I’m glowing after attending the awesome conference: Success for Women 50+. Rarely have I had the opportunity to spend a day with a roomful of women, the majority of whom are 50 or older. Furthermore, we were unusually open about our ages as we celebrated being older women.

Hats off to Charlotte Haymore – speaker, author, and life coach – for organizing and keynoting this remarkable event. She assembled a diverse range of presenters, every one of them sharing valuable tips and perspectives.

A special treat for me was getting to know other five women seated at my table. We ranged in age from 55 to 81. By the end of the day, we felt like family.

 

Highlights of the Conference

  • Charlotte Haymore’s uplifting keynote, in which she spoke about her calling to guide women 50+ as a life coach. She helps them to see the vision for their life and to achieve their dreams. Consequently, in her coaching practice, Unlimited Visions, she’s a true role model for her clients and colleagues.
  • Lynette Reiling’s fascinating workshop – “Your Encore Life: Some Assembly Required.” She outlined five tools people need to find and live their encore life. These tools are creativity, courage, purpose, connection, and inspiration. Above all, I touched by the stories she shared from her work as a Volunteer Recruitment Manager at Boomers Leading Change.
  • The fact-filled workshop “Foods to Feel Fantastic After 50” by Karen Haymore. Certified in holistic and natural medicine, Karen discussed the relationship between the food we eat and our overall health. I was especially struck by how deftly she answered the wide range of questions from the audience.
  • A panel discussion on “Experiencing the Dream Journey: Success After 50.” Three of the five panelists were inductees into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame. One was author and activist Dottie Lamm, who was First Lady of Colorado from 1975 to 1987. The second inductee was Gerie Grimes, activist for the African-American community and President and CEO of The Hope Center. The center provides early childhood education programs and vocational day programs for people with disabilities. The third inductee was Ding-Wen Hsu, the co-founder of the Dragon Boat Festival, which celebrates Denver’s Asian culture. She started it in 2001 with her husband, and 15,000 people showed up. Now attendance ranges from 120,000 to 150,000. The fourth panelist was author, comedian, and singer of telegrams Vicki Wind. The fifth was Kim Kirmmse Toth, business coach and founder of Positive Aging.

 

My Takeaways from the Conference

  • Add more breathing space to my life and slow down to better tune into my inner guidance.
  • Draw more on my courage, as it gives me strength to make authentic choices, take risks, and be open to possibilities.
  • Be less sedentary in my lifestyle because the body needs movement!
  • Recognize my successes more than my failures – but remember that each failure is a learning experience.
  • Have more confidence in my myself and not let daily life get in the way of my dreams.

 

How About You?

If you are a woman aged 50 or older, what has been your experience in the second half of your life? What dreams are you still hoping to achieve? If you know of women over 50 who seek to expand their lives, how have they inspired you?

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 45 and up, to become more effective using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

She works with business owners, business development professionals, business consultants, job seekers, and more – ranging from entrepreneurs to people in large corporations. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.