The Road to Reinvention (Plus, High-Low Holiday Fashion + Gifting) with Nada Jones of Liberty Road
Show Snapshot:
If you woke up this morning, there is more for you to receive, give, and become. Welcome to the new age – and a conversation on reinvention with Nada Jones, founder of the midlife platform and podcast Liberty Road.
After a career nurturing female founders and authoring an Amazon best-selling business book, Nada is building a platform that superpowers midlife women.
We cover the long and winding road to midlife, how to realistically reinvent at any age, why great things never come from comfort zones, and get into high-low holiday fashion and gifting.
Yes, Team Side Part talks skinny jeans, the perfect hostess gift, and how to avoid “date-stamping” yourself with 90s holdover fashion.
In This Episode We Cover:
How “accidental” entrepreneurship led to Nada’s career supporting female founders and authoring a business bestseller.
What made Nada “pivot” her platform and podcast in midlife.
How to tackle fear in midlife— and why your “success card” is never one and done.
How to realistically reinvent at any age.
The life-changing magic of “being uncomfortable” and doing it anyway.
GenX women and the “myth” of superwoman.
Tactical advice for making creative pivots.
Midlife joy, clarity—and why life’s shorter runway as we age strips away the BS.
High-low holiday fashion, the perfect hostess gift, and how to avoid “date-stamping” your wardrobe.
Quotable:
I think that the Gen X woman was sold a little bit of a lie. She was told that she could be superwoman… And at some point, in our 30s or 40s, we were burning out and we were like, “Oh my gosh, nope that does not work.” I think we’re coming back to ourselves… we’re coming back to the thing that we feel like we didn’t get right the first time, or we didn’t have had the bandwidth to do the first time.
You can climb Mount Everest, but you have to practice every day for that climb. You have to have the lung capacity for that climb. And you have to be prepared financially to buy all the warm clothes and be able to get your ticket in and out. So, when we say, “You can do it,” yes you can! But you have to understand that the work, the preparation that goes into it.
More Resources:
Follow Nada:
Follow Liberty Road:
Nada recommends:
Diptyque candles
Citizens of Humanity denim
Spinelli Kilcollin rings
Live Beautiful, Athena Calderone
The Art of Aging Unapologetically, D. Boomkens
Big Magic and Atlas of the Heart, Brené Brown
Transcript
Katie Fogarty [0:28]:
Welcome to A Certain Age, a show for women who are unafraid to age out loud. “If you woke up this morning, there is more for you to receive, give, and become. You’re not finished because you’re 40, 50, 60, and beyond. It’s not over, it’s never too late to liberate your dreams. Welcome to the new age.” And welcome to a show that spotlights the woman who wrote all of those inspiring words you just heard.
Please meet Nada Jones, founder of the midlife platform and podcast, Liberty Road. After two decades of supporting female founders in business building, and writing an Amazon best-selling business book, Nada is turning her attention to building her own platform, one that superpowers midlife women in building a second act that they love. And lucky us, Nada is joining us today to talk about career leaps, and creativity, and she’ll be sharing holiday fashion and gift picks that she features on Liberty Road. If you’re looking to amp up your midlife or your holiday gifting and fashion, stick around, this show is for you. Welcome, Nada.
Nada Jones [1:34]:
Thank you so much for having me. What an awesome introduction, I need that as my elevator pitch.
Katie [1:39]:
Well, you wrote it, lady. [both laugh]
Nada [1:42]:
I know but I never say it as well as you did. In fact, when you first started saying it, I was like, man, that’s really good, we’re on the same page, I love all these midlife– Oh, I wrote that? Oh wow.
Katie [1:54]:
[laughs] I love it, so funny. I’m so excited to have you here; I love your content, I really love connecting with fellow podcasters, and I love connecting with women who are excited about lifting women up in midlife, you are all of those things. This show is also all about pivots and second acts, and I know that Liberty Road, for you, is both, and I would love it if you could share your backstory with my listeners.
Nada [2:20]:
Sure, sure. So really quickly, I had a 10-year career in marketing, very much a corporate one. In ’99, partnered with my college roommate and started something that functions like an Etsy, but it was for women who were kind of new to the design world, new fashion designers, new beauty product designers, and things like that. We had, essentially, real estate on the web, again this was 1999, and we weren’t sure if people were actually going to purchase things from the World Wide Web, [Katie laughs] which is hilarious to say now. But basically, we had a lot of friends who were in the space, emerging designers, and we said, “Hey, can we be the backend? Can we be the business and the tech platform and the marketing arm for you?” We did that for 9 years and we would have 40 women on the site at any given time. And one of the things we used to do is about once a month we would bring on an expert in small business; an accountant, a publicist, a lawyer, somebody that could really assist them with their businesses. It was just a perk of being in our, what we called our Style Co-op. And then we had a wholesale division where we would take about 10 of those 40 women to market.
And then I had babies, she had babies, we moved back to the west coast from New York and the wholesale business, which was the crux of our income, our revenue rather, was just a little bit too busy for the lives we wanted to have with our families. So, we kind of said, hey let’s tie this up in a pretty bow, wrote a how-to book with McGraw Hill called, 16 Weeks to Your Dream Business, and then I needed to do something with that, I needed to turn that into my next platform. So, launched a women’s conference for entrepreneurial women called Live the Dream. Loved doing that, and did that for 3 years. It was a great success in that we sold out our tickets out the gate, and had wonderful sponsorship, and it really sort of entrenched me in the entrepreneurial space.
What I realized I loved about that first endeavor, the Style Co-op endeavor was that I was able to hear, very intimately, what was happening with these women and their entrepreneurial stories and connect them with people that could move the needle for them. Then creating the conference gave me a little bit more of that, “Oh, look what happens when we unite all these women, and when we bring them together and the community that is created.” And then I turned into a consultant, sort of accidental. I think people saw me as a go-to person in that space and it fit the life that I wanted to be living at the time and it gave me the flexibility that I wanted.
Fast forward, my kids are all– one in college, one a senior, and one in high school – and I’m sort of ready for that next move. I had wanted to start working on my own business and create my own brand. I loved working with other women but wanted to do my own thing. Now, I’m in my 50s and looking for resources, not just for business, but for what are women doing in their 50s, and couldn’t find very many. You, as you know, are one of the few Katie. We’re a small band, [Katie laughs] but we’re getting bigger, and I love that. And so, it just felt like my own life was helping me write the script on how to pivot and Liberty Road, I wanted to continue to tell stories of women who were doing really great things. I wanted to continue to highlight some of the people that I had been a consultant, for so many years. I wanted to focus those stories on the 40-plus age group. I wanted to focus our attention on telling stories of an age group that just wasn’t getting what I thought was enough attention and try and encourage them that it’s not too late, but there is work to be done, and here’s how that work can be done.
Katie [6:29]:
Yeah, absolutely. I love how you evolved your business as your own life evolved. I think that makes so much sense and I’ve had that experience in my own life. I produced an award-winning video on breastfeeding when my kids were young and wound up selling that to a nursing bra company and they white-labeled it. It’s interesting to experience pain points and create content, products, and services that help people meet that. I adore the fact that your live conference was called Live the Dream because I feel like that’s something that you’re helping women do right now, sort of, reimagining “Live life,” turning what your dream for the second act can be into more of a reality.
So, I’m curious, you interview a lot of midlife women, and many of them are creative, they’re entrepreneurial, this is up from your podcast Liberty Road. What, if any common themes have you seen emerge from talking to women entrepreneurs and creatives in midlife?
Nada [7:33]:
I think the one thing is, at some point, there tends to be even more fear around launching later in life. There tends to be a sense of, there’s more to lose. Maybe they had some success and felt like, “I’ve used up my success card, I’m not sure if I can do this again.” And perhaps that success was in a more traditional path, and entrepreneurship feels very tied to or starting anything new, a nonprofit, writing a book, anything, feels very tied to technology these days. “How am I supposed to utilize social media to get ahead? Maybe I’ve missed the boat.” So, it’s very tied into fear.
The common theme with those who did it anyway is that they overcame that fear and they found people who could fill in the blanks. There was a real awareness of, it’s not a one-man or one-woman show, maybe I don’t know social media, how do I bring somebody in to help me with that? Maybe I don’t even really understand how what I want to bring to fruition can be utilized by technology, how do I bring somebody for that? So, it was overcoming fear and filling in the gaps, really understanding, and maybe that’s because they’ve kind of worked through some ego issues, I don’t know, but really understanding that it’s not, it doesn’t need to be a one-person show, that they can bring in people around them to scaffold the dream, to scaffold their vision.
Katie [9:07]:
It’s so interesting that you put your finger on fear because fear has emerged as a theme on a couple of different shows that I’ve had. Sometimes women share, “I’m not afraid any longer.” When I think about fear in my own life when I was younger, I was scared of doing certain things, I was scared of public speaking, I was scared of putting myself into rooms full of people that seemed more experienced than I was and I kept thinking that at some point, I wouldn’t be scared of these things. And finally, I think, at the age of 53 I realized, you can be scared and do it anyway. And that sometimes the fear doesn’t go away. If I’m walking out on a stage and I’m addressing 400 people, 1,000 people, I’m still a little nervous but I recognize that I can walk side by side with my fear and that this sort of magic fearless state doesn’t have to arrive in order for you to put yourself in motion.
Nada [9:58]:
In fact, expect that it will not. Expect that it’s a part of it.
Katie [10:02]:
Yes, exactly. It’s part of the package, but don’t let it stop you, and being afraid of things no longer stops me. I’m willing to be uncomfortable and do it anyway. But it’s interesting that the tech component is something that really does trip people up because I feel like it’s never been easier to learn technology. It’s never been easier to get on Fiverr and find a freelancer who can help you with all the stuff that you don’t know.
So, I’m curious, about midlife, we’re both in the midlife space right now. So, do you feel that midlife is having a cultural moment or are we noticing that more women's brands and businesses are being launched to serve this market because we’re in the thick of it?
Nada [10:50]:
Yeah, I think it’s a few things. I think 1) we’re living longer and we’re living healthily longer. Just by virtue, it’s probably taken a minute for it to catch up to us, but by virtue of us being well for a longer period of time, at some point, there’s going to be a recognition that we can't really just be retired all these years; there’s more to do, more to give.
The other thing is, I think very specifically that the Gen X woman was sold a little bit of a lie. She was told that she could be superwoman, she could do all these things, and at some point in our 30s or 40s, we were burning out and we were like, “Oh my gosh, nope that does not work.” And so, I think we’re coming back to ourselves a little bit, we’re coming back to the thing that maybe we didn’t feel like we got right the first time, or we had the bandwidth to do the first time, or we got to do the first time. And for sure, I’m projecting, for sure, 100%. But I think that it happens to be true for a lot of people that I talk to.
I also think, to your point about other brands and this new awareness, we do have social media, we have this ability to see other people voice their opinions, to see what change and movements can look like and how they can take hold so quickly. And I think everything from, the silver movement, women going gray and owning that and it’s a badge of honor; people who are choosing to age without any altering sort of work; people who are choosing to age with doing that work and doing it gracefully in both of those camps. We’re hearing more and more women talk about that, we’re hearing more and more women talk about menopause and perimenopause. I don’t think I ever knew that there was a distinction until I was paying attention to social media, until Instagram. And all of a sudden, here I was in my 40s, and I was learning about it from technology.
And so, I think that all of these things in concert with one another then create, in brands, this need to rethink, or reinvigorate old narratives as I say, but rethink, how do we package this? This woman is way cooler than we thought she was. [Katie laughs] This woman is way more savvy than we thought she was. And by the way, all these women hold the purse strings in America, so let’s get smart and let’s start appealing to her outside of household cleaning products and prescription drugs. There’s more to say to her, there’s a different way to talk to her and brands just got savvy, and advertising agencies just got savvy. I think there’s a long way to go and I think they’re still afraid to talk to an aging group because god forbid, they would lose Millennials and now Gen Zers. But I think there is a new awareness that there’s money to be had, which unfortunately is what speaks in those worlds in particular, and she’s going to start demanding more. She’s going to start demanding more products and even packaging.
Katie [14:13]:
Absolutely. I mean, this is a very discerning, affluent, educated consumer base and by the way, there’s a lot of us, as you pointed out. The demographic shifts mean that there are going to be more people over the age of 65 than under the age of 18 by 2030 in this country, so we are loud!
We are heading into a quick break but when we come back, I would love to get your take on what sort of tactical advice you might share with a listener who is thinking, "I’m ready for a creative pivot, like the kind that Nada made.” We’ll be back after this break.
[Ad Break]
Katie [16:01]:
Nada, we went into the break talking about this large, affluent educated consumer base, there’s a lot of opportunity to speak to us, and there’s a lot of opportunity for us to create products and services that resonate with this consumer. If a listener is sitting here thinking, “I have an idea, I’m ready for a pivot, I want to switch jobs and become a consultant,” or “I want to stop being a consultant and launch a physical product,” what would be one or two tactical pieces of advice you might share?
Nada [16:31]:
So, I think there’s a personal practical piece of it and there’s a business practical piece of it. The personal piece is really trying, and I think this comes through journaling best, but really try and ask yourself some questions about, are you the girl for the job? Are your daily life and the gifts that you bring to this endeavor, going to match the outcome that you want?
Really quickly, an anecdote, a woman years ago said to me she wanted to launch her own fashion design line and you know, talked about going to Milan and Paris and sourcing beautiful fabrics and having a runway show and all these things. And I said that’s going to take you millions of dollars and a minimum of 10 years. What you’re actually going to be doing is selling to the Macy’s buyer in some tradeshow in Atlanta. That is, practically speaking, what you’re going to do. So, if the outcome, the daily life, the practical pieces of how you’re going to be living this dream that you have for your life, don’t match what you actually want, then you might not be the gal for the job. Having said that, in that particular story, there’s an outcome, it’s just not launching her own business, it’s going to getting a job for somebody who can offer her all those things.
And then on the business side, I would just say, really understand the business model. It’s easy to say, “I want to serve ice cream, I want to make ice cream, I love making ice cream, I want to have all these beautiful flavors and fun packaging, that’s what I want to do.” Really understand, how is it that I’m going to sell ice cream for money? Understand that model. Am I going to do it online? Is it going to be direct to consumer? Am I going to have a brick-and-mortar? Am I going to create this and sell it to somebody else who is a retailer? Really understand how you’re going to do that and what the revenue opportunities for that might be and when you’ll realize profitability; really put your numbers together. You don’t need a 200-page business plan. You need 5 pages with some tight paragraphs that help you understand how you’re going to get to market, who you’re going to sell to, how you’re going to be profitable, and understand when that can be realized over the next 1, 2, 3 to 4 years. Is that what you want? Once you see it on paper, then study it. Is that what you want? Is that the business that you want to be running? And then find people who have done it before you. Don’t be afraid to reach out to somebody else who made ice cream, don’t be afraid to reach out to a consultant. Hire people that have done things before you, who can help save you money in advance of putting all your eggs into that basket.
Katie [19:31]:
Yeah. I’ve had a number of business builders on this show. We had Sonsoles Gonzalez of Better Not Younger, Catherine Balsam-Schwaber of Kindra, these are companies that are very large. I had Valerie McMurry of Soleil Toujours come on and Valerie shared it takes an astonishing amount of money to bring a product to market. So, you know, it’s great advice to be realistic. One of the topics that I often hear come up in my own life and with the clients that I work with in my day job is a fear of aging and the ability to try something new. So, you offered very practical advice about really doing your due diligence as to whether or not you have the bandwidth and the money to make a shift happen. But if somebody were to say to you, “I want to do XYZ and I can't because I’m too old.” What’s the response to that? [both laugh]
Nada [20:22]:
I ask this in my podcast too. You know, I have a funny answer to this. I think you can do it. I think you can do whatever you want to do, whatever you set your mind to do. I think you have to be... You can climb Mount Everest, but you have to practice every day for that climb, and you have to have the lung capacity for that climb, and you have to be prepared financially to buy all the warm clothes and be able to get your ticket in and out and having a backup plan with other people who are around you to make that climb. It’s so much work.
So, when we say, “You can do it,” yes you can! But you have to understand that the work, the preparation that goes into that, all of it, it’s a lot and it’s kind of the magical piece of doing something with this much import at this age. Because we do start to feel that time is finite and when we choose those things, we want to be all in because we have this sense that this could be, this could be it, and having said that, this is where the trick of that question is, sometimes it is just the journey. Giving it a shot, giving it a try, go for it. Understanding that it’s not always going to be that first iteration of whatever the dream was, but it’ll lead you somewhere else. So, I think it’s just encouraging people to go for it, helping people understand, you’ve got a lot of tools and commitment you’ve got to bring with it. And then, this is not it, it’s not everything that defines you, it’s just the thing that will help shape the next iteration of you or it, whatever it might be.
And then one thing I want to say too is, I often say, and people in our circles Katie often say, it’s never too late. And I believe that I believe we need to come into it with that mindset and overcome our fear of that mindset. But I also want to say that it is too late for some things and there needs to be this sobering sort of sense of, that’s the gift of us being able to live this long and still have choices and opportunities, that we’ve come to a place in life where we can say yes to certain things and no to certain things. Because time is valuable, our relationships are valuable, what we pour into our own lives is valuable and time isn’t endless. I want people to address this time as almost sacred. Like, what are the choices that you want to make in this second act and in this second half that is meaningful, and are going to add value to your life and to the lives of those people around you?
Katie [23:11]:
Yeah, absolutely. I love that. I had the pleasure of having Mimi Ison, the pro-age blogger from the platform Hey Middle Age, come on a few weeks ago and she shared that while there’s no operating manual for aging, but one thing is clear is that the road in front of us is shorter. And that can sound depressing but it’s also clarifying. If you have less time and a shorter runway, what are you spending your time on? I think that is actually one of the great joys of midlife is that you strip away a lot of the bullshit. I’m much better at saying no to things that no longer serve me, and that I can't fit into my schedule. My schedule is this podcast that lights me up, it’s my day client work, and it’s my relationships with my friends and my family. It just makes it easier, in some ways, to have this clarity around what’s important.
Nada [24:08]:
For sure, for sure. And something you do really well, and I think I would challenge listeners to think about, is if there is something that you are passionate about or that gives you meaning or purpose, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to leave your day job. You can carve out time and space to create whatever that thing is that you’ve been passionate about or that has been a dream for you and it’s a way to test the waters too. It doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing approach.
Katie [24:36]:
Yeah, it’s sort of a modification too. I think that’s also something we realize in midlife, you were alluding to this earlier when you said, we like to think it’s never too late but sometimes it is too late to do certain things but it’s not too late to take a different crack at it. Maybe you’re not launching a nonprofit, but you’re volunteering for one that you care about; maybe you’re not becoming a traveling journalist and moving to cover war coverage, but maybe you’re writing travel blog posts, things that are more manageable. I think that whatever you truly want to do, whatever lights you up, there’s a way to do a version of it that is realistic with your life.
Nada [25:17]:
Yes, well said.
Katie [25:19]:
So, Nada, I want to switch gears for a minute. We could talk about midlife reinvention [Nada laughs] and how we make it work and reframing and sort of making the most of this. but one of the things that I love about your platform, and there are so many things to love, is that you have a wonderful, first of all, you have a wonderful eye, and you offer something that you call Nada’s Edit, which is terrific; it’s on fashion, it’s on gifts, it’s on things that you... you surface wonderful finds for your audience. And as we just shared, getting to midlife often means simplifying and greater clarity. I would love it if you could help us simplify some of our fashion choices and some holiday gifting. This show is coming out in December when we’re all getting geared up for all the fun and the hubbub of the holidays, so I would love to hear from you, what are one or two pieces that you really think are worth investing in for holiday fashion and beyond?
Nada [26:19]:
Sure. And just a real quick caveat to that, we created Nada’s Edit because it’s not that we’re getting into retail, it was more the idea that women at this age can be very, what I call, date-stamped, and sort of like, “Oh, I really loved that from the ‘90s or the ‘80s,” and wear that forever. And I think we need to approach this season in a fresh way, and it gives us, you know, when you look good you feel good kind of thing. So, it was really a way to mirror or match what we were doing in the kind of, what’s next for your life? Here’s what’s next for your wardrobe or a new way to think about the things that you purchase. So, a few things, if I remember the question, a few things to wear, is that your question, for this season?
Katie [27:11]:
Yeah, that's something that you think... I would love to do high-low, so if there’s something that you think is worth investing in, something that’s a little bit pricier but it’s really something that’s going to freshen up your wardrobe and make you look and feel amazing.
Nada [27:27]:
Yeah, so I think jackets. I’m a fan if you go onto Liberty-Road.com and you see in Nada’s Edit. A classic navy or black wool jacket, a denim jacket, an army jacket, something that’s going to kind of allow you to wear layers, move from season to season with ease, and give you just that little bit of punch. I like things that are not high-low just in price point but also in design. If I’m wearing something that’s like jeans with holes in them, then I have a classy blouse on top or something like that. So, I think those jackets, they provide, those three, in particular, provide lots of opportunities to be worn in different ways, to be worn in different seasons. Add a scarf when it’s cold or a sweater underneath, something like that.
And then in terms of other things that you can do to kind of snazz things up, look at accessories. You can wear the same jeans every day, and a black or white top, but when you’ve got a cool sling pure and some snazzy shoes – and they could be sneakers, they don’t have to be expensive brand name anything – and a cool watch. If you’re wearing a T-shirt, try throwing on, we’ve got this emerald crystal necklace, it’s fantastic, it looks like it’s all real emeralds, but it’s not. Those are some really fun things that you can do. And then layer up, layer up your jewelry, layer up your rings. Those are the easiest ways. You can have those pieces, they can be staples, you can have them for the next 50 years, and they’ll snazz up any outfit.
Katie [29:18]:
Yeah, I love that advice. Talk to me about jeans because a couple of months ago there was this absurd... social media trumped up the great divide between skinny jeans and side parts with wide leg pants and middle parts and what it meant, the age camps that you were in if you were doing one or the other. And by the way, I’m Team Side Part over here. But I wear all kinds of jeans. [both laugh]
Nada [29:43]:
I’m Team Side Part too, not because I’m opposed to the middle part, but because I just don’t happen to look very good in it. What’s cool about being in midlife is we’ll let the Millennials and the Zers work that whole issue out. What’s cool about where we are is we can just, it’s relative to ourselves, we can look at it with a little more objectivity and we don’t have to be in either one of those camps.
With jeans, I think it’s really about knowing your body type and if the goal is for you to feel good, feel like, “Okay, this feels like me,” then it’s also usually a combination of what makes me feel comfortable in my own skin. For some people, it is a baggy jean but for other people it’s like, that doesn’t work– If I wore a baggy, a really baggy jean, like a super oversized baggy jean I would just look ridiculous.
Katie [30:40]:
What are some brands that are good that we should have on our radar?
Nada [30:42]:
Oh my gosh, Citizens of Humanity, favorite jeans. And I like them because they don’t have too much stretch which is a funny thing to say at this age.
Katie [30:52]:
Oh no, I get that. We need things to–
Nada [30:54]:
Most people like that. No, I want everything kind of sinched in, I don’t need too much stretch. And they last forever, they’re go-to jeans, I have three pairs in my closet. I also think that when you’re looking at jeans, just to get away from that date-stamping thing, look at where the hemline hits, try a hemline that’s a little bit shredded, try a hemline that’s really long and touches the floor and a little bit wider and wear it with pumps or pointy boots, something that sticks out. It’s those sorts of things that make the difference. Get away from your basic jean when you’re trying to jazz things up. But if you want to wear a skinny jean because you feel like you can rock a skinny jean, go for it. If you want something that’s a little bit baggier or wider, go for it. We’re going back into the bellbottom sort of scene with a lower, drop waist. If that’s something that you feel good about, if that brings you back to your good old ‘90s, then go for it.
Katie [31:54]:
I love a bellbottom because I actually think of the ‘70s. I just love corduroy, I love denim, I like a good ‘70s moment, I would love to–
Nada [32:03]:
There is no shortage of that right now.
Katie [32:05]:
I would love to be Ali McGraw, give me her whole wardrobe, that’s my vibe, that’s my thing.
So, let’s talk a little bit more about hostess gifts because these are sort of tricky. I know holidays mean parties, it means gathering. We are so happy that we’re back into the swing of holiday season after two years of Zoom celebrations, so we want to show up and show out. What’s a great gift that always delivers?
Nada [32:34]:
Well, my go-to, I’ll say that, is a candle. It’s kind of, it’s a little bit boring because...
Katie [32:43]:
I love an amazing candle. We have a very smelly pandemic puppy so I’m always loving gorgeous candles. Which ones do you love?
Nada [32:52]:
I think my favorites are Diptyques, I mean, and there’s not a scent that I don’t love. I love the Diptyque candles. And I think what’s great about a candle is if the hostess or host has one, then they can store this for when that one runs out. It’s not going to go bad; you can't have too many, and that’s why I love them.
But I am a big fan of personalizing as much as possible, and I don’t mean with a monogram, I just mean, who is this person that you’re giving this gift to and how can you make it a little more personal? If you don’t know them, a candle, or a bottle of wine, are good go-tos. But if you do know them, if there’s something that you happen to know about their life; they love to cook, give them a really cool cookbook that’s the latest. People are getting their recipes online now, people don’t have these beautiful cookbooks laying around in the same way but there are so many. So, that would be a great recommendation. If they love beautiful design, get them a design book, the ones, Live Beautiful by Athena Calderone, great one. If they’re a woman who is busting out, she’s in midlife and she’s really trying to consider her own possibilities, and maybe she’s launching something herself, try one of these awesome books that are all about women doing cool things. There’s the 200 Women series, that’s a great one. There’s another one called, The Art of Aging Unapologetically by the And Bloom woman, D. Boomkens. There are just some really cool books. And then I think you can go back to your staples and things like a beautiful notecard set, or a beautiful leatherbound journal; something that someone wouldn’t necessarily buy for themselves at that price point but it’s a beautiful gift to give.
Katie [34:41]:
These are such wonderful recommendations. I have a tip for listeners. With the candle, which I just adore candles, and I recently had the opportunity to do something social with a friend she sent me an email beforehand and she said, “What’s your favorite scent?” And I was like, Oo, I’m intrigued! I shared that I love honeysuckle, I gave her a couple of different scents that I adore, and she showed up at this event with me and handed me this beautiful honeysuckle candle and I was so touched. One, that she thought of me and bought me a gift, but that she did a little bit of research in advance to surprise me with something that truly delights me. So, I’m passing that along to listeners. It was super thoughtful.
Anything special that you have your eye on for yourself that you should be dropping hints to someone who may or may not listen to this podcast?
Nada [35:37]:
Well, I may have to make him come to this podcast. [Katie laughs] So, I too, even in my wish list, there’s usually some high-lows in there too. Something that’s like, oh, I need a pair of sneakers so I’m going to throw that in there just to make it easy on the family. And I love myself a good, colorful pair of New Balance or some real classics like a pair of Converse or something like that.
But my high, high kind of blingy thing, is a ring, it’s a triple stacked ring, you can get it in a double stack, there are variations by, and I think I’m pronouncing the name right but it’s Spinelli Kilcollin and the rings are beautiful. They’re stacked and then they’re looped together with stacks and some of them have diamonds, some of them are just– you can do all silver and given the different metals and stones, the variations and the price points vary wildly. But that’s something that, if Santa’s in the mood, [Katie laughs] maybe, we’ll see. We’ll see if that happens.
Katie [36:48]:
That sounds gorgeous. Well, you’ll send me the link to that.
Nada [36:52]:
Yes, it’s on our website, yes.
Katie [36:54]:
Perfect. I’ll put that into the show notes which people can find over at ACertainAgePod.com. Nada, we’re reaching the end of our time but before we move into our speed round, I want to ask you, if podcast and platform building is relatively a new venture for you, you call your Liberty Road, and I’ve read on your website that the use of “Road” is very deliberate; you say that life is a long and winding road. Could you have launched Liberty Road when you were younger? What role, if any, did getting to midlife play in making this happen?
Nada [37:25]:
The answer is no, the first part. I mean, I could have, I could have named something Liberty Road, and launched what I’m doing now, but I wouldn’t have approached it with the same ear or eye sensitivity, it would be a different endeavor. And it’s one of the reasons I only want to interview women 40 plus, they just bring a different narrative to the listener, and I’m interested in that listener being inspired and equipped to do what’s next for her and what gives her purpose. So, I couldn’t have done that, I couldn’t have offered a midlife woman that in my younger years.
The other thing is, with the name Road, I myself, in interviewing women, in consulting women, in spending 20 plus years in this space, the thing I was constantly hearing was, “Gosh, it hasn’t been a straight path,” or “It’s been a really winding road,” or “I took a hard left turn and I think I kind of lost my way and I need to get back on the right road.” I was hearing these themes very regularly, so I wanted to sort of, own it. Instead of trying and reconcile those stories and make them tell a story that was about a straight path, I wanted to say, "No, let’s own it.” Isn’t that what life is after all? Isn’t that what we should be doing aftercall enjoying the journey? And there’s no way the 20- or 30-year-old me would have understood that in the way that I understand it now.
Katie [38:54]:
I love this. We are so happy to be on this road with you, Nada. I so enjoyed this conversation and I’m always sad when the show ends because I could go on and on. We’re going to move into our speed round because our time is coming to a close. So, this is just quick one- to two-word answers, we want to learn more about you, and we want to end on a high-energy note. Are you ready?
Nada [39:17]:
I am ready, let’s go, Katie.
Katie [39:19]:
Let’s do it. Launching Liberty Road was _____.
Nada [39:23]:
Purposeful.
Katie [39:24]:
Nice, I love that. That’s very smart. A podcast topic you could talk about again and again: _____.
Nada [39:33]:
Creating meaning.
Katie [39:35]:
If I never need to talk about this midlife topic again, I’d be delighted: _____.
Nada [39:41]:
Oh my gosh, [Katie laughs] hot flashes. [both laugh]
Katie [39:46]:
For me, it’s retirement planning. I don’t want to talk about retirement, I don’t know how that’s going to happen.
Nada [39:51]:
I’m with you, I’m with you.
Katie [39:53]:
Even midlife podcasters need midlife inspo, this podcaster book gets midlife right: _____.
Nada [40:02]:
Ooh, this podcaster book gets midlife right... That’s a tricky one. I would say, I don’t know if this is exactly what you’re looking for, Big Magic and Atlas of the Heart, Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart, and Big Magic read those two books. I think they offer a lot for midlifers, but it’s not specifically for midlifers.
Katie [40:25]:
Perfect, going into the show notes. Okay, last new thing you bought or tried?
Nada [40:32]:
I just bought the Garance Doré new line of Doré Cleansing and Moisturizing, and I have to say, I’m a fan of the moisturizer.
Katie [40:42]:
Nice. Next new thing to buy, try, or do?
Nada [40:49]:
Next new thing to buy, try or do... I am trying to get really good at meal prep. So, I’m buying a bunch of the kind of Naturals glass, getting rid of my plastics, and buying all the Naturals is the brand name, but glass Tupperware essentially, I don’t even know what we call that, storage wear.
Katie [41:11]:
Perfect, you’re ready for January. You’re ready to dice and do your meal prep.
Nada [41:17]:
I’m ready.
Katie [41:18]:
Finally, your one-word answer to complete this sentence. As I age, I feel _____.
Nada [41:23]:
Liberated.
Katie [41:24]:
Nice! Thank you, Nada. This has been such a treat. I adore hanging out with podcasters. Before we say goodbye, how can our listeners find you and Liberty Road?
Nada [41:34]:
First of all, thank you, Katie, I so appreciate this time and I appreciate you inviting listeners to come and check us out. You can find us online at Liberty-Road.com and come hang out with us on Instagram and it’s @ThisIsLibertyRoad.
Katie [41:49]:
Fantastic. This wraps A Certain Age, a show for women who are aging without apology. Before we end, two last items. If you love and appreciate this podcast, I would love and appreciate an Apple Podcast review. Reviews help the show grow. And two, have you visited our new sister account over on Instagram, Age Out loud? We want to feature your Age Out Loud story. If you believe your age stands for something, head to Instagram @LetsAgeOutLoud and share your story at the link in bio.
Special thanks to Michael Mancini, who composed and produced our theme music. See you next time, and until then: age boldly, beauties.