In This Episode:

midlife podcast, midlife transformation, women over 40, endurance events, personal growth, 29029 trail, everesting challenge, finding purpose in midlife, grief and growth, self-discovery journey

🎙️ Show Notes:

What happens when you voluntarily climb the equivalent of three mountain marathons in three days? You cry, curse, question your life choices… and maybe, just maybe, find out what you’re really made of.

In this episode of The School of Midlife podcast, Laurie takes us on the trail with her at the 29029 TRAIL Challenge in Park City, Utah. From a 4:45 a.m. wake-up call to a literal emotional breakdown when she realizes it’s her late father’s birthday, Laurie brings you with her—every painful, beautiful, sweaty, soul-expanding step of the way.

You’ll hear:

• How training for six months changed her body and her brain
• The emotional gut punch of racing on the anniversary of her father's retirement… the day he never got to enjoy
• The unexpected power of community on the trail (hello, Team LFG!)
• Why doing hard things on purpose is a non-negotiable part of midlife growth

This is not just a story about hiking. It’s a story about healing, honoring, and showing up for the life you say you want—even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts.

Resources & Mentions:

• Ep. 123: The Real Midlife Crisis? Thinking You Have More Time
• Best Life Retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho

Takeaways:

• "Preparation is the event. What happens before the start line is where the real transformation begins."
• "You don’t need to be the fastest—you just need to keep going."
• "Midlife isn’t too late. It’s the exact moment you start climbing your own mountain."

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📩 Email Laurie

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In This Episode:

midlife women podcast, 29029 event, endurance events in midlife, personal growth in your 40s and 50s, finding strength in midlife, midlife transformation, women who hike, overcoming limits

🎙️ Show Notes:

You’ve trained. You’ve climbed. You’ve cried. And you still have another mountain day ahead of you.

In this powerful conclusion to Laurie’s 29029 Trail Challenge recap, she brings us into Day 3 — the longest, hottest, most grueling stretch of the entire event. And yet… it’s also the most meaningful.

From GI issues (real talk: diarrhea at elevation is not glamorous) to the final unexpected hill before the finish line, Laurie shares every honest, gritty, and hilarious detail of how she kept moving. More importantly, she unpacks the life lessons that only show up when you push your body and soul to the limit — and still choose to keep going.

You’ll learn:

• Why you can train alone, but you finish with a team
• The truth about fear in midlife — and how to stop mistaking it for a stop sign
• Why recovery is just as important as effort (yes, even for high-achievers)
• How to stop waiting for “someday” and start living the life you say you want now

If you're in midlife and wondering what’s next — or if you're simply trying to remember who you are outside of your job, your to-do list, and your roles — this episode will move you, motivate you, and make you laugh-snort at least once.

👟 Plus: Cheese quesadillas. Porta-potties. And why trusting a fart on Day 3 is never a good idea.

Resources Mentioned:

• Part 1: The 29029 Trail Challenge Recap – Start Here
• Best Life Retreat in Sun Valley

Quotes to Share:

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Topics Covered: Midlife crisis, running out of time in midlife, living your best life now, midlife women coaching, Top 100 list

Episode Summary:

You know that insatiable urgency you feel in your 40s and 50s — the sense that you’re running out of time and need to do all the things before it’s “too late”? You’re not imagining it. But here’s what host Laurie Reynoldson wants you to know:

In this raw and honest episode, Laurie shares the story that cracked her wide open — losing her dad at 66, just five months into his retirement — and the wake-up call that made her realize someday isn’t a strategy.

You’ll learn:

• Why so many high-achieving midlife women keep waiting for “someday”
• How deferring your dreams until the kids are grown or the mortgage is paid is the real crisis
• Why the passage of time hits different in midlife — and what to do with that clarity
• How Laurie’s Top 100 List is not a bucket list, but a living blueprint for your best life
• How adding physical challenges (like her three mountain marathons in three days!) helps her live her best life, not just dream about it
• Why putting in the reps now means you won’t wake up at 65 asking, “Who am I?”

One Big Takeaway:

Your Challenge This Week:

Write down one thing you’d put on your Top 100 — not a “bucket list” thing to do before you die, but a life list thing to do while you’re alive and becoming the woman you were always meant to be.

DM Laurie your Top 100 item — she wants to hear it!

Links & Resources:

✨ Join the waitlist for the next Gap Year cohort
✨ DM “GAP YEAR” or “TOP 100” to Laurie on Instagram: @schoolofmidlife

Share This Episode:

Know a woman who keeps postponing her life for “someday”? Send this episode to her. We’re done waiting. Now is the time.

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🎙️ Show Notes

It’s Independence Day week — but we’re not just talking about parades, bunting, and flag cakes here. In this episode, we’re flipping the script on “freedom” and asking: What does independence mean for YOU right now in midlife?

Because let’s be honest — the world feels heavy right now. Freedoms and rights feel under threat. And while we can’t control every headline, we can take radical responsibility for what we’re no longer available for in our own lives.

In this bold, heartfelt episode, Laurie gets real about:

• The messy state of freedom in America right now (no, you’re not imagining it)
• Why midlife is the moment to declare independence from roles, rules, and work that no longer fit
• How you can break free from people-pleasing, old identities, burnout, and that exhausting “someday” lie
• The 4 biggest areas midlife women need to reclaim freedom — starting now

You’ll walk away feeling inspired, clear, and ready to ask: What do I need to declare independence from this year?

What You’ll Learn

• Why “performing success” leaves you feeling empty — and what to do instead
• The invisible roles (Fixer, Overachiever, Peacekeeper, Julie McCoy) that keep you stuck
• How to release guilt for wanting more
• The difference between “freedom from” and “freedom to”
• How living your best life boldly gives other women permission to do the same

Links & Resources

• DM “INDEPENDENCE” to @schoolofmidlife or email Laurie here to share what you’re declaring freedom from this year
• Want to join the Best Life Retreat and step away to get clear on your next chapter? Grab your spot here (only 8 spots available!)
• Share this episode with another midlife woman who’s done tolerating and ready to become more herself than ever before

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📩 Email Laurie

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Work with Laurie

In this episode: midlife identity shift, feeling stuck, women over 40, personal reinvention, high-achieving women

✨ Show Notes:

You’ve unraveled the roles. You’ve let go of the hustle. You’ve stopped performing.

Now what?

In this raw, grounding episode of The School of Midlife, Laurie Reynoldson explores the space after the unraveling—when you’ve done the work to let go of who you’re not, but haven’t yet figured out who you really are.

If you’ve stopped being the overachiever, the people-pleaser, the approval-seeker—but feel lost in the in-between—this episode is for you.

💡 In This Episode:

• Why the midlife in-between space is wildly uncomfortable—and wildly necessary
• The myth of reinvention and why it can become just another performance
• What to do instead: a softer, sustainable way to reconnect with your real self
• The 3 most important questions to ask in midlife:
  ➤ What do you want?
  ➤ What does success mean to you?
  ➤ What does your best life actually look like?
• Why it’s OK (and necessary) to stay in the question before rushing to the answer
• A light intro to Human Design as a future tool to support identity alignment

🧭 Journal Prompts:

• What lights you up—even if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else?
• What drains you—mentally, physically, spiritually?
• What are you curious about—not good at, not known for, just curious?
• When did I first learn that being high-achieving made me valuable?
• What would I do differently if I trusted who I was becoming?

🔗 Links & Resources:

• 📩 DM “BECOMING” on Instagram or email with the same subject to explore coaching
• 🧳 Join the Best Life Retreat in Sun Valley (only 8 spots available!)
• 🎧 Listen to the two previous episodes in the “I Want to Feel Like Myself Again” series:
  • 120. Feeling "Off" in Midlife? Maybe You Were Never "That Woman" to Begin With
  • 119. Midlife Feels Off? It's Not Your Hormones--It's Something Deeper

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In this episode: midlife identity, high-achieving women, menopause mindset, real self, personal growth, Human Design

✨ Show Notes:

You’ve done the work: the workouts, the clean eating, the hormone balancing, the sleep, the water, the supplements—and maybe even some therapy and mindset shifts.

And yet… you still don’t feel like yourself.
Maybe it’s because the “you” you’ve always been wasn’t really you at all.

In this episode of The School of Midlife, Laurie Reynoldson gets deeply honest about the identity reckoning so many high-achieving women face in midlife—when they realize the persona they built to succeed might be misaligned with who they actually are.

She also introduces Human Design, the self-discovery tool she’ll soon be incorporating into her coaching practice to help women reconnect with their true selves—without all the conditioning, proving, and performing.

💡 In This Episode:

• The key difference between being high-achieving vs. high-performing
• Why success on paper often doesn’t feel like fulfillment in real life
• How societal and workplace conditioning shaped your persona
• Why midlife might be the first time you have the freedom—and clarity—to choose differently
• A powerful reframe: What if you’re not burned out—you’re just becoming someone new?
• An introduction to Human Design and how it supports identity clarity in midlife

📝 Journal Prompts:

• When did I first learn that being high-achieving made me valuable?
• What parts of me have I suppressed to succeed or fit in?
• What does alignment feel like in my body?
• What would I do differently if I trusted who I was becoming?

🔗 Links:

• 💫 Join the next Best Life Retreat in Sun Valley
• 💌 DM "BECOMING" on Instagram or email Laurie to start a coaching conversation

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Topics Covered: midlife identity crisis, menopause wellness, don’t feel like myself, hormone replacement, midlife coaching

✨ Show Notes:

You’ve cleaned up your eating, optimized your hormones, prioritized sleep, walked your miles, lifted heavy, and maybe even cut back on wine—and yet, you still don’t feel like yourself.

Sound familiar?

In this raw and revealing episode of The School of Midlife podcast, Laurie gets honest about the midlife disconnect no one is talking about—the one that shows up after you’ve dialed in your physical health but still feel out of sorts, misaligned, or just... flat.

If you’ve been doing everything “right” and still feel like a stranger in your own life, this episode is for you.

💡 What You’ll Learn:

• Why optimizing your body is not enough to feel like yourself again
• The hidden cost of chasing someone else’s definition of success
• How unaddressed identity shifts and inner misalignment show up in midlife
• Why more HRT, steps, or self-care isn’t the solution if the inside is off
• Three foundational questions that can reconnect you with who you really are now

🔁 Share This Episode:

If this spoke to you, please send it to a midlife woman in your life who’s also “done everything right” but still doesn’t feel right. Midlife doesn’t have to feel like a breakdown. It can be your biggest breakthrough—when you know where to look.

📌 Resources:

• DM HELP on Instagram to learn about midlife coaching or the Gap Year program
• Or send “HELP” in the subject line via email to Laurie to start the conversation
• Want to DIY it? Start with these 3 questions:
  1. What do you actually want?
  2. How do you define success now?
  3. What does your best life really look like?

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🎙️ Episode Summary

What even is midlife?

Is it a number? A demographic? A hormone crash? A slow fade into irrelevance? (Hard no on that last one.) In this episode, we’re digging into the truth about what midlife really is—and spoiler: it’s not what you’ve been told.

Laurie breaks down:

• Why midlife technically starts in your late 30s (yep, really!)
• Why it’s more about mindset than math
• And how midlife can actually be your most powerful season—if you’re brave enough to claim it.

You’ll also hear:

• A jaw-dropping Brené Brown quote that will stay with you for years
• Why the stereotypes about midlife women are total garbage
• Why the “someday” strategy is keeping you stuck
• And how to start making midlife your best life, not your “less than” life.

This episode isn’t just about defining midlife. It’s about redefining yourself.

What You’ll Learn

• Why midlife can start as early as 39—and last for decades
• The key internal questions that mark the start of midlife (not your age)
• How society’s stereotypes have robbed women of midlife power
• Why midlife is the start of something, not the end
• Three critical questions to ask if you’re ready to stop tolerating your life and start transforming it

Journal Prompts From This Episode

• What do you think about the term “midlife”?
• Do you believe you’re in midlife? Why or why not?
• How do you feel about that?

Because how you experience midlife starts with what you believe about it.

Links + Resources

• Want 1:1 support during your midlife reinvention? Get on the VIP interest list! DM the word “MIDLIFE” to @schoolofmidlife on Instagram, or email Laurie here to learn about The Gap Year

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Work with Laurie