Reinvention After 40: Igniting Your Curiosity Compass

This is your Women Over 40 podcast.

Welcome to Women Over 40. Today, we’re talking about reinventing yourself after 40, specifically about pursuing new passions and stepping boldly into a new chapter of life. For so long, women have been told there’s a window for dreaming big and that window starts to close as we hit midlife. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Take Susan Lister Locke, for example. She grew up by the Rhode Island coast, always wanting to be a fashion designer, but life nudged her in another direction: marriage, running a family business, motherhood. Yet, when her career came to a halt in her late forties and her marriage ended, she started asking herself deeply honest questions—what do I like, what excites me, and what do I need now? Susan pivoted, not only embracing a new career in real estate but started pursuing art and jewelry-making simply because it brought her joy. She took classes, followed her curiosity, experimented, and soon, her hobby became a thriving business, with her pieces even selling at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. What stands out in Susan’s story is how experience and self-knowledge became her springboard.

Then there’s Shinde, who, after setbacks and questions about not following a more traditional path by age 40, realized curiosity was the compass she needed. She rebuilt her family’s nursery from the ground up, started learning new techniques, educated herself with Japanese plant instructors on YouTube, and joined business networks, all while prioritizing her own creative growth. For Shinde, this was about nourishing herself—about dedicating her forties to creativity and compassion, not rushing for validation, but feeding her curiosity day after day.

And let’s not forget some household names: Toni Morrison didn’t write her first novel until she was nearly 40. Vera Wang became a fashion icon after leaving her figure skating career behind. Arianna Huffington launched The Huffington Post at 55. These are reminders that age isn’t a barrier—it’s experience transformed into courage.

So, how do you start? A simple exercise is to do a personal SWOT analysis: List your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. What skills and passions light you up? What do you want to learn? Then, pick just one thing and immerse yourself in it. Maybe it’s photography, pottery, coding, or gardening. Start small, do it in chunks, give yourself permission to be an amateur again. Consistency and willingness—those are your new superpowers now.

Throughout all these stories is a common thread: it’s never too late to rewrite your own story. Whether it’s art, entrepreneurship, community building, or exploring new fields, midlife is not an ending; it’s an invitation to begin something entirely new, on your own terms.

Thank you for tuning in to Women Over 40. If you found inspiration today, don’t forget to subscribe for more stories and strategies on living boldly after forty. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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