What if the real midlife crisis isn't running out of time — it's living like you have more time than you actually do? In this episode, Laurie gets personal. She shares the story of her dad, who spent decades saying "someday when I retire" — only to die five months after his retirement at 66, having collected exactly five social security checks after a 46-year career. That story cracked everything open for her. And it's the reason so much of the work at the School of Midlife is built around on...
Jul 7
33 min
Hillary Dater came to a BEST LIFE Retreat a few years ago -- not because she was in crisis, but because her work brought her there. She had what looked like everything: a dream job in the nonprofit sector, family, community, a life that rang all the bells. And still, something wasn't quite right. She just hadn't stopped long enough to notice. What followed the retreat was a series of genuinely bold moves: a move to the mountains, leaving a career she'd spent decades building to pursue somethi...
Jun 26
1 hr 1 min
15 weekends of summer. How are you spending them? Laurie counted them. There are 15 summer weekends this year — and the moment she did that, something shifted. Not because it changed anything. Because finite time does something very particular to high-achieving women: it turns enjoyment into management. This episode started as a thought on a walk and became something much bigger: an honest look at busyness as a drug, the habit of earning rest before allowing it, and why the discomfort of doin...
Jun 23
30 min
Guest: Allison Dunn, Executive Business Coach, Founder of Deliberate Directions, Host of the Deliberate Leaders Podcast, Author of Think First: Stop Being the Bottleneck. Start Building Thinkers. Episode summary Allison Dunn has spent thirty years coaching entrepreneurs and executives — over a thousand of them — and has just written her first book. But this conversation is about so much more than a business framework. Allison's premise: the most capable, most driven leaders eventually become ...
Jun 18
53 min
Laurie opens this episode mid-story -- crossing a street, spotting someone she admires, and doing what she's done her whole life: looking away. What follows is one of the most personal episodes she's recorded. It's the story of her relationship with Ellen Yin — media company founder, host of the Cubicle to CEO podcast, keynote speaker, and one of the most gracious humans Laurie has encountered in six years of building this business. Across four years and four distinct moments, Laurie traces t...
Jun 16
39 min
What would you do differently if you actually trusted yourself? Laurie is recording from the mountains this week, which means no studio microphone, slightly different audio, and zero apology about it. Some things you just roll with. What she did bring: a piece of paper with four transformations that become possible when a woman finally stops deferring to everyone else and starts trusting herself. Not the problem; we talk about the problem plenty. Today's episode is about the other side. What ...
Jun 9
34 min
Time to do something just for you. When is the last time you made a decision, chose a direction, or said "yes" to something that was entirely, completely just for you? Not for your family, not for your career advancement, and not because it fulfilled a decades-old obligation—but purely for yourself? In this powerful episode, host Laurie Reynoldson challenges high-achieving women to step off the hamster wheel of external validation and confront a heavy midlife reality. If your life looks...
Jun 2
37 min
The guilt that so many midlife women feel during graduation season It is officially graduation season! Across the country, high-achieving women are hosting big open houses, packing up dorm rooms, and celebrating incredible milestones. But beneath the festive surface and the proud smiles, many mothers are quietly navigating a profound, silent struggle: the bittersweet realization that their kids are moving on, and they are being left behind. In this deeply empathetic episode, Laurie Reynoldson...
May 26
32 min
Have you ever noticed how we almost work twice as hard to get ready to leave for vacation? We pack our schedules with an endless to-do list, run ourselves ragged, and then carry the office right along with us in our pockets. In this rejuvenating episode, Laurie Reynoldson shares her reflections after returning from a completely offline, computer-closed "ass-sitting vacation" on a tropical beach. She explores the immense pressure high-achieving women place on themselves to remain constantly av...
May 19
30 min
What happens when a successful business owner makes a bold decision to change, but the community she serves isn't ready to let go? In this raw and deeply cathartic conversation, Laurie Reynoldson welcomes back Annie Tevelin, founder of Skin Owl, Daybreak Colour, and Gem Jolie. Annie recently announced the closure of her brick-and-mortar Skin Owl store in Boise, Idaho—a decision made from a place of vision and growth. However, the public reaction was a shock: ranging from invasive harassment t...
May 7
1 hr 7 min
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