Ep44 Transcript: Give Yourself Permission to be a Beginner in Midlife – Top Takeaway

Andrea Vahl: Hey everyone, it’s your host, Andrea Vahl, and in today’s episode of the Top Takeaways, I’m going to dive into Jim Fuhs’s episode where he talked about becoming an Amazon influencer at 54, going from a retired Lieutenant colonel in the Marines. We’re going to talk about how you need to give yourself permission to be a beginner and get some therapy if you need it.

Intro: Hello Dreamers. Welcome to the Late Starters Club, giving you the inspiration, mindset, and tools you need to start something midlife and beyond. Remember, it’s never too late to follow your dreams.

So in episode 43, we dived into Jim’s journey of learning the technology, learning the flow of becoming an Amazon influencer.

And it was a learning process. And one of the things we talked about was giving yourself permission to learn something new. I know in midlife it can be a challenge to be a beginner again. No one wants to look stupid. No one wants to start over. But sometimes we have to allow ourselves to do that.

So, what do we need for that?

We need maybe a permission slip. Do we need a permission slip? Here’s your permission slip from the universe that says you can start something new. You don’t have to go back to school. Although if you want to, you can. You don’t have to be an expert. What you have to be is curious and committed to learning.

And I get it. It is hard to be a beginner. No one wants to look stupid. People might fear judgment. I know I fear judgment about things. It’s one thing I struggle with over and over. You might think that people are saying.

“Oh my God, look what she’s doing.”

But actually saying is, “Oh my God, look at what she’s doing. How awesome!”

So just give yourself permission to make mistakes. Give yourself permission and grace to get out there and dive in. And Jim had a great quote about that as well. So go in and listen to that episode if you haven’t already.

I love how Jim was so transparent about getting therapy because I think it can do us all so much.

Good. I don’t know why there are so many stigmas in this country and probably in the world about getting the mental health we need, because let’s face it, our friends aren’t always giving us the best advice. Yeah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. And there is such a tendency to act like everything is fine.

I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m just like, fine.

Until it’s not fine. And I know as an entrepreneur that. This road that we’ve chosen or that we are embarking on is a challenging one. I’ve had a lot of therapy myself, and I think this really pushes your growth. And I know as an entrepreneur for the past 13 or 14 years, keeping your mindset in the right place has been critical to continuing my business.

Outro: Hope that was helpful, and make sure you grab the free guide Top Tools for Late Starters on the website at latestartersclub.com, and let’s turn dreaming into doing.