Reinvent Yourself – Details, episodes & analysis

 "When God tells you it's time to reinvent, you listen," says Staci Wallace, best-selling author, speaker, and CEO of Fueled by Fire. In this episode, Lesley Jane Seymour sat down with Wallace to explore a unique perspective on reinvention driven by faith and divine inspiration. From her early days as a tough tomboy in South Dallas to becoming a business strategist who has shared the stage with five U.S. presidents, her journey is nothing short of extraordinary. Discover how she transitioned from a life of entrepreneurial success to leading a purpose-driven, faith-based consulting company that empowers others to create highly profitable businesses that glorify God. Wallace also shares her personal experience with physical and spiritual transformation, including a heartfelt discussion about her decision to remove breast implants for health reasons. This episode is a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone seeking to reinvent themselves at any stage of life.

Bio

Staci Wallace is a best-selling author, speaker, and CEO of Fueled by Fire, a global faith-based consulting company. With 35 years of expertise in business psychology and leadership development, she empowers entrepreneurs, CEOs, and influencers to create purpose-driven, highly profitable businesses and nonprofit organizations. Stacey and her husband Larry are also the founders of Em Women, a nonprofit organization that rescues and restores the lives of women and girls facing life's most difficult challenges.

02:54 - Wallace started out in network marketing at 18 and has built multiple businesses

08:14 - The intersection of midlife and reinvention

14:51 - Wallace's health journey and miracle

18:25 - Wallace says God asked her to give everything away to the poor

24:08 - Fueled by Fire coaches entrepreneurs to become conduits of generosity

24:53 - How Fueled by Fire became a million dollar business

26:06 - Wallace's three tips for reinvention

• Reinvention can be driven by divine inspiration and faith.
• Physical transformations can lead to significant improvements in health and well-being.
• Midlife reinvention requires embracing who you are now, rather than striving to be who you once were.
• Purpose-driven businesses can be both highly profitable and a conduit for generosity.

• Visit Staci Wallace's Website
• Explore Covey Club

If you found this episode inspiring, please follow the podcast and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. For more resources and community support, join us at CoveyClub.com. Until next time, keep reinventing!

"What to do when you feel like crap" is the unfiltered, honest theme of this episode, featuring the inspiring Heather Chauvin. A leadership coach and former social worker, Chauvin helps successful women live, work, and parent on their own terms. She shares her journey from an early motherhood at 18 to a life-altering stage four cancer diagnosis in 2013, which propelled her into a mission to uncover how cultural expectations sabotage our dreams. Join us as Chauvin discusses the concept of being "emotionally uncomfortable," the importance of self-awareness, and actionable steps to transform your life.

Bio:

Heather Chauvin is a leadership coach specializing in helping women courageously and authentically live, work, and parent on their own terms. She began her career as a social worker and pivoted to coaching after a stage four cancer diagnosis in 2013. Heather is passionate about helping women uncover how cultural expectations sabotage their dreams and has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Real Simple, MindBodyGreen, and Google.

(00:00) - Heather Chauvin is a leadership coach who helps women live on their own terms

(01:49) - The meaning behind "emotionally uncomfortable"

(02:19) - Six months after becoming self employed, Chauvin was diagnosed with stage four cancer

(07:58) - Danielle Laporte says burning out started when she became a mother

(15:13) - People often teach that you have to lead by example to change others

(22:17) - Chauvin discusses her health and where she is now

(24:10) - Heather says women are more open to talking about mental health and emotional wellness

Key Points:

• Embracing emotional discomfort can lead to profound personal growth.
• Self-awareness and personal responsibility are crucial for transformation.
• Taking consistent action is necessary to create lasting change.
• Midlife transitions often prompt women to seek change and prioritize their well-being.
• Heather's journey from a cancer diagnosis to thriving shows the power of resilience and self-care.

Links and Resources:

• Heather Chauvin's Website
• Heather Chauvin on Instagram
• Emotionally Uncomfortable Podcast
• Visit Covey Club

If you found this episode inspiring, please follow the podcast and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. For more resources and community support, join us at CoveyClub.com. Until next time, keep reinventing!

"There is throughout this theme of reaching a certain age and feeling like I'm entitled to the ground I'm standing on, at least," says New York Times bestselling author Ann Leary "Sometimes just being overly nice isn't authentic." CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour sits down with the writer to discuss her latest essay collection, "I've Tried Being Nice." Leary shares her personal journey of reinvention, her writing process, and the humorous yet poignant moments that inspired her new essay collection. Perfect for anyone navigating midlife changes, Leary’s stories resonate deeply, especially with women over 50. She discusses her childhood of frequent moves, which shaped her observational skills and writing talent, and offers invaluable tips like writing authentically as if to a best friend. Highlighting the episode is Leary’s candid talk about overcoming lifelong people-pleasing, finding her voice, and the empowerment found in her essay "I've Tried Being Nice." For aspiring writers, Leary’s practical advice includes starting the writing day early and maintaining flow. This episode is a must-listen for its blend of inspiration, humor, and practical advice.

02:25: Ann Leary talks about her new book

06:18: What inspired you to go back to memoir after having written several novels?

10:15: How does moving play into being an observer and being a writer?

14:26: When did you decide that you were going to take your writing seriously?

18:45: Do you write every day or do you have a process?

23:34: Do you share your work with anybody while you're working on it?

25:28: Leaving the people pleaser club

28:30: The freedom of midlife

• Ann Leary's essay collection, I've Tried Being Nice, is a must-read for midlife women, filled with humor and relatable insights.
• Frequent moves during childhood helped Ann develop her observational skills, crucial for her writing.
• Writing should feel like a conversation with a friend who gets you, making it more authentic and engaging.
• Ann shares her struggle with being a lifelong people pleaser and the liberation that comes with age.
• Having a supportive writing community is essential for feedback and encouragement.

• Visit Ann Leary's Website for more information and upcoming events.
• Order I've Tried Being Nice on Amazon or wherever books are sold.
• Follow Ann Leary on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

If you found this episode inspiring, please follow the podcast and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. For more resources and community support, join us at CoveyClub.com. Until next time, keep reinventing!

FREE GIFT! 31 Badass Tips for Launching Your Reinvention

Connect with Lesley Jane Seymour & CoveyClub:

• Website
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Join CoveyClub

Kristine Deer knew from childhood that she was meant to create, and when her mother gave her a box of fabric, some duct tape, and a stapler, she unlocked her passion for designing clothes. Fast-forward to college: Deer, of course, majored in fashion design before moving to New York City to pursue her career as a designer. But when The Great Recession hit in 2000, the industry changed. Deer found herself working menial tasks for other designers and witnessing a harsh corporate environment devoid of creative freedom. When she later lost her job, she was disillusioned and bereft. Leaving the city, she moved back in with her parents, determined to begin again. But how? After discovering her passion for hot yoga, Deer began to design her own yoga clothes—in particular the multi-striped rainbow leggings for which she eventually became famous. Eleven years later, she is the founder and CEO of the activewear brand K-DEER. In an intimate conversation with CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour, Deer shares her journey of reinvention both personally and professionally.

FREE GIFT! Don’t start your reinvention without downloading CoveyClub’s starter guide called “31 Badass Tips for Launching Your Reinvention Without Fear!”

For Laurie James, giving birth to four daughters in five years called for necessary life changes. Leaving her career as a recruiter, she took on the role of a full-time mom. “My third pregnancy were a set of identical twin girls,” she says, “so that was a pretty big shock to the system.” An even bigger shock came when her mother developed dementia. This meant Laurie now found herself raising four children while also managing her mother’s care. “I became one of the first people in my friend group to enter into the Sandwich Generation.” The Sandwich Generation, Laurie says, is described as having at least one child you are supporting and at least one parent that’s over the age of 65. Her attention diverted,  Laurie also found her marriage struggling. Turning to therapy and yoga for support, she was inspired when an acquaintance suggested she write a book. Laurie James talks to CoveyClub founder, Lesley Jane Seymour about how she poured her struggles, her accomplishments, and her lessons along the way into Sandwiched: A Memoir of Holding On and Letting Go. The book chronicles her personal journey through the sandwich generation while also revealing many of the dangerous flaws within the caregiving industry. As a result of writing the book, Laurie found new strength in the power of writing and reflection. “Find that time to reflect,” Laurie advises us, “because that’s where our growth happens.”

FREE GIFT! Don’t start your reinvention without downloading CoveyClub’s starter guide called “31 Badass Tips for Launching Your Reinvention Without Fear!”

What do you do when you have an MBA from Stanford with a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship, but you’re also loving your corporate job? That was the conundrum Nicole Malcolm-Manyara faced after spending ten years at P&G.  “I worked in their oral care portfolio for kids...the Gillette business. I worked in their incubator...so it was pretty much like working for a startup but at a big company,” she says. She also worked on their CVS customer team and at Duracell. But Malcolm-Manyara always had “the entrepreneurial bug.”  After Duracell, she took a job working--mostly remotely-- for Organic Girl, the salad company.  “During that translation this whole idea came to me for Rad Royals,” cool satin pillowcases for young Black girls. Her three-year-old daughter was refusing to tie her hair in a satin scarf or bonnet to protect it from getting tangled overnight.  “And so I thought, well, why don’t I get her a satin pillowcase.” But Malcolm-Manyara couldn’t find anything that was made sustainably or whimsically designed to intrigue her daughter. For two years Malcolm-Manyara, who lived on the east coast, worked her day job on California time and used her mornings for motherhood and Rad Royals: “It evolved very quickly into a business, a brand.” She says:  “If you really want to do something, you figure out how to do it...That has driven me to carve out time...and be really really focused….I try to say, ok, if i can spend one hour a day on Royals then, you know I’m good.”  One of the things Malcolm-Manyara learned when working in the incubator was the concept of figuring out your killer issue. “If you have an idea, you sit down and try and figure out what the two or three things that absolutely have to be true in order for [you] to be successful with this idea...and you solve for those things.” 

FREE GIFT! Don’t start your reinvention without downloading CoveyClub’s starter guide called “31 Badass Tips for Launching Your Reinvention Without Fear!”

When Ann Dowsett Johnston attended her son’s graduation from Smith College she felt a “deep pang” that she says sounded like, “I will die and never have done this.” With her son’s encouragement, Johnston applied to Smith and moved into the student dorm with 25-year olds the next year. “I had broken my ankle and was in a wheelchair,” she says. “I was as old as many parents or grandparents. It was a phenomenal experience.”  After graduating Johnston, a Canadian, who had been a journalist, then vice-principal of McGill University, launched her career as a psychotherapist at age 67 dealing with women in transition--”to post-retirement, wrestling with substance abuse or career disappointment”.  When she found she missed writing, she dug into a topic she knew well: alcohol addiction (she is now 13 years sober). In 2013, she wrote the best-selling book, “Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol.”  Today she runs memoir-writing workshops (“Writing Your Recovery”) in which she encourages women to tell their own stories of triumph over grief, substance, or burnout. “We have book proposals in the alumni group before international agents now,...articles in major magazines... pieces submitted to contests,” she says. “My approach to life is that we live in chapters. When friends are retiring, mine is fresh and inspirational. It’s very new. I plan to work until I’m eighty to pay off my student debt!”

FREE GIFT! Don’t start your reinvention without downloading CoveyClub’s starter guide called “31 Badass Tips for Launching Your Reinvention Without Fear!”

“First thing: get clear on what you want,” says Jennifer Pate, the very practical founder of FeelAgeless.com, a site dedicated to making women feel good about aging. “Take out paper and pen and write down how much time [you can dedicate to your reinvention]. Be realistic about what you can do.”  Ask yourself, she says:  “How much money do I need [to make]? What do I want to do? Can you name it? What are you good at? What do people compliment you on? The more you can define these things—things will start opening up.” That’s exactly how Pate made her way from being a professional dancer to casting director, co-author of a book ( “The Mothers of Reinvention”), and television contributor. Facing empty nest and turning 55 forced Pate to reassess what she wanted to do next and when she discovered “so many women at the height of their creativity and drive [who] felt we weren’t being talked to….I want to change the narrative of what it is to age today.”

FREE GIFT! Don’t start your reinvention without downloading CoveyClub’s starter guide called “31 Badass Tips for Launching Your Reinvention Without Fear!”

“When someone wants to recreate themselves it’s not easy,” says Marlene Wallach, author of “Wellness is in Style--An Easy Guide to Body & Soul”, former co-owner (for 17 years) of modeling agency Wilhelmina International Partnership and founder of GleemBeauty.com.  “You have to stick with it whatever it is--changing jobs, careers, industries. Go to conferences and walk up to the speaker and say, ‘I really admire you. I loved what you said and would  love to contact you with an idea I had.’”  That’s exactly how she snagged an interview with LinkedIn founder, Reid Hoffman for her book. “I wrote to him and his secretary said, ‘He doesn’t have time.’ That meant no. I wrote back four more times and sometimes just wrote a joke.” Wallach says she never looked at her moves as reinventions which sounds “overwhelming” but as next steps. “For me the next step is close, is easy. When I saw things not working, I went to the next step.” 

FREE GIFT! Don’t start your reinvention without downloading CoveyClub’s starter guide called “31 Badass Tips for Launching Your Reinvention Without Fear!”

“People go for their ‘type’ and that’s the worst for them,” says Sandy Weiner, dating expert and CEO of LastFirstDate.com. “Women I work with are now in their sixties and they go for CEO types. They say, ‘I’m really attracted to his resume.’ But that doesn’t make for a good relationship. You need to focus on the long term: can this person talk to me, resolve conflict? Have they created a life for themselves or are they stuck blaming someone else for who they are today?” Weiner, who is also a life coach and founder of the site, Women of Value, finds many dating clients are too “airy fairy” in their profiles which confuses men. She helps them create profiles designed to get men to think, “I’d love to meet this woman.” Quite a strange turn for a woman who graduated with a degree in art therapy, wandered through businesses in illustration and painting furniture, authoring children’s books, becoming a head writer for Nickelodeon, and eventually returning to school for her degree in coaching. When her 23-year marriage went south, Weiner found herself in midlife transition and dating again. “My friends were, too. But I was better at it and guiding them because of my training in coaching.” What has she learned? “Pay attention to your intuition. It holds the key to your ‘why’. Try things. Be bold. Make mistakes.” 

FREE GIFT! Don’t start your reinvention without downloading CoveyClub’s starter guide called “31 Badass Tips for Launching Your Reinvention Without Fear!”