Midlife isn’t a breakdown. It’s a data point. When you’ve built a life that looks solid on paper—but your body, bandwidth, or curiosity says “there’s more”—it’s time for a different kind of conversation. In this Second Wind episode, Rosemarie Beltz sits down with Teri Trifiletti, a former cardiovascular perfusionist who quietly leveraged her clinical career into real estate ownership, greater autonomy, and a life designed with intention.

In midlife, the question isn’t whether you’re capable. It’s whether the life you built still fits.

In this episode of Second Opinion, Rosemarie Beltz launches Second Wind—conversations for high-functioning adults who aren’t broken, but ready to evolve. The focus isn’t dramatic reinvention. It’s strategic expansion: using your experience as leverage, not a limitation.

Rosemarie is joined by Teri Trifiletti, a former cardiovascular perfusionist who spent more than two decades in high-acuity cardiac surgery before transitioning fully out of the OR. While still practicing, Teri began investing in real estate, learning through ownership and building a portfolio over time. A relocation to Charlotte became the pivot point that helped her step into full-time property management—creating more flexibility, more control, and a different relationship with work.

This conversation is about what many professionals quietly carry: the golden handcuffs of stability, the invisible toll of constant readiness, and the moment you realize success is not the same as freedom.

Key themes explored:

• Why “successful on paper” can still feel misaligned in real life
• How clinical skills transfer directly into ownership, entrepreneurship, and leadership
• The hidden courage required to leave certainty—even when you’re good at it
• What perfusion teaches you about risk, pressure, documentation, and decision-making
• A grounded entry point into real estate that doesn’t require a license or hype
• How to get unstuck by separating real constraints from mindset loops

This episode is for you if you’re grateful for what you’ve built—but you’re ready for more choice, more autonomy, and a life that supports your nervous system, not just your résumé.

Listen in, then take five quiet minutes afterward to ask: What would change if your experience worked for you—fully?

Second Opinion is where science meets story—and better questions lead to better decisions.

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💡 Have a topic you’d love for us to cover? Reach out at www.rosemarieb.com.