Her Comeback: Transforming Your Life After 50

https://www.michellethompsoncoaching.com/Episode description:At 13, Renee Maxine Haas chose a tech career. By her mid-30s she had reached the senior role she had dreamed of, and the passion was gone. With no plan for what came next, she did something her planner brain never saw coming: she quit her job and traveled the world solo.In this conversation, Renee joins Michelle to talk about the messy middle behind the highlight reel. She shares why she almost talked herself out of the leap, the unsettling moment in India that taught her courage, the foggy day in the Dolomites when she finally let go of needing it all figured out, and how close she came to abandoning her book and going back to her old career once she was home.If you look successful on paper but sense it is time for something new, this episode offers a gentler first step than buying a plane ticket: get curious.In this episode, you will hear:• Why reaching a lifelong goal can leave you questioning the whole path• How two imagined versions of her future self helped Renee decide in two days• What it felt like to travel solo without the aha moment she expected• How an unexpected solo tour in India built her resilience and boldness• The three moments that cracked her belief that the right choices keep life on plan• What is left of your identity when roles, routines, and productivity culture fall away• Why coming home was harder than leaving, and how she balanced planning with trust• A simple way to start if you are ready for change but cannot quit everything• Mindfulness as a tool for catching fear-based stories before they steer youKey takeaways:• Success on paper does not guarantee fulfillment. A fading passion is information, not failure.• Not knowing is often where transformation begins. You do not have to solve it right away.• You do not need the whole journey mapped. One step at a time is enough.• Take the action and the confidence can follow (a theme Michelle shares from Courageously You).• Real change has a messy beginning. Most success stories skip it.• Self-trust is the thread: you have shown up for yourself before and you can again.Links and resources:• Renee Maxine Haas: reneemaxinehaas.com• The Fog and the Flow by Renee Maxine Haas: details and where to buy on her website• Courageously You: 7 Simple Frameworks to Create the Life You Love by Michelle Thompson, available on Amazon in all formats and anywhere books are soldWork with Michelle: michellethompsoncoaching.com

Episode overviewhttps://www.michellethompsoncoaching.com/Guest: Brandi Jo Newman, Host: Michelle ThompsonBrandi Jo Newman grew up in East Texas on a cattle ranch and played professional golf on the LPGA Futures Tour across six continents. She went on to build and run several businesses, including a financial services firm she exited without selling, and had multiple eight-figure exits. She founded a San Antonio women's organization in 2024 and now coaches small business owners, with a focus on helping founders step out of being "chief everything officer." She is a Co-Pilot Advisor with Exit Without Selling, helping entrepreneurs exit the day-to-day without selling the business they built. She also offers a three-and-a-half-hour private coaching session for high achievers who have already won but can't feel it. She owns up to the years she was "the a**hole," explains why success can leave high achievers numb, and shares the frameworks she uses to stop spinning and start choosing. Her advice to a woman who feels stuck: stop, let the mud settle, and don't step into the swirl.Key takeaways• Be interested, not interesting. Brandi Jo's dad told her people will eat out of your hand if you care about what they want. Curiosity took her further than being impressive.• Success doesn't deliver a trophy. Moving goalposts leave many high achievers asking "Is this it?" Sometimes enough is enough, and the next step is rest, not another level.• Use SODA when your head is a pinball machine. Stop, Observe, Detach, then either Accept or Awaken. Don't insert yourself into drama that isn't yours.• Use GOALS to get clear on what you want. What do you want to gain, what is your objective, what will you accept or be awarded, what do you want to learn, and who do you want to serve?• Ask when you last failed at something. At her luncheons, most women couldn't answer, because they had stopped trying. Confidence comes from being willing to fall on your face.• You can't be both hero and martyr. Solving everyone's problems keeps others from learning to solve their own, and it often comes from the identity women saw modeled around them.• You haven't wasted the first half of your life. Every decision got you to where you are. Choose people who match your standards and don't apologize when you mean "excuse me."• Wait before you act. Let the mud settle until the water is clear, and do the inner work, because the numbness comes from living on the outside.Resources• Guest website: Brandijo.com• Instagram: instagram.com/brandijonewman • Her work (Co-Pilot Advisor): Exit Without Selling• Host's book: Courageously You: 7 Simple Frameworks to Create the Life You Love, available on Amazon• Work with Michelle: book a call at michellethompsoncoaching.com

Episode summaryNidhi Singhvi, co-founder of Unvault, explains why jewelry is an overlooked asset and how women can learn what theirs is really worth. She and Michelle cover melt, resale and insurance value, common selling mistakes, and how a jewelry box can become a down payment, a business launch or a clean inheritance plan. The takeaway: just know the value; acting on it is optional.About the guestNidhi Singhvi is co-founder of Unvault, based outside San Francisco, and a mom of a three-year-old. She grew up in India, where gold is discussed like any other household asset, then worked in consulting, currency and crypto options trading before building Unvault with a co-founder from a finance and tech background. Unvault's mission is to help American households understand, track and use the jewelry they own.Key takeawaysAbout $750 billion of gold sits in US homes, untracked and idle; the US lacks the price transparency common in India.Know the value before you sell. Without a baseline you cannot negotiate with local jewelers or "we buy gold" shops.Appraisal (insurance) value is retail replacement cost and carries a 2x to 5x markup. It is not what you will get when you sell.Melt (scrap) value is the floor for any solid gold, silver or platinum piece. Brand, condition, box and papers, or true antique craftsmanship can lift it.Most people undervalue gold and overvalue diamonds. Nidhi cited a CNBC segment saying a diamond valued at $10,000 in 2022 is now under $3,000.A 1920s or 1950s class ring is not automatically an antique; without unique design it usually sells at melt value.Broken chains and single earrings still have value: "gold is gold."Keep what you will wear or pass down, track its value, and start selling with pieces you will never wear or that are broken.Tell your children what you own so an inheritance does not become a mess.Topics discussedWhat drives a piece's value: metal, brand, condition, ageCommon selling mistakes, including broken piecesWhat to keep, pass down or convertThe selling process: video-recorded testing, itemized offer, payment in 24 hoursJewelry box as a comeback: stories of women funding their next chapterOne small step this weekNotable quotes"Now we have converted dresses, and shoes, and bags to assets. I think it's time to start seeing jewelry as an asset as well.""Gold is gold.""If you don't know the value, how are you ever going to negotiate?""Just know the value. You don't have to act on it. Just that knowledge will be empowering.""You convert something that you owned, maybe was passed down to you, into something that might be your future income stream."Links and resourcesUnvault (free evaluation, about 60 seconds, photos only): unvault.coQuestions for Nidhi's team: [email protected] with Michelle: michellethompsoncoaching.comCourageously You: 7 Simple Frameworks to Create the Life You Love, available on Amazon and wherever books are sold https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H5717G3D

Her Comeback with host Michelle Thompsonhttps://www.michellethompsoncoaching.com/Episode description:Functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner Katie Barngrover joins Michelle from Wyoming. A former math teacher, she shares how her own family’s health struggles led her to a new career. She explains why fatigue, stubborn weight, and restless nights after 50 aren’t just “part of getting older,” and how testing instead of guessing can help women reclaim their energy for the next chapter.In this episodeKatie’s path from math teacher to FDN practitioner, and why she believes the body sends messages we’ve forgotten how to readWhat’s true and what’s a myth about “it’s just getting older”Three overlooked drivers of fatigue: cortisol rhythm, nutrient absorption, and sleep habitsThe cortisol and blood sugar loop that disrupts sleepHow functional lab testing differs from a standard annual physicalWhat a continuous glucose monitor teaches women about their individual responses to foodHealthy habits that may work against you: bedtime snacks, constant snacking, red wine or dark chocolate after dinner, and salads for some womenA small step for this week: check in with your body 90 to 120 minutes after eatingKey takeawaysSay no to the activities that drain your bucket, and keep the ones that fill it.Health advice built for the “generic woman” doesn’t fit everyone, so listen to your own body.You don’t have to wait for disease to look at what your body is telling you.Memorable quote “Everybody has the ability to be healthy. We just have to believe we can do it.”About Katie Katie Barngrover is a functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner who uses lab work and each client’s story to build individualized healing plans.LinksFree 8-minute video on blood sugar, fuel mix, and food sensitivities: https://watch.angelwinghealth.com/comebackMichelle's book Courageously You: Seven Simple Frameworks to Create the Life You Love https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H5717G3DThis episode is for educational purposes and isn’t medical advice. Talk with your healthcare provider about your own health.

Her Comeback with host Michelle Thompson, https://www.michellethompsoncoaching.com/DescriptionWhat if your someday never comes? Kristy Halvorsen was a firefighter station officer with a home she loved, a good life, and a health scare that made her stop waiting. She sold everything, moved into an Airstream, and has spent almost nine years wandering solo and off grid, rarely knowing where she's headed next.In this conversation, Kristy joins Michelle to talk about the difference between being pushed by pain and pulled by possibility, the hidden belief that her mom helped her uncover (and the two months it took to act on it), and the question she asks at every fork in the road: What would I do if I knew I couldn't get this wrong? She also shares what solo travel taught her, how grief reshaped what it means to live fully, and why it's never too late to follow the tickles of your soul.If you've ever felt a quiet pull toward something more, this episode is for you. You’ll Learn• What it looks like to be pulled, not pushed: why Kristy left a career and home she loved, with no crisis pushing her out.• The sneakiest limiting beliefs: how a single sentence from her mom surfaced a belief she didn’t know she carried.• "What would I do if I couldn’t get this wrong?" a simple question that quiets the chatter and points to the next step.• The tickles of your soul: how to listen to your inner knowing, and why it’s always been there.• Living with the unknown: a roadside breakdown, a stranger, and what happens when you just take one step.• Midlife identity shifts: loosening the labels you hold and seeing who arrives.Grief and living fully: what her mom’s illness and loss taught her about ending "someday."Quotable Moments• "The sneakiest beliefs are the ones we don’t know we have."• "What would I do if I knew everything was going to work out just fine?"• "Age and time is just some made up stuff… it’s never too late."About Kristy Halvorsen is a former firefighter station officer with a master’s in engineering. She is the author of Perfect Unfolding: Seven Years of Life-Changing Solo Adventure, One Year That Broke Me Open, a transformational memoir about travel, trust, and following your inner knowing.Connect with Kristy• Website: perfectunfolding.com (includes a 90-second book trailer and newsletter sign-up)• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristy.halvorsen/Resources• Courageously You: Michelle’s book, Courageously You: 7 Simple Frameworks to Create the Life You Love, available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H5717G3D• Work with Michelle: Book a call at michellethompsoncoaching.com.