Reinvent Yourself

Latest Episodes:

#204 The Near-Death Experience That Forced My Reinvention (Geralyn Ritter) May 05, 2023

Show notes

“My family was advised that they needed to come very quickly to say goodbye," says Geralyn Ritter. "My brother packed a dark suit for my funeral.” For Ritter, a near-fatal experience on the 2015 Philadelphia Amtrak derailment was the life-altering catalyst for a complete life and career reinvention. Her 2022 book, Bone by Bone: A Memoir of Trauma and Healing, details the story of her remarkable journey to recovery, moving through grief, trauma and healing. “The main reason I wrote it was to try to help other survivors,” she tells CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour in this candid conversation. “It has been enormously healing for me to be able to share my story.” Listen in to hear her insights on overcoming and the resources that supported her along the way.

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About Geralyn Ritter

Geralyn's doctors use the word "miraculous" to describe her survival and recovery. Today she lives a full life inspired by gratitude and offers hope and healing to many others. She is known for her distinctive laugh that fills a room and determined resilience in the face of personal and professional challenges. A recognized expert in healthcare policy, Geralyn was determined to re-start her career after years of disability leave following the accident. She is currently executive vice-president at Organon & Co., a new company dedicated to women's health. Prior to the launch of Organon in 2021, she was a longtime senior vice president of Merck & Co., Inc., one of the largest biopharmaceutical companies in the world. At Merck, her passion was leading the Company's engagement on social and community issues and supporting forward-thinking governance at the highest levels of the company. Geralyn and her husband Jonathan have been married for almost 25 years. Jonathan and their three sons traveled every step of the recovery journey with her, and their experiences as unexpected caretakers are an important part of her story.

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#203 When a Health Crisis Becomes a Transformative Journey (Elena Sonnino) Apr 28, 2023

Show notes

What would you do if, as a healthy 20-something on the verge of achieving your dreams, your world was shattered by a health diagnosis? Elena Sonnino thought her body was broken and her life as she knew it was over. Through years of treatments and mystifying test results, she was determined to reinvent her relationship with her body and transform her health. In this intimate conversation with CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour, Sonnino shares her incredible story of overcoming. "I realized along the way that I wasn't broken, my heart and my soul weren't broken,” Sonnino observes. “I was just experiencing some things, and all of those experiences led to the reinvention of who I am today."

About Elena

Elena Sonnino is a life coach, yin yoga teacher, and author. But what most people say about Elena is that she brings delightful sparks of energy to everything she does. Elena is on a mission to help you transform the walls of survival mode into doors of possibility so that you can step into the spotlight of your life as your most rooted and nourished self. Her work helps you get out of your head and into your body as your source of wisdom, and moves you from beyond shoulds and into delight, one day at a time. At home, Elena enjoys watching the sunrise, tending to her many plants, riding her Peloton bike, and impromptu kitchen dance parties.

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#202 When Your Personal Reinvention Leads to Groundbreaking Change for Autism (Dr. Joan Fallon) Apr 21, 2023

Show notes

"When I think about reinvention, I think about finding talents, hidden parts of you that need to come out and be front and center," says Dr. Joan Fallon. With over 20 years of experience researching autism and related disorders, Dr. Fallon founded Curemark, a pharmaceutical company focused on developing therapeutic treatments for neurological disorders. In this inspiring conversation with CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour, Dr. Fallon explains how her personal reinvention led her to changing the world of autism. Pass it along to anyone who needs to know about the groundbreaking work being done in the treatment of this disorder.

About Dr. Joan Fallon:

Dr. Fallon began her research on Autism and related disorders over 20 years ago and founded Curemark as a platform to develop product candidates to address her findings. Dr. Fallon has both clinical expertise and academic experience—the former from running a private practice specializing in pediatric development, and the latter as an Assistant Professor of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Yeshiva University.

Dr. Fallon has played an integral role in two very successful (and unprecedented) medical ventures. She was an Oxford Health Plans board member and helped achieve underwriting authority from New York State, for alternative and complementary medicine where none had yet existed. She also helped implement a cost-effective, interdisciplinary health plan for Oxford that increased the level of quality care for all children enrolled there. Dr. Fallon has written numerous scholarly articles, lectured around the world on developmental problems in the pediatric population and served on the Board of Directors of the ICA and Kentuckiana Children’s Center. She serves as a Senior Advisor to the Henry Crown Fellows at The Aspen Institute, as well as a Distinguished Fellow at the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College/Columbia University. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Franklin & Marshall College. Dr. Fallon holds a B.A. degree from Franklin and Marshall College, a DC degree from Palmer University, and has completed the coursework for the MSc in clinical investigation from Harvard University’s joint program with Massachusetts General Hospital.

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#201 Reinventing Your Mindset About Aging (Judy Katz) Apr 14, 2023

Show notes

“You can give in to just sitting around or you can do something creative, do something wonderful, do something for other people, which really makes you feel good.” So says Judy Katz, who found her dream career in her 60s and is still living it up in her 80s! Actively working, dating, and inspiring others, Katz is a professional ghostwriter, publisher, and marketer. If you have any inkling that you feel that you’re getting old in your 40s, 50s, 60s, or beyond, listen in to her fabulous conversation with CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour which will inspire you to toss that old idea out. As Katz says, “There's just so much you can contribute up to the last breath.”

About Judy

Judy Katz is an award-winning ghostwriter, editor, book publisher and promoter of 50 books, and still going strong. She also writes a blog called CelebrEighty to help change perceptions about “old age.”

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#200 When Your Reinvention Leads You to Run for Political Office (But You Lose) (Claire Campos-O’Neal) Apr 07, 2023

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"Just follow your curiosity,” says expert reinventor Claire Campos-O’Neal, daughter of a first generation Mexican-American who ran for Texas State Representative for House District-51 in 2022. “If you want to know about the school board, just go to a school board meeting.” For Campos O'Neal, following her curiosity took her from volunteer work to politics to real estate and beyond. "Women don't self-nominate as much as men do and they run because they care about their community, not because it's a stepping stone to something else.” In this conversation with CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour she shares what running for office without a political background taught her. Listen in to learn her tips for stepping into the political scene as a civilian and what she learned about making your voice heard.

FREE GIFT! Let CoveyClub support your 2023 goals with our 2023 Intention-Setting Workbook!

About Claire Campos-O'Neal

Claire Campos-O'Neal is a former candidate for the Texas House of Representatives, an education advocate, mother to two young boys, and budding entrepreneur. Since running for public office Claire has had a passion to share her campaign journey and give others a glimpse behind the political curtain.

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#199 Using Reinvention to Navigate Grief (Katty Douraghy) Mar 31, 2023

Show notes

"For me, in the beginning, it was a journaling practice," says Katty Douraghy. What it became was a gateway to understanding and processing her own grief. Now her memoir Butterfly Years: A Journey Through Grief Towards Hope serves as a beacon for anyone struggling to deal with the regret and sadness of loss. After losing her whole family in the span of six months, Douraghy was blindsided by grief and forced very suddenly to find the resources to cope. In this inspiring conversation with CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour she shares the experience of discovering her own resilience and her advice for others on learning to let go and move through the grieving process. "Don't think you're the only one who's going through this," she says. "There's a whole community of people out there who are feeling your pain, who will celebrate your joy, and they will celebrate your growth."

FREE GIFT! Let CoveyClub support your 2023 goals with our 2023 Intention-Setting Workbook!

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#198 Reinventing Your Time Management Skills (Ashley Whillans) Mar 17, 2023

Show notes

“Older individuals in general are better at prioritizing time,” says Ashley Whillans, “But one thing I’ve also seen in some of my data is that older adults struggle a little bit to change their habits around work and meaningful pursuits outside of work.” An assistant professor at Harvard, a rising star in behavioral science, and author of the book Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time and Live a Happier Life, Whillans is a wealth of information. But even for Whillans, there was a period when time stress was impacting her life. In this conversation with CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour she shares her fabulous tips that will help you break down your time into three areas so you can manage time and not let time manage you.

FREE GIFT! Let CoveyClub support your 2023 goals with our 2023 Intention-Setting Workbook!

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#197 Reinventing Your Career Mindset After Decades in One Industry (Jackie MacDougall) Mar 10, 2023

Show notes

"I think many of us are living by what we decided we wanted 10 or 20 years ago and we're too afraid of course-correct." That's how Jackie McDougall felt after years in the television industry. After deciding at a young age that she wanted to be in television she left Boston for California at age 23 with $700 in her pocket and she never looked back. Years later, however, she noticed the 40+ demographic being overlooked in the talk show field, and she decided to do something about it. Now a coach and host of The Grown Ass Woman podcast. "My work has morphed not just for the creative folks," she says, "but for a variety of women who want to do something. They know they want something...but they're not exactly sure how to get there." In this conversation with CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour, McDougall shares her insights for taking the knowledge gained in corporate life and twisting it to fit your personal practice. Listen in for her tips on dealing with imposter syndrome, positioning yourself as an expert, and facing the fear so you can do more of what you love.

FREE GIFT! Let CoveyClub support your 2023 goals with our 2023 Intention-Setting Workbook!

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#196 Walking Away from the Golden Handcuffs that are Literally Killing You (Monica Froese) Mar 03, 2023

Show notes

What do you do when your biggest source of revenue is also your biggest source of serious, detrimental stress? Monica Froese found herself in that position 11 years into her career in technology. She was managing $15 million marketing campaigns while unknowingly suffering from postpartum PTSD. “The fear of failure is what holds us back,” says Froese now. “I fail all the time…but here’s the thing: when I set my mind to something, I don’t fail.” Listen in to her conversation with CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour to learn how she reinvented her career by becoming an entrepreneur and healing her postpartum trauma, how a visit to the White House inspired her to take action on an important cause, and her advice for navigating your own career reinvention.

FREE GIFT! Let CoveyClub support your 2023 goals with our 2023 Intention-Setting Workbook!

Connect with Monica:

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A special gift from Monica! Visit http://monicafroese.com/reinventyourself for the latest updates, downloadable content, and more

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#195 Reframing Your Career (After Burnout) to Make it New Again (Stephanie Smirnov) Feb 17, 2023

Show notes

“It was more than just, 'Oh, I need a break,'" says Stephanie Smirnov. "It felt like something deeper than that." Many of us know the nature of burnout; that malaise between exhaustion and depletion that can raise its ugly head in either your work or personal life. Smirnov, who loved her work in PR for 30 years, suddenly found herself burned out and in need of a big change. “When I started to think about the things I loved outside of PR that fueled me,” she says, “I realized…I would love to do for others what executive coaches did for me. I love helping people discover their best.” But she loved the people she worked with and didn’t want to uproot everything. What did she do? She reinvented herself from within. Smirnov changed her perspective on her workplace by bringing a big new idea to her boss. That allowed her to completely reimagine and reframe her work within her agency as an executive coach. Listen in to her conversation with CoveyClub founder Lesley Jane Seymour to learn how she navigated overwhelm and reimagined her role inside the business she loved without leaving.

FREE GIFT! Let CoveyClub support your 2023 goals with our 2023 Intention-Setting Workbook!

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Time Stamps:

2:50 - What drew Smirnov to a 30-year career in PR

11:00 - Experiencing burnout, her "Aha Moment" and how she made her pivot

19:20 - Smirnov's mindset around failure

21:00 - Networking for beginners

26:20 - How to make a pivot within an organization

29:00 - Therapy and coaching - what's the difference?

33:00 How do you know if you need an executive coach?

Connect with Lesley Jane Seymour & CoveyClub:

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