The Midlife Reinvention: How to Find Your Ikigai, Deal with Imposter Syndrome & Build Your Confidence in Career & Life Transitions

Hosted by Kavita Ahuja, Founder of It's My Time Now Coaching, Inspired By Mel Robbins, Oprah Winfrey, Brene Brown, Deepak Chopra, Vishen Lakhiani, Cathy Heller

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Nov 2026

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Are you experiencing a Career or Life Transition, and are asking yourself "What's Next"? Join Kavita Ahuja, Certified Career and Life Transitions Coach, and founder of It's My Time Now Coaching as she gives her own wonderful insights and interviews incredible women across the globe that will give you inspiration to rediscover who you really are, what you really want, and how to get there. You'll learn how to overcome obstacles, find your true calling, and make your next chapter in life your best chapter ever. Reinvention doesn't mean giving up everything; it means rediscovering what has always been inside of you and bringing that out into the world. If not now, when? If you want a place to start, take the Ikigai Clarity Assessment . It takes about five minutes, and it isn't a personality quiz that boxes you into a type. It's a real diagnostic, built on the same four dimensions I coach with, your passions, your strengths, your values, and your contribution, and it will show you which one has been getting the least of you lately. Identifying that is the first step toward finding your way back to it. You can take it here. If you would like to dive deeper into how Kavita can help you make your vision for yourself a reality, book a complimentary consultation with Kavita here .

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November 9, 2026Episode 35435 min

#354: How to Find Your Purpose Without Becoming Someone New in a Midlife Transition, with Eva M. Kennedy

Has a career or life transition left you wondering who you are without the titles and roles you've carried for years? When a job, a role, or a long chapter of life ends, it's natural to assume the answer is to become someone new. Empowerment speaker and coach Eva M. Kennedy offers a different way forward. After decades in corporate life and a health crisis that changed everything, Eva found that her next chapter began when she reconnected with the woman who had been there all along. As we move into the third step of the Pyramid of Reinvention, Kavita’s six-step process for moving from confusion to clarity, this conversation is about the obstacles that may be keeping you from your next chapter. In this episode, you'll discover: Why your next chapter isn't about becoming someone new, and how reconnecting with who you were before all the titles and roles helps you find your purpose Eva's four A's, awareness, acceptance, alignment, and action , a simple process for finding your way forward in a career or life transition What to do when fear shows up the moment you're ready to claim your voice, and why it is often a sign you're about to grow Press play to start reconnecting with the woman beneath the roles and take your first step into a next chapter that fits who you are today. If you'd like to do this work alongside others in transition, join the waitlist and share what you'd love to see in Kavita's group program and community, opening in January. And if you'd rather talk through your own next steps one on one, book a Complimentary Clarity Call with Kavita . About the Guest Eva M. Kennedy, CPCC, is an empowerment speaker, leadership development professional, author, and coach who helps women reconnect with who they are and live the lives they were created to live. Drawing on nearly three decades of Fortune 100 leadership experience and her own journey of growth and reinvention, Eva brings a powerful perspective on identity, courage, choice, and navigating life's transitions. She is the author of Inspirations for the Soul and Just L.E.A.P., and the creator of Remember Who You Are , a growing body of work centered on helping women come home to themselves. Website: https://evamkennedy.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evamkennedy-cpcc/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evamkennedy/ _________________________ Take the Ikigai Clarity Assessment and find out which of your four Ikigai dimensions may be out of alignment. Schedule a Clarity and Next Chapter Call with Kavita New episodes every Monday and Thursday. This podcast explores career and life transitions, helping women find clarity, confidence, and purpose through Ikigai and self-discovery. We cover navigating change, overcoming self-doubt and limiting beliefs, finding your purpose-driven career, and building the courage to start your next chapter - whether you're facing a career transition, life transition, or midlife reinvention. itsmytimenowcoaching.com | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

November 5, 2026Episode 3539 min

#353: Will Your Next Chapter Fulfill You or Keep You Busy in a Midlife Career and Life Transition?

Have you pictured your next chapter in big moments, like the business launch, the move, or the day you hand in your resignation, but never pictured an ordinary Tuesday inside it? The milestones matter, and they’re worth dreaming about. But a life is lived on ordinary days, and that’s where a dream shows its truth. Andrea Maizes, from episode 344, left an exhausting executive role only to build a consulting practice that had her working 60 hours a week, a reminder that busy and fulfilled are not the same thing. In this Thursday check-in, a companion to Monday’s episode 352, you’ll continue the visioning step of the Pyramid of Reinvention by putting the picture of your next chapter that excites you most to a simple test. Kavita also shares what Diwali, the festival of lights, means to her, and why it’s the perfect time to make room for something new. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why an ordinary Tuesday tells you more about a dream than any big milestone, and how it keeps you from recreating the very life you’re trying to leave A three-step exercise to write out an ordinary day in your next chapter and test it with one question: would I love to live this day again and again? How to read your energy, the lift of positive, anabolic energy or the heaviness of draining, catabolic energy, and what to ask when the picture feels heavy, plus what Kavita’s own ordinary Tuesday looks like fifteen years from now Press play to walk through an ordinary day in your next chapter and find out whether it would fulfill you or simply keep you busy. Kavita would love to send you the Inner Mentor Exercise, a guided visualization where you meet your future self, the wisest version of you, who is already living that life. Email her directly at kavita@itsmytimenowcoaching.com to request it. And if you’d like to picture your next chapter alongside other women asking the same questions, join the waiting list and share what you’d love to see in Kavita’s group program and community opening in January. Episodes mentioned: Episode 352: How to Design Your Next 15 Years on Purpose in a Midlife Career and Life Transition Episode 344: What to Do When You Can’t Tell If You’re Burned Out or Ready to Leave Your Career, with Andrea Maizes _________________________ Take the Ikigai Clarity Assessment and find out which of your four Ikigai dimensions may be out of alignment. Schedule a Clarity and Next Chapter Call with Kavita New episodes every Monday and Thursday. This podcast explores career and life transitions, helping women find clarity, confidence, and purpose through Ikigai and self-discovery. We cover navigating change, overcoming self-doubt and limiting beliefs, finding your purpose-driven career, and building the courage to start your next chapter - whether you're facing a career transition, life transition, or midlife reinvention. itsmytimenowcoaching.com | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

November 2, 2026Episode 35218 min

#352: How to Design Your Next 15 Years on Purpose in a Midlife Career and Life Transition

What would your next 15 years look like if you designed them on purpose? And what if you have so many options for your next chapter that you can’t decide which one to choose? For many women in a career or life transition, the challenge isn’t a lack of options. It’s never having had the time to picture what they want clearly enough to choose. Continuing the visioning step of the Pyramid of Reinvention, Kavita’s six-step process for moving from confusion to clarity, this episode takes the Odyssey Plan from the bestselling book Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, and stretches it across your next 15 years, part of what Ikigai co-author Francesc Miralles calls an ocean of time. With layoffs and AI reshaping work, those years are coming either way, so who decides what they look like, you or your circumstances? In this episode, you’ll discover: Why the next 15 years of your life may be the ones most worth designing on purpose, and why they don’t have to look the same as the first part of your career How to use the Odyssey Plan, a way of sketching three very different futures, to picture the life you’re living now carried forward, what you’d do if that path disappeared, and the life you’d choose if money and other people’s opinions didn’t matter How your Ikigai, your reason for being, and the lift of positive, anabolic energy can help you decide which version is right for you, plus how Kavita blended all three versions into her own plan at 60 Press play to picture three versions of your next 15 years and start designing the one that’s right for you, on purpose. To go one step further, email kavita@itsmytimenowcoaching.com for the free Inner Mentor Exercise, a guided visualization where you meet your future self, and share what your three versions look like. And if you’d like to picture your next chapter alongside other women doing the same work, join the waitlist and share what you’d love to see in Kavita’s group program and community opening in January. Ready to talk through your next chapter one-on-one? Book your Complimentary Clarity Call Episodes mentioned: Episode 346: The Pyramid of Reinvention overview Episode 350: What Staying May Be Costing You, with Carol Lin Episode 351: How You Want to Be Remembered Episode 277: Ikigai Explained: How Purpose Evolves Episode 278: Francesc Miralles, co-author of Ikigai _________________________ Take the Ikigai Clarity Assessment and find out which of your four Ikigai dimensions may be out of alignment. Schedule a Clarity and Next Chapter Call with Kavita New episodes every Monday and Thursday. This podcast explores career and life transitions, helping women find clarity, confidence, and purpose through Ikigai and self-discovery. We cover navigating change, overcoming self-doubt and limiting beliefs, finding your purpose-driven career, and building the courage to start your next chapter - whether you're facing a career transition, life transition, or midlife reinvention. itsmytimenowcoaching.com | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

October 29, 2026Episode 35110 min

#351: How to Find Your Purpose in a Midlife Transition With One Powerful Question

If you could choose the words people will use about you one day, would they match the life you’re living right now? Most of us assume we’ll be remembered for our title, our years of service, or the roles we held the longest. In this Thursday check-in, a companion to Monday’s episode 350 with former CNN anchor Carol Lin, that assumption gets turned around. When Carol describes her legacy, she doesn’t mention a single job, and Ikigai co-author Francesc Miralles names a greatest success that has nothing to do with selling millions of books. Their answers continue visioning, the second step of the Pyramid of Reinvention, where you begin to picture what you want your next chapter in a career or life transition to truly mean. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why one simple question can cut through everything that looks impressive from the outside and brings career clarity to what matters most to you now What Carol Lin and Francesc Miralles each hope to be remembered for, and what their answers may reveal about your own A simple exercise to write the words you’d love to be remembered by, and one small step to start living your way toward them this week Press play to write the words you’d love to hear about your life, and start living your way toward them in your next chapter. Kavita would love to send you the Inner Mentor Exercise, a guided visualization where you meet your future self, the wisest version of you, and hear what she wants you to know about your next chapter. Email her directly at Kavita@itsmytimenowcoaching.com to request it. And if you’d like to picture your next chapter alongside other women in transition, Kavita is opening a group program and community in January. Join the waiting list and share what you’d like to see . _________________________ Take the Ikigai Clarity Assessment and find out which of your four Ikigai dimensions may be out of alignment. Schedule a Clarity and Next Chapter Call with Kavita New episodes every Monday and Thursday. This podcast explores career and life transitions, helping women find clarity, confidence, and purpose through Ikigai and self-discovery. We cover navigating change, overcoming self-doubt and limiting beliefs, finding your purpose-driven career, and building the courage to start your next chapter - whether you're facing a career transition, life transition, or midlife reinvention. itsmytimenowcoaching.com | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

October 26, 2026Episode 35045 min

#350: What Staying May Be Costing You in a Midlife Career and Life Transition, with Carol Lin

Are you torn between staying in a career that no longer fits and leaving without a plan B in place? Most of us only count the risk of leaving. Former CNN and ABC News anchor Carol Lin, the first national anchor to break the news of 9/11, faced a different calculation when her husband was diagnosed with a fatal cancer while she was six months pregnant. Walking away from a career that had asked everything of her, with no financial safety net, led to three more careers she never could have predicted. Her story opens visioning , the second step of the Pyramid of Reinvention, where you begin to picture what you truly want your next chapter to look like, even when a life transition makes it hard to see anything new. In this episode, you’ll discover: The one question that may help you decide whether to stay or go in a life transition The surprising everyday habit Carol says can train your brain to picture a different life What to ask yourself when you’re redefining ambition in your next chapter Press play to weigh the real price of staying against the price of leaving, and give yourself permission to picture what comes next. Ready to take those first steps alongside others in transition? Join the waiting list for Kavita’s new group program , opening in January, and share what you’d love to see in the community. And if you’d like to talk through your own next steps one-on-one, book a Complimentary Clarity Call with Kavita . About the Guest Carol Lin is an award-winning journalist and former anchor and correspondent for CNN and ABC News, best known as the first network journalist to break the news of the 9/11 attacks. Her honors include an Emmy, a Peabody, an Alfred I. duPont Award, and three Los Angeles Press Club Awards. After leaving CNN, she served as an entrepreneur in residence at SRI International, taught journalism at USC, and led strategic communications for Los Angeles County government. Her memoir, When News Breaks: A Memoir of Love and War , is available wherever books are sold. On her Substack, she shares stories of how 9/11 shaped the lives of everyday people. Website: https://www.CarolLinNow.com Substack: https://WhenNewsBreaks.Substack.com Instagram: @carollinnow Facebook: @carollinnow _________________________ Take the Ikigai Clarity Assessment and find out which of your four Ikigai dimensions may be out of alignment. Schedule a Clarity and Next Chapter Call with Kavita New episodes every Monday and Thursday. This podcast explores career and life transitions, helping women find clarity, confidence, and purpose through Ikigai and self-discovery. We cover navigating change, overcoming self-doubt and limiting beliefs, finding your purpose-driven career, and building the courage to start your next chapter - whether you're facing a career transition, life transition, or midlife reinvention. itsmytimenowcoaching.com | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

October 22, 2026Episode 34910 min

#349: How to Start Living Your Reason for Being Without Changing Everything in a Midlife Transition

What if you could start living your reason for being this week, without quitting your job or changing everything at once? So many people in a career or life transition believe their Ikigai, their reason for being, only begins after one big move. Continuing the rediscovery step of the Pyramid of Reinvention and building on Monday’s episode 348, this Thursday check-in shows how your purpose can start showing up in small ways in the work and life you already have. Through a story from Ikigai co-author Francesc Miralles and two women Kavita interviewed at the Ikigai in Nature retreat in Zermatt, Switzerland, Llynne Plante and Liza Solonos, you’ll see how small steps can open the way to your next chapter. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why your reason for being doesn’t have to wait for one big leap, and how small steps often lead to bigger changes with a careful plan behind them What a 7 a.m. coffee shift taught the co-author of Ikigai about living your purpose in the work you already do, and how two real career transition stories put it into practice Three simple ways to begin bringing your reason for being into your life this week, and how your energy can guide you toward career clarity Press play to find the first small step that brings your reason for being into your life now, and let the next one become clear from there. Haven’t gathered the pieces of your Ikigai yet? Start with the free Ikigai Clarity Assessment , which takes about five minutes and shows which of your four dimensions are alive in your life right now. To hear Kavita’s full conversations with Llynne and Liza, listen to Episode 215 . And if you’d like to do this work alongside other women in transition, join the waitlist and share your thoughts for Kavita’s group program and community opening in January. _________________________ Take the Ikigai Clarity Assessment and find out which of your four Ikigai dimensions may be out of alignment. Schedule a Clarity and Next Chapter Call with Kavita New episodes every Monday and Thursday. This podcast explores career and life transitions, helping women find clarity, confidence, and purpose through Ikigai and self-discovery. We cover navigating change, overcoming self-doubt and limiting beliefs, finding your purpose-driven career, and building the courage to start your next chapter - whether you're facing a career transition, life transition, or midlife reinvention. itsmytimenowcoaching.com | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

October 19, 2026Episode 34824 min

#348: Why You Can Know Your Strengths and Passions and Still Not See Your Purpose in a Midlife Transition

Have you uncovered your strengths, passions, and values, yet still can’t see how they add up to a clear direction for your next chapter? So many people in a career or life transition already hold the pieces of their purpose. What’s missing is the picture that connects them. Continuing the rediscovery step of the Pyramid of Reinvention, this episode shows how your Ikigai, your reason for being, comes together into one guiding statement for your life and career. Through the story of a client who said reading her statement made her feel like she had wings and could fly, Kavita’s own evolving statement, and insights from Ikigai co-author Francesc Miralles, you’ll see what becomes possible when the pieces finally fit. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why finding the pieces of your purpose can still leave you feeling unsure, and why your reason for being is not missing, only unassembled How the overlaps work: your strengths and passions give you your how , your values and contribution give you your why , and together they become your Ikigai statement Four simple steps to write your own guiding statement, and how to use it as a compass for career clarity when an impressive-looking opportunity doesn’t fit who you are Press play to start putting your pieces together and give your next chapter a direction you can trust. Start gathering your pieces with the free Ikigai Clarity Assessment , which shows you in a few minutes which of your four dimensions are alive in your life right now. If you’d like someone beside you to find your overlaps and shape your statement, book a Complimentary Clarity Call with Kavita . Or, if you’d rather do this work alongside other women, join the waitlist and share your thoughts for Kavita’s group program opening in January. Episodes mentioned: Episode 346: The Pyramid of Reinvention overview Episode 326: Kavita’s own Ikigai, at 60 Kavita’s interview with Francesc Miralles, co-author of Ikigai _________________________ Take the Ikigai Clarity Assessment and find out which of your four Ikigai dimensions may be out of alignment. Schedule a Clarity and Next Chapter Call with Kavita New episodes every Monday and Thursday. This podcast explores career and life transitions, helping women find clarity, confidence, and purpose through Ikigai and self-discovery. We cover navigating change, overcoming self-doubt and limiting beliefs, finding your purpose-driven career, and building the courage to start your next chapter - whether you're facing a career transition, life transition, or midlife reinvention. itsmytimenowcoaching.com | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

October 15, 2026Episode 34710 min

#347: What to Do When You Want More From Your Life but Don’t Know What to Change First

Does so much in your life feel off right now that you don’t know what to change first? Once you admit one thing isn’t working, it can start to feel as though nothing is. Your career, your health, your marriage, your friendships, even your evenings all seem to need fixing at once, so you either want to blow it all up or you freeze where you are. In this Thursday check-in, a companion to Monday’s episode 346 on the Pyramid of Reinvention, Kavita takes you through the first step of that climb, rediscovery, so you can see clearly where you are before you decide where you’re going in your midlife career and life transition. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why overwhelm in a life transition so often freezes us in place, and the honest alternative to either changing everything or changing nothing How the Wheel of Life, a simple circle that scores each area of your life from one to ten, reveals where your energy is really being drained, and why the biggest surprise is often the most important part The one question that shifts you from what’s missing to what’s possible, and how to choose the single area that can lift all the others Press play to find out where to begin , and let yourself imagine what a 10 could look like in your own life. Kavita would love to send you her Wheel of Life exercise so you can do it this week. Email her directly at Kavita@itsmytimenowcoaching.com and she’ll send you the Wheel of Life diagram and the exercises to go with it. And if you’d like to climb the Pyramid of Reinvention alongside other women in the same season of life, Kavita is creating a group program and community for exactly that, opening in January. Share your thoughts in this short survey to help shape what it becomes. Click here to see the Pyramid of Reinvention _________________________ Take the Ikigai Clarity Assessment and find out which of your four Ikigai dimensions may be out of alignment. Schedule a Clarity and Next Chapter Call with Kavita New episodes every Monday and Thursday. This podcast explores career and life transitions, helping women find clarity, confidence, and purpose through Ikigai and self-discovery. We cover navigating change, overcoming self-doubt and limiting beliefs, finding your purpose-driven career, and building the courage to start your next chapter - whether you're facing a career transition, life transition, or midlife reinvention. itsmytimenowcoaching.com | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

October 12, 2026Episode 34614 min

#346: How to Know Where to Start When You’re Ready for a Career Change or Life Transition

Do you know something in your life needs to change, but have no idea where to begin? It might be loud, like a layoff, a divorce, or a house that feels too still after the kids have gone. Or it might be so subtle you cannot name the day it started. Either way, the pull is to do something fast, and those changes rarely last. The answers live in the in-between, in a deliberate pause before you act, and this episode gives that pause a clear path through your career change or life transition. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why so many of us jump straight into action in a career change, and why those changes so often don’t last The six steps of the Pyramid of Reinvention that take you from “something has to change” to a next chapter that truly fits A simple way to see where you are on that path right now, so you know exactly where to begin this week Press play to find where you are on the Pyramid of Reinvention and take the first step toward a next chapter that truly fits you. If the idea of climbing this pyramid alongside others in the same season of life appeals to you, Kavita is creating a group program and community for exactly that, opening in January. Before she finalizes it, she would love to know what would help you most. Share your thoughts in this short survey to help shape what it becomes. Click here to see the Pyramid of Reinvention _________________________ Take the Ikigai Clarity Assessment and find out which of your four Ikigai dimensions may be out of alignment. Schedule a Clarity and Next Chapter Call with Kavita New episodes every Monday and Thursday. This podcast explores career and life transitions, helping women find clarity, confidence, and purpose through Ikigai and self-discovery. We cover navigating change, overcoming self-doubt and limiting beliefs, finding your purpose-driven career, and building the courage to start your next chapter - whether you're facing a career transition, life transition, or midlife reinvention. itsmytimenowcoaching.com | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

October 8, 2026Episode 3457 min

#345: How to Borrow Courage When You Don't Feel Brave Enough for Your Next Step

Have you been circling the same brave step for weeks, maybe years, waiting for a surge of courage that never quite arrives? Most people in a life transition think the problem is that they are not brave enough yet. The truth is kinder, and far more useful. You do not have to generate all of your courage on your own. You can borrow some from the people around you until you have built up enough of your own. In this Thursday check-in, a companion to Monday's conversation with Andrea Maizes in episode 344, Kavita picks up on one idea from that episode and turns it into a small, doable invitation for the week ahead. In this episode, you'll discover: What borrowed courage actually is, and why watching another person be brave becomes real proof that your next step is possible for you too Why the judgment you are bracing for is almost always a story you are telling yourself, and what tends to happen when you finally let people in on what you are working toward How to choose one small act of rebellion this week, something that stretches you a little rather than terrifies you, and why that one honest act teaches you something fear never will Press play to borrow a little courage, choose your one small act, and take the step you have been circling in your midlife career and life transition. If the idea of borrowing courage from a circle of other professional people in the same season of life speaks to you, Kavita is considering creating a small group program for people navigating career and life transitions together, uncovering their ikigai, your reason for being, and lifting each other up through each next brave step. Add your name to the waitlist here . There is no commitment, only a way to let Kavita know you are interested, and she will share details as they take shape. _________________________ Take the Ikigai Clarity Assessment and find out which of your four Ikigai dimensions may be out of alignment. Schedule a Clarity and Next Chapter Call with Kavita New episodes every Monday and Thursday. This podcast explores career and life transitions, helping women find clarity, confidence, and purpose through Ikigai and self-discovery. We cover navigating change, overcoming self-doubt and limiting beliefs, finding your purpose-driven career, and building the courage to start your next chapter - whether you're facing a career transition, life transition, or midlife reinvention. itsmytimenowcoaching.com | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube