Read the Latest Blog Posts
The joys and challenges of my first empty nest Christmas
Christmas is in just a few weeks. My adult children who finally, truly left the nest this year were not happy when I told them about the Christmas I am planning for this year when they come home for the holidays. “No tree,” I said. Arose a chorus of complaints. “Minimal decorations,” I added. More groans. Their reaction pressed my buttons. I wondered; would I capitulate? Making traditions…then breaking them I had spent years creating traditions and now I was going to break them? I guess I had been dreaming of this “light” Christmas for a few years now after
Stuck in a job you hate? How to Make the Change!
That petrified feeling when you’re stuck in a job you hate — but you don’t know how to change your life. by Deborah Voll Certified Professional Life and Career Coach We are all afraid of the unknown. And not knowing exactly what it is we want stops us in our tracks. So, we get stuck. We choose safety over fulfillment because: overwhelm! I’m thinking about Jesse, who was stuck in a job that, over the years, had become toxic, for a variety of reasons. She had the financial pressures of maintaining a home and her high schoolers were about to
Why hobbies are important in midlife
In reading the title of this article, “Why Hobbies Are Important in Midlife,” you may have been a bit taken aback. Hobbies? What a frivolous concept! Like I have time for that! I hear you—between driving the kids to soccer practice, thinking of something to make for dinner, and clocking hours at work, time for hobbies can seem sparse for middle-aged women. While life is certainly busy, I’d like to challenge you to take a look at how much of your free time you’re spending watching Netflix, scrolling through social media, or surfing the internet. These things—while certainly okay in
Take time to Stop, Pause and Celebrate!
You may have gathered in a recent blog post that I recently had published my long-awaited book: The Tell-All Guide to Airbnb Hosting, Proven Tips, and Tricks for Successful Hosting. It’s a book that I started a couple of years ago and due to a combination of the pandemic in 2020, and the backup with printers and publishers its arrival was a bit later than expected. Giving birth to a book is very similar to birthing a child. Everyone knows it’s coming and you have an expected date of arrival but you could be late and you are likely to
Side Hustles for Women over Forty
A growing number of women over forty are considering side hustles in midlife! A side hustle can be a business you create or where you step out and be employed by someone else. For some, money may be a motivator. Perhaps you would like some extra money to save for a specific purchase, others may have a specific financial goal. Others may look at the opportunity to start a side hustle to develop a new skill, meet people, or test-drive a business idea. Whatever your motivation there is no better time than now to get curious and start exploring what
Eight Tips for Making Friends in Midlife
Making friends in midlife can often seem a little bit like dating and leaving us feeling a bit out of our comfort zone! Often, we would love to initiate a conversation with someone we find interesting but are left feeling insecure and embarrassed about making that first move. Sound familiar? Today we are going to talk about ways for you to get out of your comfort zone, meet new people and find that network of people you find interesting. Perhaps as you’ve aged, you may have lost so friend to illness, a move, or divorce? We tend to want more
3 Reasons why a career change in midlife is the best decision
It may seem terrifying, but a career change in midlife is probably your best decision if, you have heard yourself saying: “ After the pandemic, I just can’t go back to my job with the new requirements!” “ I’m getting a divorce and need to settle into a new career to support myself” “ The culture in my current company is abusive” “ I would love to be in a career that is in more alignment with my purpose” “ Now that we have an empty nest, I would love to explore doing something outside of the home” But you
How to make a career leap in midlife!
You’ve decided to make a career leap in midlife but are uncertain about how to get started. I’ve put together these five tips so you can easily make the leap while knowing you have all your ducks in a row! Some people spend more time planning a vacation than they do a career transition! So let’s get started. Step 1: Understand your WHY. When I am working with clients this is one of the most important steps in tackling a goal so why not something as important as your career leap! Here are some questions to ask yourself. Why is
Why hobbies are important in midlife
In reading the title of this article, “Why Hobbies Are Important in Midlife,” you may have been a bit taken aback. Hobbies? What a frivolous concept! Like I have time for that! I hear you—between driving the kids to soccer practice, thinking of something to make for dinner, and clocking hours at work, time for hobbies can seem sparse for middle-aged women. While life is certainly busy, I’d like to challenge you to take a look at how much of your free time you’re spending watching Netflix, scrolling through social media, or surfing the internet. These things—while certainly okay in moderation—can create the illusion of busyness when done in excess. You might have more free time than you think and this time can be much
Take time to Stop, Pause and Celebrate!
You may have gathered in a recent blog post that I recently had published my long-awaited book: The Tell-All Guide to Airbnb Hosting, Proven Tips, and Tricks for Successful Hosting. It’s a book that I started a couple of years ago and due to a combination of the pandemic in 2020, and the backup with printers and publishers its arrival was a bit later than expected. Giving birth to a book is very similar to birthing a child. Everyone knows it’s coming and you have an expected date of arrival but you could be late and you are likely to get asked consistently, “When is the book going to be available”? It was after some time that instead of giving a date, I would just
Side Hustles for Women over Forty
A growing number of women over forty are considering side hustles in midlife! A side hustle can be a business you create or where you step out and be employed by someone else. For some, money may be a motivator. Perhaps you would like some extra money to save for a specific purchase, others may have a specific financial goal. Others may look at the opportunity to start a side hustle to develop a new skill, meet people, or test-drive a business idea. Whatever your motivation there is no better time than now to get curious and start exploring what is a good fit for you! I will be sharing several ways you can develop a side hustle for yourself. Most of my suggestions are
Eight Tips for Making Friends in Midlife
Making friends in midlife can often seem a little bit like dating and leaving us feeling a bit out of our comfort zone! Often, we would love to initiate a conversation with someone we find interesting but are left feeling insecure and embarrassed about making that first move. Sound familiar? Today we are going to talk about ways for you to get out of your comfort zone, meet new people and find that network of people you find interesting. Perhaps as you’ve aged, you may have lost so friend to illness, a move, or divorce? We tend to want more out of our friendships and a bunch of Facebook friends just don’t support us with the deeper connection we crave. Let’s face it though, as
3 Reasons why a career change in midlife is the best decision
It may seem terrifying, but a career change in midlife is probably your best decision if, you have heard yourself saying: “ After the pandemic, I just can’t go back to my job with the new requirements!” “ I’m getting a divorce and need to settle into a new career to support myself” “ The culture in my current company is abusive” “ I would love to be in a career that is in more alignment with my purpose” “ Now that we have an empty nest, I would love to explore doing something outside of the home” But you may have been feeling: “ I’m too old” “ I’d love to do _________ but I don’t know if it can support my lifestyle” “Is
How to make a career leap in midlife!
You’ve decided to make a career leap in midlife but are uncertain about how to get started. I’ve put together these five tips so you can easily make the leap while knowing you have all your ducks in a row! Some people spend more time planning a vacation than they do a career transition! So let’s get started. Step 1: Understand your WHY. When I am working with clients this is one of the most important steps in tackling a goal so why not something as important as your career leap! Here are some questions to ask yourself. Why is making this leap so important to you? How is it going to not only impact yourself but those you love? Perhaps it will bring you
