Janice Mendes

“My 40’s have been a decade of finding my voice and growing my confidence.”

At 48, with no experience in Film and Television, Janice Mendes signed with an agent and within 16 months had worked on 30 projects. An unwavering belief in herself and a desire to have a life that inspires and fulfills her is what's behind her ability to leap.
Lina Ramona Vitkauskas

“Shed illusions and get real with yourself.”

At almost 47, Lina is planning a move from the United States to Canada, growing in her creative life as a poet, and pushing the boundaries of her art by exploring new artforms and collaborations.
Natalyn Bradshaw

“The biggest shift after turning 40 was coming into self-love and acceptance.”

Natalyn Bradshaw is a multi-disciplinary artist who wants others in midlife to give themselves permission to do what they want with their lives. Her life and work is an example of choosing to live a creative life with self-awareness and self-care.
Portrait of Monique Kavelaars, client of Sara Smeaton Coaching

“Ten years from now, what will you have wished you’d done?”

Monique Kavelaars is a former Olympic athlete, wife, mom, and entrepreneur who became pregnant with her first child at 39 years old and is now helping teams and groups of people work better together.
Portrait of Sara Smeaton in her garden, photographed by Amber Ellis

“I started to hear a little voice inside me asking ‘what else?’.”

I finally turned the tables on myself and answered my own questions about midlife and my story. I talk about my challenges with a very rare congenital issue that cost me my first pregnancy, our early challenges with our daughter's health, and the shifts that propelled me into my midlife transformation.
Photography of Yvonne Heath giving a presentation.

“I realized I am capable of so much more than I ever dreamed of.”

Yvonne Heath had been working as a nurse since 1988 when at 50 years old, she was called to try to solve our society's problem with grief. Her message to talk about prepare for and be with people in grief is one she is spreading through her book, talks, online course and more.
Melinda Thomas

“The biggest shift for me, after 40, was my power to create the life I want to live.”

Melinda Thomas is a former actor in her 50s who left New York after 20 years and followed her heart to Birmingham, Alabama where her boyfriend lives. She also followed her heart away from corporate America to to entrepreneurship. The power to create the life she wants has been one of the biggest shifts she's experienced in midlife.
Lynn Borton

“I want to stay in expansion mode.”

At 53, Lynn Borton had dodged cancer, written the last tuition check, mourned friends gone too soon and decided the universe was trying to tell her something. "Life is short, it seemed to be saying. You’ve put off a lot until later. What if later is now?"
Mercedes Findlay

“There is a sublime comfort that comes with 40.”

When Mercedes Findlay was laid off from her television job in her late thirties, it was the catalyst for a major midlife shift that helped her find unknown depths of strength, skills, support, and maybe most importantly, her voice.
Amy Gidden

“I wanted my work to align with the things I care about in the world.”

When Amy Giddon was in her early-50s she took a huge leap to become an entrepreneur. Moved by her deep concerns about the tribalism and us versus them-ism and othering that's going on in the world today, Amy created an app that fosters empathy and connection. It was an unexpected shift but one that was made possible because of the life stage in which she found herself in her early 50s.
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