Meet Michele Magner

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michele Magner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Michele, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

At 53 years old on a recent road trip I asked a friend of mine if she thought I would have survived if I would have stayed in Berkeley, CA and she quickly and flatly responded “No, you had no self esteem”. She was right. At 19 years old and a college dropout, I was broken and desperate, needing a way to figure out how to regroup. Somehow I came across the book “The Road Less Traveled” and my self-growth and development journey began. The concept that I could be thinking differently about who I was and create a new vision for myself had never occurred to me. Over the years I have required reinventing several times. Full time stay at home mom, family caregiver, senior care thought leader. It has taken a combination of saying yes to the right opportunities and a constant willingness to be curious about what is possible. I’ve read, listened to podcasts, attended conferences, hired coaches and therapists. This is an ongoing evolution as I age and reimagine what it means to be in the second chapter of my life, anything is possible!

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

As the primary family caregiver to both of my grandmothers, I learned firsthand how important it is to have someone advocate for an older adult AND learned the value of taking care of myself along the way. This experience led to a career in senior living, where I had the opportunity to serve my residents, their families and team members. I was then privileged to care for my mother in law who lived with dementia for 12 years, my father-in-law who died from cancer and helped with my stepdad who also passed away from cancer.

From all of this I created a company to support family caregivers! Inspired Caring is a membership that allows families to have the information they need 24/7 so they can make better decisions faster and not have their families implode along the way.

The little leaf in my logo is a Ginko leaf which represents longevity and memories. Everything about my brand is designed to bring perspective, levity and help people lead with love.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

My journey has been largely about reinviting myself and developing the skills to gain confidence in that. I’ve had to let go of a LOT of self limiting beliefs to really step in to this new version of me. The number one skill I developed was curiosity and really questioning why I do what I do and why I think the way I do. It has been hard to shift my mindset but with steady attention it has been happening. I’ve also had to do things very, very afraid. Be afraid and do it anyway. Once I’ve stepped onto a stage and didn’t collapse, I now know I’m capable of that and it’s easier to say yes, the next time. Be afraid to record a video and upload it to a program. Be afraid and ask for the sale. The fear will be there either way so it’s worth pushing forward. Finally, I had to be willing to create things and share them that aren’t “perfect” but lean into my intuition of what needs to be created. Sometimes to get going, good has to be good enough. It can be a launch pad and something to edit. Following my gut and just move forward has often produced things that have been way more impressive than what I thought it could be.

For folks who are early on their journey, I would say to keep going. Be open to what presents itself and continue to find tune what you are creating and offering the world. The world needs you. Keep going.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

When I’m feeling overwhelmed I tend to scale back and focus on getting recentered. I do this through walking in nature, and meditating, sometimes I need a trip out of town to just separate and get perspective. I have a handful of friends I can trust, but most importantly I also have a couple of mastermind groups that I’m part of. These are other women entrepreneurs who have been at every stage of this journey. They have been incredibly encouraging and supportive and I know I would have quite at least 10 times had it not been for my mastermind groups.

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Image Credits

C. Marie Photography took my headshots.

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