It’s Your Turn: Reinventing Life After 50 with Karen Ansen

What if the moment you’ve been waiting for… is right now?

Karen Ansen joins me for a conversation that will feel very familiar if you’ve ever looked around your life and thought, “Okay… what’s next for me?”

After years of building a career, raising a family, and showing up for everyone else, Karen found herself at a turning point—one that led her to reconnect with herself, redefine her purpose, and create a life and business that truly fit.

This episode is about more than reinvention. It’s about remembering who you are—and giving yourself permission to live like it.

In this episode, Karen shares:

•  Her journey from government work to law to entrepreneurship 
•  The moment that made her question everything 
•  Why self-worth shows up in how we price and lead 
•  How breathwork and inner work changed her life 
•  What it means to lead and live authentically 

Key Topics:

•  Reinventing life after 50 
•  Midlife identity and purpose 
•  Women and self-worth 
•  Boundaries and people-pleasing 
•  Leadership and emotional intelligence 
•  Building a business that supports your life 

Connect with Karen: https://www.ignitehr.com.au/  and https://igniteyourpurpose.au/home

When’s the last time you did something just for YOU? 🍷✨
Wine Camp 2026 is your chance to escape, sip fabulous local wines, cruise at sunset, laugh around the fire pit, and soak up the magic of New York’s Finger Lakes.

📍 Dates: July 30–August 2, 2026
🏡 Spots are limited, so grab yours now: https://www.pennyforyourshots.com/winecamp

Bring your besties or come solo—you’ll leave with new favorites either way. Wine Camp 2026 is calling. Are you in?

Want support growing your business? Book a free Discovery Call with Penny: https://tidycal.com/pennyforyourshots/discovery-call

Wine Camp 2026: Join the list or save your spot:
https://www.pennyforyourshots.com/winecamp

Become an Insider for weekly updates, tips, inspiration, and episode extras:
https://www.pennyforyourshots.com/insider

Love cocktails + community? Join the Sipper Club:
https://www.pennyforyourshots.com/sip

Explore all things Penny: coaching, podcast, events, & more:
https://www.pennyforyourshots.com

Follow Penny on Instagram: @penny4yourshots
Or on Facebook: Penny (Kuhlers) Fitzgerald

Transcript

It’s Your Turn: Reinventing Life After 50 with Karen Ansen

​[00:00:00] 
Penny Fitzgerald: Have you ever had one of those moments where you look around your life and think, wait, what just happened? Who am I now? Because you've spent years showing up for everyone else. Doing what needed to be done, being responsible, being reliable, and then one day things shift and you realize it might be your turn.

And honestly, this is the exact kind of conversation we end up having at Wine Camp when you finally give yourself a [00:01:00] little space to breathe, to reflect, and to reconnect with you again. And your girlfriends don't hurt either. In this conversation with Karen Ansen, we talk about that exact moment and what it looks like to rediscover yourself, trust yourself, and finally start building a life that actually feels like yours.

And you know what? So much of what she shares is exactly what I see and coach on every single day here is Karen Ansen.

Karen Judith Ansen: How are you? 

Penny Fitzgerald: I'm good. I'm good. How are you? 

Karen Judith Ansen: Where good and whereabouts in the world are you? 

Penny Fitzgerald: I'm in Sarasota, Florida today. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Oh, nice. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. And you're in Australia, correct? 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah. On the east coast.

Penny Fitzgerald: Where East coast of Australia? 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah. So about two and a half hours north of Sydney. Most people, most people know Sydney. Yeah. Yeah. I live in the bush, what we call the bush. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Okay. Very nice. [00:02:00] I, um, one of my dear friends in Iowa where I grew up, um, her brother lives near, I think, not too far from you. He's, I think an hour-ish north of Sydney.

So can't be that far. 

Karen Judith Ansen: We, no, we lived, um, we lived there for years. So the central coast is just north. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Okay. Um, 

Karen Judith Ansen: and so when I was studying, um, and I just first got my, my very first job in law, I had to go to Sydney and it was like right into the city with the traffic. It was about an hour and a half each way.

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, yeah. Yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: A lot. 

Penny Fitzgerald: That is a lot. 

Karen Judith Ansen: And so when COVID hit, as you know, we all just work from home now. It's amazing. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. That was the one good thing I think that came out of COVID. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Hundred percent.

Um, so I love your, I love your show. I loved your questions. 

So how did you, I mean, how did you come up with this concept, of Penny for your Shots? I love it. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Well, I've, I've wanted to start a [00:03:00] podcast for a long time. I finally did in 2023.

Um. I wanted to share the stories of women. I wanted to support women. I wanted to lift us up and let everyone know that your story is important. I see you, I hear you. It's important to share your wisdom. And I wanted to give this platform to brilliant women and you know, just remind people that we have a voice.

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah, and I think it's also about. Our voices. What I, when I do a lot of these podcasts, I'm really conscious that when I listen to podcasts, what I'm looking for is voices from people who have been through things 

Penny Fitzgerald: mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: That perhaps, uh, they can give me insights into, into how to. Overcome things or how pe other people have done it or, you know, um, limitations that they put on themselves and how to overcome them, that kind of thing.

I'm just looking at your beautiful photos in the background. Have you got, 

Penny Fitzgerald: oh, thank you. 

Karen Judith Ansen: [00:04:00] Have you got all your relatives behind you?

Penny Fitzgerald: yeah, it's just a little.place to remember my family. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah, I love that. Mine are all sort of beside me. I've got an old photo of my son that when he was, he was, I think he must have been about 12 months old Uhhuh, and he's sitting on an old. Motorbike. And he's doing the sound. Making the sound of his.

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Of the bike going. Cutest thing you've ever seen. Little redheaded do. He's now 31. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. That's fun. Oh, neat. Our sons are in their thirties too, so it's, yeah, we must be, um, we have on similar paths. 

Karen Judith Ansen: It's a great, it's a great time of life, isn't it, when you've got your children to that age and 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah.

Karen Judith Ansen: You know, you've got a, I I have a wonderful relationship with my boys and, um, and, but my relationship with my husband, when they left, I had a, it was really, [00:05:00] I had a moment where I thought. Oh my God, I've spent so much time caring for these children and what do I, even though I've always worked. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: It was kind of a moment where I just had to take stock and say, okay, they've gone now what is, you know, there's part of my big, part of my role on this earth is no longer.

Yeah. Yeah. I felt like it, it was important, but it just felt like it was gone. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Right. 

Karen Judith Ansen: And now I'm like, huh. I love it. I get up in the morning and I just, I cuddle my dogs and we go for a walk or we go to the gym or whatever we do and you know. Yeah. It's a wonderful time in life and I mean, I'm young enough to enjoy it and that's the thing.

Yeah. Yeah, 

Penny Fitzgerald: I hear that so often too, from the women that I speak with. It's, you know, you keep putting one foot in front of the other, you're so busy just caring for your family, caring for everyone except yourself. You're the first, you know, the, your needs go by the wayside first of if anything has to go, it's your stuff.[00:06:00] 

Karen Judith Ansen: Exactly. You 

Penny Fitzgerald: suddenly wake up and it's like, okay, what do I do now? What? What were those things that used to bring me joy? And it's like this rediscovery moment. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah. I love that you've got your girlfriends there because I've reconnected, uh, with a lot of my school friends. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: So we have a, we have a trip, an annual trip every year, and, um, we go somewhere, we actually planning, 'cause we're all 60, well, my girlfriends are all 60.

I'm a bit younger. I'll be 60 in, in um, not next January, but January after Uhhuh. Turning 60 next year. And so we're all kind of getting together and we're just planning this big trip to a place called Port Dub I Love, which is right up north in Queensland and it's absolutely stunning. So I cannot wait.

We've just been planning it yesterday. 

Penny Fitzgerald: I love that. Yeah. In fact, I do a, um, a yearly retreat for girlfriends in wine country and I call it Wine Camp. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Oh my God. We need to connect. I need to come. [00:07:00] Yes, I need to come to the us To be honest, I, I know I've been wanting one. For a while. I talked to a lot of people in America and I love the conversations.

I feel like, I feel like I would, I mean, I've been there and, but I didn't know anyone. Uh, so it was a bit strange being a tourist. But if I went there and I could know people and you know, go to something like that, that would be amazing. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Well, I would love to be your excuse to get you here. One of my dear friends who's a, a wine camper, um, is from Australia.

She grew up in Australia, married an American while she was there, and now lives close to me here in Florida. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Oh, really? 

Penny Fitzgerald: So, yeah. Yeah. But 

Karen Judith Ansen: what time of year do you do that? 

Penny Fitzgerald: We do it in July. July this year. It's going to be, or next year, rather. It's going to be July 30th through August 2nd. Wow. 2026. Yeah.

Karen Judith Ansen: It's in Florida or 

Penny Fitzgerald: no, it, this one's going to be in New York. The Finger Lakes region. It's a, it's not as well [00:08:00] known wine region. Um, it's in some glacier, uh, carved lakes in that area. It, it was one of our very first AVAs American viticultural areas very early in the wine industry and just a lovely region that, um.

You know, because it's a little less lesser known, it gives us, some new things to explore. And plus it's this girlfriend time. So we're gonna be spending a lot of time together. I've taken over an entire resort. we'll cap it all off with, um, a sunset dinner cruise on one of the lakes.

Karen Judith Ansen: Oh my god, I'm there. Okay, 

Penny Fitzgerald: great. I'll send you the information. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Do you wanna, do you want, um, someone to do, uh, breath work? Have you ever had someone do Oh, do 

Penny Fitzgerald: you 

Karen Judith Ansen: do breath work? I'm a breath work practitioner. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Really? 

Karen Judith Ansen: I do sound healing and I do. Oh 

Penny Fitzgerald: my goodness. 

Karen Judith Ansen: I know. I do all of those things. Yeah. And I do medications.

I know. You're [00:09:00] 

Penny Fitzgerald: my people. 

Karen Judith Ansen: I have, I have two pe, I have two businesses, ignited HR and Employment Law, and my Passion project, which I have, I, I'm actually doing a, a retreat in, um, Philippines in April. And, um, and so Ignite your purpose is my other business. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, I love it. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yes. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh my gosh. We are like kindred souls.

Karen Judith Ansen: Yes, absolutely. I can't wait. 

Penny Fitzgerald: It's gonna 

Karen Judith Ansen: be amazing. Oh, nice. Let's about this. Yeah, 

Penny Fitzgerald: yeah. Send me that information too. And I'll include it in my show notes too, for people to check out if they're 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah. Yeah. 

Penny Fitzgerald: To go. We have a son in Thailand. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Is he okay? 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah, yeah. Um, 

Karen Judith Ansen: because still all that stuff with the Thai border.

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Yeah, there's some, he's right in Bangkok and teaching at an American Academy, so yeah, he has not had any problems. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah. 

Penny Fitzgerald: That way. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Anyway, I don't watch the news very often, but I did just see something last night. I thought, oh, okay. [00:10:00] 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. I have to be careful of watching. Yeah, I know. 

Karen Judith Ansen: It's like a rabbit hole, isn't 

Penny Fitzgerald: it?

It's, oh my gosh. Yeah. Does not bring joy. That's for sure. 

Karen Judith Ansen: No. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh gosh. Okay. Karen, I feel like I got sidetracked. So, to back up a little bit, um, share with me, share with my audience a little bit about you and about your Ignite cl. Um, clearly you have two paths here. Let's talk about them a little bit. How did you come to this?

Karen Judith Ansen: So, um, it's actually six years, um, ex almost to the date that I started my business. And it was in 2019 and I'd basically, uh, been working, uh, you know, for organizations other, all my life I'd worked for government. Then I, I decided that I would do law in my forties when my children were old enough. 'cause I had my children quite young.

I was 23 when I had my oldest son, and I'd never really. Not that I didn't have the opportunity to go to uni, but I just, I got [00:11:00] offered a job with the government. 'cause I lived in Canberra, which is our capital. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Okay. 

Karen Judith Ansen: And it was too good to pass up, although it was a, a secretarial role. And I'm the worst secretarial on the planet.

I'm not organized at all. I don't, I have a, I have an entrepreneurial brain, which I didn't realize until I actually started my own business. But, um, you know, I was trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, I guess. Become what I needed to do. My mom said to me, you're not, um, didn't say I was clever and I wasn't clever enough.

She said that you need to do something practical, because I'd never, I'd never been an outstanding student I'd always just scraped by 

Penny Fitzgerald: Uhhuh and 

Karen Judith Ansen: so. I did a secretarial course and then got offered a job in the government and I sort of stayed there for nearly 20 years, I guess, on and off in different roles, had babies came back.

It was just convenient, had, you know, you know, all the stuff that you need to be able to support your family when you're having babies. And, um, anyway, I, the last job that I had in the government was quite [00:12:00] interesting that, um, the, I had a really challenging situation with a, a manager. And he said to me, you are the worst time manager I've ever met in my life.

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh my goodness. 

Karen Judith Ansen: And I said to him, okay. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, you're the worst boss I've ever encountered. How about that? 

Karen Judith Ansen: I wasn't game to say that. No, 

Penny Fitzgerald: no, no. 

Karen Judith Ansen: I thought God. And so anyway, he sent me to what, which is, um, I don't know the equivalent in the us but it's called TAFE here, which is like a. A technical college or something you wanna call it.

Penny Fitzgerald: Okay. 

Karen Judith Ansen: But they have little courses and they had a a, um, a guy there teaching time management. So I went along, it was just a day course and he said, I said to him, look, and I don't know what the hell I was thinking at the time. I said, I've always wanna do a law degree. And he said, because I come up with all these random things.

And he goes, Hey guys. Okay, well we can do that with time management, I guess. He goes, have you ever thought about [00:13:00] doing three month plan, a 12 month plan, a five year plan? I went, no. I've never done that before. So he showed me the concept for the first time in my life that I'd ever, I'd ever, no one had ever introduced me to a plan before.

So I did that and then I, I went home to my husband and I said, I'm gonna do a law degree and. We're doing that this week Anyway, I enrolled and, but the problem was I had to do 12 months of a bridging course. 'cause I'd, I'd hadn't done the, um, assessments in year 12 to be able to get into uni. So I had to do a 12 month.

But it was brilliant because I did law and an Australian, um, and Australian subject, Australian history, and they fit really well together. I really enjoyed them and I learned how to write. Oh, 

Penny Fitzgerald: fun. You 

Karen Judith Ansen: know, assessments and do all the things uhhuh. So then I did, it took me nine years and I worked full time.

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: And nine years of law to get to that. And then I worked for about probably seven years with other organizations. And then [00:14:00] 2019, I, again, through having a challenging manager, I decided that I was gonna go out on my own. I'd had enough of being told what to do and, and being 

Penny Fitzgerald: mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Told to play small and.

You know, the one thing that I encountered that I, I wish I had, have been able to overcome, and I know some of your listeners will have experienced this, is the ability to ask for what you deserve in terms of pay. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: I've always find that a challenge, and even in my own business, I struggle with verbalizing.

How do I, how do I. Sell these things at a price, you know, that mm-hmm. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Is 

Karen Judith Ansen: gonna make me profit often, and so I, I've, I've got better at it, but every month when I do my invoices, I still get that pit in my stomach. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: I know I've still got something to work on there about my value and how I perceive it. And you know, if anyone questions me, I panic. I fly into a panic. I'm like, oh my [00:15:00] God, it, you know, maybe I did that wrong. I go back through my notes, you know, everything anyway. Mm. 

Penny Fitzgerald: But 

Karen Judith Ansen: it's just one of those things, I think that some of your listeners will listen to this and they'll go, oh yeah, I've still got that problem too.

Mm-hmm. So, you know, it's something I, I continue to work on every single day and try to find my voice in terms of knowing my work. But, um, you know, six years and I, I, I've grown, I grew out of. Love for what I do in terms of mm-hmm. The things that I saw in terms of the leaders that I, that I was working with.

I love working with people. I'm a really good people reader, able to support people through some of the worst times in their lives in terms of legal problems. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: The issue that I found was, is that I didn't wanna leave them with the problem. Put them in that problem in the first place. Often it's, you know, when people, when people aren't able to [00:16:00] manage the way that, that, you know, causes a legal problem.

'cause I do employment law, right? 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. So, 

Karen Judith Ansen: you know, unable to have difficult conversations. Unable and, and people. People, um, what's the word that they, they use all the time. That they're, that they're faking it to make it kind of thing. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Syndrome, you know, and not really being authentic leaders and knowing what leadership looks like.

And I guess for me, the journey to that and understanding who I am and, and knowing all of my faults, but being able to overcome a lot of the. A lot of the things that I carried from childhood led me into, and we, we were discussing before about the breath work that I, I became a breath work practitioner a couple of years ago and I stumbled across breath work in.

I went through a reasonably large crisis, I guess my marriage. We've been married a long time and we [00:17:00] had, my husband had a nervous breakdown, I guess is the only way you can describe it when you turn 50 mm. And I realized that, um, I hadn't really, and we talked a little bit before we started about the kids leaving, and it was kind of a perfect storm, I guess, in terms of I needed to find.

Who I was. Find my voice, find my boundaries, make sure that I knew what I wanted in life and how valuable I was, and be able to articulate that in a way that was, you know, that enhanced my relationships rather than constantly looking to please looking to fix, looking to do all the things. So, 

Penny Fitzgerald: mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Uh, you know, the.

With my mom, with all of the pe, even the relationships, my friendships, I tended to be someone that everyone would rely on all the time, but then I couldn't ask for help, you know, because it was a learned, it was learned behavior, I guess. And so I started [00:18:00] Ignite Your purpose, um, a few years ago. And um, what I did last year was I actually put the businesses together.

Penny Fitzgerald: Good. Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: So I am able to offer both the employment law side of it, but also the leadership. Pieces around. Mm-hmm. And my clients, and they rely on me to, to be that voice, I guess, and ask all the right questions and lead them through difficult times and be able to connect them with services that they may be able to overcome some of the limitations that they're putting on their lives.

And have better relationships at work and be, you know, be more confident and be better leaders. And I think all of that. Enhances not only your business but your personal life. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: You know, once you're, once you are authentically you in, in every moment. Things are much more aligned, things work better.

Mm-hmm. You are able to, [00:19:00] to, um, you know, have conversations that you wouldn't be able to have because you have the confidence to bring that, that curiosity rather than, you know, like a lot of people make assumptions about, about what's going on with people, you know, and you're able to have that confidence to take a step back in, for example, when you're having a challenging situation and go, okay, is this my stuff?

Or is this your stuff? 

Penny Fitzgerald: Right. Everybody's got stuff. 

Karen Judith Ansen: I'm a huge Mel Robbins fan in terms of 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, me too. Yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Let them, yeah. And I think a lot of people misunderstand that message. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: That if people are shitty to you, then you, you know. You let them do that? That's not what Oh, is 

Penny Fitzgerald: No, no, no. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Being able to address things and understanding what you, what are limitations for you and what, what may, what are triggers for you, but you know mm-hmm.

Being able to articulate that for other people and say, you've crossed a boundary. I'm not happy with that. How do we work? [00:20:00] 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Yeah. Going back a little bit, um, so much of what you said, I hear a lot, um, especially, you know, going back to your corporate days long ago, the system is set up in a patriarchal male dominated way that the, it's set up to be a, a corporate pie, like you said, get your piece of the pie.

Mm-hmm. Well, we're women. We don't, we don't work in that competitive, it doesn't work with our values, our soul, when our soul is saying no to something. You know, it's no wonder we don't fit in. It's no wonder that, yeah, that we don't, um, you know, you hearing those things that you're not a good time manager.

Well, maybe, maybe it's not set up to be successful. Maybe the whole system is set up to be, 

Karen Judith Ansen: why not mentor me? Why not show me what it is that I, that if I'm taking too long on tasks? You know what I mean? That's, 

Penny Fitzgerald: [00:21:00] well, 

Karen Judith Ansen: that would make more sense, wouldn't it, than to 

Penny Fitzgerald: just say it. Sure would. It sure would. And why not?

Um. Let's take a look at those tasks. Maybe the tasks that I'm being given or the role that I'm in doesn't fit my authentic self. Maybe I would be super good at this other thing that someone else is not doing very well at, but that's my strength. You know, we're just not, it's not set up for, for success for all people.

It's mainly a male dominated more, more masculine energy is what survives or what thrives in that kind of atmosphere. And then you go home and you, I mean the patriot long ago, I'm talking about long ago history where, you know, the very traditional, you come home, you put your feet up, you have a martini, you get your, your meal.

You know, that's just not the way things are anymore. Yeah. And we have to adjust all of it. All of it. 

Karen Judith Ansen: That's, yeah. Yeah. 

Penny Fitzgerald: I think women make better leaders because we're more attuned to, you know, what's, what's your [00:22:00] authentic self and how can we integrate that into what you're doing? 

Karen Judith Ansen: I have a, a wonderful example of that.

We have a, um, a politician, and I can't think of her name right this second, but I met her. So when I first, when I first qualified at law, I, you know, you walk into a room and, and, 'cause I do industrial relations, it's mostly men. Very few women do this job, right? 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: And, um, I was struggling with. The, with the, how do I, how do I bring all of the skills that I had?

'cause I mean, I was in, I was in my fifties by this stage. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: And you know, I, I. Been, I'm a very empathetic person. I, I'm a good listener. I'm not a terribly I'm I when I need to. I am, I'm a bulldog. I can be a bulldog when I've got all of my ducks in a row and I, you know, mm-hmm. 

Penny Fitzgerald: As 

Karen Judith Ansen: a lawyer, I can absolutely carve through all of that stuff.

And, and I love, and I [00:23:00] love finding the legal arguments and, and honing in on them and doing this the way that I love that. My brain just goes, yes, we've got it, but. You know, I, I struggled with that and it was funny because I, I went to this, it was a women's empowerment day and, and this woman spoke and she, she had led Brisbane, uh, in Queensland through, uh, one of the worst floods in Australia.

Mm-hmm. And one of the decisions she had to make was that she had to open a, um, it was a, a. It, uh, it was like a, um, flood, um, gate thing that would stop all of the water. The, but the water had built so much that they had to open this, and the potential was that it was gonna flood the entire, like a big populated area and people would lose their homes and lose.

And so. She said the day that she made the decision to do that, she had a lot of men in parliament that she was leading, and they would were coming in and they were [00:24:00] sobbing, you know, saying people have lost their lives and, you know, our, you know, my grandmother, all this kinda stuff. And she was, she said as a, as a woman and as a mother and as a a, a sister and all of the things that I'd learned in my life, she said, I brought all of those things to the table that day.

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. That 

Karen Judith Ansen: I made that decision. And she said that. Um, it was one of the hardest days of her life, but she pulled on all of those strengths and I said to her, that absolutely has changed my life. That one, one conversation that you had, that on stage when you talked about that, that makes me realize that it's an actually a strength.

You don't have to hide it. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yes. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Don't have to hide those things. You can bring them every single place that you go, and it's really empowering to know that you can do that as a leader and, and have a voice. Not, and, and be able to bring all of those beautiful altruistic, but [00:25:00] also cutthroat. 'cause women, we, we are mother lions, we, you know, our children, you know, our absolute focus and when anyone gets in the way, watch out.

You know? 

Penny Fitzgerald: Right, right. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Who we are and we are protective and all of that stuff. Right. So, you know, it's. I think it's, I think it's a strength, I think for all of the things for sure. Going through Absolutely. Bring it all to the table girls, whoever's listening, don't forget. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Exactly. And I think you get more comfortable as you get older, like in the stage of life that we're in it, I just feel more comfortable with the decisions and with the things that come outta my mouth and, you know, it's just a, it's, it's empowering.

It's, it's lightening, it's. It flows much more easily. 'cause you don't care what other people think as much. 

Karen Judith Ansen: No, that's right. It's a young woman's peril, isn't it? Yeah. But I mean, all the, you, your heart, you, you second guess yourself and don't say things when you need to say them and [00:26:00] mm-hmm. Let other people walk over you because you're not confident enough to say things.

And then, you know, you lie awake at night thinking about ways to, to fix things when you can't. Right. When you, when you haven't done all the things and yet you haven't, you've let your boundaries be crossed and that kind of thing, you know, it's, it is a young woman's peril, but at the end of the day, you have to go through all that stuff to get to the good stuff.

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. I 

Karen Judith Ansen: think, you know, and it's acknowledging, and one of the things that I, I actually had to do this to myself yesterday. I love this saying, someone, I think it was a coach of mine that I had years ago, said to me, people are so hard on this themselves, and their brain's constantly thinking about ways to fix things.

But you, if you talk to yourself like a friend would talk to, to you, oh 

Penny Fitzgerald: yes, 

Karen Judith Ansen: friends say to you. What would they say? For example, I was dealing with something yesterday. I, I had to tell a client that I couldn't do a matter, 'cause it was right out of my, I did not have the skills to [00:27:00] do it. I tried, I, I pulled all the stuff together and I just, I got up in the morning.

I thought, I can't, I've gotta tell her she's got, she anyway. And then, 'cause I hate letting people down, right? Mm-hmm. I hate it. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yep. 

Karen Judith Ansen: So yesterday I talked to myself like a friend would talk to me, a friend would say, of course you did the right thing. You've given her plenty of time, you've been very clear about it.

You've, you've given her a good option to help her and, you know, and she will get the right outcome. So that's what a friend would've said to me. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yep. That's such great advice. We're so hard on ourselves. The way we usually talk to ourselves is so harsh. We would never say those things to a friend. 

Karen Judith Ansen: No. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah, 

Karen Judith Ansen: that's right.

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Words are, words are power, you know, we create our world with our words. 

Karen Judith Ansen: That's exactly right. Mm-hmm. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. Oh my gosh. So what, um, what lessons have you learned in, in your. [00:28:00] Like in combining your, your two worlds or in, you know, the, from moving from, from the legal side, from more of the corporate side into your, you know, following your joy and your purpose and your passion.

What have, what have you learned along the way? 

Karen Judith Ansen: Um, I've learned to trust myself more. Learned not to, uh, I, I did have a lot of voices when I first started. Because I was deferring, what I wanted to do really was to surround myself with, with people that were really good at what they did. And, um, I guess because I'm such a giving person, I found myself probably not focused enough on the business itself rather than the people.

So I was. Mentoring and, and you know, doing, doing the work. Sometimes when they couldn't get it done, when they didn't know, you know, when I had a lot of staff, I had seven staff at one stage, [00:29:00] and. December last year, I, I went to a retreat in Byron Bay, which is one of the most beautiful spots in Australia.

It's just, and they say it's very spiritual. It's, it's the further most Eastern point and it's got a beautiful White House and a lot of, a lot of alternative people live there. It's very nice place to visit. Um, beautiful beach and um, I went there for a gorgeous Crystal Brook. My God, crystal Brook, um, resort is just incredible.

It's got meditation rooms over the rainforest. Oh, it's incredible. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh wow. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Anyway, so I went there for five days and I met, um, Natalia Magdalena, who is a amazing retreat host, and she, we did breath work and we did all sorts of planning about, and you know, just when I was there I realized just having the space to say, you know.

I don't actually need anybody to help me in this business. I need to put the [00:30:00] resources into ai, into my legal software, into everything else. Mm-hmm. And just run the matters that I wanna run and do the things that I wanna do. So, you know, um, I try and work four days a week rather than five. Um. Mm-hmm. I mean, I don't always achieve it, but my husband also went to four days a week, so he runs his own business.

He has a mechanic workshop, and so he's doing Monday to Thursday. So Fridays are our fun day. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, 

Karen Judith Ansen: nice. And um, yeah, so we, that's one of the lessons was to, to build space into my life so I could connect with my. Husband and we could have enjoy our lives. We'd go away caravan once a month and got lovely friends here that you know, that we hang out with a lot of the time.

And, um, and it's, we have a beautiful life. I live in, in, we call it in the bush, but it's in, in the country. In the mountains, um, her three acres and yeah, it's, it is a beautiful, peaceful spot. There's no shops [00:31:00] here or anything,

um, but you know, you get over that. Um, yeah. So you 

Penny Fitzgerald: just plan ahead, right? 

Karen Judith Ansen: Correct. You have to, well cook your own food. It's always better for you anyway. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Absolutely. 

Karen Judith Ansen: No Uber Eats here. Um, and so, so that was one of the things that I learned that I could. Managed my business on my own back myself. I had the, I had the skills and the knowledge and the tools, and I've actually, I, I came full circle.

It was a, a year on the 3rd of December that I, I no longer had any employees, so I, I, I had this little celebration to go, you know what? I kicked ass this year. I have not, and I haven't been hard on myself in terms of. I was always spreading myself very thin, managing everybody. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Payroll or, I don't do any of that anymore.

It's just me. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: And, um, you know, and my clients and I've got beautiful [00:32:00] clients and I have a lovely life that I have created. Um, and beautiful grandchildren and make time for all of that, and my beautiful husband and, you know, it's just, it's a good life and I've, I've consciously made an effort to make time for myself, for my family, for my business, you know?

Yeah. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Congratulations. That's 

Karen Judith Ansen: a, 

Penny Fitzgerald: that's big. It's 

Karen Judith Ansen: been, I don't know what it is that, that people are trying to achieve. 'cause I, I mean, I've always been someone who was an, I wouldn't say I was a workaholic, you know, but mm-hmm. I know that I've had, you know, heart palpitations, I used to have heart blood pressure.

I used to have all of the symptoms of stress. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: They've all gone, I don't have any of those things anymore. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Good for you. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah, and it's like, I think, I think part of it was I wanted to be somebody. I think that was what it was. Mm-hmm. I was always on a path to be somebody. I dunno what I, who I wanted to be.

[00:33:00] Yeah. I realized it was about, in some ways, unbecoming all the things that I had subconsciously, the patterns I'd been running for years. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Of all of the reasons why I did things. I didn't know why I did things, why I was so driven to do things. Mm-hmm. Um, but now I understand a lot of the, the drivers as to why, you know, it's interesting.

I had a, have you ever done any hypnotherapy? 

Penny Fitzgerald: I have not. 

Karen Judith Ansen: I found this incredible woman. 

And she took me back, um, to my garden when I was seven. In, in, oh 

Penny Fitzgerald: wow. 

Karen Judith Ansen: My house in Canberra.And, um, our garden mom used to have this beautiful garden. 'cause it was, it was cold in Canberra, so it had all those beautiful, um, plants that only grow in.

In, in summer, you know, the bulbs that go in the ground. Those beautiful, yeah. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Beautiful plants. And I remember we had lots of butterflies and things like that, and I remember being in [00:34:00] the garden at seven and making a decision in this, in this memory that I, I reached out for help with my parents, with teachers for, with an issue.

I still dunno what the issue is, but I remember thinking, I don't need anyone's help because no one would help me. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh wow. 

Karen Judith Ansen: So I actually was taken back to the moment that ma, that basically made me realize at seven years old that I couldn't rely on people that I couldn't, oh my 

Penny Fitzgerald: goodness. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Couldn't get help and I just made this conscious decision.

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: That, and that's, that kind of set me on a path. Mm-hmm. And you know, how they say 7, 14, 21, all the, all the big ages that, that you of the growth, the psychological growth. Seven's a big one for children. When they realize, you know, they, they, um, have big emotional and, um, physiological shifts at seven.

Yeah. So that was interesting and I realized that that had taken me on a path that 

Penny Fitzgerald: I Oh 

Karen Judith Ansen: yeah. Couldn't rely [00:35:00] on people so that, that. You know, that then set in train a lot of the things that had happened in my life that I didn't realize Wow. Consciously remembered. And then I went, okay, now I know why I don't ask for help and try and do everything.

Penny Fitzgerald: Wow. 

Karen Judith Ansen: I know. Yeah. How cool that, 

Penny Fitzgerald: that's very cool. You know, you know, one of the visualizations, two visualizations that I am very, um, into looking back at your little girl, you know, your 7-year-old self. You want the best for her, right? I mean, you want absolutely. You want all the wonderful things, the best experiences, and all the love you send her.

It's the same way with our older self. When you look at your older self, she's looking at us right now and wanting the best for us, wanting nothing but love, and she know she's already been there, know. Yeah. So I love looking both directions. And, 

Karen Judith Ansen: sorry, go ahead. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah, it just really grounds you and makes you.[00:36:00] 

Realize that she, 

Karen Judith Ansen: yeah, she, what she did then was, uh, the hypnotherapist was, take me back, 

Penny Fitzgerald: Uhhuh 

Karen Judith Ansen: to her and tell her it turns out okay. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, nice. Yes. I love that. 

Karen Judith Ansen: We gave each other a hug. It was beautiful. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh. 

Karen Judith Ansen: That inner child work is really important. If no one's ever done it, it can be painful. Mm-hmm. And I'm not saying like I, I kind of, because I'm on, I'm way past all that now, but at the time that I was doing it, it was really.

Penny Fitzgerald: I'm sure so emotional. Yeah, 

Karen Judith Ansen: it really is emotional and you have to, you have to be kind to yourself, you know? Because the thing is, if you push things down and you don't, you don't deal with them. You know? There, there are, I mean there not always, but I think that you do are limiting your life a lot more.

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, for sure. Yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Than if you address things and are able to. You know, and somehow have to make [00:37:00] sense of everything, but you know, 

Penny Fitzgerald: yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: For yourself, forgive yourself for a lot of the things that you did as a result of whatever, you know. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Well, I mean, I, I used to, I used to cut people off. That's what was my biggest issue, was I would cut them off and I wouldn't talk to them anymore.

I've lost so many friendships over the years because I didn't realize that's what I was doing. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh. 'cause you thought you had to do it yourself anyway. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Absolutely. So I couldn't trust anyone, and that was, I didn't realize that was what it was going on. You know how people do that. You know, you, you do everyone know people, apparently there's an epidemic at the moment of people who don't contact their families.

Mm-hmm. I was really, I was watching something on Oprah the other day and they were talking about, um, people who, uh, children and, and parents and whoever that just don't have anything to do with their families anymore. Apparently it's an epidemic at the moment. So many people just have loved ones that just don't see them anymore.

Penny Fitzgerald: Wow. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah. And I think that's part, this is part of that work that needs to be done by people. [00:38:00] Yeah. Wow. I mean, it's a choice. I understand. If you've got a, if you've got a parent that you know has been abusive or whatever, then that's a choice. And I understand that and I accept that for people. But you know, you need to heal that for yourself as well.

You know, be able to deal with that, uh, the best you can. So you give yourself peace. 'cause you know what right. You, you are. This is it. You've got your yourself. From my perspective, you've got yourself, and you're in a world. Might as well be a nice place to live rather than a tortured one. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Yeah. You're with your yourself so often.

Karen Judith Ansen: That's right. 

Penny Fitzgerald: You might as well have fun.

Karen Judith Ansen: Oh dear. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Can I switch gears on you? 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah, of course. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Okay. Well, as you know, at the end of my conversations, I, I love to bring it around to your favorite cocktail. Do you have a favorite or a favorite glass of wine? 

Karen Judith Ansen: I do. I only, well, I always drink, drink Sauvignon Blanc, but New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc [00:39:00] is the 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yes.

Karen Judith Ansen: You haven't Oh, for sure. I 

Penny Fitzgerald: totally agree. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yes, totally. Um, but the, the cocktail that I just discovered, we. We had a beautiful trip with my old neighbors that lived next door to us for 22 years. She was turning 50 and her children, her twin boys were turning 21 and we'd known them their whole life. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm-hmm.

Karen Judith Ansen: And so we went all flew to Fiji. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, nice. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah. And we had passion fruit. What were they? Passion fruit. Daiquiris. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Oh my God. Floating around the pool in Fiji. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, I got such a picture. Yes. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Oh my God. It was so beautiful place called Moie Bay. If no one's ever been there or seen it, you need to Google it.

It's amazing. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, what, one more time. What's the name of the bay? 

Karen Judith Ansen: Moy Bay, it's called. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Okay. Moy Bay. 

Karen Judith Ansen: It's gorgeous and they have bureaus over the water like they do, you know, in some of those places and 

Penny Fitzgerald: mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: We [00:40:00] had a, we just had a, a, a nice one was on the, on the bay and you just walk out, have a swim in the morning and, oh God, 

Penny Fitzgerald: that sounds delightful.

That 

Karen Judith Ansen: was beautiful. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh my gosh. 

Karen Judith Ansen: What about you, Penny? What's your favorite? 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh my gosh, it depends on the day. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Oh, 

Penny Fitzgerald: I do love a, a lovely Sauvignon Blanc and especially a Marlboro. Um, 

Karen Judith Ansen: yeah. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Okay, so I have a fun tip for you, and maybe you already know this, but have you ever sliced up a jalapeno and put jalapeno rings in your Sauvignon Blanc?

Karen Judith Ansen: I love jalapeno. I have not. I will do that. 'cause I love a chili margarita on a, on a, 

Penny Fitzgerald: uh. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah. Chili margaritas are my second favorite. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, nice. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Spicy. Anything I love? Um, yeah. Anything spicy is my thing. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm, yeah. Give that a try and let me know what you think. 'cause it really, oh, the, it's the balance of the acid of the Sauvignon Blanc.

With the spiciness of the jalapeno. It just really balances [00:41:00] itself and it's delightful. 

Karen Judith Ansen: It'll in the morning, but I might try on this, 

Penny Fitzgerald: save it for happy hour. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. That's, that's a lovely, lovely little, um, way to upscale your, not, maybe not upscale it, but to camp it out. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah, absolutely. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah.

Yeah. I love a good dirty martini. I love making cocktails. Another thing I do is, um. Called a sipper club. So once a once a month I create a craft cocktail and my membership, we get together in Zoom and make it together and play game and have fun talking about our lives and catching up. It's just a fun girlfriend connection time.

Karen Judith Ansen: Oh, nice. Well that sounds amazing. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah, it's just, you know, we, we gotta stay in touch with our girlfriends and, you know, keep those connections and help each other, support each other. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Oh, for sure. For sure. Yeah. That's amazing. 

Penny Fitzgerald: What's a fun memory with girlfriends for you? 

Karen Judith Ansen: Oh, [00:42:00] look, we, I was saying before we started, I connected with the three girls that I went to school with and it.

All three of them actually went to primary school together as well as high school. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh wow. 

Karen Judith Ansen: But we all live in different places now. Two of them live on the West coast. Uh, so two of them live in Perth and one down in Bustleton, which is a beautiful spot as well. Right near the wine region. We went for a holiday over there once with the girls.

But um, we just recently flew to a place called X Mouth, which is, you know, the very tip of Australia. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Where that we went. It's right up the top. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Okay. 

Karen Judith Ansen: And, um, you can swim with the whale sharks there, so we Oh, wow. I just, I've got my photo up here of my, of the four of us on the boat, just after we'd sw with the whale sharks.

It was 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh my 

Karen Judith Ansen: gosh. Absolutely incredible. I have never ever seen anything like it. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Wow. What was that like? 

Karen Judith Ansen: It was incredible. It was scary at first because, uh huh. [00:43:00] You because in Australia we have very strict laws on, on, um, conservation and mm-hmm. Not interfering with anything. In, in other countries where they have the whale sharks, they feed them and it's a whole different thing, but we're not allowed to touch that here.

Penny Fitzgerald: Okay. 

Karen Judith Ansen: So the, so the whale sharks swim almost all year. You can go any time, and it was June when we went and in the water was 28 degrees. It was, 

Penny Fitzgerald: and that. That's pretty hot, right? 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah. Warm. Yeah. Yeah. 

So we've got our snorkels on and I mean, I'm 59 so I, my knees don't work that well and I was really worried that I thought, I feel you 

Penny Fitzgerald: girl. 

Karen Judith Ansen: I have water. I won't be able to get out 'cause I can't push myself up all the time.

Oh, do anything. Right. So anyway, I said to the guy. I need to be able to get a ladder. Sounds. I'm telling you now, I'm not gonna be able to get in and out quickly. And you have to get in and out quickly. So he had me on a string. He had, he had a, like, you know, one of those, those life raft things? 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: I have to [00:44:00] him, he had a lot help with the life raft.

I we, okay. They go, go, go, go. And you go plop, plop, plop. Everyone plops in and at 10 people at a time. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh my 

Karen Judith Ansen: gosh. And then. You go under the water 'cause it's coming. They can see it from a plane up and they can see the whale coming. And the whale sharks are plankton eating only. There's no tip or anything.

They just, they're like big sifts the way, describe Uhhuh. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: And so, and they, they said, do not, 'cause they look like they've got a smile on their faces. Do not get in front of it because they can't see you. So I go down and all I see is this big smile. Oh no. So, oh my god. Not in front of him. Right. So, down the side, down the side of the whale shark holding onto my string and trying to swim away.

'cause the wa the water was quite rough. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Anyway, 

Karen Judith Ansen: I cried when I went under there. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever 

Penny Fitzgerald: done. They are 

Karen Judith Ansen: just amazing. And I, I managed to get in [00:45:00] three times, 'cause they had three different sightings. I get in three times with the whale shark. And, um, then all four of us girls, we all, they all gave us champagne and we just.

Yeah. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Nice. 

Karen Judith Ansen: After that it was amazing. 

Penny Fitzgerald: So the experience where you were in and you saw the, the smile, was that your first time in 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah. 

Penny Fitzgerald: And you got in two more times,

Karen Judith Ansen: do you know? I look, I, it was funny 'cause I had weight loss surgery about two and a half years ago. Yeah. And I was about 135 kilos, I dunno what that is. In, in pounds. Yeah. But quite heavy. And, um. I had stopped doing adventurous things. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm. Mm-hmm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Right. So because I was too heavy to do them. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: And so now you can't stop me.

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, I love that. Good for you. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Getting in the water. I mean, just even traveling was difficult. [00:46:00] 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: And just getting around and my knees were, were really bad. But I mean, stupidly, last weekend I was on the back of my husband's e-bike, which I probably shouldn't have done, but anyway, and I fell off and I've sprained my ankle.

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh no. Oh well. 

Karen Judith Ansen: So I'm hobbling at the moment. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Thank God you didn't break anything though. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Oh God. I thought it was broken for sure. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh God. Yeah. Hmm, yep. The older I get, yeah. The more fragile I make. Oh God. I'm, I'm working on it. I am, you know, trying to get stronger. I'm using weights and doing the, you know, squats and yoga and all the things.

Yeah. But it just, um, it's different when you're 60. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yes. A hundred percent. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Oh, wow. I'm so proud of you for doing that. That's brave. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah. Oh, it was, it was so brave. And it was funny because, um, I. Like the, the, I was so frightened to get in [00:47:00] there, but then I was just so overwhelmed with the fact that I'd done it, but then it was beautiful.

Like just incredible and the experience of, of being under there just so peaceful, you know? 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: I mean, I've done air, air ballooning now. I would never have done that before. Yeah. And my husband took me the year I had the weight loss surgery and, you know, it was, I was scared to get in the. In the basket, I thought, I'm not gonna be able to get in, and then I'm gonna be able to get out and I'm gonna, you know what I mean?

And it's like, it's whole thing. Right? It's a whole thing. Yeah. And, and you, you limit yourself all the time. But I, I have to constantly say to myself, stop. Mm-hmm. It'll be fine. Mm-hmm. You'll be fine. There'll be older people than, I mean, I'm the oldest person at my gym every single time I go. I'm the oldest person.

Yeah. And I can still get, but 

Penny Fitzgerald: you're doing it. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Everything I'm 

Penny Fitzgerald: Exactly, exactly. Yeah. We keep ourselves small. I mean, that's an analogy for business too. We keep ourselves small because of all these fears. 

Karen Judith Ansen: That's [00:48:00] right. Yeah. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mostly mental. Yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Yeah. That's it. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh gosh. This has been so fun. I appreciate your time, Karen.

Karen Judith Ansen: I think it's amazing. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Is there anything I haven't asked you that you'd love to share? 

Karen Judith Ansen: Look, I don't think so. I don't think, I think you've asked all the questions that, that, um, that we were gonna talk about. Yeah. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Okay. Okay. Well, when you have a moment, send me the links to your, all your things. 

Karen Judith Ansen: I will 

Penny Fitzgerald: wanna check them out.

I'll send you a link to Wine Camp too and let you know about that. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Please. Yeah, because 

Penny Fitzgerald: would love to have you. I 

Karen Judith Ansen: always wanted to go there. Oh my God. I'm so excited. I've been to America, but I did it very touristy. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh yeah, 

Karen Judith Ansen: yeah. Did all the tourist spots and my husband hated it. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Aw. 

Karen Judith Ansen: And I'd been waiting my whole life to get there.

And um, yeah, it's 20, I think it was 2012 that I went. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Okay. 

Karen Judith Ansen: And, um, yeah. And he. It was too busy for him. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Mm. 

Karen Judith Ansen: You know, he did all the big [00:49:00] touristy spots and, and you know, New York and places like that. 

Penny Fitzgerald: we will be in an area, um, that is quite rural.

Um, yeah, smaller. The towns are very small and quaint We'll be near a town. We'll be actually along on the lake. We are two miles from the nearest town and they have like just a cute little square. It's probably less than 10,000 people I wanna say in the town.

So, really cute area. 

Karen Judith Ansen: I can't wait. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, yeah. I 

wanted 

Karen Judith Ansen: an excuse to come for sure. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Well, I'm happy to be it. Let, 

Karen Judith Ansen: let's organize some breath work and some sound healing. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, I would love that. I think, I think my ladies would love that too. I, I let us in some meditation last year and not everyone participates. Um, but That's okay.

You know, go have some more wine. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Absolutely. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah, 

Karen Judith Ansen: absolutely. The best time to do that stuff. I do breath work in the morning and you know, I can teach people how to reset their nervous systems. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Can help them understand what [00:50:00] anxiety is. Oh, it's massive in terms of how to support it. All the different breaths you can do.

Mm-hmm. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Amazing. I love it. Yeah. Let's keep in touch and talk about that. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Absolutely. Okay. You take care. A 

Penny Fitzgerald: you too. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Lovely evening. 

Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Yes. And you have a lovely day. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Alright, you too. Take care. Thank 

Penny Fitzgerald: you. 

Karen Judith Ansen: Bye 

Penny Fitzgerald: Bye. 

​