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School of Midlife
This is the podcast for high-achieving women in midlife who want to make midlife their best life.
Women who have worked their entire lives, whether that’s in a traditional career or as the CEO of their household, or for many women, both. And they look around at their life in midlife, and think “I’ve worked my ass off for this?”
They have everything they always thought they ever wanted, but for some reason, it feels like something is missing.
This is the podcast for midlife women who are experiencing all sorts of physical changes in their bodies, while navigating changes in every other part of their lives, too: friendships, family life, work life.
This is the podcast for midlife women who find themselves wide-awake at 2.00am, asking themselves big questions like “what do I want?” “is it too late for me?”, and “what’s my legacy beyond my family and my work?”
Each week, we’re answering these questions and more at the School of Midlife.
When it comes to midlife, there are a lot of people talking about menopause and having a midlife crisis. This isn’t one of those podcasts. While we may occasionally talk about the menopausal transition, but that’s not our focus. Because we believe that midlife is so much more than menopause. And it’s certainly not a crisis.
At the School of Midlife, we’re looking to make midlife our best life.
School of Midlife
181. You Keep Saying "Someday." Here's What That's Actually Costing You
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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 one urgent question: what are you waiting for?
This episode isn't about panic. It's about clarity. It's a compassionate but honest look at the habit most high-achieving women share — perpetually deferring the life they actually want — and a practical reframe for how to start living it now, not someday.
Laurie also introduces one of her favorite coaching tools, the Best Life Top 100, and explains why it is fundamentally different from a bucket list — and why that distinction matters more than it might seem.
What we cover
- Why Laurie doesn't believe in the "midlife crisis" — and what she believes is actually happening instead
- The story of her dad: 46 years of work, five months of retirement, and the lesson that changed how she looks at everything
- The "someday when I retire" trap — and why there is always one more reason to wait
- Why the conditions will never be perfect — and what happens to women who keep waiting for them to be
- The south of France thought experiment: what happens when you finally get to retirement and the life you imagined doesn't feel like yours
- The women who thrive in midlife versus the women who keep living the same year on repeat
- The BEST LIFE Top 100: what it is, what it isn't, and why it's not a bucket list
- The difference between a list built around doing things before you die — and a list built around how you want to live while you are alive
- Why the Top 100 women actually end up with looks almost nothing like the list they thought they'd write — and why that's exactly the point
- The quiet dreams versus the big bold ones — and why they belong on the same list
- The question that cracks everything open: of the things on your Top 100, how many actually require you to wait?
- Why the direction matters more than the destination right now
- The challenge: write down one thing this week — and DM Laurie to tell her what it is
Quotable moments
"The real crisis in midlife isn't buying a sports car or having an affair. It's believing that you have more time than you actually do."
"Dad had so many plans for retirement. Someday never came."
"He worked 46 years of his life and was rewarded with five months of retirement."
"There is always another reason to wait. There is always another something that comes up. Which means you keep deferring your dreams."
"Life always has a way of life-ing."
"The Top 100 is not about doing things before you die. It's about how you want to live while you are alive."
"It's dreaming with intention. It's your living blueprint. It's your permission slip to stop waiting."
"The list they end up with looks almost nothing like the list they thought they'd write."
"Stop treating your best life like it's something that exists somewhere in the future, waiting for you to earn it or arrive at it or be ready for it."
"The women who are the most fulfilled in midlife aren't the ones who have the most things on their list completed. They're the ones who started."
"The real midlife crisis isn't running out of time. It's living like you have more time than you actually do."
The challenge from this episode
Pick one thing you would put on your BEST LIFE Top 100 list. Something that would make you feel more alive, more aligned, more you. Write it down. Then, DM Laurie on Instagram and tell her what it is.
Resources + links mentioned
- The BEST LIFE Mastermind
- Book a 15-minute call with Laurie
- Instagram: @laurie.reynoldson (DM Laurie your Top 100 item)
If this episode landed for you, share it with the woman in your life who needs to hear it. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and know that Laurie reads every single one.
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