My friend and I recently embarked on a fascinating journey at a time in life when many are slowing down, or maybe like us, looking for a way to stay engaged or even reinvent themselves. One of our many common threads over a 30 year friendship has been our desire to grow, keep life interesting and challenge ourselves.

I should preface, we are both journal writers who believe strongly in the power of intention. One morning, while on a retreat from our fast paced businesses, we began comparing journal entries. It took no time to see our visions and thoughts of reinvention were running parallel. The question became–.how can we enrich our lives, bring people, thoughts and inspiration we wish to surround ourselves with into our daily lives?

Our 'ah ha moment” was simple (so we naively thought)…why not start a podcast? This sounded like a totally reasonable and uncomplicated idea. After all, how hard could it be to push record and create an interesting podcast people will want to listen to? We've got this!! We will get to meet and share interesting topics and women from all around the country and even the world.

So, we've created a platform and community called, Ladies Road Map Podcast, to inspire and ignite women of all ages to learn and grow. Ladies Road Map cultivates conversations with guests who bring a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm to topics important to all women, while staying true to women who are entering their exciting 'second bloom of life!”

Well, let's just say, this podcast venture has definitely taken us out of our comfort zone and opened up a whole new world for both of us. How many times have you thought, 'Wow, I have so much more knowledge and confidence now that I have lived and experienced life's challenges. If only I could have been this smart when I was younger?” The only problem with this idea is had we known how much perseverance and hard work it takes to have great relationships, marriages, children, businesses and good health we may have just thrown up our hands…and never taken the first step into any new endeavor.

In hindsight, a certain amount of naivete was also needed to enable us to take the plunge and start this podcast. Like most other worthwhile ventures in life, it has been full of challenges and major hurdles. Not least of all, the technical side of podcasting is enough to make you run with your hair on fire. In many ways it is like being back in school with a term project due every week. We not only have to be creative but wear many hats as we research, write, produce, edit and perform at our highest level on a weekly basis. There have certainly been times and still are when my co-host and I have to prop one another up to face another day. But in the end…we love this podcasting adventure which continues to enrich our lives. We stand determined together to persevere through the good and bad, as we have in other areas of our lives, stretching ourselves to continue to learn and blossom.

Ladies Road Map believes we all have more blooms in us, you just have to believe, keep striving and never give up! It is in the doing that we learn and grow…fail and flourish.

So, come along for this exciting ride and join us and other amazing women as we build a community to empower and create a roadmap for a well lived life!

Go to www.ladiesroadmap.com for easy access and a tutorial on 'How to listen to a podcast.”

This article was written by Lana Helda, co-host of Ladies Road Map podcast and founder of Lana Helda Design in Newport Beach, California. You can contact her at info@LadiesRoadMap.com and find out more at www.ladiesroadmap.com

This essay was featured in the June 24th edition of The Sunday Paper, Maria Shriver's free weekly newsletter for people with passion and purpose. To get inspiring and informative content like this piece delivered straight to your inbox each Sunday morning, click here to subscribe.

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