At some point in midlife, you stop wanting to audition for your own life.

For years, we play the roles expected of us: the capable one, the successful one, the good mother, the dependable friend, the easygoing partner, the woman who always has everything under control.

Then something shifts.

In this episode, Gill Townsend and Barbara Scalzi talk about what happens when you start caring less about being liked, saying yes because you “should”, making yourself smaller at work, or chasing things you’re not even sure you want anymore.

We talk about friendship shake-ups, FOMO, being told you’re too direct, too passionate or simply “too much”, the mental load of being the person who remembers everything, and what happens when you become so good at playing a role that you lose sight of yourself inside it.

Maybe one of the greatest gifts of midlife isn’t wisdom or confidence.

Maybe it’s permission.

Permission to stop proving. Stop pleasing. Stop performing.

And just be who you are.

What does a career look like when you no longer feel the need to prove yourself?

In Episode 10 of Midrising Conversations, Barbara puts Gill in the hot seat to talk about stepping away from a highly paid corporate role, building something of her own and redefining success in midlife.

They discuss how financial independence shaped their careers, why moving sideways can be just as valuable as climbing upwards, and how decades of experience can become the foundation for an entirely new chapter.

This episode explores:

• leaving career survival mode
• using transferable skills to build something new
• starting a business in midlife
• redefining ambition, success and financial independence
• imposter syndrome after decades of experience
• why starting again does not mean starting from nothing
• knowing when to climb another wall — and when to knock it down

This conversation is for anyone questioning what they want from the next stage of their career, considering a change of direction or wondering whether it is too late to begin again.

Hosted by Gill Townsend and Barbara Scalzi.

Midrising Conversations is honest conversation about midlife, work, identity and everything in between.

Why do younger women seem to be approaching life, work and success so differently?

In this episode, Gill and Barbara explore what midlife women can learn from the generations coming through behind us.

From boundaries and confidence to entrepreneurship, career progression and family choices, younger women appear to be playing by a different set of rules. Many aren't waiting for permission. They're backing themselves earlier, setting expectations more clearly, and creating opportunities on their own terms.

But experience still matters.

Gill and Barbara discuss what years of navigating careers, workplaces, relationships and life transitions have taught them, and why both generations have something valuable to learn from each other.

A conversation about confidence, courage, change and the evolving role of women at work and in life.