“[I was at] my gynecologist’s office,” says Kristin van Ogtrop, author (“Did I say that out loud? Midlife Indignities and How to Survive Them” (https://amzn.to/3effm1a), literary agent, and former Editor-in-Chief of Real Simple magazine. “My enthusiasm for daily life had diminished. I was having an annual exam and I said,’ I’m depressed or going through perimenopause or need a new job’. She said, ‘Maybe all three.’” Up until that point, van Ogtrop had been a high-flying editor in the magazine publishing world who had worked her way through some of the toniest jobs in the industry--beginning at Premiere, then to Vogue, Travel & Leisure, and then to running Real Simple for 13 years. “The reason I loved [Real Simple] was because it was the first time I’d worked for a magazine where I was the reader,” she says. “The demos were basically me: busy working mother[s]...who had great full lives and needed ways to run [them] smoother.” Since Van Ogtrop grew up with a mother who was a home economics major, she knew how to make a casserole and hem a skirt--valuable skills she imparted to her harried readers. What was not so fun: when Real Simple got caught up in corporate spin-offs and industry-driven down-sizings. “Time Inc. was a public company [and there] was great pressure,” Van Ogtrop says. “[‘For] creative people [like me] in the company…[it] felt like every day you died a little inside.” After she left, Van Ogtrop became a business Goldilocks, trying on various new careers, but struggling to find her path. “One benefit of reinventing in middle age,” she says, “is not to be embarrassed to be the dumbest person in the room. I know I’ve accomplished something...in my last life and in my mid-fifties I don’t care if I look like an idiot.” Tune in to see where she ended up and how she did it.
FREE GIFT! Don’t start your reinvention without downloading CoveyClub’s starter guide called “31 Badass Tips for Launching Your Reinvention Without Fear!”
#106: Kathi Sharpe-Ross (A self-starter shares her secrets)
#105: Barbara Waxman (Reinventing the definition of midlife as “Middlescence")
#104: Heidi Diamond (Reinventing your job when your boss is sent to jail)
#103: Jeanne Rosner (From pediatric anesthesiologist to high school teacher)
#102: Candace Freedenberg (Opting back in after opting out)
#101: Mary Lou Heater (Landing her doctorate at age 60)
#100: Celebrating 100 episodes and reinventions
#99: Bonnie Chan Woo (A more purposeful way of shopping)
#98: Cherie Buziak (Reinventing for motherhood)
#97: Diane Bruno (From speech writing to funeral directing)
#96: Shai Littlejohn (From lawyer, to musician, and back)
#95: Marla Ginsburg (Reinventing after losing everything)
#94: Ariane Daguin (Reinventing because your brother got the family biz)
#93: Tanya Ezekiel (From Wall Street to Uber coach)
#92: Suzanne Steinbaum (Rethinking the way doctors deliver medical care)
#91: Julie Foucht (My history was just programming)
#90: Meg Jordan (Everything is a learning opportunity)
#89: Dr. Cecilia Dintino and Hannah Murray Starobin (How to reinvent during a pandemic)
#88: Amy Giddon (Helping others connect and belong)
#87: Terri Bryant (When a disability forces you to reinvent)
Join Podbean Ads Marketplace and connect with engaged listeners.
Advertise Today
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
Reaching your Goals
Insights@work
The Ken Coleman Show
Business Dad
David Goggins Motivational Speech