Growing Up Late

About Growing Up Late

Growing Up Late explores the gap between the impressive lives we build on the outside and who we actually are on the inside. Through honest conversations about betrayal, comebacks, and personal transformation, host Jeannie McIntire shows how the real growth happens when we finally own our role in our own story. A podcast for anyone ready to stop playing small and start living authentically.

Publisher

Jeannie McIntire

Category

business · education · religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Apr 2026

Latest episode

15 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

29 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Oct 2026

   You Are the Value: Finding Yourself in the Empty Nest

   Empty nest identity and the dream sheet, with Kelly Salmons “You are the value.” Kelly Salmons says it plainly: when the kids leave and the daily needing slows, it can feel like your worth left too. It didn’t. Kelly, founder of The Nest Evolution, explains how she found that out the hard way, starting with ten minutes, a blank page, and one dream: a trip to Antarctica. Kelly had a plan. She moved to Florida, bought the house next to her sister and parents, and went back to teaching, expecting it to fill the space her daughters left. Something still wasn’t right. When a personal development exercise asked what she wanted, she wrote one thing, a trip to Antarctica, and nothing else. It took her two or three tries before the list began to fill. Then she had to remember who she was. In seventh grade, Kelly decided she was going to the Naval Academy and planned her way in. Years later, she couldn’t think of a time she’d felt powerful, until a classmate told her the whole class had been scared of her. And “become who you are” had been engraved on a swim trophy she’d owned for 40 years. Try this before you press play: Set a timer for ten minutes and write down what you want, not what your family needs. Key ideas Your worth isn’t tied to being needed You’re not starting from scratch: skills from motherhood and past careers carry forward A dream sheet is a running list of what you want, even if it’s small Well-meaning support can feel like pressure, and stillness helps you hear yourself Pool time: a daily 20 to 30 minute phone-free reset for couples Few decisions are life or death, so decide, revise, and keep moving Questions this episode answers Why do I feel lost after the kids leave, even with a good life? “You are the value,” Kelly says. Many mothers tie their worth to being needed, so when the needing slows, it can feel like the worth left too. Where do I start? Write a dream sheet, then find regular time to be still. How do I find myself again? Try small experiments Kelly calls a joyfulness quest: a new coffee shop, an old hobby, a class, a call to a friend you’ve lost touch with. How can couples reconnect? Protect a short, regular, phone-free time together. Kelly and her husband call theirs pool time. Timestamps 0:00 Welcome, Kelly Salmons 0:45 When the empty nest felt bigger than a quiet house 2:00 The dream sheet: “I wrote Antarctica and nothing else” 8:45 The Naval Academy story and “we were scared of you” 14:30 “Become who you are” 19:30 Pool time: staying connected in marriage 26:00 Where to start: the dream sheet and stillness 32:30 From a $17 class to ten new friends 36:30 What Kelly has learned: decide, revise, design with intention About the guest Kelly Salmons is the founder of The Nest Evolution, a number one best-selling author, and a coach who helps women through the empty nest transition. A former naval officer and educator, she is also a real estate investor and will return for a full episode on that journey. Find her at The Nest Evolution link: https://thenestevolution.com/ About Growing Up Late Growing Up Late is a podcast about reinvention, resilience, and becoming the author of what comes next. Your host, Jeannie McIntire, is a former Sam’s Club executive who led a $2+ billion business and is now an entrepreneur, speaker, and podcast host. Connect with Jeannie here: https://linktr.ee/jeanniemcintire

2. 

   8 Oct 2026

   Being Chosen Is Overrated: Flattery, Boundaries, and Choosing Yourself First

   Being picked feels like proof you’re worth something. It isn’t. A story about flattery, people-pleasing, and what happens when you say no to an offer you were supposed to be grateful for. For most of my life, if someone told me I was the right person for something and said it warmly, I said yes. In this episode of Growing Up Late, I take apart the idea that being chosen is the same as being valued. I start with a too-fitted outfit and a salesgirl who said I looked amazing, move through a promotion I turned down three times before the division president made it personal, and into a marriage where I gave up what I wanted because it was dressed up as something I’d said I wanted. Then I'll tell you what happened when I recently said no to a board seat, and what the reaction taught me. The idea in one paragraph: Being chosen can work like borrowed value. Someone else’s enthusiasm fills a gap I should have been filling myself. It feels like currency, but it’s really their yes standing in for my own. Being chosen isn’t the problem. The expectation that you owe gratitude for it, whether or not the offer serves you, is the thing to outgrow. Key takeaways: Flattery can feel like proof of worth, but it’s someone else’s enthusiasm, not your own self-regard. The most persuasive offers are personal and specific, and they’re often dressed up as prestige and purpose, which makes them harder to spot. Going along isn’t the same as choosing. You can spend years watching your life instead of making the hard decisions yourself. Saying “no, thank you” without apology is a skill, and it can take years to build. Notice: Who gets warm when you say yes and who goes cold when you say no, and when something good happens to you, who isn’t clapping? You don’t have to do anything about it. Just notice. Quotable lines: “Being picked felt like proof I was worth something, so I skipped the other question: Do I actually want this?” “It felt like obligation dressed up as something I had said I wanted.” “A no does not need a follow-up.” “The prize is choosing yourself first.” Listen if you’ve ever wondered why you say yes to things you don’t want, or why declining a flattering offer can feel like breaking a rule.

3. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Burnout Recovery & People-Pleasing with Morrighan Lynne

   Burnout recovery, people-pleasing, and the mother wound: Morrighan Lynne, trauma-informed coach and author of The Spirited Human, shares how burnout came in to save her life and what she learned about self-abandonment along the way. In this episode of Growing Up Late, host Jeannie McIntire talks with Morrighan Lynne about the moment everything collapsed at the end of 2022, the mother wound underneath her people-pleasing, and the grief of losing her identity when she had nothing left to give. Morgan also explains why she calls self-abandonment a million micro-betrayals, why women are trained to see caring for themselves as selfish, and how she keeps her spirituality grounded in real life. If you're functioning, showing up, and quietly running on fumes, this conversation is for you. In this episode: - The 2022 collapse: doing everything right and still falling apart - Reformed people-pleaser: "Please like me. Please want me." - The mother wound and where people-pleasing really starts - The grief nobody talks about: losing your identity to burnout - Checking your battery and learning to disappoint people - A million micro betrayals: how self-abandonment builds over years - Selfish vs. sovereign: centuries-old programming - Burnout as an intervention: "This stepped in to save you." - Spirituality with your feet on the ground - Trauma-informed coaching and why small-t trauma counts - Closing message: life is hard, there are ways through it, and you're not alone Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 1:00 The collapse at the end of 2022 2:30 Reformed people-pleaser 5:15 The mother wound 6:40 The grief of losing your identity 7:50 Checking your battery and disappointing people 11:00 A million micro betrayals 13:15 Selfish, sovereign, and centuries-old programming 14:50 Permission for the woman running on fumes 16:20 Burnout as an intervention 18:45 Spirituality with your feet on the ground 22:20 Coaching: removing what's in the way 25:15 Trauma-informed work and small-t trauma 27:30 The Spirited Human 30:20 Closing thoughts: possibility About Morrighan Lynne: Morrighan Lynne is a trauma-informed coach, intuitive guide, author, speaker, and spiritual mentor with nearly two decades of experience helping women move from burnout and overwhelm to clarity, confidence, and self-trust. She is the author of The Spirited Human: Proactive Tools for a Reactive World and the creator of the Sovereign Path Oracle Deck. Her work focuses on emotional resilience, nervous system regulation, and reclaiming your voice after trauma. Website (https://www.morrighanlynne.com) Books (https://www.morrighanlynne.com/books) Sovereign Path Oracle Deck (https://morrighanlynne.myshopify.com/products/the-sovereign-path-oracle-deck) A Gift from Morrighan (https://www.morrighanlynne.com/cominghome) About Growing Up Late: Growing Up Late is a podcast about reinvention, resilience, and becoming the author of what comes next. Your host, Jeannie McIntire, is a former Fortune 500 executive who led a $2+ billion business and is now an entrepreneur, speaker, and podcast host. Connect / Follow Jeannie (https://linktr.ee/jeanniemcintire) Content note: This episode discusses burnout, people-pleasing, identity loss, and dark moments, including thoughts of not wanting to exist. If you are struggling, in the U.S. you can call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) at any time. This conversation is for education and inspiration and is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

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