What if the worst professional moment of your life turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to you? Lyndsay Dowd spent nearly 30 years in leadership — 23 of them at IBM — before leaving on her own terms for a new opportunity. Six months in, she was fired. No warning, no explanation.

The shame and embarrassment took her out… until she asked herself three questions that changed everything: What am I really good at? What do I love to do? How can I help people the most? The answers became Heartbeat for Hire, a company that helps brands ditch toxic, top-down leadership and build cultures people actually want to work in.

In this episode, Wendy and Lyndsay — a speaker, founder, 2X bestselling author (Top Down Culture and Voices of Women), Harvard guest lecturer, and globally ranked podcast host — talk about reinvention at 50+, betting on yourself, the “power skills” every leader needs, why trust is your currency, and the permission slip every woman at a crossroads deserves to hear. Fierce, funny, and full of heart. 🔥

What You’ll Learn

· The three questions to ask when life hands you a plot twist you didn’t order

· Why “power skills” (not soft skills) — like listening, delegation, and trust — drive real ROI

· How great leaders celebrate others, build safe spaces, and never throw their people under the bus

· What a “listening tour” is and why every new leader needs one

· How to find your people — the wildly inspired humans who help you dream and do the big things

· Why your personal brand is not your job title — and how reinvention really works in midlife

🎧 Tune in now

https://TheMidlifeMakeoverShow.com

✨ Watch the video replay

https://midlifology.net

👉 Connect with Lyndsay Dowd (Heartbeat for Hire)

https://www.heartbeatforhire.com

🌟 Explore All Things Midlife

https://wendyvalentine.com

📖 Order Your Copy of Women Waking Up

https://womenwakingup.com

📸 Follow the fun on IG

https://www.instagram.com/hellowendyvalentine/

In this bold, heartfelt, and hilariously honest episode of The Midlife Makeover Show, Wendy Valentine welcomes back one of the show's all-time favorite guests for the THIRD time — Andrea Owen, author, global keynote speaker, certified life coach, and the woman whose book helped inspire Wendy to become an author herself.

Andrea is back with her brand-new book, Live Like You Give a Damn, a straight-talking guide featuring 25 powerful truths to help you stop going through the motions, kick limiting patterns to the curb, and show up for your life like you actually mean it. From the "shit sandwich" you didn't ask for to the intuition you keep sending to voicemail, Andrea and Wendy dig into what it really takes to stop pretending to change — and start living like you mean it.

What You'll Learn

• Why most of us stay stuck in the "pre-contemplation" phase of change — and what it takes to finally move

• How to stop sending your intuition to voicemail — and what happens when you finally pick up

• The fascinating story of the Chiron return and why your late 40s to early 50s are literally written in the stars for transformation

• How to "metabolize" the challenges life hands you — and why digesting them (not avoiding them) is the only path through

• Why the people who have hurt you the most are actually your greatest teachers — and how to start seeing them as mirrors

🎧 Tune in now at https://TheMidlifeMakeoverShow.com or wherever you listen to podcasts!

👉 Connect with Andrea

🌟 Explore All Things Midlife & More

📖 Order Your Copy of Women Waking Up

📝 Get Weekly Midlife Inspiration on Substack

Susan Ottaviano's beautiful new book, Plants That Heal, is available NOW — and it's the midlife companion you didn't know you needed. Co-written with Chris Young and illustrated by Susan herself, it's filled with herbal teas, calming bath rituals, nourishing recipes, and natural beauty treatments to ground and restore you through every season of life.

In this episode, Wendy Valentine sits down with Susan — a musician, painter, food stylist, and endlessly creative artist — to talk about reinvention, embracing change, and why we get to keep evolving in midlife. Susan shares how she has continually reinvented herself, the small daily rituals that bring her back to center, and the mantra that says it all: “the pivot is the process.”

Warm, soulful, and deeply encouraging, this conversation is a reminder that your creativity and your dreams still matter — at any age. Pour yourself a cup of tea and settle in. 🌿

✨ What You'll Learn

• Why “the pivot is the process” — and how to embrace change instead of fearing it

• How to push through the dark, doubt-filled seasons before a breakthrough

• Simple plant-based rituals that calm, ground, and heal in midlife

• Why creativity is one of the most powerful ways to process hard times

• How to “fill the well” and reignite your dreams at any age

🎧 Tune in now

https://TheMidlifeMakeoverShow.com

✨ Watch the video replay

https://midlifology.net

👉 Connect with Susan Ottaviano (@TwoGreenWitches)

https://www.instagram.com/twogreenwitches/

Get the book!

🌟 Explore All Things Midlife

https://wendyvalentine.com

📖 Order Your Copy of Women Waking Up

https://womenwakingup.com

📸 Follow the fun on IG

https://www.instagram.com/hellowendyvalentine/