Jack Perez founded Kuel Life in 2017 to share the information she herself was searching for, to normalize aging, and champion change for women in their midlife and beyond through curated content and women-driven brands. She launched the project with a business partner, but had to carry the torch alone after their unexpected and short illness. Now featuring the voices of more than 50 women contributors, Kuel Life is a digital magazine with relevant articles aimed at women in midlife and beyond, and an online boutique with 38 women-driven brands available on Kuel Shop.

In this episode we discuss 

• The lack of information and resources available for menopausal and perimenopausal women 
• Why women have traditionally become “invisible” as they age 
• How to find what lights you up, and when you should make your move 
• The value of building community and giving women a voice and a chance to shine 
• Why fear of failure is the last thing that should stand in your way 
• Embracing adventure to make the most of our moments 

Jack spent 20 years of her career with a San Francisco-based marketing and public relations firm, where she was a founding partner, helping hundreds of small to midsize companies grow before finally launching her own startup. Now she enjoys her love of travel and culture by traveling the world to off-the-beaten-path places, is a third degree black belt in Taekwondo, and treasures time spent with her son in between adventures.Read, shop, and be inspired at https://www.kuellife.com

Susi: Welcome back. I am so happy to have you with me today for another show. I’m super excited to introduce you to my guest. We were connected through Podapalooza, the fast and furious matchup for speakers and podcast hosts. And I’m so excited to finally get to introduce you to Jack. 

Jacqueline Perez launched her online platform, Kuel Life three years ago, to normalize aging for women through meaningful curated content and women driven brands. She launched the original business with a partner who then unfortunately was diagnosed and was quickly lost to colon cancer. 

So with the best laid plans and all the biggest intentions, life tends to serve up curve balls, and Jack didn’t let that derail her. Through her vast experience in business and launching other projects and programs. She initially was the sole content creator and producer. Now she has expanded and features 40 women driven brands on her site, 54 Kuel Life industry thought leaders and a really extraordinary community.

So I’m so excited to introduce you to Jack and talk a little bit about her inspiration and how she’s brought this all together, but really her passion for bringing this spark, and this empowerment to women 50 and beyond to really make the most of this chapter when a lot of other people might think that, you know, we’re ready to slow down and relax a little bit.

So, Jack, thank you for joining me. 

Jack: Oh Susi, thank you for having me. I’m so excited to be here today. 

Susi: So with all of your different experience and what you’d created in the world, what was your spark to take on a project of this scale? Or did you even conceive that it could have this kind of scale when you and your friend launched this project together?

Jack: That, Susi, you, you actually nailed it when you, with the latter half of that question, which is, did you even know what you were getting yourself into? And the answer is a hundred percent, I did not know what I was getting myself into. Right? I mean, the spark and the idea came like so many, so many sparks and ideas.

They came from personal frustration and a personal situation where I was hit with the transition that every other human on the planet goes through, if you’re lucky to be alive long enough. Every other human on the planet goes through this transition called menopause. Now you would think given the sheer number of individuals that need to go through this transition, that there would be a ton of information out there that we would be well-healed medically in the medical profession about what our options were and what we would look out for and what the symptoms are.

I’m here to tell ya that a few years ago, when I went through it, there was none of that. I mean, very little of that. And I was hit with, it seemed like you name a symptom and it felt like I had it. The weight gain. I had vertigo. I had brain fog. I couldn’t regulate my emotions. For the first time in my life, I would wake up anxious. I didn’t know what anxiety was before then. The problem is that a lot of those symptoms can really make it difficult for you to rise above, to find the solution because some of those symptoms really cause problems in your ability to help yourself. So I went out looking for information.

I couldn’t find any, and I was beside myself and I, and I thought, okay, I’m 52 or 53, however old I was. I plan on being here for a really long time. Am I going to be like this for the rest of it? Because this is not okay. And I felt really compelled to go fix it. And then I realized, okay, listen, I’m fixing this for myself because I can’t live like this. And then it hit me, honestly, it hit me that there are so many transitions that we go through in this stage of life, in this sort of latter half, second act, midlife and beyond. However you want to, however you want to label it. We have so many transitions. It’s a very tumultuous time of life for many of us, right.

We go through the biological, physiological changes, but we also go through family structure changes. If you had kids, they’re there, you know, either teens that make you insane or leaving the house , if your parents are still alive, you might be dealing with elder care and a lot of those issues. 

There are so many things that happen. And I felt like there was no real place to get good solid expert information that was empowering and kind, and not just about working to, to pretend that we’re not aging, not, you know, not just about coloring our hair or cosmetic procedures. 

Not that I’m against any of that, cause I’m not. I mean, there was no way my hair is this real color clearly. Right. I participate, ladies. I totally participate, but I didn’t want that to be my only information. I wanted choices, and I wanted to not feel alone. I wanted to be able to share my experience and have others share theirs so that I could learn from them and know that what I’m feeling and what I’m going through is normal.

And that’s really the crux. I want to normalize aging because we all refuse to talk about it and we all pretend it’s not happening. But when you really push someone, you really push someone. They’re going to tell you yes, I want to age because the alternative, I mean, yeah, the only way to stay young, there’s only one way to stay young and that sucks.

You don’t want to do it. So did I answer your question kind of, kind of making a long story long there. I apologize for that, but yeah. 

Susi: No, I agree completely. And I love that you saw this lack, this shortfall and decided that instead of only finding these answers and, you know, perhaps for yourself and your circle of friends decided that it was time to solve this vacuum of having frank talk about what we’re all going to experience, like you said, the alternative is not what we’re hoping for. Frankly, we might imagine that we want to stay young forever, but that’s really not a viable option. Not the one that we’re going to choose. And I know I’ve talked with friends as they’ve gone through this change, and now I’m going through this change.

I’m 45, and so hello. And, you know what, it’s so fascinating to see how culture has changed, because at a point, you know, women used to just become invisible. You know, there was the young and vital image of the woman and that was, you know, kind of held in high regard. And then as women grow older, great for advice, but not really regarded or not given the recognition and the respect that they deserve for the wisdom that we have to offer, not only for each other, for younger women growing into, you know, just seeing what’s possible, right?

When you’re in your twenties, you can’t imagine what the world has in store for you. You think, you know it all, we thought we had it all in hand in our twenties and then life taught us we didn’t really know all that much. But now in this chapter, we can bring all that wisdom together and really start to create some really powerful and magical things.

So I love that you took that opportunity and for people who haven’t found you yet, I know they’re going to be excited to check out everything that’s available on your website, but give us an idea and maybe why you felt it was important to have the shop, and feature these brands and bring these thought leaders together to amplify the voice that you were sharing.

Jack: Susi, to your point, what you were just talking about that for, for a long, you know, for, as long as, whatever, especially in Western culture, I mean, there are cultures that do revere wisdom and age, but we live in a culture that is very youth- centric, right. 

And so to your point, the reason I brought women driven brands into the fold is because, two reasons. The first reason is because I believe there is a huge chasm between mini skirts and Depends. And I want to see myself represented in media. I shop at Anthropologie. I don’t, it’s a clothing store. It’s a pretty well-known clothing store, but I never have seen anyone who looks like me in any of their marketing materials. Why? 

You know, I mean, I wear their clothes and honestly, people, my age can afford those clothes way more than 20-somethings, right? At twenty-something, I couldn’t afford a $300 dress, you know, I wasn’t going to spend $300 on a dress when I was 20, I had to put gas in my car and feed myself lunch while I was hustling to go to college or, you know, my first job.

So, so one of the reasons is that. That I think, I believe it is time for brands to be aware, more aware that the people with the money are women who are Gen X generation and Baby Boomers. And they also make 90%, 85% of the purchasing decisions in every household. 

So stop ignoring us because we’re not invisible. And we’re going to start, and we have started, we started to talk with our pocketbooks, which is really important because then people listen. So that’s, that’s probably the first reason, right? Because I want to change the way the media represents women, you know, after the biological imperative goes away, right. Once we’re not like once we’re not a baby bearing age, it’s like we’re useless.

And then the second thing is, as I went to research women and look for thought leaders, because I have, as you mentioned, I think it’s like 54 thought leaders from around the globe that are sharing their expertise in these topics and areas that are very important to us at this stage. And every time, you know, not every time, but oftentimes when I would come and find these women, I also found that so many women after 45 or 40 or 50 are starting their own businesses.

And I wanted to create a place where we could support those women owned businesses, women driven businesses. It made sense to me to combine the, you know, the, the information on all the topics with the ability to purchase with a purpose. So whether it’s a service or it’s a piece of jewelry or a piece of art, you know, if you shop at Kuel Life, if you buy from that experience, that curated experience, you’re literally putting money directly into the pocketbook of that person.

And I thought that was really important, because I thought that was a really important addition to the, you know, the whole concept is to share, learn, play, and shop with our second act sisters, because there’s a lot of power in that. There’s we collectively, we are very powerful and that’s why, that’s actually the two reasons I did that created that experience, the shopping experience.

Susi: I really love that. And I think those four words: share, learn, play, and shop. 

First of all, I mean, frankly, retail therapy is deep. The thrill of finding something precious and just a quick scan in what you have available. I saw travel experiences with a group of women, you know, community is so important. And as you said too, to go back to the way that we can shape with our, the way that we use our dollars, you know, where we shop and how we shop and our choices really do have an impact. It’s easier when there’s one place, we can go and choose who we’re supporting and really feel a connection with the creator. But in my experience, I mean, in my passion with environmental toxins and their impact on stress and health, you know, change only happens when we start paying attention to how we shop.

You know, it takes a little bit of education. So when we can find a place like this, where it’s easier to get connected with the creator and get a little bit backstory and we’re excited to share it with other people, that’s again, you know, building that community and relationship that we love, we love play and, you know, we can never stop learning.

You know, we do have the, you know, the benefit of wisdom and our experiences. And I think it becomes even more precious, the opportunity to learn how much more there is that we can still have our eyes open to. So it’s really a beautiful connecting point for all of those things. 

Jack: Agreed, which is why I built it that way.

And I think it’s really important, and what’s nice is that there is information on the creators, right? It’s not just, you know, it’s not like other shopping sites, you might not have as much information on the individual that you’re purchasing from, but you do on this site because we get to know our women and we get to know the women driven brands and we bring that information to our community because we want you to know, we want you to feel connected.

We want you to know where your dollars going, and why that’s important because I agree. I mean, that’s the only way we can make change. Right. Yes. 

Susi: I agree too. And I think it’s really interesting too. You pointed out how many women in this, you know, middle space- you know, we’ve been at work for a very long time, and we’ve done different work. I’ve done a number of different careers in the 25 years I’ve been working. 

And now this is a whole new chapter. I’m digging deeper, I’m investing more, I’m a lot more visionary in terms of what I can create. 

What do you think it is? Obviously we already touched on if a woman has raised children, often they’re at that point that they are, you know, stepping out on their own and creating some space. But where do you see the inspiration or drive for women to start really reinventing themselves and creating a whole new enterprise at this stage of their lives? 

Jack: You know, I think the answer is complex. Meaning yes, I think that in part, as women especially- 

I hope it’s changing. I hope this messaging is changing and I think it is, I think it is, but the message, I mean, if you’re a Gen X or a baby boomer, the messages that we grew up with are, you know, you went from being your, your parent’s daughter to somebody’s, you know, significant other to somebody’s mother. And so it’s always, you’re always labeled as relative to something, to someone else, not just you. 

For whatever reason, that is the way women have been socialized up until now. And I believe that there’s like a combination of forces. One of them is that, you know, when you get done with your child rearing you finally, you know, you’re, it’s so exhausting and so overwhelming, right? When you- if you have children, if you did decide not to have kids good for you, that’s a really great decision too, right? Because it’s, it’s not necessarily for everyone, I don’t think. I mean, I don’t know, 

I had one kid. I had him very late in life, it was very intensional. But when I had him, I then gave up everything to be the best parent I could be to him, the best mom, the best parent, the best manager of his time, the best, whatever you want to call it, right.

To, to help him grow into the best person he could become. Well, that takes a lot of energy and that takes a lot of selflessness and you can’t really be focused on yourself because you’re constantly having to think about them. So I think there’s a little bit of when that all of a sudden opens up because you’re not needed at that same level. But I also think there’s a, there’s a juxtaposition of that with our hormones that change. 

So one of the things that happens through this transition is that your hormones change. And some of those hormones that we have that are caregiving hormones, like all that estrogen, and that stuff starts to dissipate.

And I honestly believe that we care less about nurturing other people as we get older and start to realize, you know who hasn’t been nurtured this entire time? And she could probably use a little TLC and a little attention? Ah, me. So I think there’s a lot of awakening to that idea that no one’s looking out for you.

I mean, not really. Your kids are gone, your significant other, I’m sure, looks out for you if you have one, to some degree. But at the end of the day, We are responsible for ourselves and our happiness and how we manage our stress and what we’re, what we want to do in life and how much we’re willing to wait, right? Wait for the good stuff. 

The good stuff is now. Cause you, there is no later for the good stuff. Who knows. Right? So that was a really long answer. But, but I think it’s it’s complex, right? I mean, I, I think it’s two fold and I, and I love the fact that we get that opportunity, and here’s the great part, Susi we get a lot longer healthy lifespan now than, than say our mothers and our grandmothers and great-grandmothers. 

Because we have more opportunity to really use this time for that reinvention, for that awakening, for that “what’s next?” and, you know, what else do I want out of this world and out of my life, and we have plenty of time to get it done. So yeah, that’s my opinion. Anyway. 

Susi: Oh, I love it. I think you really landed on some really fascinating points in that. So thank you for diving into that. First of all, that I’ve never heard anyone point to that, but I think there’s a lot of relevance in the shift in hormones, right?

Hormonally, we’re driven to care for the people in our protection. Women are the “tend and befriend”, you know, whereas women or I’m sorry, men in that masculine energy tend to go out, to find, to bring back, to provide traditionally, right? We are bigger than the roles that we’ve been assigned. And as you said to the way that we’ve been raised was to fulfill roles for other people to make it easy to, you know, facilitate for others, for partners, for children.

And once those have been relieved, “everybody’s fine”. It finally gets to be our turn. I’m definitely advocating we get to turn those tables much younger and empower ourselves. But if this is the first time, you’ve had a chance to sit still for a minute and say, Hey, who is looking out for me? And what do I want to be then seize this moment?

You know, don’t try to fill that in with, oh, maybe I should go serve again. Maybe I should go do something for someone else. I’m really good at that. I have fallen back to that pattern. A couple of times, entrepreneurship is hard. I’m really good at doing good work for other people. But if I could do anything with my time and my energy, what would that be?

And just opening up that potential, I think is extraordinary. Like you said, we want to be here for a long time. So what would we love to do every day and how can we bring that inspiration back? So thank you. I love that answer. If people are, if women are in this space where, you know, they’re contemplating a new enterprise doing something that’s totally new and different and radical.

I know sometimes the inner circle, isn’t always the best place to go for cheerleading. Right. People tend to protect us and say, oh, I don’t know if you really want to get into that. Do you have any words of advice for people who are looking to step into something different and starting to feel a little overwhelmed or maybe that’s not for me?

Jack: Well yeah, I mean, so it can go either way, right? I mean, part of, I think, figuring out what you might want to do next, or if something, I mean, if something’s clear to you, if something’s been sitting in your gut for years and you’ve been just waiting for that opportunity, well, of course then you’re good to go, right? You’re one of the lucky ones. 

But if that’s not your situation and you’re kind of empty handed right now, like you’re like, okay. The emptiness, the, whatever, the I’ve gone through a menopause transition, but what do I do? What’s next? 

You know, here’s the deal. Like, start exploring. You have the biggest wealth of information at our fingertips. We have this thing right here that is like the Britannica encyclopedia, that we walk around with. Use it for something other than watching the cat video, right? I mean, just start to explore different things that might be interesting to you and let yourself go down those paths a little bit.

And it’s okay though, if you go down the path and say, you know what, this isn’t for me. There’s nothing wrong. There’s nothing wrong with going back and, and just trying something else. But if we don’t begin anything, nothing gets done. And I’m a big go before you’re ready person. And I’m a big you know, just start it.

And there have been plenty of things that I have begun even under the umbrella of Kuel Life, that a few weeks into it, I’m like oh yeah, this isn’t a good fit. And I’ve aborted the mission because it wasn’t a good fit, but I didn’t know until I started to explore. And the biggest, I think the biggest advantage anyone could have at this stage in life and the biggest asset or tool is curiosity.

If we stay curious, seriously curious. You’re gonna find it. You’re gonna, it’s going to come to you. 

Susi: I really love that. Thank you for that because you also bring to my mind, this tendency that I see in people in, you know, we get in the habit of being busy. And so as soon as we’re not busy, we feel like we have to fill that vacuum, you know?

Okay. Now what, what am I going to be? Who am I, if I’m not something in the world. And so rather than thinking, we have to dive headlong into something so that we have something to label ourselves as. Giving, giving allowance to that space, that opportunity I I’m with you on curiosity, 110%. I think that’s one of the best superpowers is to just, you know, sit with something and wonder about things and look at them from different angles and perspectives and try it on.

Don’t be afraid to wade into something and say, nope, that wasn’t as delicious as I thought it would be, that’s for somebody else. I’m going to try out something else. So I love that permission to try out different things and really create opportunities for exploration. I think there’s so much benefit in that, and it just helps us be richer.

Jack: Well, I also think that there’s, here’s an- here’s sort of where women, and men too but we’re just on focused on women. And it’s not that I don’t love men, I love men, but I had to pick a niche, and I’m a woman and that’s what I picked. But one of the things that I, that is interesting is that by this time in life if you’re standing, if you’re alive, If you’re thriving, you know, that you can’t be defeated, that you can’t be broken.

So, so try it. What’s the worst thing that can happen? So, you fail at that particular thing, that doesn’t make you a failure. We know that now that none of these incidences of failure has anything to do with you as an individual being a failure. And honestly, if you’re not failing, then you’re not really using the curiosity superpower. 

Because I fail all day long. I mean all day long, right? Because I try something new and I’m like, oh, that blew up. Or, oh, look, that one works! But we’re, we may fall, we might get injured. You know, our egos might get bruised and might get embarrassed, but it’s all learning and we get to come back even stronger because of it. 

So why not try something new? I mean, what’s, what’s the worst thing that’s going to happen ? It’s not that bad, right? It just isn’t. And that’s one of the perks. Like I think when you’re in your twenties, I remember being in my twenties and I was way more fearful about, what if I make the wrong move? What, if I get the wrong job, what if I pick the wrong boy?

What if I, you know, what, if I live in the wrong place, what, you know, all of these, what if, if I, what if I checked the wrong box? Right? What does that mean? Whatever. Re-decide! If it doesn’t work out, make a different decision, you’re going to be fine. 

Susi: Hmm. I love that. Thank you for that. Permission granted. Try, you know, If at first you don’t succeed. 

We don’t know until we try, that was going through my mind, as you were speaking, too. We really don’t know. 

Jack: And I don’t know a lot of people who succeed on their first try. Like, what is that? Who does that? Like who succeeds on their first try? I just don’t I don’t think that’s even possible, right?

I mean, you certainly didn’t succeed walking on your first try when you were a baby, right. I mean, that’s what that diaper was for. So you, when you fell down, you had a bit of a cushion. And some of us in midlife have a little more cushion, so even if you fall down, you’re just gonna bounce back up. It’ll be fine. 

Susi: And that’s where the stories come from. Really the best stories don’t always come from that, you know, blazing success. 

Jack: Oh, actually none of the good stories really come- nobody wants to hear those stories. They want to hear the stories about like, you know, and you’re right, those are the best stories.

And they also are the best learning. Right. I mean, just. 

Susi: Yeah, truly. One question that I have for you since, here on the show, we like to help people- well, everyone defines balance differently. I define it as a constantly moving target, not a destination. So not everybody embraces that term, but how do you keep yourself centered with all that you create and everyone that you’re engaged with, what do you do for yourself to fill your own cup?

Do you have any tips that you’d like to share? 

Jack: I believe in the power of moving, the physical exercise. Honestly, I, I exercise often, and pretty rigorous and I’m very loyal. I’ve been, I’ve been exercising since I was a teenager. And, I have one machine. And if this machine isn’t working or if this machine isn’t, you know, reliable then everything that I want, everything that’s in here, everything that’s in here, I can’t make it happen if I’m in pain or if I’m broken.

So one of the things that I really believe in- and it’s never too late to start, never- is just find a way to treat your machine and take care of your machine because we need it. And that’s all about me. That is about no one else. That is not about being a mother, that is not about being an entrepreneur, that is not about being a partner. It’s not about being a pet owner or a friend or a sister. 

It is the most selfish thing you can do. And I believe it’s one of the most important things you can do because honestly, if your machine isn’t functional, then you can’t be a good mom or a good pet owner or a good sister. And so that, that’s honestly one of the things that I really focus on. 

And then the other thing that I do, that I am- a couple of other things really fill my cup is travel, because that also fills, that fulfills my curiosity bucket a lot because new cultures, new environments, new people, new ways of doing things, those challenges keep me sharp and interested.

And so, I love traveling and live entertainment, theater. I could sit in a dark theater, probably all day long and just watch the performances on stage and just- well, I recently I did, I went to a Broadway show in December and I sat in the audience by myself. And there was this one particular scene that I found so moving that I literally, I had a mask on, I was just crying into my mask all by myself. 

I wasn’t sad. I was brimming and fulfilled and just about to explode with, with good emotion and, and finding those things for yourself and letting yourself have them, letting yourself have them I think are our keys. 

And I’m with you, balance? What the heck is that? Balance is: I take care of what’s on fire.

Right. And sometimes at the end of the day, other stuff that didn’t get taken care of and it’s too bad, it’s going to have to wait cause it wasn’t on fire. 

Susi: Yup. Yeah, absolutely. Every day is unto itself. And as a, as a former theater artist, I feel you, I’m glad at this stage of the game, we’re coming back to these shared experiences. But just like travel, having these experiences, connecting with other people you would never be connected with otherwise just really brings us back to our humanity and puts things in perspective in such an extraordinary way. 

Jack: Yeah. 

Susi: Yeah. I love it. So glad to see those opportunities coming back available to us. 

Jack: Oh, me too. I missed, you know, the, well- I mean, I didn’t mind the pandemic, I did really well in the pandemic. It turns out I’m more of an introvert than I originally thought I was.

And then the pandemic allowed me to not do all the things that I didn’t want to do, but without having to make an excuse, I’m not going to lie, I kind of miss that. Right, cause now I’m getting invited to all these things, I’m like, crud, I can’t, I can’t pull the COVID card. 

Susi: Yeah, that is true. It has been an opportunity.

I hope for that kind of self exploration, where we can have that chance to get in touch with what serves us and what doesn’t. And we don’t have to feel like we have to drop right back into business as usual.

Jack: I refuse, actually, to drop back into business as usual. I’m not throwing away two and a half years of being hit over the head with a two by four and the realization, and I did do a lot of soul searching and I, and I also, you may or may not know this, but I had a skydiving accident in August where I broke three vertebrae in my back and then ended up having to be lying down for almost three months. And yes, I mean, I, my partner was really good and took care of me, but at the end of the day, I spent a fair amount of time, and most of the time by myself. Without, without being able to move, that gives you a lot of time to think about, okay who am I? Where am I going? Where have I been? Do I want to still be there? You know? 

And so it just, it afforded me that opportunity. I’m not gonna, I’m not tempting the universe again because, “oh, she didn’t get the message? Let’s see what else we can do to her.” No universe. I got the message loud and clear. Let’s leave me be for a while.

Susi: I’ll get back to ‘carpe the heck out of this diem’. 

Jack: Right? Right. Yeah. You don’t realize how bad it is until you’re literally, I was literally just lying down, and for almost three months, it was challenging. Very challenging. 

Susi: Yeah. Not an easy journey. No, I didn’t have any idea. And thank you for that because it is one of those things- No, we don’t need those lessons on repeat. So, you know, if you have that opportunity for introspection, that’s such a powerful one and a good way to look at it rather than the alternative, right. Being restricted at being limited at everything that you had taken away from you instead as an opportunity for some real deep soul searching, which, yeah.

Jack: Well, it wasn’t just that it was not just that, but I learned so much about my relationship.

So while I, while I wouldn’t go back in time and say, sign me up for that skydiving accident, I look at that time with a lot of gratitude because it, it really showcased, you know, it helped me see the value of my relationships, how important they are and who showed up for me. And, you know, just gave me that, that- it put everything on stop. Right. It stopped everything. 

And it really allowed me to just be quiet and sit with myself and, and start to think about, well, what is really important? What, what do I want to do? What? And, and to realize that we are really fragile, right? I mean, you never know. 

You never know, all it takes to not be here anymore is to be here. Right, I mean, it literally can happen that way. And so it, it helped me really kind of make a commitment to myself that I’m not waiting anymore for anything. I’m doing it now. And I know that that sounds almost ridiculous. Like of course there are constraints to life, right? There’s there’s time constraints, money constraints, physical constraints.

I mean, I’m not telling you I don’t have constraints. I have plenty of constraints, but within the confines of those constraints, I have a lot of opportunities. You just have to be able to see them and I’m not going to wait around anymore. I’m seeing them now. 

Susi: Hmm, I think that’s such a powerful reminder. Thank you for that. In, in seizing the opportunities that are available and not taking for granted. Oh, I’ll do that tomorrow. I’ll do that next week. You know, life serves up reminders that I like to say we are highly improbable and miraculous beings. You know, you weren’t expecting at the beginning of your business enterprise to, for your partner to get sick and pass away so quickly.

And. And then we fall into this pattern of thinking that we are somehow indestructable, that we can bank on next week and next month. And so those relationships and how people do show up, who does show up for us and how we show up for others. That’s such an important reminder too. Powerful lesson. 

Jack: It really is because nothing is guaranteed.

Nothing is guaranteed. 

Susi: Yeah. All the more reason to make the most of these days. 

Jack: Yeah. Well, in some ways, knowing that and being okay with that is so freeing. 

Susi: Right, right. Going back to being bold in the choices that we make, even if there’s potential of failure, because you know, who are we really doing a disservice to if we don’t try? That’s ourselves. 

Jack: Basically, that’s it. The only person you’re disappointing and the only person you’re potentially, you know, leaving out of the fray of excitement and in the race or whatever it is, you know, life- you know, live it. Because you don’t, we don’t, we get to live it until we stop living it.

So every opportunity is something that is so precious and we shouldn’t take it for granted. And that’s easier said than done. I totally get it. And I can’t say that I don’t take stuff for granted cause I do cause I’m a human and I’m not some weirdo. I mean, I am a weirdo, but not some weirdo in that way.

Susi: I love it. Thank you for your insights. I’m, I really love this conversation and some real pearls of wisdom have come up through this. Let people know where they can connect with you, find you online. We’ll have links in the show notes, but in case they’re listening, where can they learn more and hear more from you?

I love your own articles there on your website, Jack Smack. 

Jack: Yes. I do write a weekly essay called Jack Smack, which, who knows what I’m writing about. It’s just whatever, whatever pops into my head that week. But I can be found on Luel Life, which is spelled a little weirdly, but it’s K U E L life L I F E.com.

And kuel is just a word. That’s a synonym for cool, C O O L that I found on the urban dictionary and I thought, oh, I always want to live a cool life for the rest of my life. So I that’s why I called it Kuel Life. So if you go out there, you’ll see all of the global thought leaders and what they’re writing about. If you are in the-

so here’s the interesting part, Susi. Half of our audience are below 45. Which means to me, they’re curious about what’s coming and I feel really good about that because we have really great information that is accurate, on point, empowering, kind. 

I mean, it’s not scary, aging, trust me. If you go out there, you will look forward to the second season of life or the second act of life because I’ll tell you, it’s far better than the first one. Than the first act. 

Susi: I really love that. I think that does point to great things. That instead of feeling like the talk that the clock is ticking and, you know, what do I really have to look forward to? That starting at a younger age, we are recognizing that there’s so much more life to live, that the opportunities only get bigger and better, and what can be in store for us. So that’s really terrific. I love that about your audience and cheers to generations of empowered women. That’s terrific. 

Jack: Hey, cheers to that. Absolutely. I 100 percent agree with that. 

Susi: Marvelous, thank you so much for being with me today, for saving the space and for sharing your inspiration with the world.

I’m excited to follow along, to stay engaged with the community. So glad that we were brought together. Thank you. 

Jack: Oh, Susi, I’m so glad I got to meet you, and thank you for inviting me and taking the time. And I look forward to future interactions. 

Susi: Terrific. Take good care of yourself. Talk soon. 

Jack: You too. Bye bye.