Description:
In this episode, Wendy Battles shares her personal journey of getting out of her comfort zone and finding her true purpose. From her experiences as a voice actor, becoming a coach, and now a podcast host, she reflects on self-discovery and the process of figuring out what she likes and dislikes.
Wendy also shares insights on the importance of self-reflection, especially during midlife, and how being quiet and still can lead to great revelations. Join us as she shares her journey from being a multi-passionate person to finally finding her calling as a “Reinvention Rebel”.
Takeaways:
- Don’t be afraid to try.
- See failures as opportunities.
- Learn lessons from difficult situations.
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Subscribe on Apple Podcast, Stitcher , Google Podcast. or Spotify
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You can email me with questions or comments at wendy@heyboomer.biz
–
Wendy Green is a Certified Life Coach, working with people going through the sometimes uncomfortable life transition from full-time work to “what’s next.”
Find out more about Wendy’s 6-week “What’s Next Transition” Coaching workshop
–
Support our sponsor: roadscholar.org/heyboomer
Produced by the the Greenville Podcast Company
Transcript
Wendy Green:
:Welcome to Hey, Boomer.
Wendy Green:
:The show for those of us who believe that we are never too old to set another goal or
Wendy Green:
:dream a new dream.
Wendy Green:
:My name is Wendy Green, and I am your host for Hey, Boomer.
Wendy Green:
:Today we're going to talk about reinventing ourselves, what it takes, what it means, why
Wendy Green:
:we do it. And it got me thinking about some of the reinventions that I have been through
Wendy Green:
:in my lifetime.
Wendy Green:
:And there have been many.
Wendy Green:
:But I started to think about when I was in my early fifties and I had just sold my
Wendy Green:
:business KidzArt.
Wendy Green:
:And I had gone back into corporate America working as a Director of Training.
Wendy Green:
:But I knew that's not where I wanted to be for the long haul.
Wendy Green:
:So I started working with a coach to figure out what is it that I really want to do,
Wendy Green:
:what's going to be meaningful in my life?
Wendy Green:
:And after we worked together for probably a couple of months, she said to me one day, you
Wendy Green:
:know, you'd be a really good coach.
Wendy Green:
:And it was like this light bulb moment.
Wendy Green:
:I was like, Oh, that's what I want to do.
Wendy Green:
:I want to be a coach.
Wendy Green:
:And then I realized, you know, as a young person, first year in college, I wanted to
Wendy Green:
:study sociology.
Wendy Green:
:I wanted to be a social worker, but I had to put that on the back burner for various
Wendy Green:
:reasons. So that's one of the things that seems to happen in this next act of life is
Wendy Green:
:that we start to tap into things that we may have dreamed about when we were young and
Wendy Green:
:then we put aside for various reasons.
Wendy Green:
:And so looking back into your life, into your history of what was important to you
Wendy Green:
:when you were young may be a good place to start.
Wendy Green:
:When you start thinking about reinvention and sometimes talking with people, even
Wendy Green:
:getting help from a coach can be helpful in that process.
Wendy Green:
:So today my guest is another Wendy.
Wendy Green:
:Her name is Wendy Battles.
Wendy Green:
:And by day, Wendy is a cyber security awareness expert at Yale University.
Wendy Green:
:But by night.
Wendy Green:
:And I venture to say on weekends, Wendy pursues her passion for celebrating,
Wendy Green:
:illuminating and elevating older women.
Wendy Green:
:As the host of the Re-invention Rebels podcast, Wendy interviews bold and
Wendy Green:
:unapologetic women 50 to 90 years old, who have reinvented themselves later in life to
Wendy Green:
:see new possibilities.
Wendy Green:
:In this way, Wendy shines a light on the notion that we can reinvent ourselves at any
Wendy Green:
:age or any stage.
Wendy Green:
:And she's helping to disrupt the limiting beliefs about the value of aging women.
Wendy Green:
:At 57, Wendy is a reinvention.
Wendy Green:
:Rebel herself, having reinvented herself many times during her life, including as a
Wendy Green:
:management consultant, a voice actor, a health coach.
Wendy Green:
:And now in her most recent reinvention as a cybersecurity awareness expert and a podcast
Wendy Green:
:host. And she says that the podcast hosting is by far the most rewarding reinvention she
Wendy Green:
:has come across yet.
Wendy Green:
:Along her journey of greater self awareness, she's learned the art of living on purpose
Wendy Green:
:and embracing life with more joy, ease and trust.
Wendy Green:
:So you are going to love Wendy.
Wendy Green:
:You are in for a high energy conversation.
Wendy Green:
:But before I bring her on, I want to mention our sponsor, Road Scholar.
Wendy Green:
:Road Scholar is the not-for-profit leader in adventure and educational travel for boomers
Wendy Green:
:and beyond, offering expert led adventures in all 50 states and over 100 countries.
Wendy Green:
:I love learning with Road Scholar.
Wendy Green:
:I've been on several of their trips, both as a solo traveler and with my grandchildren.
Wendy Green:
:And I am inviting you all to join me in Costa Rica this summer, June 2nd through the
Wendy Green:
:10th. I'm doing a private trip with Road Scholar and it's going to be amazing.
Wendy Green:
:So if you're interested in that, drop me an email.
Wendy Green:
:My email address is Wendy@heyboomer.biz, and I will send you all the information.
Wendy Green:
:Now, I need to bring on and want to bring on my friend Wendy Battles.
Wendy Green:
:Hi, Wendy.
Wendy Battles:
:Hi, Wendy.
Wendy Battles:
:So weird to say that, but I'm so excited to be here with you today.
Wendy Green:
:And you know, we were just talking before we came on.
Wendy Green:
:It was such a joy. Wendy and I met through a women's podcasting group and just been a joy
Wendy Green:
:to know her and share her delight and energy with what she's doing.
Wendy Green:
:But I want to let's start with reinvention.
Wendy Green:
:I mean, you've reinvented yourself several times.
Wendy Green:
:And so you know what?
Wendy Green:
:What have you been looking for with each one of those reinventions?
Wendy Battles:
:That's a great question, Wendy.
Wendy Battles:
:And I have to say that probably different things in each reinvention.
Wendy Battles:
:I think when I was in my thirties, I reinvented myself as a consultant.
Wendy Battles:
:So I was looking for new experiences and learning new skills and trying things out,
Wendy Battles:
:which was great.
Wendy Battles:
:I reinvented myself as a voice actor and that was really because people kept saying,
Wendy Battles:
:Wendy, you have a great voice.
Wendy Battles:
:You should do something with it.
Wendy Battles:
:And I didn't even know what I was getting myself into, to be honest with you, which is
Wendy Battles:
:sometimes what happens, I think when we reinvent ourselves, we might have this idea
Wendy Battles:
:of it. And then there's sort of the reality of it.
Wendy Battles:
:And for me, that was getting out of my comfort zone.
Wendy Battles:
:That reinvention was about getting out of my comfort zone, building trust in myself that I
Wendy Battles:
:could do something I'd never done before.
Wendy Battles:
:Learning new skills.
Wendy Battles:
:And also, I think it was the ability to work with different people because as a voice
Wendy Battles:
:actor, you work with a lot of different producers.
Wendy Battles:
:They have different very different styles and expectations.
Wendy Battles:
:So it taught me a lot about flexing my style.
Wendy Battles:
:You know, in my forties, I reinvented myself as a health coach.
Wendy Battles:
:I had a corporate career. I'm not really a corporate person and I was really searching.
Wendy Battles:
:And that was a great opportunity for me to figure out how to be an entrepreneur.
Wendy Battles:
:And honestly, I wasn't that good at it and I became a coach.
Wendy Battles:
:But then I realized I don't love coaching.
Wendy Battles:
:So it was a lot of self-discovery in that reinvention about both what I liked and what
Wendy Battles:
:I didn't like.
Wendy Battles:
:And I think it's interesting because I think the things we do give us breadcrumbs and
Wendy Battles:
:often hints about something bigger, even though when it's happening, we can't always
Wendy Battles:
:put all those puzzle pieces together.
Wendy Battles:
:But they really were all leading up to my current reinvention as a podcast host, just
Wendy Battles:
:like you of the Reinvention Rebels podcast, because it really encompasses my voice acting
Wendy Battles:
:work and all the years I've spent public speaking this idea of being in conversation
Wendy Battles:
:with people. I love talking and listening to people.
Wendy Battles:
:I love their stories, and I think it's very interesting that I was able to integrate in a
Wendy Battles:
:very synergistic way many different skills gathered.
Wendy Green:
:Over.
Wendy Battles:
:Time. And I will just add that in my thirties or my forties, I was always seeking like,
Wendy Battles:
:what am I meant to do?
Wendy Battles:
:And I would try something, but ultimately it wasn't it.
Wendy Battles:
:And it took me until 54 to really feel like I'm truly living on purpose.
Wendy Battles:
:And that's what's really different about this most recent reinvention.
Wendy Battles:
:That's why I think of it as my best reinvention yet.
Wendy Green:
:So I love how you tied it together, you know, because when I was looking at some of your
Wendy Green:
:different reinventions, I was like, Hmm, where is the thread?
Wendy Green:
:But I love how you tied it together.
Wendy Green:
:And and your comment about finding yourself, finding your purpose or whatever at 54.
Wendy Green:
:In all the interviews that you've done, do you feel like that's common, that we find our
Wendy Green:
:purpose later in life, or do you think that's not as common?
Wendy Battles:
:I think it's pretty common for a lot of people to find their purpose later in life.
Wendy Battles:
:And for some of us, we have multiple purposes.
Wendy Battles:
:You know, it could be it could have been that when we were younger, our main purpose
Wendy Battles:
:was raising healthy, productive kids.
Wendy Battles:
:And that's like a pretty important purpose.
Wendy Battles:
:But I think that as people age, their priorities and values can change.
Wendy Battles:
:So I certainly think that we can change our focus or perhaps we have a new purpose,
Wendy Battles:
:something new emerges that we couldn't even see before.
Wendy Battles:
:So I think it's a mix because I also know people who from the twenties have been so
Wendy Battles:
:clear on their purpose.
Wendy Battles:
:That was never me.
Wendy Battles:
:I couldn't even decide what to major in.
Wendy Battles:
:In college I changed eight times and it was sociology like you.
Wendy Battles:
:But I could not figure out like, what can I major in?
Wendy Battles:
:I'm a multi passionate person.
Wendy Green:
:And I'm raising it.
Wendy Battles:
:That's right. Yep.
Wendy Battles:
:So I think it's it's been for me this journey.
Wendy Battles:
:And I certainly see other women especially that I meet that are on a similar journey,
Wendy Battles:
:that are searching, that are looking for that greater purpose.
Wendy Battles:
:And I do think that when we get to midlife and older, we tend to have more time and
Wendy Battles:
:space. We have more opportunity to focus on ourselves as opposed to more outwardly
Wendy Battles:
:focusing on our job, our family, you know, what have you.
Wendy Battles:
:So I think it creates greater opportunity if you haven't figured it out to say, I want to
Wendy Battles:
:make me a priority right now, I want to focus on what I want to do and see what might
Wendy Battles:
:we might uncover in that process.
Wendy Green:
:Of that. And Wendy, I want to talk a little bit more about purpose.
Wendy Green:
:Because some people think I have no idea.
Wendy Green:
:I mean, what purpose is so big, right?
Wendy Green:
:Like, if I'm not solving world hunger, then I don't have a purpose.
Wendy Green:
:And I want to find out from you what you mean when you say you're living on purpose.
Wendy Battles:
:That is the great question.
Wendy Battles:
:And for me, living on purpose means living with joy, getting up every day and doing
Wendy Battles:
:something that is so inspiring to me that I'm willing to make sacrifices to do it.
Wendy Battles:
:And by that I mean I get up every day.
Wendy Battles:
:Since I do have a full time job, I get up every day at 445 promptly, and I cannot wait
Wendy Battles:
:to get to work on the podcast.
Wendy Battles:
:So something to me that I and it's the kind of thing that I would do for me that purpose
Wendy Battles:
:means I would do without getting paid like I love it.
Wendy Battles:
:So not that it wouldn't be a nice thing to get paid to do it.
Wendy Battles:
:I wanted to say that, but I feel so inspired to do this.
Wendy Battles:
:I feel like this is what I'm called to do.
Wendy Battles:
:I feel like I finally stepped into the light and I'm doing something that that's what I
Wendy Battles:
:came here to do. Where are the other things I've done in the past?
Wendy Battles:
:For example, even as a health coach, like, I enjoyed it to some extent, but I quit my job
Wendy Battles:
:to do that. And then I was like, Oh, this is really kind of hard and I don't really love
Wendy Battles:
:it. But I didn't want to admit that.
Wendy Battles:
:I didn't really love it because now I quit my job and I don't want to seem like I'd
Wendy Battles:
:failed. So I didn't have that kind of thing where I this time I have this knowing this is
Wendy Battles:
:how I know it's my purpose. I have a knowing about it.
Wendy Battles:
:And the way that I got to this purpose, Wendy, is that I have been asked to be on a
Wendy Battles:
:panel at Yale University for one of our affinity groups, the future leaders of Yale,
Wendy Battles:
:and they had asked me to be on this panel about personal branding.
Wendy Battles:
:Okay, so what do I know about personal branding?
Wendy Battles:
:I used to have a business. I used to do that.
Wendy Battles:
:I was kind of boning up on it, and I started listening to a podcast called Package Your
Wendy Battles:
:Genius. Which I love the title of it alone.
Wendy Battles:
:Right. This idea that there is something that each of us shines at.
Wendy Green:
:Right.
Wendy Battles:
:Sometimes it's a matter of uncovering what that thing is.
Wendy Battles:
:But I got so enthralled with this podcast I listened to, like all these episodes that I
Wendy Battles:
:bought her book. She had a workbook, and I started answering the question, What do you
Wendy Battles:
:love to do? What have you always loved to do?
Wendy Battles:
:What gives you energy? What don't you like to do?
Wendy Battles:
:What would you do if no one paid you?
Wendy Battles:
:I started like really thinking about these questions and the answers.
Wendy Battles:
:And I think the key for me about that process is that I got really quiet.
Wendy Battles:
:Oh, I started to.
Wendy Green:
:Write in white.
Wendy Battles:
:You know, just cook in silence, clean and silence, just really being more with myself.
Wendy Battles:
:So this really this path of self discovery.
Wendy Battles:
:And it was in that getting quiet that one day I was meditating and I heard re and
Wendy Battles:
:mentioned rebels.
Wendy Battles:
:I was like, what, three invention rebels like this tiny little voice inside bubbled up
Wendy Battles:
:and something told me, Wendy, you better write that down.
Wendy Green:
:And, you know.
Wendy Battles:
:Sometimes you get ideas and you're like, I'm going to remember that in the morning and you
Wendy Battles:
:wake up in the morning, you're like, I don't know what it was.
Wendy Battles:
:Right? Right. So that for me was the start.
Wendy Battles:
:And I think that's what's different, too, about for me, living on purpose is that this
Wendy Battles:
:really came from within.
Wendy Battles:
:This was listening to my inner wisdom to help guide me, and it just sparked something
Wendy Battles:
:in.
Wendy Green:
:Me.
Wendy Battles:
:That was like, Yes, that is it.
Wendy Battles:
:That is me doing this.
Wendy Battles:
:And it has just been fantastic.
Wendy Battles:
:I love it. So living a purpose?
Wendy Green:
:Yes. What a beautiful explanation.
Wendy Green:
:And I can totally agree with everything that you said there and that, you know, I do most
Wendy Green:
:of this for free because I love it.
Wendy Green:
:You know, I feel like the work that you and I are doing, Wendy, really helps a lot of
Wendy Green:
:people find that life is not over at 55 or 65.
Wendy Green:
:We can still live full, meaningful lives and reinvent ourselves.
Wendy Green:
:And, you know, in my beginning story I talked to when we were young, what we left
Wendy Green:
:behind, neither one of us could have thought about podcasting when we were young, right?
Wendy Green:
:But we had this idea of being helpful.
Wendy Green:
:Yeah, right.
Wendy Battles:
:Yeah, absolutely.
Wendy Battles:
:Absolutely. And I will tell you that, yes, I think that is one of the keys for me, because
Wendy Battles:
:I've spent a lot of my time over the course of my even as a teenager volunteering.
Wendy Battles:
:I remember I was my first volunteer job was the candy striper at our local hospital.
Wendy Battles:
:And, you know, I've always been very involved in whatever community I lived in
Wendy Battles:
:volunteering, whether it's direct service at a soup kitchen or being on a nonprofit board.
Wendy Battles:
:But I come from a family where there's a legacy of service and giving back.
Wendy Battles:
:And I really feel like what we are doing, to your point, is being of service to other
Wendy Battles:
:people. And I think that's one of the reasons why this feels very fulfilling to me,
Wendy Battles:
:that it's bigger than just me.
Wendy Battles:
:It's really, to your point, helping other people see what's possible and right.
Wendy Battles:
:I feel like you and I are a testimony to the idea that anything is possible.
Wendy Battles:
:We can do and be anything we want to be.
Wendy Green:
:I agree.
Wendy Green:
:So a couple of comments have come in.
Wendy Green:
:Somebody says to you, don't forget Kumba Collective, I'll speak to that.
Wendy Battles:
:That's my friend Denise.
Wendy Battles:
:Hey, to me, it's about I've always had this entrepreneurial spirit, even though I'll say
Wendy Battles:
:I haven't always known what I was doing.
Wendy Battles:
:But that great creative ideas and Denise and another friend, a mutual friend, and I got
Wendy Battles:
:together with this idea because we were all creative souls and we started this this
Wendy Battles:
:company where we would make these we would do a lot of crafting and make these things
Wendy Battles:
:that I made jewelry. And Denise is an amazing milliner, and she made the most
Wendy Battles:
:beautiful hats and Kathy made beautiful textiles, and we would work collectively
Wendy Battles:
:doing this. So so I think in so many different ways we can express our creativity.
Wendy Battles:
:And even if things don't work out, I feel like even when things don't work out the way
Wendy Battles:
:we want them to, and it can feel very disappointing that it's not for nothing, that
Wendy Battles:
:all those experiences are helping us get to that next thing or ultimately where we're
Wendy Battles:
:supposed to be. Because from Kumba Collective, from being a health coach, from
Wendy Battles:
:doing it consulting independently, I learned a lot about marketing and how to show up, and
Wendy Battles:
:all of those things have really helped me with this endeavor.
Wendy Battles:
:And the other thing I noticed is in the past I've given up really easily on things like I
Wendy Battles:
:thought, Well, how hard can this be?
Wendy Battles:
:Well, things are.
Wendy Battles:
:More difficult often than we think.
Wendy Battles:
:And then I would kind of give up.
Wendy Battles:
:Like when I started voice acting, I thought, Oh God, this is so hard.
Wendy Battles:
:It's hard to find work, but it's like being an actor.
Wendy Battles:
:You've got to keep at it, right?
Wendy Battles:
:You've got to be persistent.
Wendy Battles:
:So all of those things have served me so well because this is something that I'm going
Wendy Battles:
:to do forever.
Wendy Battles:
:So I know have that much broader perspective in this endeavor to know I'm not giving up.
Wendy Battles:
:I'm going to keep going.
Wendy Battles:
:It takes a while to build your audience and to grow something.
Wendy Battles:
:It doesn't happen overnight, at least not for most people, and that you have to just
Wendy Battles:
:keep at it. So those are all incredibly important things I've learned from these
Wendy Battles:
:other reinventions.
Wendy Battles:
:Even if they didn't pan out the way I hope they would.
Wendy Green:
:Yeah. And and that there's another comment here that really reiterates that he says
Wendy Green:
:Steve says there's a lot of pressure to find our path early.
Wendy Green:
:But for so many it takes longer.
Wendy Green:
:The discovery journey can be exciting and it's so true.
Wendy Green:
:So you mentioned creativity and I'm wondering as as the podcast host, right.
Wendy Green:
:So you and I interview people, where do you get to express your creativity during
Wendy Green:
:reinvention Rebels?
Wendy Battles:
:And a lot of different ways.
Wendy Battles:
:One in talking to people and being in conversation and asking them interesting
Wendy Battles:
:questions. A lot of what I do outside of the interview, the actual production of the
Wendy Battles:
:podcast is writing.
Wendy Battles:
:I write a lot.
Wendy Battles:
:I and I love writing.
Wendy Battles:
:And one thing I was thinking about recently is that.
Wendy Battles:
:Growing up, I was terrible at athletics.
Wendy Battles:
:My my whole family, like, were were more intellectual people than athletic people.
Wendy Battles:
:Like, my dad was the manager of his high school basketball team and I enjoyed was the
Wendy Battles:
:manager of my high school track team.
Wendy Battles:
:Like, I just had no athletic ability whatsoever.
Wendy Battles:
:However, one of the things I uncovered, though, when I was in middle school is that I
Wendy Battles:
:was a really good writer and that continued in high school when I was really good at
Wendy Battles:
:expository writing, not creative writing, not writing short stories, but writing
Wendy Battles:
:research papers, doing research.
Wendy Battles:
:So my creativity was expressed in that way and that my love of writing has continued
Wendy Battles:
:throughout my life and everything I've done.
Wendy Battles:
:I've done a lot of writing and I've always been really good at writing.
Wendy Battles:
:So one of the things that I do in this role that's very creative is a lot of writing from
Wendy Battles:
:writing, writing posts on Instagram or Facebook or linked in.
Wendy Battles:
:And I think because I'm open to ideas, coming to me again, being quiet and more still ideas
Wendy Battles:
:come to me. So I'm able to take that little kernel that shows up as, Oh, this would be a
Wendy Battles:
:great Instagram reel.
Wendy Battles:
:And then I just have fun.
Wendy Battles:
:Also being creative, like even making videos, I have a lot of fun just making
Wendy Battles:
:videos, sometimes 15 seconds, sometimes a minute, but kind of be in this space of being
Wendy Battles:
:playful with what I'm doing.
Wendy Battles:
:I think that's a way to express our creativity because I know that sometimes I
Wendy Battles:
:take myself, like, way too seriously.
Wendy Battles:
:So I'm having fun just seeing what unfold and also thinking, Well, some things work and
Wendy Battles:
:some things don't. Like, part of being creative is you're testing out things, right?
Wendy Battles:
:What things work, what what resonates with people, what doesn't.
Wendy Battles:
:So I'm having fun kind of playing with that with the graphics.
Wendy Battles:
:So I think in a lot of different ways I'm able to express my creativity in doing this
Wendy Battles:
:and and it makes it really a lot of fun.
Wendy Green:
:It does make it a lot of fun.
Wendy Green:
:So I have to ask you this, Wendy.
Wendy Green:
:Sometimes I have found in my recreations my reinventions.
Wendy Green:
:Some people have been a little bit skeptical, like, really, you're going to do
Wendy Green:
:that now?
Wendy Green:
:Maybe that's not the best way to go.
Wendy Green:
:I'm wondering. Well, and I should say the other side I mean, other side, people have
Wendy Green:
:been like, oh, that's a great idea.
Wendy Green:
:Yeah, you should go for it.
Wendy Green:
:So I'm wondering if you in your reinventions have had a champion or if you've had
Wendy Green:
:naysayers and how you how you approach that.
Wendy Battles:
:I approach it by having as many people around me that are my champions.
Wendy Battles:
:For example, my friend Denise that is watching right now.
Wendy Battles:
:We're each other's champions.
Wendy Battles:
:We are each other's cheerleaders.
Wendy Battles:
:We remind each other that we can do this because we something that's very similar.
Wendy Battles:
:We are both multi passionate people with lots of different interests.
Wendy Battles:
:And I certainly have heard people say before, well, you really have your hands in
Wendy Battles:
:many different things, don't you?
Wendy Battles:
:Kind of thing. The kind of thing that it's not necessarily like a.
Wendy Green:
:You know, an.
Wendy Battles:
:Overt criticism, but the kind of curiosity that's like, whoa, okay.
Wendy Battles:
:Well, that's interesting. And it's true.
Wendy Battles:
:I, I have an interest in so many different things.
Wendy Battles:
:I would say that there have been some people that have been skeptical in the past or the
Wendy Battles:
:kind of thing like, well, do you really think that's a good idea?
Wendy Battles:
:Have you really thought carefully about that?
Wendy Green:
:Wendy Right.
Wendy Battles:
:Right. That kind of thing, which I think you know, I know we've talked about that, that we
Wendy Battles:
:both have heard some of that in the past.
Wendy Battles:
:But I think when we're living in this space of possibility and when we can find our
Wendy Battles:
:allies, our champions, our supporters, and really surround ourselves with people that
Wendy Battles:
:are our team Wendy or Team Denise or Team Steve.
Wendy Battles:
:And it could even be having like a little mini board of directors, so to speak, for our
Wendy Battles:
:dream, whatever that thing is, the people that can help you, that are totally
Wendy Battles:
:supportive, but also can give you helpful advice or coach you or help you see things
Wendy Battles:
:that maybe you can't see because, you know, you've you've got blinders on.
Wendy Battles:
:So I think those supporters can also help us in many different ways.
Wendy Battles:
:Not just cheering is on, but sometimes being a reality check.
Wendy Battles:
:Because you don't have all kinds of great ideas. It doesn't mean I can make them all
Wendy Battles:
:happen. And so.
Wendy Green:
:Sometimes I.
Wendy Battles:
:Need people to like, rein me in a bit too, which I think is also helpful.
Wendy Battles:
:So truth tellers are also helpful, but in a positive way.
Wendy Green:
:Right. Right.
Wendy Green:
:And, you know, to go back to your comments about purpose, I think when I started the
Wendy Green:
:podcast and I was having concerned family members say, well, can you make money at
Wendy Green:
:that? And is that really the right thing to be doing?
Wendy Green:
:I think the fact that I knew this was absolutely what I wanted and needed to be
Wendy Green:
:doing it, it was I was easily able to say, Yeah, this is exactly what I need to be doing
Wendy Green:
:and I appreciate your concern, but this is what I'm doing.
Wendy Green:
:It gave me that courage, that strain.
Wendy Battles:
:Yes, I love it.
Wendy Battles:
:I love it. And I think when we're rooted in that belief, that self belief, that this is
Wendy Battles:
:it. And even though I don't know the how yet, I know the why, I know why I'm doing
Wendy Battles:
:this and I trust the how will unfold.
Wendy Battles:
:I think that when we're in that space and we have that belief, it's easier to hear what
Wendy Battles:
:people have to say.
Wendy Battles:
:And your point, let it roll off us and not have to get defensive about it.
Wendy Battles:
:Well, I'm doing this because whatever.
Wendy Battles:
:It's just like, well, thank you for that.
Wendy Battles:
:And I just know this is what I meant to do right now so we can write that simple
Wendy Battles:
:acknowledgement of what they said, and then we just continue on doing what we're meant to
Wendy Battles:
:do.
Wendy Green:
:Yeah. So from all the women that you have interviewed, Wendy, is there a common theme,
Wendy Green:
:A common. Action or common belief that has carried people through their reinvention
Wendy Green:
:journey.
Wendy Battles:
:There are a couple.
Wendy Battles:
:If I had to boil it down, I would say first curiosity.
Wendy Battles:
:There is a common thread.
Wendy Green:
:Among.
Wendy Battles:
:Everybody that I have interviewed that they are curious.
Wendy Green:
:Souls.
Wendy Battles:
:They are interested in themselves, in the world around them in continuing to develop.
Wendy Battles:
:So they're willing to ask themselves questions, they're willing to try something
Wendy Battles:
:new. They are willing to ask people for help.
Wendy Battles:
:Sometimes I think, right, we have to do what we feel like.
Wendy Battles:
:We do it all ourselves. But they're willing to have what I call a reinvention dream team.
Wendy Battles:
:People that are we're talking about.
Wendy Battles:
:Right. Those supporters.
Wendy Battles:
:So that's one curiosity.
Wendy Battles:
:The second one is courage.
Wendy Battles:
:There is this theme among women that reinvent themselves, that they are courageous
Wendy Battles:
:and courage shows up in so many different ways.
Wendy Battles:
:For each of us, it could be small courage.
Wendy Battles:
:It could be courage with a capital C, right?
Wendy Battles:
:There's the courage by choice, what I call courage by choice.
Wendy Battles:
:When we want to do something new, for example, and we're willing to put ourselves
Wendy Battles:
:out there. And then there's that courage when you're forced into something or you're
Wendy Battles:
:you are faced with dealing with something that you necessarily didn't want necessarily
Wendy Battles:
:do, but you, you find the courage to address it.
Wendy Battles:
:So either way, they have courage.
Wendy Battles:
:And as one of my rebels says, do it scared.
Wendy Battles:
:Just do.
Wendy Green:
:It.
Wendy Battles:
:Scared, do it. But right.
Wendy Battles:
:We have to just kind of, you know, feel that fear.
Wendy Battles:
:And just move move through it.
Wendy Battles:
:Even if it means taking baby steps.
Wendy Battles:
:Maybe it doesn't mean leaping off that cliff, but maybe it means just inching up and
Wendy Battles:
:building your confidence.
Wendy Battles:
:And as you have a little victory, then you it emboldens you to think, well, I could take
Wendy Battles:
:the next step.
Wendy Green:
:On my path to.
Wendy Battles:
:So curious to encourage or to really big themes I see throughout the one other thing
Wendy Battles:
:I'd say is self permission.
Wendy Battles:
:I think for women especially, we put so much pressure on ourselves.
Wendy Battles:
:There are so many expectations for us to do it all, which of course is totally
Wendy Battles:
:impossible. But we don't always give ourselves permission to nurture ourselves, to
Wendy Battles:
:create the space to grow.
Wendy Battles:
:And these women have said, My dreams matter and I want to pursue that.
Wendy Battles:
:So they really are giving themselves permission to go after whatever that thing
Wendy Battles:
:is.
Wendy Green:
:Yeah, I love that.
Wendy Green:
:So tell me what you have learned about yourself by doing this podcast.
Wendy Green:
:I've learned so.
Wendy Battles:
:Much. I can learn so many findings.
Wendy Battles:
:I've learned that when I really want to do something, I can make it happen.
Wendy Battles:
:That when I have decided that this is it, I'm willing to put in the time and effort,
Wendy Battles:
:meaning I'm willing to get up at 445 every weekday to work on this podcast.
Wendy Battles:
:So I learned a lot about that.
Wendy Battles:
:I learned a lot about being much more organized about it because there are a lot of
Wendy Battles:
:moving parts to producing a podcast.
Wendy Battles:
:And it's not just the production of what is the promotion, it's the.
Wendy Green:
:Research.
Wendy Battles:
:It's the research.
Wendy Battles:
:It's building basically a business, so all of the things that go into that.
Wendy Battles:
:So I learned that I'm a pretty capable person and, you know, I learned you that
Wendy Battles:
:sometimes you're using new technology.
Wendy Battles:
:So I realized, well, I can learn new things and it things don't have to be as hard as I
Wendy Battles:
:think they do.
Wendy Battles:
:And that's been a really important lesson.
Wendy Battles:
:I've also learned that it's okay to let go.
Wendy Battles:
:Some days I have these ideas of all these things I want to do, but it's not even
Wendy Battles:
:realistic. So I have you know, I have a limited period of time, right?
Wendy Battles:
:And so I've I've learned to let go of.
Wendy Battles:
:Not everything has to be perfect, that you need to get started to move.
Wendy Green:
:Forward.
Wendy Battles:
:Because I in the past, I've been very stuck on doing everything perfectly.
Wendy Battles:
:And between doing everything perfectly and being a people pleaser, those have been
Wendy Battles:
:things that I think have been my Achilles heel.
Wendy Battles:
:And I've been able to really overcome that with healthier boundaries, both for myself
Wendy Battles:
:and other people, and letting go of this idea that everything has to be so perfect.
Wendy Green:
:Right.
Wendy Battles:
:And I will tell you, I think about that as I was listening back to some of my first
Wendy Battles:
:episodes when I got started over two years ago, and I was thinking, well, you know, the
Wendy Battles:
:sound quality wasn't that great, even though I had like a decent microphone, I didn't
Wendy Battles:
:know. I didn't even know how to set the, like, the volume, the settings for it
Wendy Battles:
:properly. But Wendy, I listen back.
Wendy Battles:
:I was thinking, wow, you know, this was so, so wasn't terrible.
Wendy Battles:
:But now it's so much more professional.
Wendy Battles:
:And I see how I've grown just in my work as a podcaster.
Wendy Battles:
:And that has been fantastic to see, you know, to look to reflect back on that and
Wendy Battles:
:see. I've come so far.
Wendy Battles:
:I really do. So far.
Wendy Battles:
:So that's been that's been encouraging for me, to be honest.
Wendy Green:
:I know. And that's a wonderful thing, as you know, an older adult to recognize that you
Wendy Green:
:can learn all these new things and not just skills, but about yourself, you know, about
Wendy Green:
:your abilities, about it's okay to not be perfect.
Wendy Green:
:I mean, all of those things, I think, are so energizing.
Wendy Green:
:I mean, like I was telling everybody about this show, the energy that you bring is it's
Wendy Green:
:phenomenal. It's contagious.
Wendy Green:
:I love it. You know, I want to be that.
Wendy Green:
:Wendy Battles defines energy.
Wendy Battles:
:Thank you. What can I say?
Wendy Battles:
:What can I say? But you're right.
Wendy Battles:
:There is so much learning as we age.
Wendy Battles:
:And I think these words were freedom, too.
Wendy Green:
:Were.
Wendy Battles:
:Often lower, younger.
Wendy Battles:
:At least when I was younger, I was so set on doing things a certain way.
Wendy Battles:
:And one of the things I've learned is that there are many different ways to get to your
Wendy Battles:
:goal. It's not always a straight line, and sometimes it is circuitous.
Wendy Battles:
:Sometimes you run into obstacles.
Wendy Battles:
:But I've also found, Wendy, that those obstacles or detours are always for a reason,
Wendy Battles:
:and they always support me in the outcome being often better than what I might have
Wendy Battles:
:even envisioned.
Wendy Battles:
:So instead of thinking, Oh, I can't believe this, I really try to embrace.
Wendy Battles:
:Oh, well, that's there's new possibilities here.
Wendy Green:
:You did you have spoken about that before?
Wendy Green:
:Yeah. And sometimes it's hard to embrace those things when delays happen out of your
Wendy Green:
:control. So we have Ernest has asked a question and he he says, what advice do you
Wendy Green:
:have for not just young people, but for all people wanting to take an example from you on
Wendy Green:
:your reinvention Rebel Ride.
Wendy Battles:
:That's a great question, Ernest.
Wendy Battles:
:And I would say, one, don't be afraid to try because we never know what's going to happen
Wendy Battles:
:unless we're willing to put ourselves out there in whatever way you're doing that.
Wendy Battles:
:So I think making the attempt and trying, number one and number two, seeing failures as
Wendy Battles:
:opportunities. I've had so many disappointments about things I've done.
Wendy Battles:
:You know, there are things that have worked out really well, but there are things that
Wendy Battles:
:haven't when it comes to like my reinventions.
Wendy Battles:
:And of course, in the moment I was like, I can't believe this.
Wendy Battles:
:It was disappointing.
Wendy Battles:
:Sometimes it felt crushing because if you put your heart and soul into something, it
Wendy Battles:
:doesn't work out.
Wendy Battles:
:It's it's it's really you know, it can do a number on us.
Wendy Battles:
:But I think wisdom is is taught me that I wish I could have learned this earlier when I
Wendy Battles:
:was younger, that failures are opportunities for us to.
Wendy Green:
:Grow.
Wendy Battles:
:And they're often what we need to learn.
Wendy Battles:
:Just like people come into our lives sometimes and, you know, sometimes you have a
Wendy Battles:
:difficult person in your life and you're like, Why is this person in my life?
Wendy Green:
:Why? But whether it's.
Wendy Battles:
:You know, a friend or a boss or.
Wendy Green:
:You know, a.
Wendy Battles:
:Significant other, whoever that person is.
Wendy Battles:
:But I always think those I learned the best lessons from the most difficult situations.
Wendy Battles:
:Not that there are lessons I learned from when things go smoothly because I can learn
Wendy Battles:
:lessons from that too. But the most impactful lessons for me.
Wendy Green:
:Come from.
Wendy Battles:
:The challenge, the difficulty overcoming something, because it always builds my
Wendy Battles:
:confidence. It always reminds me then, Wow, I can do this.
Wendy Battles:
:I can use that to look back and say, Well, if I could overcome that situation, now I
Wendy Battles:
:have a lot more wisdom and experience.
Wendy Battles:
:I should be able to overcome anything.
Wendy Battles:
:So I think those things to me are helpful is to to really try and to embrace failures or
Wendy Battles:
:even just disappointments when something doesn't go quite the way we want to thinking,
Wendy Battles:
:Well, how could I do it better next time?
Wendy Battles:
:How could I learn from this experience and use it to grow instead of.
Wendy Battles:
:I know we can all do beat ourselves up over it.
Wendy Battles:
:I mean, I've spent a lot of time and learn a lot much love up over things, but I feel
Wendy Battles:
:like. Wendy, those days are less and less.
Wendy Battles:
:The older I get, the more I can have more better perspective to realize the world is
Wendy Battles:
:not going to end. I can get.
Wendy Green:
:Through.
Wendy Battles:
:This, and most things, quite honestly, aren't as bad as I make them out to be in my head.
Wendy Green:
:Well, and you use good language.
Wendy Green:
:You know, you you don't call things like failures and disappointments.
Wendy Green:
:You you reframe them into opportunities.
Wendy Green:
:And I think that's a wonderful thing.
Wendy Green:
:And to be empathetic with ourselves, right.
Wendy Green:
:We would never speak to a friend in critical terms of the way we sometimes might speak to
Wendy Green:
:ourselves.
Wendy Battles:
:It's so true.
Wendy Battles:
:It was so where our own worst critics, no one that talks to me the way it's not for
Wendy Battles:
:myself, nobody my boss, my friends, my husband, nobody talks to me in the way that I
Wendy Battles:
:sometimes catch myself.
Wendy Battles:
:Catch yourself talking to myself like, What were you thinking?
Wendy Battles:
:This is crazy. That was a terrible job, you know?
Wendy Battles:
:I mean, nobody else says that, so.
Wendy Battles:
:Yeah, give yourselves grace.
Wendy Battles:
:I think it's one of the most important things that we can do.
Wendy Green:
:I do, too, as Steve.
Wendy Green:
:That's great. He says he prefers the term second opportunities over second chances.
Wendy Battles:
:Oh, I love that.
Wendy Green:
:Yeah, I do, too. That's a good one.
Wendy Battles:
:You know, And I can think of my podcasting as a second opportunity after my voiceovers.
Wendy Battles:
:Yes, that's a great way for me to reframe that, Steve.
Wendy Battles:
:I love that because that really is what it is like.
Wendy Battles:
:I couldn't figure out how to make that work.
Wendy Battles:
:And interestingly, even a few years ago, I was going to try to to start my voiceover
Wendy Battles:
:career again and I just wasn't feeling it like I made a new demo tape and I just
Wendy Battles:
:thought, I don't feel inspired to just make ads for people I, you know, or, you know, do
Wendy Battles:
:that kind of thing. That wasn't my thing.
Wendy Battles:
:But but this taking those skills and applying that to something that I can be of
Wendy Battles:
:service to other people like now that is it, right?
Wendy Battles:
:So second opportunity.
Wendy Battles:
:Thank you.
Wendy Green:
:Steve. I know.
Wendy Green:
:I love that. Steve. Thank you.
Wendy Green:
:All right. So I I'm wondering if there's any last things you want to leave us with because
Wendy Green:
:this has been amazing.
Wendy Battles:
:It has been awesome and I've loved it.
Wendy Battles:
:And the thing I will say is that if you listen to the Reinvention Rebels podcast, if
Wendy Battles:
:you're at all thinking, I want to think about second opportunities, I want to create
Wendy Battles:
:something new.
Wendy Battles:
:One of the things that you will get from listening to these stories is is a little bit
Wendy Battles:
:of the how of how people did this.
Wendy Battles:
:But really what you're getting is inspiration to let your path.
Wendy Battles:
:It's hearing stories to remind you if Wendy can do this, if Mary, who started running at
Wendy Battles:
:55 and at 72 is running in marathons around the world can do this.
Wendy Battles:
:Well, I can have my own version of second opportunities in my own way.
Wendy Battles:
:I just have to figure out what that is.
Wendy Battles:
:So the possibility lives within all of us to create those second opportunities or first
Wendy Battles:
:opportunities, whatever it might be, in whatever way lights us up.
Wendy Green:
:Yeah, it's great.
Wendy Green:
:Go check it out. It's on Reinvention Rebels.com.
Wendy Green:
:And you can.
Wendy Green:
:Reach Wendy Battles.
Wendy Green:
:If you think you have a wonderful reinvention story, you can email her at
Wendy Green:
:ReinventionRebels@gmail.com and possibly be a guest on her show one time.
Wendy Green:
:Yeah. Yeah.
Wendy Green:
:So, so much fun.
Wendy Green:
:Wendy, thank you.
Wendy Battles:
:My pleasure. And thank you.
Wendy Battles:
:You is such an honor and pleasure to be here with you today.
Wendy Green:
:Wendy Awesome.
Wendy Green:
:Well, thank you. So just want to give a shout out to the Greenville Podcast Company
Wendy Green:
:for their expert editing and production of the podcast.
Wendy Green:
:So they take our live show.
Wendy Green:
:Clean it up, make the audio just pop, and then we post it out to all of the different
Wendy Green:
:podcast apps so you can find us on any of the apps that you listen to.
Wendy Green:
:Podcasts. Also, I have what's called the Vitality Assessment, and it will give you an
Wendy Green:
:idea of where you are on the scale of feeling completely full and vital or
Wendy Green:
:completely depleted and then what you might think about doing to fill yourself back up
Wendy Green:
:and certainly reinventing yourself, finding who you are meant to be is a great way to
Wendy Green:
:refill yourself.
Wendy Green:
:So go to HeyBoomer.Biz and download that vitality assessment, which is right there on
Wendy Green:
:the home page.
Wendy Green:
:Also, please check out Road Scholar, our sponsor.
Wendy Green:
:We loved to support our sponsor.
Wendy Green:
:So go to roadscholar.org/HeyBoomer.
Wendy Green:
:And look at all the amazing trips that they have there.
Wendy Green:
:And next week's story, my guest next week is a woman named Doris Blumenthal.
Wendy Green:
:And Doris was adopted as a very young child, as an adult in her fifties.
Wendy Green:
:She went on a journey to try and find her birth parents.
Wendy Green:
:It's an amazing story, but there's more to it than that.
Wendy Green:
:You know, so many of us.
Wendy Green:
:Don't understand what it's like to be an adopted child.
Wendy Green:
:And do you fit in or do you not fit in?
Wendy Green:
:And why did my parents give me up?
Wendy Green:
:And all of those questions?
Wendy Green:
:So we're going to explore that with Doris next week, so be sure and tune in for that.
Wendy Green:
:And I always like to leave you with the belief that you can live with passion.
Wendy Green:
:You can live with relevance.
Wendy Green:
:And you can live with courage.
Wendy Green:
:And remember that you are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.
Wendy Green:
:My name is Wendy Green, and this has been.