Design Your Joyful Retirement is for Gen X women who want to prepare for thriving in retirement. We're talking about everything from financial freedom, health & wellness, perimenopause and menopause to travel, relationships, downsizing and more. Get ready for expert interviews, actionable tips, and inspiring stories that will help you create the retirement you desire. We're diving deep into the areas that matter most to Gen X women. Everything that we'll be talking about is to highlight the many options we all have and to support you in designing the retirement you desire.
41. Start With Curiosity: A Conversation with Maria Leonard Olsen
What does it look like to begin again when the life you knew no longer fits?
In this episode, I'm talking with attorney, author, and speaker Maria Leonard Olsen about starting over, trying new things, and discovering who you are in a new season of life.
After navigating divorce, recovery, an empty nest, and living alone for the first time, Maria found herself at 50 wondering: What comes next?
Instead of waiting until she had the answer, she got curious. Maria challenged herself to try 50 new things ~ and along the way, discovered new interests, new experiences, and a new way of looking at her life.
We talk about:
Why you don't need to have your next chapter figured out
How trying new things can help you rediscover yourself
What Maria learned from her "50 new things" experiment
Letting go of what no longer fits
The difference between being alone and being lonely
Why curiosity can be such a powerful tool during times of change
Giving yourself permission to ask, "What do I want now?"
You don't have to wait for a major life transition to reconsider how you're spending your time or what you want more of.
Sometimes the next chapter doesn't begin with a big plan. It begins with getting curious enough to try something new.
Connect with Maria at:
Website (https://www.marialeonardolsen.com/)
LinkedIn (https://www.marialeonardolsen.com/)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fiftyafter50)
TEDX talks:
Turning Life's Challenges Into a Force for Good (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR3cM9aRjes)
Should you use a DNA test kit? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDl3B-TKSgA)
Book:
50 After 50: Reframing the Next Chapter of Your Life
16 Sept 2026
40. Gen X is Breaking One More Old Pattern with Tracy Douglas
Gen X women are pretty good at figuring things out ourselves.
But when independence becomes our default, asking for help can feel surprisingly hard.
In this episode, we talk about:
Why independence became such a defining Gen X trait
How "I'll figure it out myself" can become a limiting pattern
Why asking for help can feel especially difficult for women
How therapy can give us a place to sort things out without the emotional entanglements of everyday life
Why good friendships matter as we move into this next chapter
Contact Tracy at:
Website (https://www.yourgenxtherapist.com/)
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
Huffington Post Article ~ The Most Common Issues GenXers Bring Up in Therapy
2 Sept 2026
39. Becoming a Wellness Weaver with Raquel Durden
In this week's Design Your Joyful Retirement episode, I'm talking with Raquel Durden ~ veteran, cancer survivor, yoga teacher, author of Dial Down: Moving from Chaos to Calm, and proud "wellness weaver."
Raquel shares a simple but powerful idea: wellness isn't something you escape to someday. It's something you gently weave into your everyday life.
We explored how small practices ~ like walking, breathing, journaling, movement, or taking a few quiet minutes for yourself ~ can help you feel more grounded, especially during midlife and retirement transitions.
This conversation is a refreshing reminder that calm doesn't arrive when life finally gets easier. It's built in small moments, one choice at a time.
🎧 Listen now for an encouraging, practical conversation about creating wellness in ways that actually work for real life.
Connect with Raquel at:
Website (https://raqueldurden.com/)
Humble Warrior Wellness & Yoga (https://humblewarrior.org/)
Who has been a guest on Design Your Joyful Retirement
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Erin Levine
Diana Dunbar Place
Diane Amelia Read
Reach and audience
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 46 / 100
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Quality
68
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
60
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