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What if the story you were handed isn’t the one you have to keep?

Avril Millar was a civil engineer in Glasgow in the 1960s, when women in hard hats were still a novelty, and the only woman among 174 engineering students at her university. She went on to teach maths and physics while her children were small, then ran her own wealth management firm as CEO for twenty years before leaving to do something more meaningful than make rich people richer. Since 2009, she’s advised boards and CEOs across investments, healthcare, technology, sports, training and design.

She was given up for adoption as a toddler, lost everything in her forties, and started again from nothing at fifty. Along the way, she discovered a brother, and in her seventies, four sisters she never knew existed. She raised two children who turned out rather well: one a Tour de France champion, the other a groundbreaking serial CEO.

Now 74 and living in London, Avril is the author of FERAL: A Grown Woman’s Guide to a Free and Ferocious Life, the book she wishes someone had handed her when she was struggling.

In this episode of It’s Bizzy, Avril shares:

• Why so many women live as “the object of someone else’s sentence,” and how to become the subject of your own
• Why women need to stop trying to fix the system and start building their own
• Why fighting the patriarchy is wasted energy, and what to do instead
• Why so many women are knackered and miserable, and how comparison steals our joy
• Why midlife women should create work, not wait for a job, and why money is the key to a woman’s freedom and safety
• Getting through depression by remembering that everything passes
• Finding four sisters through 23andMe, and her father’s handwritten sermons
• Coming home to her faith after exploring Buddhism and Kabbalah

If you’re starting over after 50, after divorce, or after losing everything, this conversation is for you.

For coaching, podcast updates, and more, visit elizabethchance.com

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📖 Get FERAL (includes a free resource inside the book):
US paperback: amazon.com/dp/1781339961
US Kindle: amazon.com/dp/B0H7XXR2R5
US audiobook: amazon.com/Feral-grown-womans-guide-ferocious/dp/B0HJ65YB4B
UK paperback: amazon.co.uk/dp/1781339961
UK Kindle: amazon.co.uk/dp/B0H7XXR2R5
UK audiobook: amazon.co.uk/Feral-grown-womans-guide-ferocious/dp/B0HJ6852JY

🌐 Connect with Avril:
Website: avrilmillar.com
Instagram: instagram.com/avrilmillar
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/avrilmillar
YouTube: youtube.com/@AvrilMillarFERAL

📩 Reach Elizabeth: elizabeth@elizabethchance.com
🎧 Coaching and more: elizabethchance.com

This episode contains strong language and mentions suicide. If you’re struggling, call or text 988 (US).

"Remember, you don't have to navigate the mess alone. Whether you're pivoting your career, your marriage, or your mindset, I'm here to walk that road with you. Let's make 2026 the year you finally put your own oxygen mask on first."

XO
Elizabeth "Bizzy" Chance

#ItsBizzy #StartingOver #WomenOver50 #Adoption #MidlifeReinvention

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After my episode with Michael Goessling, whose birth father turned out to be Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers, the response was overwhelming. And the message I kept hearing was: “I needed a happy story.”

In this solo episode 681 of It’s Bizzy, I talk about why good news hits so hard right now, the moments from Michael’s adoption reunion that moved so many of you, and a run-in at the dog beach that taught me something about miserable people. You can’t fix them, but you can choose not to carry their bad mood home.

Plus: send me your good stories! The God winks, the reunions, the “you won’t believe this” moments. I want to share them on the show.

🎧 Missed Episode 680? Go back and listen to Michael’s incredible story.

📩 Share your good story: elizabeth@elizabethchance.com

For coaching, podcast updates, and more, visit elizabethchance.com

Connect with Me
🎙️ Patreon: patreon.com/elizabethchance
💙 Facebook: facebook.com/itsbizzypodcast
📸 Instagram: @itsbizzypodcast
▶️ YouTube: @elizabethchance
🎵 TikTok: @bizzychance
🐦 X: @itsbizzypodcast
📌 Pinterest: @BusyLivingSober
💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/elizabethchance
💌 Updates: eepurl.com/iDtRnw

"Remember, you don't have to navigate the mess alone. Whether you're pivoting your career, your marriage, or your mindset, I'm here to walk that road with you. Let's make 2026 the year you finally put your own oxygen mask on first."

XO
Elizabeth "Bizzy" Chance

#ItsBizzy #GoodNews #PositiveMindset #Gratitude #Podcast #MichaelMcDonald #Adoption

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Michael McDonald's Son on Adoption, Faith & Finding His Birth Parents

What happens when you find your birth parents at 58 — and your birth father turns out to be Michael McDonald of The Doobie Brothers? In Episode 680 of It's Bizzy, my lifelong friend Michael Goessling shares his incredible adoption reunion story, and the faith, gratitude, and family love behind it.

Michael was adopted as a baby through Catholic Charities in St. Louis by Paul and Kay Goessling, who raised him to believe he was "a miracle and a gift from God." His birth parents were just 14 years old, and they searched for him for 35 years. Then a 23andMe DNA test by his half-brother, Dylan McDonald, led to a letter from an attorney, a birthday lunch with his birth mother, and a phone call that ended with: "Are you Michael McDonald?"

This isn't a celebrity story. It's a story about adoption, gratitude, grief, God's timing, and what makes a family.

In this episode:

• Growing up adopted and deeply loved

• Finding birth parents through a 23andMe DNA test

• Meeting his birth mother on his 58th birthday

• Losing his adoptive father, and his daughter's belief that "Pop sent Mike"

• How his adoptive mom welcomed his birth family with open arms

• Breaking the stigma around adoption

• Faith, letting go of worry, and trusting God's plan

"My birth parents were always heroes in my story. Either I'm here or I'm not — and I'm here."

🎧 More episodes: https://elizabethchance.com

For coaching, podcast updates, and more, visit elizabethchance.com

Connect with Me
🎙️ Patreon: patreon.com/elizabethchance
💙 Facebook: facebook.com/itsbizzypodcast
📸 Instagram: @itsbizzypodcast
▶️ YouTube: @elizabethchance
🎵 TikTok: @bizzychance
🐦 X: @itsbizzypodcast
📌 Pinterest: @BusyLivingSober
💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/elizabethchance
💌 Updates: eepurl.com/iDtRnw

"Remember, you don't have to navigate the mess alone. Whether you're pivoting your career, your marriage, or your mindset, I'm here to walk that road with you. Let's make 2026 the year you finally put your own oxygen mask on first."

XO
Elizabeth "Bizzy" Chance

You're not alone. We're getting through this one day at a time.

Support the show