Lift & Be Lifted
If you’ve ever wondered, “Is it too late for me to...” the answer’s NO and The Uplifters is about to show you why. This space is for purpose-driven women who want to do big, brave things in the second half of their lives.
Last Friday, I stood in front of almost 100 badass midlife women women and asked them to do something that should be simple but somehow isn’t:
Name what you have in spades. And then name what you need.
Friday’s Uplifters Live marked the third anniversary of the Uplifters Podcast. 152 episodes. One Signal Award for Most Inspiring Podcast. Over 100,000 downloads. 3 annual celebrations. And yesterday, we became the 30th fastest rising Substack in Health & Wellness!
So many lessons. One big one?
Uplifters are really good at giving.
We can rattle off our expertise, our networks, our resources. We know what we bring to the table. But when I get to the end of every episode and say: “As Uplifters, we love to uplift other Uplifters. How can we support you?” I watch faces change.
There’s this moment of surprise. Sometimes delight. Often discomfort.
Wait, you’re asking ME what I need?
Yes. Always yes.
Why Midlife Brains Are Built for This
Here’s what the research tells us: The brain restructuring that happens during perimenopause and menopause actually primes us for doing bold, breakthrough work.
We also usually realize that even though we can cobble together resources and make things happen through sheer willpower, we don’t want to do it alone anymore.
There’s this deep craving to be in our space of genius — doing what we do best, supported by others doing what they do best.
We discover that sharing resources, collaborating, bringing more minds together to solve problems isn’t just more effective.
It’s more fun.
This playlist includes the stories of 31 of the women in the room on Friday.
On Friday, we heard from 14 lightning talk speakers, hosted a live podcast recording with two incredible investors and one rockstar founder, Mahogany L. Browne (Mo Browne – Djeli Said) reminded us to dream loudly, and so much more. But, before any of that, I asked everyone to spend five minutes asking themselves two questions:
What do I have in spades?
Expertise? Connections? Platform? Resources? Time? Access?
How would I like to be supported?
What expertise do I need? What connections am I seeking? Who could amplify my work? What resources would help? What specific ask would make my next step possible?
I told them: The more specific, the easier it is for someone to help you.
“I need support” is too vague.
“I need an intro to someone at X company” is actionable.
I watched the room transform over the next six hours.
Women who’d never met were making introductions across tables. An entrepreneur found her first beta testers. A writer got connected to an editor. Someone who’d been stuck on pricing got three perspectives that unlocked her thinking.
Not networking. Collaborating.
Because when we start from “here’s what I have” and “here’s what I need,” we create a different kind of exchange.
We build what I call Courage Capital — the resources, relationships, and resilience that make brave things possible.
Lift and Be Lifted
At every table during lunch, I asked the hosts to model this: Share your wisdom. Then ask for support.
Every speaker did it too. Ruthie Ackerman , Katie Horwitch , Shannon Russell, Dr. Kimberly Derezil Meno & Money , Sonya Weisshappel, Karissa Pfeffer — they gave us their hard-won insights, and then they asked for support.
Follow my work. Share my book. Introduce me to someone. Try my product.
And the room said yes.
Because that’s what happens when we stop pretending we have it all figured out and start building together.
By midlife, we’re in a weird space where we’ve accumulated all this knowledge, all these skills, all these connections — but we’re also navigating a transition that can feel destabilizing.
The old rules don’t work anymore. Maybe the old version of success no longer fits. And we’re figuring out: What do I want to build in this next chapter? The answer, I’m increasingly convinced, isn’t something we build alone. It’s something we build together.
If you were at Uplifters Live, thank you for being part of the magic. If you weren’t, I hope you felt a little of it through this letter. I’ll share lots of the talks from the event in upcoming episodes!
And if you’re wondering how to find your own lift-and-be-lifted community:
Join us. Become a paid subscriber to the Uplifters community ($8/month). Your support goes directly back into other Uplifters by buying books from featured authors, donating to nonprofits featured on the show, and planning events like Uplifters Live.
Plus you get access to our weekly co-working Zoom where we set intentions, support each other’s work, and actually get things done. (And yes, we dance.)
As always, I’ll end the way I end every episode:
As Uplifters, we love to uplift other Uplifters.
How can we support you?
Let me know. I’d love to hear.
XX
Aransas
Paid subscribers, I’ll see you later this week with a series of reflection prompts to help you tap back into some of your resources.
See you Friday!
Aransas