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1. VibrantNation.com blogger Sarah Gayle Carter closed her home design business to create a life as a dog portrait painter. From Sarah G. Carter in How I became a dog portrait painter (journal entry 5) “It was like someone had put me on drugs. I had so much fun with this dog. The experience was so different, so loose — the exact opposite of the tight, controlled design work I had done for so many years. It felt like an explosion of creativity in my kitchen.” |
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2. Katie’s work for a pharmaceutical company meant that she was already very health-conscious, but after being diagnosed with breast cancer, she eventually started her own business to provide treatment solutions she needed but hadn’t been able to find. From Katie Haun in Katie Haun: Life’s challenges are opportunities “I created a business based on what I needed and could not find when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. You might say that my new career found me.” |
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3. After working in fashion and tourism, Pamela Pipes became an Audie-award winning author after writing and producing a self-guided tour highlighting the damage left behind by Hurricane Katrina. From Pamela Pipes in Pamela Pipes: I stayed to fight for New Orleans “…I came back determined to at least understand what happened, to tell the story, and to be the voice of all the people who died. On my tour, one of the very first pictures is a house that has “Three found dead” on it. The first time I saw it, every hair on my hand stood up, tears just streamed down my face and I couldn’t even talk, I couldn’t even move.” |
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4. After 35 years in the computing and telecom fields, Carol White spent a year traveling across the U.S. in an RV. That adventure launched an entirely new career as an author, speaker, and marketing coach. From Carol White in Carol White: How a year in an RV spawned a second career “We gals in our 50s and 60s–we did all the right things. We raised our kids, did the PTA hing… Now it’s time to do something for ourselves! It’s time to finally focus on ourselves. This is only a very small bit of time in your life, but a time that you’ll never forget. Don’t let the things you think are your roadblocks be your roadblocks.” |
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5. Sue Schwartz was a successful commercial markets underwriter for decades. At age 55, she started experiencing problems with her skin and discovered the best skincare she has ever used. Now, she is a manager with Jafra Cosmetics and enjoys helping women of all ages look better and feel better about their skin. From Sue Schwartz in Sue Schwartz: Skincare that changed my life “What I love most about my work is the friendships I’ve made, both with my colleagues and my clients. …It’s a privilege to work with women who have overcome obstacles but are always happy, and focus on their blessings instead of what’s not going right. I love that my work is about helping women feel better.” |
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6. A divorce at when her child was three meant that Julie had to give up her identity as a “theater person.” Now a celebrated author and professional organizer, she describes how ridding herself of things she didn’t need meant she’d made room for new growth and success. From Julie Morgenstern in Julie Morgenstern: SHED your stuff, change your life “Within months, my business doubled in revenue. It was extraordinary. I realized that I had been keeping one foot in my old life and one foot in my new life. When I released the trappings of my theater life, I was finally able to be all four paws in my new business, and that’s when it really took off.” |
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7. Julie Brosterman left a long and successful career in mortgage banking to found Women & Wine, a lifestyle multimedia community for lovers of wine, food, and travel, connecting people online and offline. From Julie Brosterman in Julie Brosterman: Women & Wine “I always felt as if there was a curtain between my work life and my ‘real’ life of entertaining and loving to cook, drink wine, share stories, and travel. …The mortgage industry is 99% men–they like golf and like to get drunk at a wine tasting and throw up on themselves and then say they had a good time.” |
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8. After a move to Houston, Marnie found a way to marry her passion for horses with her background as a teacher. Today, she is an informal ‘relationship coach’ to beginning women riders and their horses. From Marnie Toncre in Marnie Toncre: How I became a “horse relationship counselor” “I love horses so much and I really wanted these women to enjoy their horses too, so I started offering my help. This turned out to be a lot of fun, and eventually I was coaching women riders at my stable on a regular basis. I was drawing on my training and experience as a teacher, but combining it with my love of horses – the perfect role for me.” |
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9. Mary Harvey left a successful, 15-year career in PR and advertising to find better balance in her life. She started her own staffing and recruiting firm 1993, and now has time to enjoy her marriage, her family, and simply live her life. From Mary B. Harvey in Mary Harvey: Achieving work-life balance “I left the traditional, corporate world for two reasons. The first was that I was simply burned out by the lack of importance given to personal relationships. In that world, you step on toes and screw people over every day, all in the name of making more money. You can’t afford to be nice — you have to be ruthless. I played that game for years and I was good at it, but in the end, I knew it wasn’t right for me.” |
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10. Anne Kreamer was the worldwide creative director of Nickelodeon at 40. However, the death of her parents and the pressure of her corporate job coupled with her young children was too much. She reinvented herself as a journalist and author of Going Gray: What I Learned about Beauty, Sex, Work, Motherhood, Authenticity, and Everything Else That Really Matters  . From Anne Kreamer in Anne Kreamer: Letting go, going gray “One of the themes in my book is about how letting go is often the way one ends up finding oneself. In my 40’s, letting go of the expectation that I had to be all things to all people allowed me to come to a happier place. I started writing and sort of reinvented myself as a journalist. I know do incredibly fulfilling work, meet incredibly interesting people, and I get to do it out of my home…” |
Join the conversation: Are other women my age reinventing themselves?
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I am amazed at all the successful women here. I own a small photomontage business which started out as a hobby and then my family said you should do this as a business. I am not sure how to get my name out there on a limited budget. And also how much I can expand my business to greater achievements. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This is something I love and I can incorporate my love for photography into it as well. I am working on genealogy albums, my grandchildren growing up. Day trips. Most women pick up their purse to go somewhere, I pick up my camera even if we’re just going to the store.