer and boundary expert whose "Do It (or Don't)" philosophy helps people say no more often and reclaim time for what matters most.
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