Midlife Reinvention Unleashed – Celebrating the Highlights of Season 6: Bold, Midlife Women “Owning Their Awesome" to Reinvent Themselves

Join us for a heartfelt celebration of midlife reinvention, as we wrap up season six of the Reinvention Rebels podcast with inspiring stories of women who have boldly redefined their lives in midlife and beyond.

We're revisiting the empowering journeys of remarkable individuals like Mimi Ison, who challenges ageist stereotypes in relatable ways, and Kim Duff Selby, who fearlessly launched a new career in commercials in her mid-60s. These stories remind us that our potential is limitless, regardless of age.

As we highlight Bettina Peets and her outdoor adventure company fostering midlife self-worth, and Guler Cortis with her Sexy at 60 show, you'll find yourself inspired by the vibrant possibilities that aging can bring. Through these stories, we learn the importance of embracing our current stage in life with confidence and courage.

Throughout this special episode, we explore themes of resilience, self-discovery, and the power of owning our awesome in midlife and beyond. It's a walk down memory lane with our season 6 guests - all inspiring, all powerful, all who have stepped into their own.

Hear from Dixie Lincoln Nichols, who empowers menopausal women to bet on themselves, and Kate Wells, a hormone expert on a mission to help reignite sexual desire during menopause. Angie Litvinoff encourages us to celebrate ourselves, while Wendy Hutchinson shares insights on reimagining midlife friendships. And this is just scratching the surface of my amazing guests.

This episode serves as a powerful reminder that reinvention has no limits, and we can all embrace new adventures and shine our light in the world. Join us as we continue this journey of inspiration and self-discovery together.

After listening, I invite you to listen to each of these guest's full reinvention stories on reinventionrebels.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Magic Mind: Ready to build your mental wealth in 2025? Get 45% off the Magic Mind bundle (Magic Mind mental performance shot and sleep performance shot) with with my link: https://magicmind.com/rebelsJAN

How to reinvent in midlife:🎁Download my free gift, 100 Ways to Reinvent in Midlife. Let's get started on your next reinvention!

Inspiring podcast: Want more inspiration as you navigate midlife and think about reinvention?  Check out my friend Bev Glazer’s podcast, Aging with Purpose and Passion. It’s another incredible resource for women over

Kick your midlife fears and uncertainty to the curb and start your Reinvention Rebels journey today. Learn about my audio program, Midlife Reinvention From The Inside Out: 8 Essentials to Greenlight Your Life.

Transcript

00:10 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Welcome to Reinvention Rebels. Stories of brave and unapologetic women, 50 to 90 years young, who have boldly reinvented life on their own terms to find new purpose and possibilities. I'm your host, wendy Battles. I need to kick your fears to the curb, do it scared and step into who you are meant to be in midlife and beyond. These amazing women, these reinvention rebels, can help light your reinvention path. Come join us and let's get inspired together. Hey, hey, hey, rebels.

00:59
Welcome to this very special episode of the Reinvention Rebels podcast. I'm your host, wendy. I am so glad you're here and I can't believe I'm wrapping up season six of the Reinvention Rebels podcast. It's been an incredible journey, filled with inspiring stories, transformational insights and empowering themes all season long, all centered around our theme of owning our awesome in midlife and beyond. This season, we explored so many ways to step into our power. Into our power. My amazing guests taught us how to find joy, embrace gratitude and challenge societal norms. About aging, we talked about building courage, cultivating supportive friendships, loving on ourselves, celebrating our imperfections and reigniting passion and purpose, even during menopause and beyond. In fact, this time of life is often the catalyst for new adventures and self-discoveries. These fierce, real, relatable women reminded us that, no matter where we are in life, it's never too late to start owning our awesome.

02:26
Today's episode is a walk down memory lane. We'll revisit some of the most powerful moments and insights from my guests this season, who were honestly phenomenal. I know you've heard many of these episodes and I'm so excited to bring you this highlights episode, where you can hear a little bit from all of them in one place and, trust me, you're going to want to share this inspiring episode. These women are full of wisdom and I don't think we can ever have too much inspiration in our lives. So think about your friends and family, who are ready to hear these empowering stories. Don't be shy Forward this episode to them so that they can get inspired as well. All right, let's dive in and start celebrating these amazing reinvention rebels. Amazing reinvention rebels. At 61, mimi Eisen is a joyful, warm age positivity influencer who challenges ageist stereotypes and herself about what's possible.

03:35 - Mimi Ison (Guest)
I think I was on a spinning bike and I'm just watching these women in the ring punching hard, doing these combos, hitting fast, and I thought, okay, oh yeah, I want to do that. That's what I want to do and that's what made me come back. It didn't make me feel like, oh gosh, she can do that. I can't do that. I feel really bad about myself. No, I saw these women. I said, no, I'm going to learn to do that. I may not be able to do it the way they do it, I may not be as fast as them or hit as hard as them, but I'm going to do what I can do, the best that I can do. I'm going to come back, I'm going to learn, I'm going to be totally open, I'm going to work hard.

04:18 - Wendy Battles (Host)
And I've stuck with it for 10 years now. Mimi's story is the perfect reminder that our age is just a number and our potential is limitless. Next up was Kim Duff Selby. In her mid-60s, Kim launched a career in commercials, proving that new chapters can start at any time.

04:33 - Kim Duff Selby (Guest)
Like anyone else, wendy, I have moments of doubt. I look in the mirror, I see the wrinkles, I see the gray hair and I have to go. You know, this is just my time in life. It's just something within, and you have to constantly say those mantras to yourself, whether you say them out loud or really say them. But I am enough. This is where I am supposed to be, right here, right now. I am in the right place in my journey.

05:02 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I love what she had to say about embracing where we are as we age with confidence. Kim's courage to step into a new career and nurture her authentic self inspires me. Now that I just hit 60. I see new possibilities too. Speaking of the courage Kim has, meet Bettina Peets. At 54, bettina turned a midlife crisis into midlife courage by starting an outdoor adventure company for women, but it hasn't always been an easy road.

05:35 - Bettina Peets (Guest)
I have done, I think, some really cool and awesome things, but I have had a difficult time with self-worth right, and creating Adventures for the Soul has definitely helped me do this like really step into that owning who I am and accepting who I am. But what does that mean? To own your awesomeness? I just think, especially for women at this age, it is so important to write down every little small medium accomplishment so when you have those days where you don't feel so awesome, you can go back and look at documentation, and when you can't even think of awesome things, asking those dear friends in your circle to remind you and write those down, because it's so easy to overlook it.

06:19 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I love the wisdom she shares about what we can do to remember that we are amazing. To own our awesome, from courage to reinvention. Guler Cortis has a lesson for us all. Guler Cortis has a lesson for us all. At 60, guler has embraced aging in vibrant and well sexy ways, launching her YouTube show Sexy at 60, where she interviews 60-plus women.

06:46 - Guler Cortis (Guest)
Because often we have something and we only let it go when we have something else. But the best way of overcoming that fear is to let it go first. Sit inside it in that fear and feel it all, feel the anguish and oh my God, have I done something wrong? Should I go back? And look at the positive, what am I going to gain? And then, once you're there, you've got to completion already.

07:20 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I love what she had to say about navigating our fears. Guler reminds us that reinvention can evolve. We can literally learn to feel the fear and move forward in our life. Do you remember the episode with Regina Young? Regina embraced self-love while mastering midlife to empower herself in new ways.

07:44 - Regina Young (Guest)
How do I own my awesome? I say it starts with self-love. I just start with self-love. I say you know what, besides being enough, I love me, I'm beautiful, I'm strong. There is nothing I can't try. And if I didn't accomplish it, no problem that I can make another try or another turn or another left. It's not like a forever, it's just a moment, but I really take ownership of me.

08:11 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I love how Regina views herself and what she sees as possible. That is the mindset of a reinvention rebel. Regina's self-love journey ties beautifully into my next season six guest, tanya Shaw. Tanja's powerful story of embracing her midlife body, including her decision to remove breast implants, inspires acceptance and love, something I think we all need to work on. Well, at least I do you know.

08:41 - Tanja Shaw (Guest)
I think a lot of it comes down to, once again, how we speak about ourselves and our belief systems, about ourselves, and this is something that we can continuously reinvent and we can continuously curate and and step into, because so often we have been living lies that we're not enough, we're not good enough, we're not strong enough, we're not confident enough, we're not enough is such a pervasive story and yet we've never defined what enough is. We just keep telling ourselves that we're not enough. But that's a choice. Like says who.

09:12 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I love how she throws the idea of not being enough right out the window. Rebels walking down memory lane and having these conversations like I am. Enough is all about mental wealth. As we navigate midlife reinvention, our mental resilience plays a huge role in our success. That's why I'm excited to share something that has transformed my daily routine Magic Mind.

09:41
Magic Mind is more than just a productivity shot. It's a tool for building mental resilience the kind of thing we need as we're reinventing and navigating midlife. By supporting five key pillars sleep, diet, exercise, stress management and mindful supplements it's helped me manage stress, stay focused and feel my best no easy task in these stressful times, juggling multiple priorities. I've been using Magic Mind for over six months and the difference it's pretty incredible. For me, it's been a small step with big results, part of my proactive approach to mental wealth and something I plan to continue in 2025.

10:25
You know what's really cool Right now? You can get 45% off the Magic Mind bundle in in January by visiting magicmindcom slash rebelsjan. That's magicmindcom slash r-e-b-e-l-s-j-a-n. That means you can save on both the Magic Mind mental performance shot and the Magic Mind sleep performance shot. Don't you deserve to feel your best? Navigate your days and nights with more calm and ease and move toward your midlife dreams. Details are in the show notes Bottom line. When we invest in our mental resilience, we're better equipped to own our awesome. Now let's get back to our inspiring highlights. I love my interview with Sharon Burton. At 55, sharon experienced a creative reawakening, pivoting her career to coach artists and write a book.

11:25 - Sharon Burton (Guest)
You have to find what's in alignment for you, and I am a big proponent of reinvention. And my mom it was my mentor in that. You know there's a lot about her life that she reinvented and I use her as my role model. She's no longer with us, but I use her as my my role model, because if my mom could do it with much less resources than I have, I can do that too.

11:55 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Her reinvention wisdom that we all can do this is powerful. Yes, we can, and we can reinvent creatively on our terms, like another Sharon, Sharon Kelly Hake. Sharon left her corporate job in her 50s to found the Great Dames nonprofit organization, empowering women and girls for 15 years, get away from everyone and just, very quietly, just start writing about your life.

12:28 - Sharon Kelly Hake (Guest)
What do you care about? What matters to you? What change do you want to see, and how can I create that change, even in small ways? We don't have to be curing cancer or solving world hunger. Instead, it's what can I do in my space, can get started and reinvent in our own unique way.

12:57 - Wendy Battles (Host)
From self-empowerment to resilience. Diane Givens shares her journey next on the podcast. After a tragic car accident that took the life of her husband and left her with severe injuries, diane reimagined her life with resilience and mental toughness in her 70s.

13:17 - Diane Givens (Guest)
My secret is that I'm not going to stop doing whatever comes to mind. I don't give up on anything. I don't limit myself to say, well, I can't do that because there's nothing I don't think that I can do. If I decide to do it.

13:32 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Her mindset is powerful and this clip only scratches the surface of the wisdom she shared about overcoming obstacles and reinventing even in the midst of difficult circumstances. I loved inviting Nina Zapala to join me in the Reinvention Rebels guest chair for the next episode in season six. In her 60s, nina embraced her imperfections you know we all have them and reinvented herself with courage and grace. I love what she has to say about our messy parts.

14:07 - Nina Zapala (Guest)
And that's the personal growth path. When you start owning the messy parts of yourself, that's where the personal growth comes from, that's where you develop from, because you're like, okay, I need to stop this, I need to figure this out. You know, yes, you're going to always want to learn more, but the messy parts, I think, is where all the treasure is.

14:24 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Nina's journey is a testament to the power of self-acceptance. It's not always easy, but facing the hard stuff, it truly helps us grow. Now let's look back at my interview with Antoinette Blake At 62, antoinette chose reinvention over retirement, seizing new opportunities to grow and contribute.

14:47 - Antionette Blake (Guest)
If you do what you love and love what you do, success is inevitable. Now there'll be some ups and there'll be downs, there'll be tears and there'll be heartbreak, but just keep moving. Don't let anybody stop you and don't feel like you have to hide your shine.

15:06 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I love that. Never hide your shine, as in show up for yourself that's what reinvention rebels do. Show up for yourself that's what reinvention rebels do. Next up was my girl, monique Cupid, sharing about being unapologetic about what she wants in midlife.

15:21 - Monique Cupid (Guest)
I want to be able to show up as myself and not be apologetic about how I'm showing up. Yes, we've changed. Bodies change. You know, everything's just changed at this time. Changed bodies changed. You know everything's just changed at this time, and it's like I don't want to shrink because of the change. I want to embrace it and just enjoy my life regardless. You know there are days where I'm like, eh, I'm really not happy with that, but I'm just not going to let that stop me.

15:49 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Along the theme of showing up for yourself. Monique is doing it unapologetically, pursuing things that light her up yes, please. And in this fabulous episode she also talks about how being playful has helped her reinvent. I followed my interview with Monique with another engaging episode with her good friend, dixie Lincoln Nichols. Dixie is a former science teacher and the co-founder, along with Monique, of Life in the Pause, a menopause festival for women of color. She empowers midlife and menopausal women to embrace well-aging and design the midlife they desire by looking within.

16:34 - Dixie Lincoln Nichols (Guest)
Betting on yourself is the catalyst to what you want in life. It's the catalyst to who you need to be, and who you need to be. You can only find that inside, internally. So, going deep within, betting that I can do all things if I want to, if I put my mind to it, if I try hard enough, and even if it doesn't turn out exactly the way that I want it to, I can always bet on myself to reinvent.

17:02 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Betting on ourselves in midlife. It's one of the most courageous and empowering things we can do, in my estimation. Next up was Kate Wells, who helps women get their sexy back. Kate, owner of Parlor Games and a hormone expert, empowers women to reignite their sexual desire during menopause and beyond.

17:25 - Kate Wells (Guest)
You know, by the time we get to this point in our lives, we have learned so much, we have knowledge. We've got another 40 years where we can bring that awesomeness to the world. I think women should be empowered to say you know, forget this menopause nonsense, get my hormones balanced, get my right nutrients in my body, get out of my way because I'm coming.

17:47 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I adored my conversation with her. Kate's work is a reminder that midlife can be a time of reawakening and possibilities. Kate's episode was the perfect prelude to my conversation with Angie Litvinoff. Angie creates ceremonies for midlife and menopausal women to celebrate themselves, but she first had to learn how to celebrate on her own journey.

18:11 - Angie Litvinoff (Guest)
There is something that happens, which makes it urgent to speak your truth more, and not only speak your truth, but speak your truth in a new way, in a way which is relevant to one's own changes through menopause. That was important to me to let go of expectation.

18:29 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Finding our authentic voice in midlife Priceless. It's an ongoing journey, one I continue to work on. Next up, I interviewed my friend Wendy Hutchinson, and oh, what a joy that was. Wendy reimagined midlife friendships in her 50s, learning to let go and invite in supportive connections.

18:50 - Wendy Hutchinson (Guest)
If your friends aren't aligned with the direction you're going. A lot of times they don't last and sometimes there's a mourning and a grieving when you let friends go. But you also have to realize it's a gift because as that person fades you're going to find somebody with more synergy and maybe more coherence and alignment with the direction you're going.

19:12 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Her wisdom reminds us of the value of community and that letting go of friendships it's not not always easy, but the space it creates for new ones is magical. I'll add that Wendy and I met for the first time in person last year after we had gotten to know one another on Instagram over the last couple of years, even guesting on each other's podcasts. She lives in Houston, I live in Connecticut, so it's not like we're around the corner, but it was an amazing experience and a testament to the power of creating new friendships in midlife. I mean, she is one of my people now. We text and talk and message each other all the time. We need more of this, right. Let's meet Tricky Mickey. At 57, mickey has reinvented herself many times, from bar owner to filmmaker to DJ and more proving reinvention. It has no limits.

20:13 - Tricky Miki (Guest)
It's not about the collection of stuff that I have. It's about the collection of stories that I have and the lives that I've touched and the things that I have. It's about the collection of stories that I have and the lives that I've touched and the things that I've done. That, to me, is life, and that is how I'm looking at this. Last kind of trimester of my life is how much more life can I pack in before this is all said and done?

20:29 - Wendy Battles (Host)
Miki's story is truly inspiring. We can have as many do-overs as we want and need overs as we want and need. Our final highlight from the season is Sheryl Barnes. In her 60s, Sheryl redefined self-care and invited joy into her life, something we can never have too much of.

21:01 - Sheryl Barnes (Guest)
I use the term micro joy. I don't know if it's a real term, but I use it because sometimes people think that they will be happy or happier when something really huge happens, and I really think one of the secrets to self-care and living one's best life is to look for and to cultivate joy in a number of different sizes.

21:18 - Wendy Battles (Host)
I love her take on finding joy in the tiniest of places. Oh my gosh, are these season six women not amazing? They all truly embody the theme owning your awesome, all in their own unique ways, and all here to motivate and inspire us to reflect on our own lives and what we can do to reinvent. And what you just heard in these short clips that's just scratching the surface. I encourage you to listen to the full episodes to truly hear their reinvention stories, to appreciate their journeys, what they learned, how they struggled and how they triumphed, because that is within all of us. If they can reinvent through all the ups and downs, it's a reminder that we can do that too, on our own terms. You can't help but be motivated to take a look at your own life, embracing the amazing things about yourself, and use that as fuel as you continue to grow and reinvent. Thank you for joining me on this trip down memory lane. Thank you for joining me on this trip down memory lane. 

22:38
Season six has been a celebration of reinvention, resilience and the incredible potential of midlife. If you've been inspired by these stories, share this episode with two friends who could use a little midlife motivation or a spark to try something new. I mean seriously. How can we not be motivated by what these women are up to in bold and unapologetic ways? Know someone struggling and feeling less than empowered? This can sprinkle some inspiration in their day. Do you need a little help getting started with your own reinvention? Well, I am here as your guide on the side and I've got a free gift for you 100 ways to reinvent yourself in midlife. You'll find ideas galore. You know a hundred literally a hundred to spark your own reinvention journey. You'll find the link in the show notes. I invite you to come play with me. Let's investigate how we can reinvent and live a life of amazing joy, purpose and fulfillment. 

23:40
Speaking of joy, fulfillment and living on purpose, I have to mention my friend Bev Glazer's really fantastic podcast. It's called Aging with Purpose and Passion and it is full of inspiring stories of women who are on fire. If you love Reimagine Rebels and I know you do you're going to love her podcast as well. I invite you to check it out. You'll find details in the show notes Rebels, thank you. 

24:10
Thank you for listening, thank you for joining me, thank you for sharing your amazing stories, thank you for being you on this journey of self-discovery in midlife and I'm excited because I will be back with season seven. How I learned to bet on myself and never look back. I can't wait to share more inspiring stories with you. I know you will love the women I've invited to join me. They have bet on themselves in the coolest, fiercest and most phenomenal ways, and I can't wait to share their stories with all of you. In the meantime, don't forget to listen to the amazing Season 6 Rebels that we just talked about in this High highlights episode, and remember to check out Magic Mind 2, a perfect addition as you reinvent and work on mental wealth this year. Until next season, rebels, keep shining your light. The world needs you and all that you have to offer.