School of Midlife

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...

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 gen...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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 ar...

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 tropica...

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...

The coaching industry has failed high-achieving women. It's time to change that. Have you ever felt like you’re living a double life? Like the "badass" CEO or high-performer at the office has to shape-shift into a completely different person the moment she pulls into her garage? In this breakthrough episode, Laurie Reynoldson reveals why the coaching industry has done high-achieving...

Cracking the Code on Post-Retreat Momentum Have you ever returned from an incredible vacation or a work conference feeling completely inspired, only to have that "glow" evaporate the moment you hit the reality of traffic, laundry, and a jam-packed calendar? In this episode, Laurie Reynoldson gets raw about a "bananas" week that served as a major wake-up call.  Laurie explores t...

You're not the only feeling this way. Host Laurie Reynoldson returns from the latest Best Life Retreat at the Civana Wellness Resort and Spa in Carefree, Arizona, still "basking in that post-retreat glow". In this episode, she pulls back the curtain on why getting away from your everyday life is the only way to truly focus on living it. From the vulnerability of a shared circle to t...

Claiming what you want in midlife Have you ever felt like you’re an "Olympic level performer" at checking boxes and meeting everyone else’s expectations, yet still feel deeply restless? In this episode, Laurie Reynoldson explores a powerful "intuitive nudge" that changed the trajectory of her week: the necessity of claiming what you want in midlife.  Laurie unpacks why high-ach...

Q2 can be your most important quarter in life + business! Most people treat the second quarter of the year as a time to simply "sail through," coasting on the fumes of their January resolutions. But according to Laurie Reynoldson, Q2 is your secret weapon for finishing the year strong.  In this episode, Laurie breaks down the seasonal psychology of the year—from the "shot out of the...

The business of midlife. In this special three-year anniversary episode, Laurie Reynoldson pulls back the curtain on the "business of podcasting" before diving deep into a concept every high-achieving woman needs to hear: The Business of Midlife.   If you’ve spent decades advocating for your team at work and your family at home, while leaving your own dreams for "someday," this...

First it was Me Too. Then it was Time’s Up. Now it’s time for something new: Me First. In this episode, Laurie introduces what she calls the Me First Movement —a powerful mindset shift for high-achieving midlife women who have spent decades putting everyone else’s needs ahead of their own. After years of conditioning to be helpful, accommodating, and endlessly available, many women in midlife find...

You might be closer to your best life than you think. In this episode, Laurie shares two powerful moments from a recent retreat with a cohort of high-achieving midlife women—moments that reveal two of the biggest mindset barriers keeping women from fully stepping into their next chapter. The first came from a woman who realized she was already 75% of the way to living her best life —a reminder tha...

What if the clarity you’ve been searching for isn’t going to come from thinking harder…but from stepping away? In this episode, your host Laurie Reynoldson shares a deeply personal invitation into the power of retreats — why getting out of your daily routine isn’t indulgent, it’s transformative. From the Best Life Retreat in Arizona to two intimate Paris experiences this fall, this conversation ex...

What are you still doing in life...just because you're good at it? And what can a 21-year-old Olympic gold medalist teach midlife women about happiness? More than you think. In this episode, Laurie shares the story of figure skater Alysa Liu — a prodigy who retired at 17 after reaching the top of her sport, only to return years later and win Olympic gold…on her own terms. Not chasing expectat...

What if the problem in your marriage… isn’t your marriage? What if it’s what you’re choosing to notice? In this Valentine’s-season episode, Laurie shares a simple but powerful mindset shift that can transform your relationships — without therapy, ultimatums, or blowing up your life. Midlife has a way of making everything feel louder. The identity shifts. The resentment you didn’t realize was build...

The moment midlife asks more of you, and the trust and fear issues that may be holding you back. Midlife doesn’t usually announce itself with a crisis. More often, it shows up quietly — as restlessness, hesitation, or the sense that the life you’ve built no longer fits the way it used to. In this special episode of the School of Midlife Podcast, host Laurie Reynoldson is sharing a live recording f...

The real reason you don't feel like yourself in midlife...after "fixing" your midlife body. You’ve done the work to address the physical symptoms of midlife: balanced your hormones, changed your eating, added strength training. And you still don't feel like yourself in midlife. And there's a reason for that. The real work of midlife? That's an inside job. In this bonu...

What it really means to move through midlife with faith instead of fear. From an aerial yoga face-off with my own trust issues to the hard-earned wisdom of the dying, we’re getting brutally honest about how fear creeps into everything—from our bodies to our beliefs—and what to do about it. Midlife is full of transitions—but for many high-achieving women, it’s not just the physical symptoms (hello,...

What happens when your intuition is screaming something isn’t right —but the world keeps telling you to sit down and be quiet? In today’s episode, we’re talking about midlife discernment, political gaslighting, and the rising cost of staying silent. This one’s raw, unfiltered, and unapologetically necessary. In This Episode: In this soul-stirring, no-holds-barred episode, Laurie dives deep into a...