Mid-Life Does NOT Actually Suck!
A little story about how this chapter of my life and this business came to be.
About Me
Exactly one month to the day before my 40th birthday, my whole world suddenly and bizzarrely turned on its head. In the blink of an eye the rug was pulled right out from under me. One minute I was rather looking forward to entering this new stage of my life, and the next... everything was upside down and really rather sucked.
The “what” that happened isn’t so important here, but trust me when I say it would make one heck of a good novel. Hmm... Maybe someday.
A Very Strange Blessing
What is important here is what the mid-life-disaster-turned-blessing caused - a personal Epiphany of sorts that is best summed up (because I can laugh about it now) in this gem of a definition, courtesy of the Urban Dictionary:
Epiphany: A smart-sounding word for realizing you've been practically retarded for quite some time.
Thank you Urban Dictionary (insert facepalm here). Brutal but accurate AF.
Indeed. People pleasing. Putting myself last. Choosing to support other people's dreams and goals while neglecting my own and allowing them to fall by the wayside. And all the while thinking I was doing "the right thing."
Maybe you can relate?
I'd been overlooking the basic survival rule that you should always put on your own life jacket before helping others with theirs. Life jolted me awake only to realize I was drowning and had allowed myself to get pretty damn lost at sea somewhere along the way too.
I had always been fit, active, creative, and a highly passion-driven person. Here I was out of shape, unfulfilled and clueless as to where my own passions, purpose or direction had gone and where the future may lie. I felt like I'd disappeared from my own life. How does that even happen?
Suddenly this was very, very unacceptable to me. So, even stuck in the midst of a really difficult time, I made a decision to take back my body and my life.
Fast forward a little more than a decade, a significant amount of soul-searching, a fair bit of trial and a whole heap of error later, I've come to believe that the key to a happy life lies in exploring, living and sharing your passions and encouraging and inspiring others to do the same.
For me this comes through honouring and sharing my values of passion and purpose, creativity, joy, health and fitness. That's what my life and my business is now all about.
How I Can Help You
Here's a fun fact: You'll probably find that the vast majority of people in our 40s, 50s and beyond are now, or have been, going through some sort of personal, professional or family challenge, change or other mid-life chaos. If you're one of the lucky ones who has it all together and things are going great, even the good stuff seems a little turbulent at times, no? And that's not even including a global pandemic, by the way.
Think about yourself and the people you know. Aging parents, illness, loss, relationships, moving, kids, careers, grandkids!... and what the heck are our bodies doing??!! To say there's a lot going on at this stage of our lives is an understatement.
It's far too easy to get lost in the shuffle. You tend to put yourself last. You set your own goals, dreams, even your health and well being aside. Or you just give up on it all entirely in the hopes that someday, maybe it might all settle down and you can eventually focus on you. I know. I've been there.
Here's another fun fact: The challenges, change and chaos will continue, for better or for worse. Sorry.
Just know that it IS actually possible to thrive on this journey and even enjoy the ride.
In order to do that, you must always ALWAYS put on your own life vest first.
I'm Here To Remind You...
I'd Love to Help You Take Back Your Body and Your Life Too.
A Few More Fun Facts
I'm a multi-passionate Canadian-Antiguan whose life has been mainly split between these two wildly different countries, along with a seven year stint in Thailand which is like no other place on earth.
A graduate of Barry University, Miami (Bachelor of Fine Art, Class of '97 - Go Bucs!), I'm also Certified as an AFAA Personal Fitness Trainer, NASM Nutrition Coach, CCF Certified Life Coach Practitioner and Life Purpose Coach. So yes, I am reasonably qualified to do the stuff I love to do.
I sometimes call myself a late bloomer. Then I look back on all this and realize I've seen, done, accomplished, and survived kind of a lot. Not to mention having a uniquely developed (um, warped?) sense of humour and outlook on life as a result.
In 2018 I married the guy who had been my high-school prom date 30 years before. Someone with whom I'd had zero contact for over 25 years and who later in life apparently turned out to be my soulmate. Who knew? You really can't make this sh*t up. As we like to say, on the day we got married we had been dating for 30 years with a 27 year break. I now also have three very cool grown-up step-kids who grace us with their presence every now and then.
Together, my honey Mitch and I now go on adventures camping and exploring our world with me on the back of the motorcycle. Things I never in a million years could have imagined myself doing, let alone thoroughly enjoying. EVER.
In fact, if you had a crystal ball and had told me when I was turning 40 that my life would look like this today, I would have said you were out of your f-ing mind. Now? I'm really grateful you were right. ;-)
As it turns out, mid-life does not actually suck.
What I Do
I help women in their 40s, 50s and beyond take back their bodies, feel amazing in their own skin and discover (or re-claim!) their passions and purpose in life.
You deserve to have a body AND a life you love!
Nicole has surpassed all of my expectations and made this journey one of the most enjoyable, rewarding experiences of my life. Not only have I never been as proud of my body as I am now, I see so many other positive changes in my life that I never would have expected. I have more energy, I feel more positive each day, and I overall just lead a much healthier lifestyle.