Not Done Yet: A Podcast for Midlife Women

Ep 12- Nobody Told Us the Checklist Would Run Out

Rachel cracks open a reel that's been quietly giving midlife women anxiety everywhere: the idea that after 50, the milestones just stop. Birthdays, graduations, the whole checklist — done. So now what? Rachel takes that fear head-on and names what's actually happening: the milestones haven't stopped, they've changed. This episode is about why "I don't know what I want" is protection, not confusion, and what it looks like to finally step into your own era. Rachel shares a conversation with her husband Mark that reframed everything, two downloads she woke up with that she couldn't keep to herself, and the real reason so many women are circling the same dream for years without ever letting it breathe. If you've been feeling like the exciting part of your life is behind you, this episode is your permission slip. In this episode: * The reel that gave me (and probably you) anxiety: "after 50, the milestones stop" — and why that fear makes total sense * What my husband Mark said over the weekend that reframed everything: the milestones aren't over, they're just yours to create now * Why "I don't know what I want" is protection, not confusion — and the thing you keep coming back to at 2 am that proves it * What I'm calling the You Era: the first era of your life where the milestones belong entirely to you * The client with a children's book series, my own scary pivot out of network marketing, and what we both had to stop doing to move forward * The challenge I'm giving you this week: start dreaming, and name your milestones * What my friend said that I haven't been able to stop thinking about: "It's a new chapter. It's scary and unfamiliar, but it's just as meaningful." Mentioned in this episode: * Not Done Yet Sessions (one-on-one conversations about the thing you keep dismissing, with a $200 credit for podcast listeners): rachelaperry.com/podcastspecial [https://www.rachelaperry.com/podcastspecial] Connect with Rachel: * Website: rachelaperry.com [https://www.rachelaperry.com] * Instagram: @rachelaperry [https://www.instagram.com/rachelaperry] * TikTok: @rachelaperry [https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelaperry] If this episode landed for you, send it to your midlife sisters. The ones who are circling something. The ones who tell themselves they don't know what they want. She's not done yet either. I'd love for you to join me for my free summer series, Midlife Conversations. Sign up HERE.  [https://rachel-perry-consulting.kit.com/d5cd24dc2f] Here's the lineup: June 15th at 7 PM/ET: Wanting More Isn't Selfish July 13th at 7 PM/ET: It's Okay to Dream at 50 August 17th at 7 PM/ET: The Thing You Keep Dismissing September 14th at 7 PM/ET: You're Not Done Yet

Ep. 11 - Why Your Midlife Exhaustion Is Not Just Hormones with Sheri Johnson

Rachel sits down with her friend Sheri Johnson, co-founder of Midlife Women Rising, for one of those conversations that starts with matching outfits and ends with you rethinking everything you believe about aging, exhaustion, and why you still can't say no. Sheri spent 20 years in corporate, hit 45, and decided there had to be another way. What she found was that the symptoms every midlife woman is blaming on hormones? Go a lot deeper than that. This one is personal, funny, a little uncomfortable, and completely necessary. In this episode: * Why 40 can be the year everything happens at once (new house, new marriage, a miscarriage, a cancer diagnosis, a job that expects you to be on 24/7) and why so many of us just... push through anyway. * The decision Sheri and her husband made to stop fertility treatments, and the grief, the relief, and the self-worth unraveling that came after. * The belief Sheri had to untangle: that mothers are more worthy. And why it is not just a childless-women thing. * Why the symptoms you are blaming on perimenopause (the exhaustion, the sleep issues, the constant overwhelm) are actually connected to cortisol, blood sugar, and the subconscious beliefs you have been carrying since before you knew to question them. * The three-pronged approach Sheri and her sister Jen use with clients: physical, emotional, and spiritual. Because you cannot supplement your way out of a self-worth problem. * What Thomas Edison has to do with why women feel guilty for taking a nap. (No, really.) * Why the "I don't care what people think anymore" energy on social media is real for embarrassment, but shame is still running the show underneath. * People pleasing as a stress response: why it is not a willpower problem, it is fawning, and your nervous system is in it with you. * The quiz that will show you which midlife coping strategy is costing you the most, and what belief is underneath it. * Rachel's very honest feelings about her period getting irregular, Sheri's equally honest response, and why "it feels like an ending" is also the beginning of something. * The Spanx incident. The stage. The pantsuit. Sheri brought it up and honestly, it needed to be said. * Why the word "midlife" makes some women cringe, and what that reaction is actually telling you about what you believe. * Sheri's eight-day retreat to Peru and Machu Picchu in November, because some midlife decisions deserve to be made at altitude. Mentioned in this episode: * Sheri Johnson and Jen: Midlife Women Rising * Midlife Women Rising podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/midlife-rising/id1832742789] * Sheri's quiz, which midlife coping strategy is costing you the most: midlifewomenrising.com/quiz [https://www.midlifewomenrising.com/quiz] * Peru retreat to Machu Picchu, November (limited spots): find Sheri @midliferising [https://www.instagram.com/midlifewomenrising] Connect with Rachel: * Website: rachelaperry.com [https://www.rachelaperry.com] * Instagram: @rachelaperry [https://www.instagram.com/rachelaperry] * TikTok: @rachelaperry [https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelaperry] If there is a woman in your life who has been blaming everything on her hormones, share this episode with her. There is more going on. She deserves to know that. She is not done yet either. I'd love for you to join me for my free summer series, Midlife Conversations. Sign up HERE.  [https://rachel-perry-consulting.kit.com/d5cd24dc2f] Here's the lineup: June 15th at 7 PM/ET: Wanting More Isn't Selfish July 13th at 7 PM/ET: It's Okay to Dream at 50 August 17th at 7 PM/ET: The Thing You Keep Dismissing September 14th at 7 PM/ET: You're Not Done Yet

Ep. 10 - I Could Never" (And Other Lies Your Midlife Brain Tells You)

In this episode, Rachel takes apart the phrase that quietly ends more midlife dreams than any other: "I could never." It feels like a fact. It's actually one of the lies your brain tells you, and Rachel makes the case that you're not lacking confidence at all, you're just lacking the belief that courage is enough. She gets honest about leaving her seven-figure partnership, the years she spent questioning that choice, and the truth she finally landed on: courage always goes first, and confidence only shows up after. In this episode: * Why "I could never" isn't a fact, it's a feeling, and I'll show you the difference * The thing I used to believe the women "doing the thing" had that I didn't (spoiler: they have nothing on you) * What courage actually feels like in real life (hint: dropping stomach, shaking hands, the voice saying nope) * The story of leaving my seven-figure partnership, and how long I questioned whether I'd made a horrible mistake * Why I'm a little Delulu and think you should be too * The hidden cost of staying stuck, and the midlife exhaustion nobody's connecting to self-denial * The 59-year-old woman who told me she finds it harder to believe in herself than in anybody else * The one woman in my world who finally posted the thing, and what happened next * The dark hallway, the light at the top, and why you only need to see one step * The one small act of courage I want you to do this week Mentioned in this episode: * Free midlife conversations Rachel hosts a couple times a month (find out by joining her email list or following her on social) * One-on-one chats: a 90-minute session ($497) to figure out where you're dismissing yourself and what's next. Reach out on Instagram, TikTok, or email rachel@rachelaperry.com [rachel@rachelaperry.com] Connect with Rachel: * Website: rachelaperry.com * Instagram: @rachelaperry * TikTok: @rachelaperry If this one hit, share it with a midlife woman in your life who keeps saying, "I could never." She's not done yet either. I'd love for you to join me for my free summer series, Midlife Conversations. Sign up HERE.  [https://rachel-perry-consulting.kit.com/d5cd24dc2f] Here's the lineup: June 15th at 7 PM/ET: Wanting More Isn't Selfish July 13th at 7 PM/ET: It's Okay to Dream at 50 August 17th at 7 PM/ET: The Thing You Keep Dismissing September 14th at 7 PM/ET: You're Not Done Yet

Ep 9 - Pee, Portals, and Permission Slips: A Midlife Reinvention Pep Talk

In this episode, Rachel cracks open the quietly destructive habit most midlife women don't even know they're doing: handing out permission slips for their own life. The "this might sound silly" cycle. Waiting for a coach, a partner, a parent to bless the idea before we move on it. Rachel connects self-dismissal and permission-seeking as the same thing in different outfits — and walks through what it actually looks like to stop. (She also opens with a Mother's Day story involving her husband, a hug, and a puddle. You've been warned.) In this episode: * The Mother's Day moment that became a literal puddle on the floor (and the one rule no midlife woman should ever break) * Why my own body had to stage a dramatic intervention to get my attention — and the signal you're ignoring right now * The "this might sound silly" trap — why it's just permission-seeking in responsible-sounding clothes * The coaching call moment where one question — "well, why don't you?" — completely rewired what I thought I was allowed to do * Why waiting for someone else to validate your idea is actually how you avoid being accountable to it * The truth about why permission feels so safe: if it fails, it's not all your fault. If it works, you never fully owned it. * How the "business divorce" eroded my trust in myself — and how I'm rebuilding it in real time * Why I'm now trying and failing publicly on purpose (and what that's teaching me) * The disclaimers we attach to our own dreams — "I mean, I don't know if it would ever get published, but…" — and why they have to go * The one question I want you to sit with this week: what are you still waiting for permission for, and whose permission is it really? * Why midlife isn't your wrap-up season — it's the portal (and yes, I know "portal" sounds dorky, I'm working on a better word) Mentioned in this episode: * The Not Done Yet Collective (free + paid community on Substack for midlife women who are not done yet): rachelaperry.com/collective [https://www.rachelaperry.com/collective] Connect with Rachel: * Website: rachelaperry.com * Instagram: @rachelaperry * TikTok: @rachelaperry If something in this episode made you go oh… that's me, share it with the midlife woman in your life who's been waiting for someone to tell her she's allowed. Spoiler: she always was. She's not done yet either. I'd love for you to join me for my free summer series, Midlife Conversations. Sign up HERE.  [https://rachel-perry-consulting.kit.com/d5cd24dc2f] Here's the lineup: June 15th at 7 PM/ET: Wanting More Isn't Selfish July 13th at 7 PM/ET: It's Okay to Dream at 50 August 17th at 7 PM/ET: The Thing You Keep Dismissing September 14th at 7 PM/ET: You're Not Done Yet

Ep. 8 - The "Too Late" Lie Every Midlife Woman Tells Herself

In this episode, Rachel pulls apart the one belief that quietly steals more midlife dreams than anything else: I'm too late. It feels like a fact. It's actually a story. And it's costing you the version of your life that's been waiting for you to show up for it. Rachel shares the moment she almost let the "too late" story stop her from stepping into the work she's doing now, why midlife is genuinely the most powerful season to build something that matters, and the risk most women never calculate: the cost of not trying. In this episode: * Why "too late" isn't a fact, it's a story you've been told so many times you stopped questioning it * The moment Rachel almost let "Am I too old for this?" keep her from her most aligned work yet * 5 specific reasons midlife is your most powerful building season (not your wrap-up) * The research that says women hit their creative and emotional peak in midlife (not their 20s) * The risk you're not calculating: what it actually costs to wait one more year * Real women who decided "too late" wasn't going to be their story anymore * The question that changes everything: what are you going to do with the time you have? Mentioned in this episode: * The Not Done Yet Reset (free audio walkthrough + reflection guide): rachelaperry.com/notdoneyet * The Knowing: a private 8-week space for midlife women done dismissing what they keep coming back to Connect with Rachel: * Website: rachelaperry.com * Instagram: @rachelaperry * TikTok: @rachelaperry If this episode stirred something in you, share it with a midlife woman in your life who needs to hear it. She's not done yet either. I'd love for you to join me for my free summer series, Midlife Conversations. Sign up HERE.  [https://rachel-perry-consulting.kit.com/d5cd24dc2f] Here's the lineup: June 15th at 7 PM/ET: Wanting More Isn't Selfish July 13th at 7 PM/ET: It's Okay to Dream at 50 August 17th at 7 PM/ET: The Thing You Keep Dismissing September 14th at 7 PM/ET: You're Not Done Yet