Her Comeback: Transforming Your Life After 50

Podcast: Her Comeback – Transforming Your Life After 50 Episode https://hercomebackpodcast.com/Title: Strength Beyond “Strong” with Dr. Belinda PaulicinEpisode Summary: What does it really mean to be called “strong”—and is it always empowering?In this powerful and deeply human conversation, host Michelle Thompson sits down with Belinda Paulicin, DSW, LCSW-QS, OSW-C, a seasoned clinical social worker and oncology specialist, to explore resilience, trauma, and the hidden weight many women carry behind the label of “strength.”Belinda shares her journey from working with families, trauma survivors, and domestic violence victims to supporting cancer patients and caregivers. Through her lens as a trauma-informed professional, she reveals how our life experiences shape the way we respond to challenges—and how understanding that can unlock true healing and growth.They dive into the difference between empathy and emotional overwhelm, the importance of healthy boundaries, and how to serve others without losing yourself. Belinda also introduces the concept behind her upcoming book Hot Stone Woman: Strength Beyond Your Strong, redefining resilience as more than just “bouncing back,” but as building the capacity to rise, transform, and find meaning through life’s hardest moments.This episode is a must-listen for any woman who has been told she’s “so strong” but is ready to discover what lies beyond survival—and step into purpose, power, and possibility.In This Episode, You’ll Learn:The difference between empathy and over-identification (and why it matters)How trauma-informed thinking changes the way we see ourselves and othersWhy resilience is more than “bouncing back”How to navigate life’s hardest seasons without losing yourselfThe truth behind the label “you’re so strong”How to turn life’s challenges into purpose and growthKey Takeaway: You are more than what you’ve survived. True resilience isn’t just enduring—it’s transforming, expanding, and becoming.About the Guest: Belinda Paulicin is a Doctor of Social Work, licensed clinical social worker, and board-certified oncology social worker with decades of experience supporting individuals and families through trauma, healthcare challenges, and life transitions. Her work centers on resilience, healing, and empowering women to rise beyond their circumstances.Connect & Learn More: Stay tuned for the release of Belinda’s book Hot Stone Woman: Strength Beyond Your Strong.

Her Comeback | Episode Notes Guest: Randi Crawford, Life Coach & AuthorRandi Crawford is a San Diego-based certified life coach, former entrepreneur, and co-founder of a public healthcare company focused on women's health. After stepping away from her career to raise her two children, Randi found herself at 50 facing the classic empty-nest crossroads — and chose to reinvent herself rather than coast.Her comeback began unexpectedly when she walked into Anthropologie with zero retail experience and landed a job. What started as a way to "get back in the game" became a crash course in humility, resilience, and rediscovering her greatest superpower: connecting with women. She was quickly made a stylist — and realized that everyone brings something different to the table. You just have to give things a real chance before you quit.It was during the post-COVID era that Randi witnessed something that changed her path entirely. Instead of the joy she expected to see as women returned to the world, she saw anger, emotional exhaustion, and women who seemed to have lost themselves. That's when she pursued certification through the Jay Shetty Certification School and became a life coach.Randi also opens up about something deeply personal: being diagnosed with panic disorder at just 6 years old, long before it had a name. She spent years visiting specialists with no real answers — until she found information online in her 20s and finally understood what she'd been living with. Rather than letting it define her, she transformed it into her greatest professional asset. She now helps clients disrupt the mental "highways" that keep them stuck in fear and negative thought patterns.Today, Randi coaches both teen/college-age girls and their mothers simultaneously — because she believes the two are inseparable. With young women, the work centers on navigating social media comparison and building confidence in a performative world. With moms, it's about stepping back, releasing the need to control, and finally living their own lives.Randi also shares her take on the "not enough" epidemic driven by social media, the algorithm's role in feeding self-doubt, and why handing kids a phone without limits is a parenting conversation we can no longer avoid.She's currently working on her upcoming book, The Pickleball Parenting Playbook — a self-deprecating, warmhearted guide that uses lessons from the pickleball court (patience, communication, position over power) as a framework for healthier parenting.Connect with Randi: 🌐 randicrawfordcoaching.com 📱 @randicrawfordcoaching on TikTok & Instagram 📅 Book a free 30-minute Zoom call via her website

Guest: Beth Mazza | Entrepreneur Like a MotherBeth Mazza is a San Francisco-based entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience building businesses — including two consulting firms she built and sold for a combined value of more than $40 million, all while raising four children. Now at 57, she's launched her third venture: a mission-based business co-founded with her business partner Victoria, dedicated to helping 10,000 moms build 7-figure businesses. Together, they created the Entrepreneur Like a Mother system — a step-by-step playbook for women who want to grow a real business without losing themselves or their families in the process.What We Cover in This EpisodeStarting from a legacy of entrepreneurship Beth grew up surrounded by immigrant entrepreneurs — her father, grandfather, and brothers all ran their own businesses. Her dad never treated her differently from her brothers when it came to business ambition, a gift she credits as foundational to her confidence as a founder.Launching a mission-based business after 50 After selling her second company, Beth lasted "a day and a half" in retirement before the pull to build something new took over. What started as writing for a blog evolved into a book, a content platform, and now masterminds and one-on-one coaching — all aimed at showing women that scaling to 7 figures is within reach, and that they can likely work less than they did in corporate.Three mindset tools Beth uses every single dayWrite down a victory — big or small, recent or years ago — to remind yourself you've already done hard things.Focus on the one thing that moves the needle today, not the overwhelming big goal.Channel your inner "Sammy Lee" — her 25-year-old son who walked into Goldman Sachs with a B+ average and got the job. Walk into every room like you belong there.The two biggest blocks keeping women below 7 figuresUnderpricing their time and failing to think like a CEO about revenue — women who track a P&L and revenue projections are the ones who scale.Trying to do it all alone. The solopreneur model has a ceiling. Hiring is a 2–3 month trial, not a lifetime commitment.When to pivot vs. push through If you're stuck in the messy middle, you're in one of three situations: doing all the right things and just need to wait; doing mostly the right things and need a micro-pivot; or selling to the wrong market and need a bigger change. The key is diagnosing which one honestly.The "Kitchen Cabinet" strategy Beth's closing advice: build a personal advisory network made up of three types: Cheerleaders (emotional support), Compensators (experts in areas you're not), and Connectors (people who open doors). Spend just 30 minutes a week cultivating this network, and within a year you'll have a cabinet of people to call when challenges arise. Give everyone who asks 15 minutes — it comes back to you.About the BookEntrepreneur Like a Mother — coming out in September. Equal parts memoir and playbook, the book walks readers from idea to first sale, through the messy middle, and all the way to the 7-figure threshold. Includes real stories, end-of-chapter reflection questions, and full worksheets.📬 Free resource: Subscribe to the Founders File newsletter at their website for weekly how-to content.