Empowering Women to Thrive in Midlife

Welcome to another inspiring episode of Age of Reinvention! Join your host, Emily Bron, as she sits down with Cathy Derksen, the founder of Inspired Tenacity. Cathy’s journey from a clinical genetics professional to an international bestselling author and empowerment coach is incredible. Please tune in to hear how she’s helping women around the globe find their voice, conquer imposter syndrome, and rediscover their power and purpose in midlife.

TIMESTAMPS:
01:38 Welcome to Age of Reinvention
02:05 Meet Katie Dirksen: Founder of Inspired Tenacity
04:18 Katie’s Journey: From Genetics to Empowerment
06:04 Overcoming Challenges and Embracing Change
07:13 The Birth of Inspired Tenacity
09:13 The Impact of Collaborative Books
17:28 Empowering Women Through Storytelling
31:38 Future Projects and Community Growth
40:28 Final Thoughts and Inspiration

Emily Bron: Welcome again to another inspiring episode of Age of Reinvention. Redefine your freedom lifestyle, and purpose at midlife. I’m your host, Emily Bron, and today; we are diving into another story of profound transformation and empowerment with remarkable guest Cathy Derksen. Cathy founded Inspired Tenacity, a platform where she empowers women to face and embrace their midlife with courage and creativity.

Her personal story of transformation from clinical genetics professional to author, speaker, mentor, and international bestseller advocate is inspiring. Today, Cathy will share with us her journey of reinvention and how she’s helping women around the world find their voice, overcome imposter syndrome, navigate midlife challenges, and step into their power with confidence and clarity.

So get ready to be inspired and motivated, and perhaps even see a new path unfold for yourself. Let’s welcome Cathy Dirksen. Hi, Cathy. Hello. Thank you for having me, Emily. I’m happy to see and speak with you in my online studio. And let me start with your short bio. Katya Dirksen is a founder of Inspired Tenacity.

She’s a disruptor and catalyst dedicated to improving the lives of women in her community and worldwide. Katya helps women rediscover their talents, find their voice, and step into new possibilities. Cathy is an international speaker and 15x-time number one best-selling author. She has created a platform for women to share their wisdom and inspiring stories in collaborative books, taking them from chapter concept to bestselling author in a simple, exciting process.

So, there are a lot of questions coming from whatever I learned about you, but as usual, in this case, I will start with you, Cathy. Please tell us about that pivotal moment that inspired you to transition from a career and clinical genetics to founding inspired tenacity, focusing on empowering women to reignite their lives and businesses.

Cathy Derksen: Perfect, yes, and it’s a story with many layers and different chapters in it, that’s for sure. And it was about 12 years ago now, a little more than 12 years. And I was at a point in my life when I recognized that my marriage had become toxic and abusive. My current workplace was also a very toxic environment to be in.

And it just hit me one day that, you know what, this is not the way that life is supposed to be. This is not the role model of a parent and somebody in a marriage that I wanted my children to see. I’m like, I am their role model, and I need to live in a way that shows. That style, that what is a marriage?

What is someone who’s happy with their career and their life? That’s when it hit me; I needed to make some big changes in my life for me to really be living and walking that walk that would show them how you should be living your life. 

Emily Bron: So what were the steps?

I’m trying to imagine: You gave up your work and started to grow your side business. 

Cathy Derksen: Basically at that time, like I said, I realized that my marriage was also very toxic and abusive. And so I knew, and so I had two teenagers at the time, and they were also both suffering from The family environment we were living in.

I realized that I needed to get them out of that situation as well. So the first part was really around how do I get us out of that situation? That obviously involves some big decision-making and some big planning. What was that going to look like now, starting as a single mom and having to start my own home and all those things?

So obviously, there were many hours of work, thinking, planning, and making that happen. And then the whole side of changing my whole career, part of that was I got thinking about what I actually want to do with the rest of my life and what I’m supposed to be doing. What is it that I bring that’s different and special, that’s unique to me?

That’s when I really realized that working directly with women, especially, and having a true impact on helping them change their lives was where I really felt my focus was, where my calling was. And so at that time, I actually made my first career move. I became a financial planner because I thought that money is an area that a lot of women don’t Feel they need support in.

So I thought, this is how I can impact women’s lives. I spent a decade working in big banks and investment companies and just still realized that this was not the right choice. It didn’t give me that space to really create the impact I felt I needed to have. Of course, in that industry, there are a lot of rules and regulations about what you’re allowed to do, say, sell, and who you’re supposed to be.

I worked in that industry, and I thought, no, this is not me. This is not how I am going to create the impact that I feel I’m here to have. And so it was about three years ago now, just over three years, I guess we’re pushing four years now when I decided that if I was going to have this impact that I felt I was here to have, I needed just to do it my way.

I needed to start from scratch. I needed to figure out what it is that I do that’s unique and obviously brings me joy and satisfaction. But it also involves creating an impact, like a true impact in the lives of the women that I work with. And that’s when Inspired Tenacity was born out of intuition and just following that path: What is it, and how do I do this?

At first, I thought I would be a coaching model, a life coach, or a money coach. But I still didn’t quite get the correct answer. So, I kept following my intuition, learning, and listening to others. Again, I was looking for those things that were me. What do I love to do that I feel creates impact?

That’s when I really realized that the books that I do, such as collaborative books and multi-author books, I have been involved in doing books since 2019 when I was just another author and other people’s book project. And it was a couple of years ago that it hit me that I realized I really love doing these books.

I love that each book is different and has a different theme. You’re writing your chapter, but you’re writing it from a different perspective based on the theme of the book. Every book brings you into a different network, a different community of people because most books tend to have 20 to 30 people in them.

So, everyone you’re involved in, you meet a whole new network of people. And I realized that I loved participating in those books. I went to one of the publishing groups I love to work with and proposed a collaboration where I create my book projects. So, I make my titles and themes.

I bring together women from around the world. I support them in getting their chapters ready to go. Then we turn the whole thing over to the publishing team, who looks after the other professional editing, proofreading, formatting, getting everything on Amazon, and doing all of our marketing materials. We also do a whole Amazon launch.

So it really has been a very twisted and, lots of turns, journey from my previous career in medical genetics to what I am doing now. There have been many leaps a lot of reimagining and reinventing. 

Emily Bron: In my case, I can share now with you that my first work was in a scientific lab, studying the biochemistry of physiology and the biochemistry of plants back in the Soviet Union.

It was part of my life when I worked for banks, actually in different countries. So, in each country, I’ve had a similar background. When you are an immigrant, you’re happy that you found it. It was our first immigration as a family to Israel. And you just learn the language, and you get to the bank, and it’s a different system and all and whatever.

But my excitement about working in this quickly went down. It was important for the family finances, but not for me personally. And actually, it took years and twists and other immigrations and other changes until I’m speaking with you now, but okay, it’s not about me when I see the parallel, sometimes, how we as women, actually as people, navigate changes in our lives.

 I feel empowered, but going back now, it became exciting to me how you think your scientific background has shaped your approach to mentoring women, fostering their personal and professional growth, and actually, all these Projects you are involved in now. 

Cathy Derksen: That’s an interesting question.

I would almost say in some ways in the ways that there’s an overlap, I would say Part of that is in the coordinating and organizing a lot of different things going on at the same time. When I used to work in medical genetics, I worked in the lab a lot of the time too, which involved a lot of different.

Bits and pieces and timing and so I guess those skills definitely overlap with what I do now, where there are so many people that I’m involved in so many parts of the project, I would say those are definitely common things. I would say beyond that, though, that it’s more of my creative side. That’s come out to do this work.

I always like to say that I’ve been a biologist since the age of three. It was definitely the first thing, when I was first old enough to really decide what I was interested in biology, like anything that was alive was where my curiosity was. And that will, I will always be a biologist at heart.

But I think, growing up as a kid, and especially one that did lean towards the sciences and math, that, I remember being told that I wasn’t creative and that writing wasn’t my thing and that I really shouldn’t worry about those things. Just focus on the math and science and get a job, get a career, do that.

And so I would say, and what I do now, it’s almost like I’ve rediscovered that yes, I am creative and yes, I can write and yes, I can do these other things. So it’s almost become that I’m using the other side of my brain now. 

Emily Bron: Yeah, this ideas which we get from childhood often provided from the best intention, by maybe parents, friends, or adults affected our life for long time, for years still.

Sometimes we grown up enough to understand that we need to try that we need to work on and we have a lot to offer. I believe it’s from this point you started, yes, and I am like inspired. Tenacity is the name of your project represent this significant leap into creating platform for women to share their stories.

Personal stories, yes, or maybe business, but it’s still personal. So what were the key challenges you faced in this transition for yourself? And how did you overcome them? 

Cathy Derksen: Yes, I would say, for anyone who has left a job, left that regular paycheck, Benefits, regular routine, things set out for you, how you’re supposed to do your job and what needs to get done to leave all that behind and step into being an entrepreneur where I literally have to create everything.

I have to imagine what it’s going to look like. I have to put the pieces together. I have to, schedule myself in a way of getting things done. Just the whole learning process, I think of all those different things that we have to learn along the way, whether it’s the running of the business, doing social media, all these other marketing and everything else that comes with being an entrepreneur.

I would say those were some of the biggest challenges. And of course that whole side around going from having a regular paycheck to suddenly having to figure out how you were going to get a paycheck and what that was going to look like and what you needed to do to get that paycheck. That is definitely a huge part of that learning curve 

Emily Bron: as well.

I truly understand you. I can share with you that I’m 27 years living in Canada, and only my first work was full time work. After then, more than 20 years, I’m self employed. I’m working, even when I’ve had different career in IT consulting. And being single. Mom, I understand how important to have this base for all family dynamic, I would say, and for all our ideas.

How to get us from ideas to implementation. And with all this you created several book projects. to help women become international best selling authors. I still don’t understand how it’s possible. Could you elaborate on the significance of storytelling? And how you actually get woman to open up to, to start actually sharing the stories.

Because sometimes, and for woman coming from different cultures, in addition, just to open up, it’s a big effort. But to create the project as a book please share with me the secrets.

Cathy Derksen: Yes. And I think a big part of it for me is that understanding that I think as women, we learn a lot from each other’s stories and when we start seeing ourselves in.

similar situations that the story really helps us move forward. So say we are a woman who’s going through a divorce or a career change and hitting all of those frustrations and challenges. When we hear stories from other women who have gone through similar things and learn how did they handle it? What were their challenges?

What did they do differently that maybe I need to learn from? To me, that’s one of the most important parts of story is by sharing our challenges and how we got through things, we help the reader, the other women to now look at themselves differently, look at their own challenges and opportunities differently.

And so to me, that’s a big part of why I love doing this is because I really do see that I like to call it a ripple effect of the story and how others learn from it and then how they change their life and then how they support other people, in their work that they’re doing. And so that’s really where it comes from in my focus of, especially around women.

And stories and yes, the books that I’ve been doing are international projects. So women that have come from around the world. The last book, we had a book just released a couple of weeks ago called Ripple Effective Impact. And that book had women from US, Canada. Germany, South Africa, and Australia. So that was very exciting.

And yeah, I would say that for a lot of the women that, that do step into participating in the books, they have come to a point where they’ve been thinking about their story. They’ve been in transitions of their own enough to have, to see what their story is and what part of their story they want to share.

And like you were mentioning, quite often too, when you’re going through big things in life, you’re not always ready to share yet. You’re not ready to necessarily tell all about what you’ve gone through. So definitely helping them see what parts of their story they are prepared to share. And I work directly with all of the authors in my books, and we get on Zoom chats like this, and we will talk about, what has their story been?

What do they feel is a message that they really want to get out there? And then helping them put the pieces together of what parts of their story would fit that message that they really want to Bring out the world and especially with women who are entrepreneurs. So many of us, our business is wrapped around our passion and our own lived experiences.

So really looking at the books as being a way of promoting our business, because we’re talking about our life. We’re talking about our experience and we’re talking about what we’re doing now to be helping other people. Which really is promoting our business. So the books really become a lead magnet, a way of telling the world about your business and what you’re doing and why they should want to connect with you.

Emily Bron: Do you have statistics? I don’t know if it’s possible. What kind of people, what kind of women in what countries are reading your book? You may already get some feedback messages. I’m just curious, really. How’s this ripple effect working? It’s not yet time to speak about statistics; you need a more significant period, but feedback.

Cathy Derksen: Yes. I definitely don’t have any statistics to show. I would say the main thing is really just those conversations when it does come up. And I find that the women who are reading the books then become the next women who are in the next book because they’ve read the books. They’ve seen the stories. They felt the impact and they’ve realized, Hey, I’ve also got a story that I think could help others.

And so they jump into the next book. So it’s, it becomes a cycle that way. 

Emily Bron: What age of woman usually who participate in your project? I 

Cathy Derksen: would say most are over 40. I would say probably the majority are between 50 and 60. 

Emily Bron: So exactly this midlife when we reconsider our life and be courageous enough, I feel we To look back and not to judge ourselves for the some mistakes we did, but to take this experience and move forward actually in the rediscovery of what would be next chapter of our life.

Cathy Derksen: Yeah, exactly. And I think the oldest woman in my books right now, I think is 83. Unbelievable, 

Emily Bron: and I’m very happy to hear about it was my question that I believe it will inspire some other woman of this age group to participate as well. Exactly. You describe yourself as a disruptor, curator, once you mentioned, and accelerator.

Could you share a powerful example of how you embodied these roles in somebody’s life or career transformation and the impact it had on them? Looking back on your journey of reinvention, what lessons stand out the most to you? I’m sorry, two questions together, you talked and looking back on your story.

Cathy Derksen: Yeah, let’s see. I would say for a lot of women, they step into the books that first of all, they’ve had this feeling that they want to be an author, a published author for a long time. And like yourself thinking that’s not possible. How could I become an international bestselling author? So they had really put that.

On the back burner as something someday I’ll get to that. It’s too much to do right now. And so to be able to bring these projects to them and say, you have the support here. We do this as a team. We have systems in place that this, we make it happen. And so to take them from this just being a far off dream.

Of becoming a published author to something that they actually now have accomplished and have their book in their hand that alone changes so much about how women see their own life, how they see the opportunities and the possibilities that they have, how they see, if I’ve done that, that I didn’t think I could do, what else can I do now?

So it’s almost like it opens up what they see as possible. And to me, that’s one of the biggest things is really that opening of, okay, what’s next. And especially, when we’re talking about different age groups, our culture has often really made us feel like, especially after our fifties, that we’re obsolete.

Nobody wants to hear what we have to say that in a way it’s been in our culture suggested that we should just disappear in a corner, really, because we’re not needed anymore. But really women in our fifties, sixties, seventies, and now into our eighties and possibly beyond, we have the education, we have the wisdom, we have the experience.

Now is the time for us to be bringing this together and really stepping into something that does inspire and excite us and help us share those, all those tools with the world. And I really see the more. The more that we see each other as examples and the more we come together as a community. So a community of women, a global community of women who are standing up and saying, okay, I am not going to disappear in the corner.

I am not finished. I am just getting started. And now together, we are going to take on amazing things that we didn’t think were even possible before. So to me, that’s really that big vision of where I see the books sparking that interest and sparking that what’s next. 

Emily Bron: Actually, it was the reason I named my podcast Age of Reinvention specifically for people, not only women, for people after 50, because I feel, and I feel because I see so many examples.

Of woman, man, who actually we have still the sort at least years of active life. If we take care about, our body, mental side, and actually one way of achieving this prolonged, happy, active life is to be engaged in some project, in some activities, or launch a business, or create. It’s actually what inspired me.

To start my project, but again, back to you as an author, speaker and mentor, you emphasize importance of finding one’s voice. Could you share how finding your voice and helping other actually empowered you and those you worked with and the confidence it has instilled in them. some examples without names, maybe.

Cathy Derksen: One of my favorite examples is a woman that I’ve known for a couple of years and she just turned 75 and she has always seen herself as different. And she is into all sorts of things around crystals and energy. And just, I guess what a lot of people would call the woo stuff. 

Emily Bron: Esoteric world, we would say.

Cathy Derksen: That’s right. And so she’d always felt like that. Nobody really wanted to hear what she had to say. And so she had never published anything, but she’d done a lot of writing, especially poems. She loved to do poems. And she came into my first book that was called Embrace Courage. And she did a chapter in that book and she just loved it.

And then she jumped into another book with me called Midlife Awakening and shared more of her story. And she was now on such a roll. She went ahead and published her own solo book. So in one year. She went from feeling that nobody wants to hear what she has to say and that she would just quietly do her thing to realizing that, yes, she does have a lot to say, and there is a whole audience around the world that wants to hear what she has to say.

Like I said, she went from. not publishing anything to doing two anthologies with me and her solo book. 

Emily Bron: Wonderful. Wonderful. Collaborative book projects are a unique aspect of inspired tenacity. I so like this name. Can you share maybe another impactful story or transformation from one of these collaborators?

And I understand. They’re coming now from book to book, growing up together with your kind of publishing company, yes? 

Cathy Derksen: Yes, there’s a few ladies now that have caught on to how much fun this is, and as you mentioned in my bio, I’ve now participated in 15 Published books. So a lot of those were other people’s projects that I was just one of the people participating in, but I’ve now published four of my own and I’ve got another five that are in process right now.

That’ll be coming out over the next few months. And, oh, there’s so many stories and a big part of it too, for me, I see. When women are in this transition between say a job and starting their own business or even shifting their business from something that was more of a structured financial thing to going into coaching.

So they were on the. In that cusp of teeter tottering back and forth, or do I stay here? Do I go there? And, not having complete confidence in that new identity that they needed to take on for that new role. And then being in the book where they’ve now put their story and their wisdom and their tools, put it in writing.

And released it out into the world. It’s amazing what a shift that creates and that it’s like, it helps them step into that new identity of, yes, I am a coach. Yes, I am an artist. Yes, I am, really claiming that identity that they were hesitating to step into. 

Emily Bron: It just remind me how in psychotherapy, one of the advices for people actually start journaling.

Start journaling. It’s like therapeutic effect. And this storytelling get some healing effect, I believe, in addition to all other aspects. 

Cathy Derksen: Yeah, there’s definitely something just about writing something down, taking it out of just your head and putting it on paper you look at it differently and it has a different perspective to it when you see it written down, but in that next step of actually releasing that out into the world.

And sharing it with others. That is the whole next step of, wow, this is who I am. This is what I’m claiming. This is my next step. 

Emily Bron: Your commitment to the project and creating, as you mentioned, it’s A ripple effect of impact is evident. How do you see this community evolving, developing, and what future projects are you most excited about?

Cathy Derksen: Like I said, I’ve always got new books coming out. So I, that, and I’m always looking for how do I evolve the books. So for instance, I mentioned one of my books last year was called Midlife Awakening. Now I’ve got one right now called Midlife Reimagined, then probably starting into the new year, I’ll have the next one come out that’s Midlife Reignited.

So it’s almost like we’re awakening, we’re reimagining, and then we’re reigniting. So making that a sequel almost of those stories. But one of the other things that I’m really wanting to do next is create In person retreats where the women can actually come together on, on different themes, whether we’re coming together to focus on leadership and supporting each other, whether we’re coming together in more of a mastermind style or even possibly a writing retreat, but I think bringing women together.

And really having more of that deeper interaction about, what inspires each of them, what support they’re looking for, and that, that’s where I see the next thing coming along. I’m just 

Emily Bron: thinking aloud, just imagining what men, sorry, can learn. By reading these books, learn about women, about characters.

Do you feel, I didn’t read your book, sorry, yet none of them, now it’s on my list. But it would be interesting to get perspective, maybe later on, of men discovering opinions from The stories of professional women. 

Cathy Derksen: I focus on women mainly in my books, but I see most of the stories of a lot of the stories that we’re going through or the phases that we’re going through.

I’m sure men do go through a lot of similar things. We’ve always called it that midlife crisis. Whereas I think, just like with us is that midlife awakening is that midlife re imagining. It’s that, is it that when we hit that time in life, when our. Our jobs aren’t as satisfying as they used to be, or we’ve realized that there’s so much more we want out of our life, and now is the time to go do that.

So I really see the themes that I’m working on really apply to everyone. Everyone going through these different phases in their life, and So I definitely would definitely, welcome men to, to pick up these books as well. And I do see doing some co ed books in the future or something like that.

Cause I really see that a lot of things we have shared, obviously for a lot of women, there are some different. Experiences we’ve had, especially around motherhood and being the caregiver and really putting our life on the back burner while we’ve looked after everybody else, in our generation, I think that is something that’s unique to most women in the newer generations.

I see that being more of a shared experience. Yes, they have less children, but when you look at people now that are say in their thirties, who are getting married and having families. You definitely see more of that shared responsibility, whether it’s, the, now we’re all working, there’s very few people that are staying at home as a parent, and if someone is staying at home, it could be either one of them.

When we look at the, looking after the kids, you see so many dads now that are doing. Hopefully their share of helping with the kids. So I think there is a shift there, but especially right now when we are looking at our midlife community, that I think there is a lot of overlap in what we are going through and how we do want to make changes in the world.

I think, part of it probably is that there’s so much right now, negative stuff going on around us that I think so many of us feel a calling of how do I change this? How do I bring positive into the world? How do I do something that’s really what I’m here to do? So I see that could be with men and women.

Emily Bron: Thank you for sharing this point of view, which I’m thinking about it often. And in your view, what is the most prominent challenge a woman face when they seek to reignite their lives and careers and what advice would you offer them? 

Cathy Derksen: I would say the biggest challenges that they hit are. Both themselves, putting limited beliefs around what they’re capable of and especially what they’re allowed to do.

So giving themselves permission to even think about what do they want. In their life is a huge part of the challenge. And I think the next part of the challenge is that for a lot of women, their immediate family and friends, that’s their community. And when they say, Oh, I want to do something completely different, leave behind a career that you’ve done for 25 years and do something totally different.

Usually our immediate family and friends are the first ones to say, Oh no, settle down. You’ll get over this. This will blow over. Just calm down. Rather than saying, Oh that’s interesting. Why would you want to do that? And what would you do with that? And, really sparking that conversation about what it is she’s really trying to do.

Whereas it’s one of the things that I always focus on is making sure women realize that there’s a whole world. There’s a whole community of other women around them who are here and able to support them and encourage them and be those role models. So really being able to step away from your immediate family and friends and realize, okay, maybe there, maybe I’m not crazy.

I’m not just going through a thing. Maybe there really is a way for me to do something that makes my heart sing, that makes me feel productive again. Again, there are so many parents whose kids have left home. They spent 20 years being a parent and looking after them and most of what they’ve done, whether it’s their job or other things they’ve done to look after their family.

Whereas now they’re at a time when their kids have, in college or completely left home and that idea of, Oh, you know what? I don’t have to work that job that I really don’t like because I, the family isn’t depending on me as much right now. Maybe I could do something different. Now I’ve got more free time.

Maybe I’ll take up a new hobby. Maybe I’ll start a new business, so really looking at that time of, okay, what, and again, going back to that whole idea of giving ourselves permission. To think about what do I actually want to do? Like you said, we’re looking at 20 to 30 years, hopefully of good productive time or more.

What do we want to do at that time? 

Emily Bron: I even not asking permission. I’m thinking what will be my next chapter, but I am divorced many years already, and I think it’s not even about divorce. It’s about the. Period of life when you understand that you have a lot to offer, to contribute, to help. And even I believe many women started not from idea to be on the bestseller book, but just to, to share their voice, to share their story in order to help others.

As far as I understand the woman nature, yeah. 

Cathy Derksen: Leaving a legacy, I think is also part of what inspires women to share their story. To put things in writing so that their family knows their story and you can see in the future. And that’s one of the things I love about books. In 20 years from now, somebody could pick up that book and you’ll hopefully get the same inspiration and motivation by the stories they find a hundred years from now, someone could pick up that book.

Emily Bron: Do you have books published in hardcover? Digital format, what formats? 

Cathy Derksen: Paperback and Kindle are the two formats that we normally do. 

Emily Bron: And for our listeners who are on the brink of reinvention but are hesitating to leap, what words of wisdom can you share to help them to find the courage? To take the next step, read my books, 

Cathy Derksen: connect with the community, reach out and find other people around you who are doing similar things.

And really just let yourself be curious. Let yourself just have a taste of what the opportunities are. And yeah, you’ll discover a whole world of opportunities and possibilities that you hadn’t even imagined. 

Emily Bron: Thank you very much, Cathy. I was really enjoying our conversation. I hope the same, our listeners, followers.

I’m personally inspired. I don’t have time to write now. Other than what I’m doing for my work, which is a lot of writing, which I was not sure I’m capable of because it’s, it’s not my mother language and I have so many other things to do. But I really like your ideas and projects and I actually offer it as one of the recipe.

For women for people actually to start the process of reinvention. 

Cathy Derksen: Definitely. Definitely. 

Emily Bron: Thank you again. And today I had conversation with Cathy Dirksen from Vancouver, Canada. Thank you, Cathy. 

Cathy Derksen: Thank you. 

Emily Bron: What an incredible conversation with Cathy Dirksen. Her insights, experiences, and tangible advice remind us that reinvention is not just possible, it’s powerful.

From understanding the importance of storytelling in our journeys, to confronting and transforming grief and self doubt into growth, Katya’s message is a beacon for anyone amid the midlife metamorphosis. Thanks to Katya for joining us today and sharing her wisdom and heart. And to you, our listeners, for turning into the age of reinvention.

We hope today’s episode has inspired you to take your next steps towards defining or redefining Your new freedom, lifestyle and purpose. Remember, midlife is not a crisis. It’s an opportunity for invention. Join us next time for more inspiration and stories of transformation. Until then, I’m Emily Bron, encouraging you to embrace your journey, find your voice, and live your best life at any age.

Cathy Derksen

Cathy Derksen is an International Bestselling Author, Speaker, and Founder of Inspired Tenacity, dedicated to empowering women to reignite their lives and businesses as published authors. Through collaborative book projects and coaching programs, Cathy helps women share their stories, expand their networks, and amplify their authority. Her mission is to inspire women to step into lives of joy, success, and purpose.

Welcome to another inspiring feature on the Age of Reinvention. Today, we dive deep into the fascinating journey of Cathy Derksen, founder of Inspired Tenacity, as she sheds light on her transition from a clinical genetics professional to an author, speaker, and mentor dedicated to empowering women to embrace midlife with courage and creativity.

The Journey to Inspired Tenacity

Cathy Derksen’s path to reinvention is a testament to the power of resilience and determination. After years in a toxic marriage and workplace environment, Cathy decided to transform her life completely. This pivotal moment he made her consider her role as a parent and a professional, pushing her to model a life of happiness and fulfillment for her children.

Her transition took time. Cathy embarked on a journey of self-discovery, leaving behind her established career in clinical genetics to explore new possibilities that aligned with her passion for directly impacting women’s lives. From financial planning to life and money coaching, Cathy explored various avenues before establishing Inspired Tenacity. On this platform, women worldwide share their wisdom and stories.

A Twisted Path to Passion

Cathy’s path needed to be more straightforward. As she navigated through career changes, she discovered that working within the structured confines of the financial industry still did not fulfill her. Everything fell into place after she embraced her love for writing and storytelling. This realization birthed the idea of collaborative book projects, allowing women to share their experiences and become best-selling authors.

These projects became more than just books; they became a ripple effect of impact, empowering women globally and providing them with the platform to find their voice. Cathy emphasizes the therapeutic power of storytelling and how it transforms not just the writers but also those who read these inspiring stories.

The Power of Stories in Transforming Lives

Cathy’s vision for Inspired Tenacity revolves around the belief that women’s stories can inspire and create significant change. By sharing their journeys, women find healing and foster community. This supportive network helps them navigate their challenges, providing role models and real-life examples of overcoming adversity.

One remarkable example is a 75-year-old woman inspired to share her poems and stories after joining Cathy’s project. This experience transformed her from a hesitant writer to a published author, proving that it’s never too late to find your voice and make an impact.

Collaborative Book Projects: A Unique Aspect of Inspired Tenacity

Cathy’s collaborative book projects are unique in bringing together women from diverse backgrounds to create something powerful. These projects are about writing and creating a supportive community that helps women realize their potential. From organizing international projects to conducting Zoom chats to guide authors, Cathy plays a crucial role in nurturing these stories.

Challenges and Triumphs

Reinventing oneself, particularly in midlife, comes with its own set of challenges. Cathy highlights that allowing oneself to dream and act on those dreams is fundamental. The transition from a regular paycheck to creating a business from scratch is daunting, but it is possible with perseverance and a supportive community.

For many women, the most significant hurdles are their limiting beliefs and the initial lack of support from immediate family and friends. Cathy encourages them to seek out communities that can provide the encouragement and guidance they need.

Looking Forward: The Future of Inspired Tenacity

Cathy envisions furthering these collaborative efforts by organizing in-person retreats to foster deeper connections among women. These retreats will focus on themes like leadership and writing, providing an environment for women to inspire each other and grow together.

A Call to Embrace Your Journey

Cathy’s message is clear: midlife is not a crisis but an opportunity for reinvention. By connecting with a supportive community, exploring new possibilities, and embracing our stories, we can redefine our lives and lead with passion and purpose.

Cathy Derksen’s story is an inspiring reminder that reinventing oneself is never too late. Her journey from clinical genetics to empowering women worldwide sets a powerful example for all of us. Through Inspired Tenacity, Cathy continues to create a ripple effect, helping women find their voices and make a significant impact.

We hope Cathy’s story has resonated with you and encouraged you to take the following steps in your journey of reinvention. Remember, your story has the power to inspire and change lives. Embrace your trip, find your voice, and live your best life at any age.

Join us next time for more stories of transformation in the Age of Reinvention.