Yes, I titled this podcast episode – Wrinkles, Sunspots and Cellulite, Oh MY!!  And just like Dorothy and her pals, I too would love to see the wizard of oz and ask him to wave his magic wand and I think I’d ask him to make me look like my younger self again. 

Or would I? 

I have nothing against plastic surgery … and I’ll never say never…. but honestly, I’m a big chicken when it comes to any kind of surgery. Therefore, I’ll probably continue to tell myself that I’ve earned every wrinkle, sunspot and bit of cellulite so why not be proud of my old face. Someone reminded me recently that to age is a privilege so let’s remind ourselves of that gift, especially when we look in the mirror!

But before we leave the topic our faces, I have to share a company with you. Whether you are 40 or 60 you have to take care of your skin. Now, I’m not an influencer, and I don’t have enough followers for ad revenue, but I recently found Beauty Pie and I wanted to share it with you. Beauty Pie is a skincare and hair care club of sorts. It costs hardly anything to join, and what you get are great prices without the advertising costs or packaging that fills up landfills. What you do get are beautiful, hardworking products. Everything is tested and retested, and many are from a lab in Switzerland. I don’t know about you, but I always think anything coming out of Switzerland is no nonsense, well-researched, and clean. Sort of like Roger Federer’s tennis game. 

I found Beauty Pie while scrolling on Instagram and was intrigued. It was founded by Marcia Kilgore, a gal of a certain age who is a serial entrepreneur. Marcia does these great weekly videos, where she talks about Beauty Pie’s skincare products, how she uses them and what might be in the works. I became a believer when I tried first, Beauty Pie’s haircare products. I had been feeling like my hair was thinning, or maybe just super dry, and once I started the strengthening shampoo and conditioner, followed by the repair treatment, my hair started to look healthy again. I decided if their products can help my hair, let’s go for the face and ladies I’m loving everything I’ve purchased.

The beauty industry is going through many changes. It is now more closely aligning with the natural health industry, and Beauty Pie also has vitamins, collagen powder and Vit. C liquid that I now take almost every day. Again, clean, science-backed, natural products at super affordable prices. 

All that is important, because ladies, we are not our mothers. We are probably going to live well into our 80’s and maybe into our 90’s and beyond. That means we have 30+ years after having children or raising children. You might have just retired from your corporate career or just ready to be done with it. Regardless, we have time. 

So, shifting away from our hair and face discussion, I want to ask you … What is next for you? What are you going to do with those years and hopefully decades in front of you? 

More and more, I’m talking to women who are wanting to start something of their own. Something where they decide the hours they are going to work and what it is that they are going to do. 

So, let’s talk about starting a business as a woman of a certain age. And before you say but Sharri I’m too old, I’m going to ask you the question posed by Véronique Vienne in her little jewel of a book titled The Art of Growing UP.…” How Old would you be if you didn’t know your age?” Kind of shocking right? Makes you think!

So, start from that place or that number, rather than let yourself get stuck in any societal mould. 

You’re going to make a list of what you want. Schedule flexibility. Geographic flexibility? 

New business/job/endeavor needs to fit in with your life so what do you want? 

As many of you know, I live in Paris half the year, so I needed my new career venture to be moveable, something I could work on from anywhere … and my Extraordinary Women Magazine is perfect. 

After you make that list, you’ll go through the process of figuring out what you love to do, and who are going to be your clients. I’ve talked about this in other podcasts so I’m not going to repeat that process with you today.

Today, we’re talking about the high-level reason, it makes sense for a woman of a certain age to start a business … or start something. 

First of all, starting a business though, isn’t for the faint of heart or for people who like someone else to create the structure of their workday. 

Starting a business, is time consuming, always takes longer than you think to become profitable, and will stretch you in all ways possible. There are coaching programs galore that supposedly help women to get moving on their business. I’ve only found one that works for me, but the number of programs is astounding, so there must be a need. 

But why are so many women like you thinking of starting something of their own?

And maybe you’re even wondering why I decided to start this podcast AND an online magazine? 

Because ladies, creating something you love working on, brings you joy. Working on your own business is one of the most fun and enjoyable things I’ve ever done in my life and I’m not alone with this feeling of joy. 

Over and over, I hear the same comment from my podcast guests and magazine article interviewees. The joy in the women’s voices and the smiles on their faces when they talk about their businesses is quite obvious. Even the challenges of owning their own business are embraced with an element of joy. 

Where does the joy come from? Is it knowing you’re in charge of your own destiny? Is it knowing you are providing something people need or want? 

Yes, and yes! But the joy is sometimes hidden or maybe not so obvious. Beth Jalali, who runs the blog, Style At A Certain Age, shared in last week’s podcast how she intensely cares about how her 200,000+ ladies feel about themselves as they age. She gets great joy out of helping women of a certain age age with grace, strength, and beauty. 

Jane Bertch from La Cuisine shared how she constantly is asking people in her cooking school classes, what more do they want? And she loves creating classes, topics and programs that give her clients, who she refers to as her family, exactly what they want. 

Belinda Gray loves how she is raising money for both finding the cure but also supporting women who are coping with the effects of having had breast cancer. She’s filling a need that she herself experienced when her breast cancer treatment ended. Art for Cure. 

Amy LaRue, who will be highlighted in our July magazine, talked about the healing powers of gardens for all of us whether we actively garden or just love to sit and enjoy the gardens of our cities and friends. 

These women all have businesses, and even though the businesses sound like fashion, gardens, cooking schools, running a charity … every one of these women shared with me how much joy their businesses give them. 

Why? Because we get joy when we make a difference in the lives of the people we interact with, whether it’s inside a business or not. 

But I think it might be even bigger. I’m going to go out on a limb that each entrepreneur’s joy comes out of having a purpose. 

If you love what you are doing, every single morning, you’ll wake up excited for the day, and look forward to what you’ll be doing, who you’ll be interacting with. That purpose you feel in working in your craft and bringing something to the world that the world needs, will totally jazz up your life and bring a little skip to your step. 

Purpose requires that you feel both challenged and competent to do whatever it is that you’ve created or are creating. One clear differentiator is that purpose isn’t busyness. We’ve all had jobs or volunteer positions where we were busy but not challenged. We’ve all sat through meetings where nothing was accomplished. It’s just being busy and being busy may not feel like a purpose. 

The key to joy, and I think you all already know this, is to have a purpose in your life that is big enough for you to say, yes, I am making a difference, I am contributing to something larger than myself. I am using my talents and my gifts in what I do. There is a reason I’m still here!

Purpose is so important in our lives that I firmly believe that when we are left without purpose, depression can set in. Whether you are 40 or 80, I believe you need to feel there is a purpose in your life and that is as important to your self-care as that moisturizer you are using, or the vitamins you are taking. 

One more point I’d like to share on the topic of purpose … in this world of social media and the internet, is that you can easily feel that every idea you have has already been done. I hear this from some of my clients when they express the dream to start a business. You can feel that there are already superstars in whatever it is that you want to do and get stuck doing nothing because you’ve convinced yourself that you won’t matter in that space. 

Well, if you think like that, you are wrong. Sorry to be so direct but no two people in the same space will ever communicate the same message, create the same product, or help the same people. 

Microsoft and Apple exist side by side. Brené Brown is very different from Mel Robbins, yet both are categorized as self-help creators, but wow are they different. Talbots isn’t the same as J. Jill and Chanel isn’t the same as Max Mara. 

So, if there is space for what might seem like similar companies selling to similar clients at the global level, then there is space for you to create whatever it is you want to create and trust it will be unique because you are you. 

So, start that blog, write that book, design that website, start that charity, create that piece of art. 

Ladies if you find your purpose, you’ll find your joy, which I believe is the secret to feeling young and vibrant. 

As women we don’t need to feel the least bit invisible or sad as we age. Yes, certain cultures would like us to shrink, fade, become quiet, but you alone, have all the power to decide what’s next in your life. Hold tight to joy, ask for your purpose and always be grateful. Aging is a privilege so let’s grab the opportunity that we’ve been given.

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Outro

Thank you for joining me today. If you liked our conversation, please give me a review, and do come back for more! 

Now let me ask you…. 

How Is Your Year Going? Are You Ready to do it different this year?? 

Well…The Extraordinary Women Magazine Circle is just what you need IF ….

You are committed to making this THE year you get started on your dream, the business, the project. 

Yes, we always highlight two Extraordinary Women in each issue. Not the famous or the celebrity but real women like you, who have stepped into their big dreams by creating something special. I say we are all Extraordinary Women who are doing what might be called ordinary things. What makes you extraordinary though, is you’re working hard to make your dreams come true. 

At the request of our fabulous magazine subscribers, in our April magazine issue, I added a whole lot more coaching tips into the magazine. I love that our subscribers tell us what they want, and their feedback was give them more of what they can apply and use in their own life and career. 

As you know, I’ve been a coach for over 20 years, and I’ve now added into the magazine some of my best actionable steps, strategies and even exercises that you can use today as you create the life you want. I’d love to hear your thoughts from these tips, tools, and exercises. What did you like, what do you want more of?

So, if you are a woman ready to get moving on your big, audacious dream, go to extraordinarywomenmagazine.com and join us. 

Thank you for your precious time today…. your time is your most important resource in creating your dream life. 

I am currently in Paris, so I’ll say à bientôt, 

And to everyone back in the states, See you soon!

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