50Fabulous.com

As founder and president of www.50Fabulous.com, I meet many inspiring 50+ women and I profile them on the site. If you are in the middle of a transition or want to give your life a makeover, let their stories motivate you to take the next step. I recently profiled C.J. Hayden, a master entrepreneur, who survived and thrived in spite of leaving home at the tender age of 15; Betty Auchard, author, speaker, humorist, who lost her husband after nearly 50 years of marriage. She took a very unique approach to navigating through her grief and as a result, has a best selling book and is on the speaker circuit; Sheila Boyd, who is today an accomplished air-brush artist with her own successful company, but when she was just 50, she lost her money, her home and her business; and Florence Brass, a former advertising executive in the fashion industry in New York City, who didn't retire until age 72 and now lives and paints in Bodega Bay, California! These are just a few of the amazing women you will want to meet. Take a look and let me know what you think! Pattie Heisser, 50+Fabulous

I love the magazine I receive on a monthly basis that is targeted at mid-life women. But, this month I found myself saying…pleeeeze! Am I the only woman out here who doesn’t consider that a “budget” outfit should cost $4,500! I don’t care if they are “investment pieces.” The next “budget” example was $1,400 for dress, shoes and bag? And, that is from consignment and resale stores. The budget part is that the original price would have been almost $5,000. The next example was $850 for dress, bag, and shoes which seems a little closer to reality for some, but not I suspect for many women.

As I scanned the rest of the pub, I was focused on the clothes being offered and yet again I found myself asking if the majority of American women would even be able to consider these options…$1,245 for a little black dress, shoes, clutch and necklace; $628 for dress and pumps; $1432 for dress, pumps and clutch; $400-500 for a sweater. And, the luxury segment winged into $6,500 for three pieces.

And remember, for most of these we’re talking dress, shoes, and bag. What about jewelry, underwear, hose/leggings, not to mention the additional expense of the beauty piece…beauty services (hair cut & color, facials, etc.), and products (make-up, and skincare)?

No wonder the show, "The Look for Less" is so popular. Now, we just need them to focus some of their segments on we 50+ women! I'd love to hear what other women think about all of this.

Yesterday, I had lunch with an extremely fit, beautiful, educated and accomplished 50+ woman…and she felt anything but. As we discussed some personal issues, it occurred to me that many of us might be grappling with issues that make it impossible to see ourselves as the Fabulous women we are. In reality, it doesn’t make any difference if other people think we are fabulous or not. But, it does have a significant impact on our lives if WE do not perceive ourselves as such!

As we navigate the many transitions that take place in our lives, we do ourselves a disservice when we neglect to remind ourselves that we need to pay attention to our unique talents, treat our bodies with respect, carefully monitor the messages that we tell ourselves, and remember or discover that we are indeed extraordinary women!

One of my favorite things to do is to meet women who are doing interesting things with their lives, overcoming adversity and navigating life's transitions with grace, guts, and a Fabulous attitude. Because I feel that sharing their stories motivates other women to go after their dreams, I've met with and interviewed many and will continue to do so. These women have endured tragedy, opposition, and betrayal. They have made the choice to transcend difficulty, and transition into a Fabulous life!

Read Sheila Boyd's story on the 50Fabulous.com website. She lost everything, including her home, at 50 years of age and had to declare bankruptcy. She made the decision to bring herself back to life and financial security using her art. And she did.

And, there is Linda Jay Geldens who lost her husband and fought back through her grief to build a new life and find love.

Not all the profiles are about overcoming tragedy, but most are about women who have successfully conquered transitions. They are all about 50+ women and they are all inspiring! Motivate yourself by spending time with them at www.50Fabulous.com.

As promised, I am happy to announce the launch of http://www.50Fabulous.com/

With the help and expertise of our Mavens, the advisory board, and many others I've put together this brand new website just for you.

50Fabulous.com is a website that educates, inspires, and motivates women 50+ years of age to renew their sense of self, go after and achieve their dreams NOW, and turbo charge their lives. And, through them inspire others and break down barriers for future generations of women.

I want women to be excited about this time in their lives, and want to give them the tools they can utilize to make profound changes in their own lives and those they influence.

Women 50 years and older are FABULOUS! They are talented, experienced, healthy, energetic, bold, smart, sassy, mischievous, fun loving, interesting, experimental, are moving beyond comfort zones, and learning new things. They are experiencing many transitions at this time in their lives and we strive to smooth the rough spots, while encouraging women to brush off those dreams that may have taken a back seat for some time.

One unique feature of the site is that nearly everyone working on or with the site is 50+ themselves and, therefore, understand intimately the issues associated with this exciting time in our lives.

The website has attracted dynamic women who are not only experts in their chosen fields, but skilled educators who have agreed to share their expertise and insights with all of us in the following areas… work and finance, motivation, health, food and wine, fashion, beauty, home and garden, and relationships with friends and family. These Mavens will have a new column each month on each section of the site, so visit us often!

You will want to take a look at the 50+Fabulous Women profiles and see what other Fabulous women are doing and the successful transitions they have made. I will continue to interview women and write their profiles. I feel that their stories are inspirational and that they will help to motivate other women to make positive changes in their own lives. I absolutely love to do this. If you know a 50+ woman that you think would make a good profile candidate, please send me an email pattie@50Fabulous.com. Tell me why you think they are a great candidate and how best to contact them.

I have spoken with many women in the process of the planning and implementation of this website. I’ve been touched, as without exception, women get that special twinkle of recognition and delight as a smile starts to grow. The comments are similar, “it’s high time, thank you for doing this and can’t wait to see it!”

I’d like to invite you to take a look and share your comments, questions, and suggestions with me. If you like what you see, please share us with your friends, family, colleagues, and organizations. And, don’t forget to sign up for your free newsletter! Even though men and younger women are not the target audience, they all have 50+ women in their lives. And, much of the information on the site, although tailored to 50+ women, would benefit others as well. The URL is http://www.50fabulous.com/

Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you! Come visit me at Pattie’s Page
http:/www.50Fabulous.com/

“Be Extraordinary Every Day!”

Today, I thought about how often I tout the benefits of stretching…stretching one’s skills, learning new things, and getting way beyond the comfort zone. After some particularly challenging meetings, I had to laugh. Stretching may be good for you and keep those synapses snapping, but it certainly can be uncomfortable. Remember learning how to dance, or that foreign language class, giving your first presentation, or starting a business? Remember the stress associated and how good it felt when you mastered the challenge?

I don’t know about you, but as a 50+ I always feel as though I should have everything “handled.” Admitting that I don’t is humbling. However, I know that you can enrich your life dramatically by stepping beyond known boundaries which is just one of the things we’ll be addressing on www.50Fabulous.com, due to premier soon.

It wasn’t as if I woke up one day and discovered that I was 50+, but it kind of felt that way. All of a sudden everyone looked like a kid…my hairdresser, my doctors, my financial planner and especially those human resource recruiters. The 19 year olds at the department store make-up counter didn’t have a clue about certain new challenges I was facing, nor did they want to. And, these new aches and pains throughout my body were starting to annoy me. Advertisements for regenerating my skin given by a flawless faced 20 year old that “regretted” not taking better care of hers was a tad irritating. And, I don’t know about you, but I took umbrage at being barraged with messages about how people in my new age group were just falling apart and each different advertiser had a way to keep at bay, cure, or enhance the general disintegration of my mind and body.

I believe that 50+ women are vital, interesting, experienced, and wise. They are starting new businesses, gleefully (through tears) packing their kids off to college or into their new apartments, buying red sports cars or Vespas and sprinting around town with their pets in tow, showing up at the gym, entertaining their friends with fabulous meals, volunteering in their communities, traveling, reinventing their gardens and themselves. Sure, I understand that we are also taking care of aging parents, wondering how it is that our kids are back living with us in their 30s, and shepherding our significant others through their own mid-life crises. We have a lot going on, but when didn’t we?

When I interviewed women about their mid-life experiences, one of the questions I always ask is “What was that aha moment, when you realized that you weren’t 20, 30 or even 40 and never were going to be again. For me it was a series of things. The first aha moment I remember was actually getting a traffic ticket when throughout the years I’d always driven away ticket-less. Then, I became aware that the cosmetic houses were unable to produce any kind of cream to negotiate dry skin. And then, of course, the first time someone uses the “Ma’am” word!

One of my favorite stories involves buying a bathing suit. Face it, at any age buying a bathing suit makes women squeamish, but on this particular day I found myself at Nordstrom looking for that black-one piece suit surrounded by other 50+ women doing the same. A darling, young woman came over and asked how she could help us. We all took one look at her and let her know with our eyes that she could never understand our angst enough to help us. The poor thing faded off into the racks across the department and we all felt the unexpressed guilt that she could have been any one of our daughters and we should have been nicer. But, you see, we really couldn’t have been nicer because we were all looking for bathing suits. Bathing suits! Wouldn’t it be nice if the department stores had women to help us that could relate?

That is why I will be launching the 50Fabulous.com website in the very near future. 50Fabulous.com will educate, inspire, and motivate 50+ women to renew their sense of self, go after and achieve their dreams NOW, and turbo charge their lives. And, through them inspire others and break down barriers for future generations of women.

I’ll let you know the date soon, but in the meantime let me know what you as 50+ women would like to see.