April 3, 2025 • 11 mins
Ever feel like you’re in the messy middle of life, trying to figure it all out? You’re not alone. In this candid episode, I open up about my own journey of self-discovery and the evolution of the Easy Style with Sami podcast.
As I sit in my mom’s house in Phoenix, fresh from a reflexology and energy healing session, I share my thoughts on:
- The power of letting go and how it affects our physical and emotional well-being
- My vision for the future of Easy Style with Sami
- The challenges of being in the “figuring it out” phase
- Why I typically shy away from solo episodes
I also reflect on the incredible guests we’ve had on the show and how their stories have inspired me. But I realize there’s a gap – we haven’t heard much from those still in the midst of their journey, still trying to find their way.
A Call for Connection
I’m reaching out to you, my listeners, to help shape the future of this podcast. I want to know:
- What do you love most about the show?
- What would you like to change?
- Who would you like to hear from in future episodes?
Your input is crucial as I refine the focus of Easy Style with Sammy to better serve our community.
Finding My Tribe
As I navigate this transition, I’m realizing that my ideal audience might just be women like me – in their late 30s to early 50s, approaching or experiencing empty nest syndrome, and asking themselves, “Who am I now?”
I’m ready to get more personal, more real, and create a space where we can discuss:
- The joys and challenges of midlife
- Navigating physical changes like perimenopause
- Rediscovering hobbies and passions
- Supporting each other through life’s transitions
Join Me on This Journey
If you’re looking for a community of women supporting each other through the ups and downs of midlife, you’re in the right place. I invite you to:
- Share this episode with friends who might resonate with our message
- Comment on what resonated with you in this episode
- Suggest experts or everyday heroes you’d like to hear from
- Let me know how you’d like to engage with our community (Facebook group, etc.)
Together, let’s create a space where we can be real, support each other, and navigate this beautiful, messy journey called life. Subscribe now to join our growing community of amazing women!
Want to skip ahead?
00:28 Reflecting on Podcast Evolution and Personal Growth: A Solo Episode
05:30 Defining the Target Audience: Women in Midlife Transitions
10:00 Building a Supportive Community: Connecting Through Shared Experiences
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sami Bedell-Mulhern (00:00):
Welcome to Easy Style with Sami. I'm your
(00:02):
host. Sami Bedell Mulhern, eachepisode, I invite a friend,
family member, colleague or justsomeone I've met on this journey
called life, to come and sharetheir personal style and
approach to business, parenting,life and everything in between.
You'll hear motivational andinspirational stories that will
help you refine and build yourown personal style. Remember,
(00:25):
style is easy when it comes fromwithin.
So I'm sitting here at my mom'shouse, if you're watching the
video of this, background looksdifferent. I just came from a
massage, well, reflexology,energy healing, cranial sacrum
appointment. So I look like ahot mess, but that's okay. But I
(00:46):
am here in Phoenix visiting mymom, and it was really
interesting when I was at thisappointment, and whether you
believe in all that stuff ornot, but just the whole concept
of letting go what we can'tcontrol, and how that affects
our physical body, and how wecan kind of train our brain to
kind of support us in our wholebody, emotional and physical
(01:08):
healing, and where to payattention to in the body as
things kind of pop up. So Ithought it was really
interesting, because one of thethings that I was going to work
on while I'm down here, becauseI'm largely taking time off, but
one of things I was going towork on was this podcast and
easy stylist, and in general,the blog and kind of what I
really want it to be, because itstarted from me joining up with
(01:34):
color Street and the amazingpeople that I Got to meet, and
both as customers and asconsultants that we were
partnering with other stylists,other direct sellers, just the
network that it expanded for mewas amazing, and I loved being
able to make those connections.And then it just kind of evolved
(01:56):
this podcast and the blog, andnow I kind of feel like I want
to figure out what the nextiteration is like. How do I
truly want to serve people,connect with people, bring this
podcast to people.
How can I kind of create thatkind of community? And so that
was kind of one of thebrainstorms that I was going to
work on this week, and kind offiguring out what I wanted it to
(02:22):
be. Turns out that I also neededa podcast episode to drop this
week. So here I am having aconversation with you. You know
that I don't do a whole lot ofsolo episodes, but because I'm
just in this kind of space ofbrainstorming, I wanted to talk
about it here, because I feellike we've had so many guests
that have come on and beenvulnerable. Shared where they've
(02:44):
been, where they're going, whatthey're excited about, and share
their successes. You haven't hada lot of conversations with
people that are kind of in themiddle, still trying to figure
it out. It's been part of thestory, part of the journey, but
kind of not the end, like prettybow. We put the pretty bow on
things. If this is where we'regoing, this is what we're
excited for, for the restexcited for for the rest of the
(03:04):
year. And so right now, I'm kindof just in the mess of it, just
trying to figure out what thislooks like. And I know I've
talked about that already alittle bit on this podcast, but
here we are, and I hate doingsolo episodes, so you know, this
will be a short one, becausetalking, I just feel like I'm
rambling, which I know that Iam, but I just find so much more
joy in learning from otherpeople, which is why I want to
(03:26):
have them on as guest onpodcast. So I'd love to hear
from you if you listen, which,if you're here at this point,
you obviously Listen, what youlove most about the podcast,
what you would like to change,what types of people you would
like to see on here, because, asI really think about successful
podcasts. It is about thestories and the content that
they're sharing, but it's alsoreally understanding who they're
(03:48):
talking to and what they'regoing through. And so I think
what I've kind of realized is ascustomers have come to me
through color Street, as I'vemet people in this direct sales
world, even in my consultingworld with my nonprofit, I meet
people all the time in thenonprofit side of my life that
(04:09):
are coming to our live Q and Acalls, that are coming on as
guests to that podcast. All ofthe things people refer people
back and forth like I just meetso many incredible people.
What I realized is I kind ofjust want a podcast that is
directed at people like me, so Ihave clients and customers that
(04:31):
are from all walks of life, alldifferent age groups, all
different experiences, and Ithink that's why this has been
so hard to pin down, because Iwanted to really make sure I'm
honoring all those people thathave come into my world over the
last few years that I've beendoing this. And I think it's
time to really just payattention to the things that
light me up and find the topicsthat are going to resonate with
(04:56):
kind of who I think my idealaudience is, and in this
particular. Particular business,easy style of CME, I think it's
me. I think it's women, youknow, late 30s to early 50s
about to be, or recently, emptynesters. So we'll be empty
nesters in about four year, fiveyears, which is terrifying,
(05:19):
sending one off to college into,you know, going through some
life changes as you get intoyour mid 40s, and kind of just
really trying to evaluate, whoam I now? Who do I want to be?
My identity has been mom hasbeen wife for a long time. And
(05:43):
it was interesting because whenI was in my appointment today,
she said, What are your hobbies?What do you like to do in your
free time? And I had a reallyhard time trying to figure out
what that was. Sorry if you canhear all of that dinging, my
apologies. So she asked me whatmy hobbies were, and I wasn't
(06:11):
exactly sure what to say,because I know there's things
that I like to do, but forwhatever reason, the only thing
that came out of my mouth was, Ilike to I just spend my time
running around after my kids.Um, and that's not really true,
but I have found lately that Ihave been spending my free time
just like brain rotting,scrolling tick tock, or playing
(06:33):
games on my iPad. Um, because Idon't have the motivation or the
energy to do some of these otherthings, but there's lots of
things that I love to do. I loveto play the piano, listen music.
My husband's been trying to getme out for bingo at a restaurant
down the street, which I knowsounds crazy boring, but so much
fun. I love to cook, and I loveto learn new cuisines. And these
(06:57):
things were all in the back ofmy head when I started easy
style of CME, but I just stilldon't feel like I authentically
put myself out there. And it allhas felt very much like putting
a pretty little bow, especiallythe blog, and everything looks
perfect, and we're all puttogether, and we have everything
going for us, and we're runningall these businesses, and I've
(07:18):
got I'm doing it all, and that'sjust simply not the case. I'm
not saying that I'm strugglingor like things are awful, by any
means, but I just think it kindof paints an unrealistic
picture, right? It's likeposting only the good photos on
social media and not sharing anyof the stuff you know, like your
kid just had the blow out allover the car seat, and you're
trying to be at church in fiveminutes, right? The real life
(07:39):
stuff that happens. So I thinkwe're gonna do a little bit more
of that, at least in the blog.I'm still not gonna be doing a
lot of solo episodes, becausethis is just kind of painful for
me. I will never listen back tothis. This will never be
something that I listen to, andmy poor brother, who edits my
podcast, is gonna listen to medrone on and on about myself,
(08:01):
but that's okay, because that'swhat we're doing here. But I
think in the blog, I'm going tostart to get a little bit more
personal and real. And my goalhere is to create a community of
women who just want to talkabout what's going on in their
lives, like, what are thestruggles, like, what's
perimenopause, where, you know,how are we noticing shifts,
(08:23):
like, now all of a sudden Ican't just look at a pill bottle
for prescriptions and, like,read it, or, like, medicine, or
what was it? The other day, Iwas trying to read something,
and for the first time, I had toget the magnifier on my phone
out so that I could actuallyread the label right. Like,
things that just happen andchange. You know, my diet needed
to change exercise tips like,what are the things?
(08:44):
How can we support each other aswomen in the mid stage of life,
kids are growing up, and we needto find that time and space to
take care of ourselves as wellas figure out who we are
independently outside of theseother labels that we tend to
prioritize as you know, generalcaretakers and caregivers for
(09:09):
all of those around us. Sothat's what I'm working on. I
hope that you'll stick aroundand come alongside me if you
have experts in your world thatyou think would be great, your
personal trainer at the gym,your favorite chef at a
restaurant, your who like yourgirlfriend that you go on walks
(09:31):
with that always has like, greatadvice, right? We're not looking
for people who are building hugeempires, although that's great
too, and super inspirational.But what I really want to make
sure we're talking about are thereal life stories of us and how
we are navigating through thislife and making it our best and
navigating through changesliving our best lives. That's
(09:53):
really the ultimate goal. Socheck out my blog for more
personal updates here in thenext few weeks. So excited to be
here with you on this episode.Next week, we have an amazing
story of a mom who had a lifealtering accident and how that
kind of shifted things for her.So a great topic to come after
(10:14):
this episode. Thank you forlistening to me drone on for
almost 10 minutes. I appreciateyou, and I would really
appreciate it if you would sharethis episode with anybody else
who's just going through lifeand is looking for a community
and a place to connect. Wouldlove to know kind of how you
(10:35):
would love to engage with eachother, if we need to set up a
Facebook group or some othercommunity so that we can all
interact and kind of haveconversation. Would love to know
what your biggest aha momentwas. If there was something that
I said today that kind ofresonated with you, you can drop
that in the comments on thisYouTube video. Would love to
just basically, not just be inyour ears every other week or in
(10:59):
front of your eyeballs as you'rereading blog posts, but to
really, truly connect and seehow we can kind of support each
other and build and grow. Sowith that being said, I'm going
to stop this episode, and thankyou so much for listening. We'll
be back in a couple of weeks,and I hope that you subscribe
wherever you're listening, sothat we can make sure that you
get notified when a new episodedrops. This is the Easy Style
(11:22):
with Sami podcast. I am yourhost. Sami Bedell Mulhern, thank
you so much for being here, andI will see you in the next one.
Welcome to Easy Style with Sami. I'm your
(00:02):
host. Sami Bedell Mulhern, eachepisode, I invite a friend,
family member, colleague or justsomeone I've met on this journey
called life, to come and sharetheir personal style and
approach to business, parenting,life and everything in between.
You'll hear motivational andinspirational stories that will
help you refine and build yourown personal style. Remember,
(00:25):
style is easy when it comes fromwithin.
So I'm sitting here at my mom'shouse, if you're watching the
video of this, background looksdifferent. I just came from a
massage, well, reflexology,energy healing, cranial sacrum
appointment. So I look like ahot mess, but that's okay. But I
(00:46):
am here in Phoenix visiting mymom, and it was really
interesting when I was at thisappointment, and whether you
believe in all that stuff ornot, but just the whole concept
of letting go what we can'tcontrol, and how that affects
our physical body, and how wecan kind of train our brain to
kind of support us in our wholebody, emotional and physical
(01:08):
healing, and where to payattention to in the body as
things kind of pop up. So Ithought it was really
interesting, because one of thethings that I was going to work
on while I'm down here, becauseI'm largely taking time off, but
one of things I was going towork on was this podcast and
easy stylist, and in general,the blog and kind of what I
really want it to be, because itstarted from me joining up with
(01:34):
color Street and the amazingpeople that I Got to meet, and
both as customers and asconsultants that we were
partnering with other stylists,other direct sellers, just the
network that it expanded for mewas amazing, and I loved being
able to make those connections.And then it just kind of evolved
(01:56):
this podcast and the blog, andnow I kind of feel like I want
to figure out what the nextiteration is like. How do I
truly want to serve people,connect with people, bring this
podcast to people.
How can I kind of create thatkind of community? And so that
was kind of one of thebrainstorms that I was going to
work on this week, and kind offiguring out what I wanted it to
(02:22):
be. Turns out that I also neededa podcast episode to drop this
week. So here I am having aconversation with you. You know
that I don't do a whole lot ofsolo episodes, but because I'm
just in this kind of space ofbrainstorming, I wanted to talk
about it here, because I feellike we've had so many guests
that have come on and beenvulnerable. Shared where they've
(02:44):
been, where they're going, whatthey're excited about, and share
their successes. You haven't hada lot of conversations with
people that are kind of in themiddle, still trying to figure
it out. It's been part of thestory, part of the journey, but
kind of not the end, like prettybow. We put the pretty bow on
things. If this is where we'regoing, this is what we're
excited for, for the restexcited for for the rest of the
(03:04):
year. And so right now, I'm kindof just in the mess of it, just
trying to figure out what thislooks like. And I know I've
talked about that already alittle bit on this podcast, but
here we are, and I hate doingsolo episodes, so you know, this
will be a short one, becausetalking, I just feel like I'm
rambling, which I know that Iam, but I just find so much more
joy in learning from otherpeople, which is why I want to
(03:26):
have them on as guest onpodcast. So I'd love to hear
from you if you listen, which,if you're here at this point,
you obviously Listen, what youlove most about the podcast,
what you would like to change,what types of people you would
like to see on here, because, asI really think about successful
podcasts. It is about thestories and the content that
they're sharing, but it's alsoreally understanding who they're
(03:48):
talking to and what they'regoing through. And so I think
what I've kind of realized is ascustomers have come to me
through color Street, as I'vemet people in this direct sales
world, even in my consultingworld with my nonprofit, I meet
people all the time in thenonprofit side of my life that
(04:09):
are coming to our live Q and Acalls, that are coming on as
guests to that podcast. All ofthe things people refer people
back and forth like I just meetso many incredible people.
What I realized is I kind ofjust want a podcast that is
directed at people like me, so Ihave clients and customers that
(04:31):
are from all walks of life, alldifferent age groups, all
different experiences, and Ithink that's why this has been
so hard to pin down, because Iwanted to really make sure I'm
honoring all those people thathave come into my world over the
last few years that I've beendoing this. And I think it's
time to really just payattention to the things that
light me up and find the topicsthat are going to resonate with
(04:56):
kind of who I think my idealaudience is, and in this
particular. Particular business,easy style of CME, I think it's
me. I think it's women, youknow, late 30s to early 50s
about to be, or recently, emptynesters. So we'll be empty
nesters in about four year, fiveyears, which is terrifying,
(05:19):
sending one off to college into,you know, going through some
life changes as you get intoyour mid 40s, and kind of just
really trying to evaluate, whoam I now? Who do I want to be?
My identity has been mom hasbeen wife for a long time. And
(05:43):
it was interesting because whenI was in my appointment today,
she said, What are your hobbies?What do you like to do in your
free time? And I had a reallyhard time trying to figure out
what that was. Sorry if you canhear all of that dinging, my
apologies. So she asked me whatmy hobbies were, and I wasn't
(06:11):
exactly sure what to say,because I know there's things
that I like to do, but forwhatever reason, the only thing
that came out of my mouth was, Ilike to I just spend my time
running around after my kids.Um, and that's not really true,
but I have found lately that Ihave been spending my free time
just like brain rotting,scrolling tick tock, or playing
(06:33):
games on my iPad. Um, because Idon't have the motivation or the
energy to do some of these otherthings, but there's lots of
things that I love to do. I loveto play the piano, listen music.
My husband's been trying to getme out for bingo at a restaurant
down the street, which I knowsounds crazy boring, but so much
fun. I love to cook, and I loveto learn new cuisines. And these
(06:57):
things were all in the back ofmy head when I started easy
style of CME, but I just stilldon't feel like I authentically
put myself out there. And it allhas felt very much like putting
a pretty little bow, especiallythe blog, and everything looks
perfect, and we're all puttogether, and we have everything
going for us, and we're runningall these businesses, and I've
(07:18):
got I'm doing it all, and that'sjust simply not the case. I'm
not saying that I'm strugglingor like things are awful, by any
means, but I just think it kindof paints an unrealistic
picture, right? It's likeposting only the good photos on
social media and not sharing anyof the stuff you know, like your
kid just had the blow out allover the car seat, and you're
trying to be at church in fiveminutes, right? The real life
(07:39):
stuff that happens. So I thinkwe're gonna do a little bit more
of that, at least in the blog.I'm still not gonna be doing a
lot of solo episodes, becausethis is just kind of painful for
me. I will never listen back tothis. This will never be
something that I listen to, andmy poor brother, who edits my
podcast, is gonna listen to medrone on and on about myself,
(08:01):
but that's okay, because that'swhat we're doing here. But I
think in the blog, I'm going tostart to get a little bit more
personal and real. And my goalhere is to create a community of
women who just want to talkabout what's going on in their
lives, like, what are thestruggles, like, what's
perimenopause, where, you know,how are we noticing shifts,
(08:23):
like, now all of a sudden Ican't just look at a pill bottle
for prescriptions and, like,read it, or, like, medicine, or
what was it? The other day, Iwas trying to read something,
and for the first time, I had toget the magnifier on my phone
out so that I could actuallyread the label right. Like,
things that just happen andchange. You know, my diet needed
to change exercise tips like,what are the things?
(08:44):
How can we support each other aswomen in the mid stage of life,
kids are growing up, and we needto find that time and space to
take care of ourselves as wellas figure out who we are
independently outside of theseother labels that we tend to
prioritize as you know, generalcaretakers and caregivers for
(09:09):
all of those around us. Sothat's what I'm working on. I
hope that you'll stick aroundand come alongside me if you
have experts in your world thatyou think would be great, your
personal trainer at the gym,your favorite chef at a
restaurant, your who like yourgirlfriend that you go on walks
(09:31):
with that always has like, greatadvice, right? We're not looking
for people who are building hugeempires, although that's great
too, and super inspirational.But what I really want to make
sure we're talking about are thereal life stories of us and how
we are navigating through thislife and making it our best and
navigating through changesliving our best lives. That's
(09:53):
really the ultimate goal. Socheck out my blog for more
personal updates here in thenext few weeks. So excited to be
here with you on this episode.Next week, we have an amazing
story of a mom who had a lifealtering accident and how that
kind of shifted things for her.So a great topic to come after
(10:14):
this episode. Thank you forlistening to me drone on for
almost 10 minutes. I appreciateyou, and I would really
appreciate it if you would sharethis episode with anybody else
who's just going through lifeand is looking for a community
and a place to connect. Wouldlove to know kind of how you
(10:35):
would love to engage with eachother, if we need to set up a
Facebook group or some othercommunity so that we can all
interact and kind of haveconversation. Would love to know
what your biggest aha momentwas. If there was something that
I said today that kind ofresonated with you, you can drop
that in the comments on thisYouTube video. Would love to
just basically, not just be inyour ears every other week or in
(10:59):
front of your eyeballs as you'rereading blog posts, but to
really, truly connect and seehow we can kind of support each
other and build and grow. Sowith that being said, I'm going
to stop this episode, and thankyou so much for listening. We'll
be back in a couple of weeks,and I hope that you subscribe
wherever you're listening, sothat we can make sure that you
get notified when a new episodedrops. This is the Easy Style
(11:22):
with Sami podcast. I am yourhost. Sami Bedell Mulhern, thank
you so much for being here, andI will see you in the next one.
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