Have you ever wondered what the heck people do when they go on a hike? What does some one mean when they say an Epic hike? It was something I never even wondered about in my teenage years, or 20s and 30s. And Heck, even when I was growing up, the closest thing I knew about hiking was people eat granola. And john Denver sang about it. That was about it. I just was not raised in a family who got out and hiked, and it was probably related to the geography in the area of which I grew up. But regardless of that, as you know, with my podcast being focused on reimagining our life going forward and carving new paths , I found it interesting that in my 30s and 40s, I started to discover that hey, this was kind of cool, or even WAAAAYYY cool, and that there was much more out there than I really understood. Before trying it, I thought how hard can it be? It's just walking - even if it is up the hill, right? Okay, yeah. going up a hill is gonna involve some heavier breathing. But I thought how can people find exercise or training to be something you can do while hiking you just seemed a little basic and a little too easy. Well, I can tell you that hiking is not only a wonderful aerobic and character building activity, but it's also awe inspiring, and glorious beyond which I ever even thought possible. Now at age 53, I've gone on hundreds of hikes of all lengths, difficulty, and had totally different experiences and seen so much beauty, but 3 hikes I completed all over the age of 50 stand out that I'll comment on a bit more. Aspen to Crested Butte in Colorado, The Narrows in Zion National Park and Hiking across the Grand Canyon. So join me today as i talk about why you - especially if you are over 40 or 50 - don't want to miss this amazing experience and why you should consider planning and going on your epic hike now and not postpone it any longer. Special thanks to Subaru as my Outback took me to these and many fine hiking trailheads and to GoPro for helping me capture it all!

What's it like to kayak in paradise? Check out my recent adventure in Lake Powell as we head out at sunrise and beach the kayak at the lower, lower start of Antelope Canyon. Gorgeous and something everyone can do! Get out here and join us next time!!!

Isn't It Time for YOU to RECREATE Now? There are many negatives to come from the COVID challenges over the past year but I hope you also were able to find some positives from the experience. If you're anything like me, there are many folks in our 40s, 50s and 60s who really stopped to think about where we are in our life and what we want going forward. As our focus in this podcast is to reimagine our next chapter, it's a perfect time to also discuss how you will recreate going forward. The definition of recreate is "To give new life or freshness to" and that is exactly what my guests, Melissa and Kim, today are focused on. Helping you reimage and recreate to make this and your next chapter your best. So join us today as we dive into the details of HOW to recreate and take what you WANT to go after and turn it into your new reality. I am so excited to announce I am partnering with Melissa Lamson and Kimberly Miles, the Co-Creators of RECREATE, and their Action Tank 2021 is kicking off in the next few weeks but if you hurry, there are only a few spots left - like 2 I think - for this amazing Mastermind, Think Tank and Accelerator all in one for women 50 & up to build up and launch your next meaningful X - You KNOW I like that as it aligns perfectly with my focus on IYN. You can check out more details and again - submit ASAP if you're interested - at www.recreatenow.org

What about you? Have you given it any thought? Have you had such an awakening? I love that my guest today, Coach Judy, shares her personal story and the journey that helped her realize what a gift it is to experience your own Mid Life Awakening and forced her to ask the question, "What Would Make Your Life Remarkable?" Judy Prokopiak is a fellow swimmer, speaker, teacher, best selling author, master life reinvention coach and spiritual practitioner. Join us as she shares how she overcame decades of disordered eating, drinking and thinking, and how she got past her own baggage and "not something enough" to now help women get their second act together and find peace and purpose through spiritual awakening, connecting to their true self and transforming trauma into triumph. Find more information at www.judyprokopiak.com

We all have fear and I love how my guest Marjorie Fiore shares it's "False Expectations Appearing Real." But join us as she shares her story and how she started to finally act and address her alcohol habit that had "spilled over into every day living" when the fear of regret became stronger than the fear of the change. Listen in to hear how she kept answering those nudges, how she dealt with it all head on and how now she is going after the life she wants in her group called The Juicy Life. Find additional information about Marjorie at www.dynamiclifeguru.com or her Facebook Group - The Juicy Life.

Professionally and personally, when was the last time you reflected on and celebrated all the successful risks you've taken and all the wonderful blessings in your world lately? I am thrilled to celebrate an important milestone of surpassing my first 1k downloads of my Life Reimagined Podcast and I'm even more surprised that I missed it! Like many of you and other organizational leaders, I was focused on looking ahead and continuing to grow my business and service. Also, and most likely also like you, I had not taken a moment to pause and celebrate all the leaps of faith and all the hours of hard work that resulted in success down a whole different path. Consider how blessed you are right now to have the opportunity to do it again and again, and again, and join me today as we talk about how important the keys are to all of these steps that keep us moving forward and keep us accomplishing and going after what we want and how I hope you never lose that desire, and you never lose that fire.

I don't know about you but I love the movie with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicolson titled The Bucket List. The term you're familiar with I'm sure. A list of activities, experiences or destinations you want to try or visit yourself before you kick the bucket. It's a great concept but unfortunately it's not resonating with enough of us early enough. Maybe you think it's something to do when you retire, which could be 15-25 years away - feels like a lifetime. Maybe you have different priorities right now - and please note here that I did not say these priorities are wrong, just different - in that either you need to really focus on your career or work for better overall financial health, you're still raising your kids or have other health or family issues to manage. What I do know is that we may NOT have a lifetime. We are not even certain if we even have 10 years or tomorrow. We never know what's going to happen when so why create a bucket list for something you'll do some time in the future? join me as I share my thoughts today on why you shouldn't wait any longer and why even creating your bucket list is totally lame. A bucket list sounds cool but yet many of us don't have one. Or worse - create one only when our time is limited. Like when we have a significant life event that shakes us to our core. And sometimes we create one too late to do anything about it or worst of all, we never get to create one. We instead choose to focus solely on our work and veg out in front of the television or social media until we eventually fade away. When you think of a bucket list, you may immediately imagine people bungee jumping, riding a camel in the desert or visiting a beautiful exotic location like Tahiti. You may be too busy to think about it and I talk about that on a previous episode of the importance of unbusying your life and making sure you prioritize and follow through with what is really important to you. You may feel it's too big of a concept - that it's ginormous and you can't even begin to deal with this now. A friend shared that thought with me and it was unexpected. I didn't even think of that possibility. For these reasons and possibly a few more I haven't thought of, I think your creating a bucket list, if done right, is not only not needed, but it's lame. I'm sharing today, now, that especially if you're over 40 or 45, that you should abandon the idea of a bucket list and instead start figuring out a way to weave in new adventures, new experiences and new travel destinations NOW. Into your every day, every week or every month. To NOT wait until you get done with all of your current fires or 100% of your responsibilities. There will always be responsibilities tugging on you and your time. Mini fires to keep putting out. Especially at this point in our lives, in our 40,50 & 60s. So I'm here to share why I think you need to ditch the bucket list. Why you need to reframe your perspective and reprioritize what you can in your life to make way for more fun NOW. There is so much joy to be had on a daily basis and so many places to really fill your bucket now; to make life more fulfilling. I truly believe our getting out more, our trying something new and our going after our fun is one of the best anti-aging and stress management tools available. Any time you try something new - take a pottery class, start learning a new language, try hiking for the first time, you are intentionally living curiously, removing judgment and focusing on the fun, while also improving your overall health. It's not expensive to take a few hours to catch up with friends as you walk along a beach, hiking trail, or local park. It's not expensive to hop in the car and drive 90 minutes to spend time at a favorite museum. It's not expensive to take a yoga class at the regional arboretum or public gardens or to try a painting class at your local rec center. Now these may not rise to the definition of bucket list in your mind but if you weave more fun into your everyday living, you may not need the traditionally defined bucket list. Your life can be filling up right now with these types of soul-enriching activities and experiences and I believe trying new things and going on your own adventures will help you feel better and become your fountain of youth. I am thrilled to share that this podcast is brought to you by our Inspiring Your Next VIP Community - a private community of amazing women leaders over 40 who are prioritizing and committing to live our lives with more inspiration, more creative and active adventures and way more fun. The community only opens up for new members a few times each year and an opportunity is coming up very soon with the 5 Day Challenge to Kick Start Your Next Adventure. Check it out at www.inspiringyournext.com

Check out a little about Denise and why she thinks seeing the world on a bike is so fantastic and why you should add a specific biking destination event on your bucket list. Chat with her LIVE Thursday night April 8 while she shares more tips and recommendations for you to bike tour as a solo rider, with your friends or family or larger (abiding by COVID rules of course) group! Register at www.destinationu.net/allevents. #destinationuwendy #inspiringyournext #bucketlist #bikerchick #biketouring #deniselookingout

You know, everyone starts at zero. We don't like to, we don't even love it. But every time someone tries something new, they're starting off at zero. And I think unfortunately, that limits us, keeps us from trying some new activity, experience skill, or travel to a new location. I've discussed fear of failure and how to live curiously in previous podcast episodes, but join me today as I 4 key steps to truly embrace your starting at zero and when it's done right, what you can expect on a fun journey forward.