The “what if” loop can keep you stuck longer than the actual problem.

“What if this fails?”
“What if I can’t do it?”
“What if everything falls apart?”

Leah Self knows that loop well.

After COVID shut down her career in travel and events, she took a scary leap and started again as a single mum. In this conversation, Leah chats with Lara about fear, business, becoming an empty nester earlier than expected, setting real boundaries, and learning how to get clear when life feels loud.

It’s honest, funny, and a little bit of a push to stop overthinking and start backing yourself again.

Get to know more about Leah:
https://www.instagram.com/the.productivityqueen/
https://www.theproductivityqueen.com.au/

If you have loved today’s episode, please share this with a friend. ❤️

About Lara Portelli:

As a successful business owner, NLP Practitioner, Midlife Reset Mentor, acclaimed award-winning author, and seasoned professional, Lara understands the challenges of navigating careers, business, and personal growth. She now channels her expertise into mentoring women through midlife and into their bodacious second act, helping ambitious women step into their power and build success on their own terms.

Connect with Lara:

https://www.laraportelli.com/
https://www.facebook.com/laraportelliglobal
https://www.instagram.com/lara_portelli_global/

Sometimes one small moment can wake you up to the life you’ve been quietly living.

For Krissi Marie, it was a 40-degree day, two kids in the back of the car, and the realisation that she had spent years putting herself last.

Krissi shares about identity, motherhood, divorce, end-of-life planning, creativity, imposter syndrome, and choosing a rich, full life on your own terms.

She also shares the story behind Dying to Tell You, and why talking about death can be a loving gift to the people we leave behind.

Her message is simple:

✨ Do the thing.
✨ Do it scared.
✨ Do it before regret gets louder than the fear.

Get to know more about Krissi:
https://www.instagram.com/um___life/

If you have loved today’s episode, please share this with a friend. ❤️

About Lara Portelli:

As a successful business owner, NLP Practitioner, Midlife Reset Mentor, acclaimed award-winning author, and seasoned professional, Lara understands the challenges of navigating careers, business, and personal growth. She now channels her expertise into mentoring women through midlife and into their bodacious second act, helping ambitious women step into their power and build success on their own terms.

Connect with Lara:

https://www.laraportelli.com/
https://www.facebook.com/laraportelliglobal
https://www.instagram.com/lara_portelli_global/

What happens when midlife starts feeling less like a crisis… and more like a quiet nudge to come home to yourself?

Olivia de Sousa shares an honest conversation about change, intuition, creativity, and the courage it takes to stop living by other people’s expectations.

Olivia shares the moment she decided to close her podcast management business without a safety net, choosing to trust her inner voice over the pressure to keep pushing. She also opens up about embracing her “weirdness,” letting go of the need to fit into a box, and finding new creative expression through writing, music, and her mantra toolkit, The Ultimate Book of Word Spells.

This conversation is a reminder that midlife doesn’t have to be about fading quietly into the background. Sometimes, it’s where you finally give yourself permission to be seen, heard, and fully yourself.

Get to know more about Olivia: www.livvimedia.com.au/wordspells/

If you have loved today’s episode, please share this with a friend. ❤️

About Lara Portelli:

As a successful business owner, NLP Practitioner, Midlife Reset Mentor, acclaimed award-winning author, and seasoned professional, Lara understands the challenges of navigating careers, business, and personal growth. She now channels her expertise into mentoring women through midlife and into their bodacious second act, helping ambitious women step into their power and build success on their own terms.

Connect with Lara:

https://www.laraportelli.com/
https://www.facebook.com/laraportelliglobal
https://www.instagram.com/lara_portelli_global/

Some relationships don’t just hurt you… they slowly break you down.

Lynn Catalano, Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Coach, chats about the toxic patterns so many people experience but struggle to explain.

From silent treatment and manipulation to "word salad” arguments and always being made to feel like the bad guy. This conversation puts real words to what narcissistic abuse can actually look like.

Lynn also shares her personal story, the red flags people often miss, and what healing looks like when you finally stop living in survival mode.

Get to know more about Lynn: https://www.lynncatalano.com

If you have loved today’s episode, please share this with a friend. ❤️

About Lara Portelli:

As a successful business owner, NLP Practitioner, Midlife Reset Mentor, acclaimed award-winning author, and seasoned professional, Lara understands the challenges of navigating careers, business, and personal growth. She now channels her expertise into mentoring women through midlife and into their bodacious second act, helping ambitious women step into their power and build success on their own terms.

Connect with Lara:

https://www.laraportelli.com/
https://www.facebook.com/laraportelliglobal
https://www.instagram.com/lara_portelli_global/

Who’s Patrice, and why is she causing so much trouble?

In this episode, Sabrina Militello shares how naming her inner critic helped her notice the stories she was telling herself and finally start challenging them.

Lara and Sabrina also talk about self-worth, overwhelm, loneliness, and what it takes to reconnect with yourself when life starts feeling heavy.

If things have felt a bit “too much” lately, this one’s worth a listen.

Get to know Sabrina — https://www.sabrinamilitello.com

If you have loved today’s episode, please share this with a friend. ❤️

About Lara Portelli:

As a successful business owner, NLP Practitioner, Midlife Reset Mentor, acclaimed award-winning author, and seasoned professional, Lara understands the challenges of navigating careers, business, and personal growth. She now channels her expertise into mentoring women through midlife and into their bodacious second act, helping ambitious women step into their power and build success on their own terms.

Connect with Lara:

https://www.laraportelli.com/
https://www.facebook.com/laraportelliglobal
https://www.instagram.com/lara_portelli_global/

Rushed to the ER thinking it's over, just to hear "it's stress" and get sent home? We've been there.

This week, Lara chats with Terry Tateossian about those wild "am I losing it?" moments in your 30s and 40s.

Terry opens up on her fast-and-furious ride through perimenopause—hot flashes that feel like your body's on fire, finally putting yourself first without the guilt, that heavy-leg drag some days. We dive into hormone chaos, HRT fears, ditching people-pleasing, and docs who brush you off. If you've felt dismissed or nuts, you're not alone. Let's unpack it together.

Get to know more about Terry: https://www.thehouseofrose.com

If you have loved today’s episode, please share this with a friend. ❤️

About Lara Portelli:

As a successful business owner, NLP Practitioner, Midlife Reset Mentor, acclaimed award-winning author, and seasoned professional, Lara understands the challenges of navigating careers, business, and personal growth. She now channels her expertise into mentoring women through midlife and into their bodacious second act, helping ambitious women step into their power and build success on their own terms.

Connect with Lara:

https://www.laraportelli.com/
https://www.facebook.com/laraportelliglobal
https://www.instagram.com/lara_portelli_global/

Midlife can feel like you’re just going through the motions—working, doing chores, taking care of everyone, then doing it all again the next day.

In this episode, Lara talks with Rose Wippich about what it looked like for her to make big changes in midlife.

After a breast cancer diagnosis at 49, Rose started looking at her life differently. She left a career she no longer enjoyed, started yoga teacher training at 55, stopped drinking, and began making more time for herself.

In this conversation, they talk about:
✨ making time for yourself, even in small ways
✨ learning to say no without guilt
✨ life after alcohol
✨ how Qigong helps you slow down and reset

If you’ve been feeling tired, stuck, or like you’ve put yourself last for too long, this episode is for you.

Get to know more about Rose: https://www.rosewippich.com

If you have loved today’s episode, please share this with a friend. ❤️

About Lara Portelli:

As a successful business owner, NLP Practitioner, Midlife Reset Mentor, acclaimed award-winning author, and seasoned professional, Lara understands the challenges of navigating careers, business, and personal growth. She now channels her expertise into mentoring women through midlife and into their bodacious second act, helping ambitious women step into their power and build success on their own terms.

Connect with Lara:

https://www.laraportelli.com/
https://www.facebook.com/laraportelliglobal
https://www.instagram.com/lara_portelli_global/

You’ve built the life you thought you wanted… so why do you still feel drained?

Lilli Bewley talks about the hidden burnout so many women carry — doing it all on the outside, but feeling empty on the inside.

Lilli opens up about her breaking point and how she shifted from survival mode to real healing. They dive into childhood patterns, self-abandonment, boundaries, and what it actually means to feel “enough.”

Get to know more about Lilli: https://www.lillibewley.com/
Take the Feminine Dating Archetype quiz: https://www.lillibewley.com/quiz

If you have loved today’s episode, please share this with a friend. ❤️

About Lara Portelli:

As a successful business owner, NLP Practitioner, Midlife Reset Mentor, acclaimed award-winning author, and seasoned professional, Lara understands the challenges of navigating careers, business, and personal growth. She now channels her expertise into mentoring women through midlife and into their bodacious second act, helping ambitious women step into their power and build success on their own terms.

Connect with Lara:

https://www.laraportelli.com/
https://www.facebook.com/laraportelliglobal
https://www.instagram.com/lara_portelli_global/