Podcaster Michelle says it’s never to late to reinvent yourself, start something new or change direction in life.
Clontarf local Michelle Parsonage, 53, found herself thinking ‘what now?’ when her two daughters, 18 and 21, didn’t need her as much. What would her second act be?
“When I turned 50, I just started thinking ‘there’s got to be something else, something more than what I’ve been doing’,” Michelle tells North Shore Living.
“I’m a very creative person,” she says. “I love talking and I love hearing people’s stories. And I love podcasts. I thought ‘why can’t I do that?’”
After thinking about it for a couple of years, she did a podcasting course, found a user-friendly podcasting platform and Your 2nd Act was launched in May this year.
Michelle says Your 2nd Act is all about the remarkable journeys of everyday women as they embark on their second acts in life.
“I dive into their stories, whether they’ve taken on a new career, discovered a fresh passion, or rekindled a long-lost dream,” she says. “It’s a celebration of their resilience and the wisdom they’ve gained along the way. Your 2nd Act is all about giving women a voice and the confidence to embrace this new stage of life.”
Michelle loves the podcasting space.
Michelle’s learned a lot about herself by sharing stories with other women.
“It’s been an amazing journey of self-discovery,” she says. “I’m learning through other women and so many women are happy to share their story.”
Michelle’s own story began in Wollongong, where she grew up. She moved to Sydney to escape her first marriage 27 years ago, met her second husband in her late 20s, lived in London for a while, and eventually settled back in Sydney.
With a history in interior design and marketing, Michelle says she has had a few reinventions herself, but loves podcasting.
“The space feels so natural to me,” she says. “I’ve never done anything like it before.”
Michelle records her weekly podcast in Clontarf, where she has been living for eight years. She says that recording her podcast remotely makes the process a little easier as people don’t have to travel to a studio.
She has interviewed women from all over Australia and has no shortage of women who want to share their second act.
“It’s mostly word of mouth,” Michelle says. “I’ve just noticed that I’ve got this momentum now. I’m just getting people”.
“Your 2nd Act is all about being honest and having real conversations,” Michelle says.
“I just want to give women hope that in these middle years, there is an opportunity to reinvent yourself if you want,” she says. “Try new things.”
“I just want to give a voice to the everyday woman to talk about exactly how she feels in this stage of life,” says Michelle. “We can relate with one another. I honestly treat it like I’m having a conversation.”
You can find Your 2nd Act on Apple Podcasts.