If you’re a mom who feels like you’ve lost yourself in motherhood, I see you!
It is possible to love your kids deeply and still feel like you have lost yourself somewhere along the way.
It is possible to be grateful and still crave more.
It is possible to be “fine” on the outside while feeling like you are disappearing on the inside.
As moms, we balance it all. We balance the kids’ schedules, the house, the meals, the work, the emotional labor, everything. And then one day, we look up and realize we have lost ourselves somewhere along the way.
Can you relate?
In this episode of the Second Act Success Podcast, I sat down with Michelle DeKeyser, a former teacher turned stay at home mom who reached that exact moment and decided to do something about it. Michelle’s second act is not just about starting a business. It is about rebuilding identity, creating belonging, and giving moms a safe place to grow again.
If you are navigating a career transition, thinking about second act careers, or collecting second act career ideas for your next chapter, Michelle’s story is a powerful reminder that your second act can start in the middle of real life, not after everything is perfectly calm.
Listen on Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube
Michelle’s career began with a question mark
Michelle shared that she never had one clear answer to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
She went to New York University, finished her undergraduate degree, and still felt unsure about what came next. A suggestion from her boyfriend’s mom pointed her toward teaching. Michelle resisted at first, then went to graduate school for her elementary credential.
Life had other plans. When she moved back to California, she had trouble finding an elementary position and ended up teaching high school, even though she once said she would never do that.
That part of her story matters because so many women think a second act only happens when you “get it wrong” the first time. Michelle proves something different. Sometimes your first act is simply the path that builds your skills, your resilience, and your clarity for what comes next.
Stay-at-Home Mom to Community Leader: Michelle DeKeyser on Motherhood and Belonging | #225
Motherhood changed everything and the math made the decision
After teaching, Michelle took a sabbatical year with her husband and traveled the world. When they came home, they started their family.
Eventually, they moved from California to Wisconsin, and Michelle tried returning to teaching. Then she found out she was pregnant with her second child. With two kids in daycare, the salary became a wash. She realized she was essentially working for about $500 a month after childcare costs.
So she made the choice many women face during a midlife career transition or mid-career transition. She stayed home.
That decision was practical, but it also opened the door to a deeper emotional reality that so many moms understand and rarely name out loud. The fog.
The fog of motherhood and the moment Michelle chose herself again
During COVID, Michelle had three kids, and her dad and uncle were both battling cancer. She made the decision to homeschool her children, and at the same time, she took on a challenge that became a turning point in her identity.
Michelle started 75 Hard on September 1, 2020. It is a 75 day challenge that includes two workouts a day with one outdoors, a gallon of water, a set diet, nonfiction reading, and no alcohol or sugar, plus other requirements. If you miss even one step, including taking a daily progress photo, you start over.
Michelle completed the full program while homeschooling three kids, navigating grief, and managing a household during an incredibly heavy season. What stood out most was not just her discipline. It was what she learned about herself.
She shared a moment late in the process when she realized she had become obsessed with the finish line. She forgot to take her daily photo and panicked, but then recognized something bigger. She had been discounting the entire journey.
Even before she crossed the finish line, she had already changed her habits, her mindset, her energy, and the way she took care of herself. That lesson became part of what shaped her second act.
The question every mom faces eventually: Now what?
When homeschooling ended and her kids returned to school, Michelle found herself at a crossroads. Now what?
This is the moment many women experience in a second act career season. You have spent years pouring into everyone else. Then life shifts and you suddenly have a little space. That space can feel unsettling.
Michelle knew one thing for sure. She wanted to bring moms together.
Not just for playdates or surface level conversations, but for deeper connection, belonging, and real support. She wanted a space where women could be honest about who they are and who they are becoming, especially when they feel alone in their own homes.
She tried creating a small mom group first, but it did not work in the way she expected. Michelle described how comparison and emotional overwhelm showed her that connection needs structure and safety. So instead of giving up, she refined the vision.
Mama Genius: A community that helps women protect the flame
Michelle’s work is rooted in a belief I see in so many of my clients. Women carry ideas, callings, and dreams that start as tiny flames.
When you share those flames too early with people who do not understand them, they can get squashed. That does not always mean someone is trying to hurt you. Sometimes they are scared. Sometimes they are not ready. Sometimes they simply cannot see what you see yet.
Michelle created Mama Genius to give women a place to grow that flame until it is strong enough to stand on its own.
She also shared a visual that stuck with me. Michelle compared our perspective to being inside a jar. When you are inside your own mind, you often see the warning label, the doubts, the negative story. You need community to help you see the front label, the strengths, the possibilities, and the truth.
That is what Mama Genius is designed to do.
What Michelle offers inside her hub and circles
Michelle has created a structure that honors real mom life. Inside her hub, she offers mini lessons designed for “mom time.” Short videos that take one to five minutes, followed by quick implementation steps. She wants women to feel progress without needing hours of uninterrupted time.
She also facilitates women’s circles on Zoom where moms can practice sharing honestly, being witnessed, and rebuilding trust. For many women, it is the first time they have felt truly seen in a long time.
This is especially powerful for women exploring second act career ideas, building a business, or feeling pulled toward a bigger purpose.
If you are in the mom fog right now, I want you to know this.
You are allowed to want more.
You are allowed to rebuild your identity.
You are allowed to create a second act career that fits your life and lights you up.
You do not have to figure it out alone.
If you are ready to explore your next step and want a clear plan for your career change or business idea, book a free strategy call with me.
I will help you take what is calling you and turn it into a real, doable path forward so that you can build a second act career or business that fulfills you.
Connect with Michelle DeKeyser:
https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/mama-genius-hub/episodes/
FREE BUSINESS STARTUP CHECKLIST:
Thinking of starting a business? Download a checklist to make sure you don’t miss a thing!
https://secondactsuccess.co/business-checklist
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https://startyoursecondact.com
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Second Act Success Career Podcast
Season 1 - Stay-at-Home Mom to Community Leader: Michelle DeKeyser on Motherhood and Belonging | #225
Episode - #225
Host: Shannon Russell
Guest: Michelle DeKeyser
Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)
Shannon Russell: [00:00:00] If you're a mom, this episode is for you because moms balance it all. We balance the kids' schedules, the house, everything. Until one day we realize we've lost ourselves. Can you relate? ,
Speaker 2: Are you ready to quit your nine to five job and start a business of your own? Well, you're in the right place, my friend. Welcome to the second Act Success podcast. I am your host Shannon Russell, and my mission is to help you produce your best life. This podcast will teach you how to get from where you are now to where you want to be and how to build a business that fits your life and lights you up.
Let's get started.
Shannon Russell: I'm Shannon Russell, a business coach for women, the host of the second Act Success podcast and author of Start Your Second Act on this episode of the show, I am joined by Michelle DeKeyser. Michelle began her career in teaching. She then left teaching to become a stay-at-home [00:01:00] mom.
After years, she decided that she wanted , something else to fulfill her, . What she did next is create a community of moms. She couldn't find it on her own, so she began a second act, building this community and building a business.
Here she is, Michelle DeKeyser.
Shannon Russell: Michelle, welcome to the podcast. I'm so excited to chat with you.
Michelle DeKeyser: Oh, I'm so excited to be here. I just, every time we chat, chat, we just keep going on and on. I know
Shannon Russell: we had to press record, otherwise we would just keep talking halfway. But we had such a nice conversation on your podcast and, I just had to have you on here to talk about your career story.
So let's start where everything began. Where did your career begin or where did you think you were gonna start?
Michelle DeKeyser: For me, I mean, I didn't actually ever know what I wanted to do. And it was funny 'cause I was in, I went to, um, New York University and I was sitting there, , finishing up my undergraduate degree, what am I gonna do next?
That kind of feeling. And my boyfriend's mom at the time. So I said, what about elementary? Because I was like, oh, I'm not gonna teach, I'm not gonna teach, I'm not gonna do that. So I ended up going to get my [00:02:00] elementary credential, went for two years graduate school, and then I ended up.
From New York moving back to California and had trouble getting an elementary and ended up teaching high school, which is funny 'cause I was like, I am not teaching high school. Long story short is I ended up teaching high school, but when we eventually, um, my husband, I took a sabbatical year and traveled around the world and when we came back, then that's when we started our family.
And, um, two years, , after my son was born, we decided that California wasn't necessary. We either had to either get a bigger house or we had to move. , That's what actually ended up. Having us merge to Wisconsin. And when I was in Wisconsin it was more like, , trying to figure out do I stay home with the kids?
What do I do? And so I ended up going back to teach for six months. When we moved, we found out where I was pregnant my second child. And so we put two kids in daycare. You realize. Salary was a wash. And so then I officially just made the decision.
My husband just kept waiting for me to say, that's what I want to do, or whatever I want to. I finally said, I'm gonna stay at home. And so then I decided to stay at home with the kids because it was literally, I think I made about $500 a month [00:03:00] to take care. Right? And two kids and all of it. And it was just not like worth all the running around and just not being able to raise your own kids.
right around COVID, we, by that time, we had three kids and it was more, um, my dad and his brother also had, , cancer at the time. Oh. And so I decided to homeschool the kids Lily was gonna be in 4K. Liam was, , in fourth grade and Bill was in second grade.
And I was just in this fog almost of like, what do I do? I'm, I'm in this fog of motherhood. September 1st, 2020, and we decided that that was when we started homeschooling them for the year. And I decided to do the 75 hard, the 75 hard. I don't know if you, who have heard of it, who haven't?
It's, it's by Andy Elli. It's where for 75 days you do two workouts. One has to be outdoors. You drink a gallon of water, you stick to a diet, at least 10 pages of, of reading, of some sort of nonfiction learning. and so you do all the things, no alcohol, no sugar, that kind of thing, and really to reset your system.
The picture is, is if you miss any one of those things, including taking a self portrait, [00:04:00] you're supposed to start back at day one. Wow. Just to literally do all of that for seven, five, to really just change habits, change your mindset, all of that. So I was doing that while I was homeschooling my kids.
So I started September 1st, the end of September. My dad actually was getting really bad, so I went back to actually have 'em pass away. Um, in the midst of all this. I'm sorry. And for me it was though. I was almost glad that I was forcing myself to do this because it was like when my mom and my sister was, when it was too much.
It was like, go get your workout. Go, go get outside, get some fresh air, reset yourself kind of doing these things and, and figure out how you can still do that in, in the midst of everything. Long story short, I ended up finishing out the full entire year. Um, there's other phases to it. I was homeschooling the kids at the end of that summer.
my husband and the kids kind of like it was. Kind of almost, it was in my hands, but outta my hands. But it seemed like they all wanted to go back to school or just ended up putting them back into school. And then the big question for me, now what, now what, and what I had learned in [00:05:00] this year was, one of the things was actually phase three, the last 20 on day, 25, 5 days before finishing out the whole entire year.
By this point, you're also taking five minute cold showers. You're talking to a stranger, you're doing random acts of kindness. I'd done all of that. For that day and I must have fallen asleep reading. I had finished my reading, I was past point, but I woke up at two 30 in the morning. I had not taken my portrait and not taken myself portrait that day.
I was two 30 in the morning, gray area, however you wanna look at I, this pic, weird picture of me in the bathroom. Just like so tired and like, and that really was when I realized it, kinda even thinking about the second act, it really was about the journey. Mm-hmm. Because I'd been discounting everything that had happened over the year.
I had been looking at the finish line and only the finish line, and whether I finished or not that point, I had lost 45 pounds. I was now down a personal development route. I was now eating, looking after myself better, had more energy doing [00:06:00] these things. But I wasn't even necessarily looking at that picture.
I was just looking at that finish line.
Shannon Russell: Yeah.
Michelle DeKeyser: I ended up finishing up the five days. I did the whole year. But it was really at that point then now the kids are gonna go back to school, what do I do? And that's, um, where I'd kind of started this idea of wanting to create some sort of business or something.
And that's kinda where the first step to. And I did, went full into my first business course and I was like, at the end of the six months, I'm gonna have a business. I'm gonna do all this. And my husband's like, yeah, right. Are you sure this is the one you want? And of course, at the end of six months, didn't quite happen that way.
, But neither saved, kept working through it.
Shannon Russell: I'm just so impressed. I'd never heard of the 75. Hard, never heard of it. This is incredible. And the discipline that you had to accomplish that while homeschooling three kids? I can't, I don't know where you got that.
Michelle DeKeyser: I've never finished those things. Like I've tried the 21 day fit. I've tried all these things. This was the first one that I actually finished and didn't like stop on. But that was the turning point for me.[00:07:00]
Shannon Russell: Now, would you have started a business if you didn't do this and the kids decided to go back to school? Is starting a business and starting this next act something that you think you would've done?
Michelle DeKeyser: Somewhere in my thirties, like I was just like, this is about raising kids and, and then I was like, I want my four years about to be something business related or something.
I've always just kind of felt like as women, as a woman myself, just like. It's not my thing though, like, like it's still like putting my my hands on, like, you know, starting your own business stuff. Even at the, even right now where I'm at, it's like, okay, am I still gonna keep going forward or is it time to just like, go get a JOB
Shannon Russell: Yeah.
Michelle DeKeyser: In the midst of all of that. And, and I think part of that though comes down to just, societal pressures and things that you put on yourself mm-hmm. That aren't necessarily like. Who you are or where you're at, but it's really, it really is when you're thinking about that second act and, and where you're, and you're like all of a sudden like, I should have done this sooner.
and the should start to come out. Yeah. And you're just questioning everything that you're doing.
Shannon Russell: Yes. But I think [00:08:00] you being able to accomplish that huge challenge gave you some confidence hopefully, and discipline to say, okay, I'm gonna try this. So I give you so many props for that.
That's really amazing. I would love to know if any listeners out there have have done the 75 hard and would. Finish it. Like I just think that's incredible.
\ so now the kids are going back to school and I love that you gave them the opportunity to do that and you know, respected them to say, okay, you wanna go back and you're sitting here saying, okay, now what?
Because that really is that identity shift of I've been home with them for so long, literally. Now what is next for me? And you're thinking about a business. What kind of business were you thinking of? How were your wheels turning to, to plan what was next for you?
Michelle DeKeyser: I felt like, as a mom, I was in the fog and, and figuring out what my identity was and all of that.
So. All I knew at the, at that moment in time was I want to bring moms together. I want us to have this shift of belonging, [00:09:00] connectedness that I wasn't necessarily feeling at the time, and it wasn't more so. It was more so in terms of that. Deeper connection because I felt like there, there was so much, like I had a lot of friends superficial and like, you know, the play dates, all of this and all of that.
But like, how deep can those conversations go when the kids are running around or, or how deep do you let them go? Or, or how vulnerable do you share who you really are? Or do you even know who you are anymore? 'cause I didn't, no.
Shannon Russell: And so
Michelle DeKeyser: that was my aim. And so I, I even, um, the first thing that I set out do is I had this idea of mom's a five.
And I want to almost like match, meet them in terms and put them into these small groups where we do play dates and we do what I'd call circle time and, and, and do all this. And I, I create that for myself. However, what happened for me was, um, I got lost in the comparison. And so think about those Facebook chats where you have a lot of people in there.
so was the five of us in there. And so like if I would say my son was sick or, and then someone else would say theirs and I was like, oh, they didn't respond to me enough. Or, or, and you start to feel that, yeah, that [00:10:00] comparison, and I have the tendency to do that. And so my body was literally repulsing.
All of this, like I would literally like feel nauseous and just overwhelmed and I could just feel it. And the only thing, like eventually I just had to remove myself completely from that group because I finally just said, I can't, my body won't even allow this. And that made me realize that a lot of us as women, like we have this deep yearning inside of us to belong.
We were the gatherers of the hunters and gatherers, and we sat around and even when I was, um, I hadn't told you already, but last summer I took my son to Africa and there was this huge like, , stove made of stones
and there's like three women around there cooking this huge meal, singing, dancing as they're doing this, this tough work. That's what I felt. We lost somewhere in the midst of, now we're in our own little boxes, our own little houses. I gotta do it by myself and I gotta do it perfectly and I can't ask for help yet.
Our innate being inside of us wants that [00:11:00] yearning. That dichotomy of those, those two opposite pillars, how do we bring that together? And that was me trying to bring that together and realizing. It's almost like going in the deep end of a swimming pool of belonging and not knowing how to swim yet because we've removed ourselves from that, that openness, that belonging now where like, be vulnerable.
You're told to be vulnerable, but like that's hard when someone goes and tells your secrets to someone else or, or something else and you, you get all these layers of things that have happened to you because. Us as women, things have happened.
We it's that really figuring out how to remove those layers with the right people and to be able to trust and, and feel that you can be open with others again, which isn't. Easy that, and that's where the deep work comes in. And that's where I like really want to just, you know, remove all the deep work and just jump into that diving in and be there.
And, and I tried that and my body literally repulsed it just because it was too much, it was overwhelming.
Shannon Russell: They say it's so hard and I, I agree to make friends at our [00:12:00] age, you know, and, and as you're talking, I'm thinking back to how social and how many friends I had in high school and college and twenties and early thirties, and then you have kids.
And it just all changes because they become your world and nothing else truly matters. Or you might have those friends, you know, like for me, my closest friends are still by college friends and you know, we still talk all the time, but the friends that I make in adulthood in this phase are very different.
They're more of like how you were describing and how do you find those deep relationships like you had in college and in your twenties. Um. At this stage, and it's hard. So I can see such a desire for you to find that and create that kind of a community because it's very hard at our age. And I think the other
Michelle DeKeyser: thing that happens is the now what?
Which we were just talking about. Mm-hmm. And so. We've checked off all the boxes. We've like done some of the things and, and you know, [00:13:00] the Disney happy ending if you're married or whatever, and you're like, just all of a sudden you're, but then the now what comes up and not all women are ready to, or, or have that calling or ready to acknowledge it or wherever they're at.
And that's kind of where I felt. Is that it wasn't necessarily just my family or that it was that calling that purpose, that soul inside of me wanting to figure that out. Yeah. But not everyone around me was ready for that, and that made the belonging even harder because like, I'm like, I'm yearning to like grow.
Be more. And the people around me, literally one of the, the persons from from that same group said, we were just doing you a favor. We didn't really want that, but that, that's what you, you were trying to do. Like, we were just eventually, like, we were trying, doing you a favor. And that's fine that that's not where they're at.
But that's, I think one of the reasons why I had to remove myself from that group because it wasn't. Um, right for me, because I want it to be more, and I don't wanna say the word, do more, it's not about doing more, it's really about expanding [00:14:00] and the key is. The women who are ready for that, calling her ready to either start their business or put a purpose out there, start a charity, start, whatever it is that that is on their soul.
And that's, and when I even put Mama Genius, mama for me is more of an archetype. Mm-hmm. In terms of what do you wanna birth into world, whether it was a child, you wanna do something for them or, or whether it's a book that you wanna get out there, a podcast, it could be as much as setting up a.
The program for your kids' school. It, it could be anything that just is your soul calling. Those are the women I really want to start calling forth to come together. Because when you have this ideas as women, they're these little flames. And as soon as you put it around people who aren't willing to help foster that spouses, right?
Other friends who wanna keep you at that same level of where you're at. It dies.
Shannon Russell: Yeah.
Michelle DeKeyser: And that's what I was feeling. Mm-hmm. And I wanted to create a community where we get the flame up to here, and now it's ready to go out into the world. Now it's ready to be [00:15:00] shared with your spouse. It's not, not, not about hiding from them, it's about getting it to a place where you feel confident enough to share it.
Because for me it was like, I wanna be able to answer all my husband's questions. I don't want to feel like as soon as this question's like. I start to shrink 'cause I'm like, I don't have the answers so it can't be good enough. And we as women do that. And so we ask those questions among each other to start figuring that out and get to the point where it is high enough to be shared.
Yes. Um, and I feel like I'm finally getting to, just getting to that point, where I am right now. And that's the soul calling inside of us. It's that now what and what do we do with that? And that's where I was really called to figure that out.
And for those who are ready to answer that, and some people might be when they've come empty nesters but it mm-hmm. It is at different places. But when you're ready for that, that's, that's who I want to call for.
Shannon Russell: This is when you created the connecting moms and the mama genius hub as well as that, that's when you decided, okay, I'm gonna create this community of people who [00:16:00] are at my level wanting what I want and bring us all together
Michelle DeKeyser: and to really help the self-doubts.
Mm-hmm. Because the self-worth and. That is so lonely and you get so wrapped up in your own thoughts until you get around women who are like, I feel that same way. And I love, here's my analogy, my, um, we got my little pickle jar. Mm. So think of yourself like this is you inside your brain. You can see the eyeballs in here.
Like you literally can't read this label from inside your brain. You just can't. What you can read is a back label where you usually have all the warnings, you have all the negative stuff that people put on labels, right? That's what you can read inside your own brain. That's just the way we as humans are wired.
Yeah. Plain and simple. But to read this front label, you need people who are willing to help you see that. not everyone is, but there are a lot of people who are. And when you surround your people with the people who are willing to help you. [00:17:00] Read this side of the label, then you're less likely to keep reading the, the inside label because that's what we just, that's, that's literally what we see as humans.
We're inside this brain. We can't change that. And even as working with other coaches are like, I know what I'm supposed to do. Why can't I do it for myself? And that's why you can't do it for yourself. You need that outside objective perspective. In a positive light that helps you move forward and not stay stuck in those negative thoughts.
And that is really the essentially why community for women, why we all need community. Whatever that looks like for you is my, my goal is just find the one that works for you best, that helps you read that label. Whoever that is, whoever it is that helps you read that positive label, that's who you should, you should be around whatever that looks like for you.
Shannon Russell: Right, because so often we're in our silo, we're in the house, we're doing our jobs, we've got the kids, we're worried about the schedule, the food shopping, all of the things We're not thinking about finding that safe place for us. And that's what you created for women. [00:18:00] So tell me about the group and you know, how it kind of all came together, how you kind of laid the pieces to create this community.
Michelle DeKeyser: I'm a manifesting generator, working on my human design and, um, figuring out why I pivot so much. Mm. And, and I kept thinking there's something wrong with me. Right. That my brain's not working. Right. And, and we tell ourselves those, and again, that's me reading the inside label, not the outside label.
Whereas women in, in my group, were just helping me read the outside label. But that's what I was telling myself. And so I kept pivoting because like I said, I first start with that in-person group and, , I'm like, Hmm, that doesn't feel right.
And so I keep playing with the IT ideas. So what the hub has become is mini courses.
there are lessons of five, which are 15 minutes or less now, not the lesson itself. The video is one to five minutes, but then you do implementation for 10 minutes. So it's more trying to do things on mom time. In terms of actually getting, you know, feeling accomplished with something and moving [00:19:00] yourself forward because we as moms have the tendencies to, I didn't do enough.
The should start to move up. And so how do we move forward with that? And then the other aspect of it really is the women's circle for me. , Us coming together virtually, literally in Zoom, in a circle using the immersive view of it. Coming and sharing our thoughts and going with the principles of how do we share who we are, how do we feel safe doing this?
And, and people who have never been to a circle, sometimes they come and they don't share anything, or they're just also like, where did this just come from? It's like learning to talk from your heart. Yeah. And we as women seem, when we're in a safe space, we can actually hear, it's almost like journaling subconsciously, but now you're talking subconsciously, but being witnessed by other people.
When you see this come in and you just see the nods and the smiles and the, the, the recognition of like, oh.
I'm not crazy. I, I am like everyone else and my ideas are valid and the way I'm feeling is valid. And then you start to open up more and [00:20:00] listen to others, which then you're able to take those skills with you. So like I love that I can go to my daughters now and when they're in their moods and I'm like, okay, how do I handle this?
And then all she wants to do is talk and then she's, then I just, the biggest thing is silence though, because. As soon as you think you can solve it or something, just keep your mouth shut. And then she keeps going and then all of a sudden she's like, okay, I'm done with you. You can go. Like, all she wanted to do was that same, be seen, heard.
That's what we all want. And so learning to do it in a safe space again, which I think took me back to the experience of Submersing into the pool now, trying to create a way for us to peel back the layers slowly. Mm-hmm. Rather than, than, than trying to like gag and swim in the deep end without being able to swim.
And so this structure and everything has really been able to open up, and especially for women who wanna create businesses or, or get that, that creation of whatever that is into the world, for them to have a place to bring that [00:21:00] forth. Yeah. And to get ideas and suggestions because we as women create together.
We were never meant to share this big burden of these ideas and these visions that we have to make a world better. But when we come together to, to get these out, it means really about us creating a better world for our kids, for everyone else. Why would we want to keep that to ourselves? Mm-hmm. And of course, we wanna help each other and we want to be there and support and get these ideas out into the world because they're, they're pure.
They're from our hearts, they're from our souls. To make this a better world.
Shannon Russell: As you were talking about, maybe not having support from a partner or friends, I tell my clients to keep your ideas close to your chest while you do your research and you figure it out.
And I, I feel like that's exactly what you teach, and it's about getting that confidence within yourself. To then spread it to the world. And I think what you're creating is that space to maybe take those ideas you've been holding close, share them, see [00:22:00] that it's a valuable idea, or that you're not crazy, and then you're able to grow and foster that and finally bring it into the world.
It's, yeah, creating that safe space.
Michelle DeKeyser: , That's what it's been completely for me, because it's just. The, the fear. Mm. And, and I mean, even recently, in the last few days, I mean, um, I had told you already we were possibly relocating to Vietnam. I just got back last night and even in the midst of all of that, I'm like, do, do I just go get a JOB?
Do I do I stop doing this? And, and, and those fears come in and then, but when you're surrounded by the right people and the inspiration that they see your possibilities, they're not gonna let you give up just as you see theirs.
Mm-hmm. And that's what we can do for each other as women when we're in the right space. For the audience listening right now, it's, it really is about figuring out that for yourself. Mm-hmm. And who are those people around you? Are they letting that flame grow or are they, they, they're squashing it.
And to just keep that in mind and that doesn't mean that you need to put them outta your life, it just means you don't share certain things with them. [00:23:00] And you choose to do things a little bit differently and that's where really boundaries come into place is deciding how much to share with someone.
It's not that you have to say goodbye to the person necessarily, it's just you change the way you interact with them a little bit. Mm-hmm. You keep those. In the right places, till it's ready, till it's grown and you're confident enough in it that you can not feel like someone else is gonna squash.
Squash that idea,
Shannon Russell: Because so easily if that happens and then you just revert into your shell and you may never try that again, and you're going to only have regrets at the end of the day. I love that you're creating this pace. So if listeners want to connect with you and join your circle and get involved, where can they go?
So the easiest
Michelle DeKeyser: place right now is mama genius.com/cocreate. So we have three events every month that are free. Two of them are networking, so we just, we, we do networking a little bit differently. We come in and we, we kind of get into our hearts a little bit, and then we share from there. And [00:24:00] then in the middle.
So that's Tuesday nights, , 8:00 PM Central, second Tuesday of the month, and then the fourth to fourth Wednesday of the month is in the morning, 9:30 AM and then the, the third Wednesday of the month is a free circle so you can actually come check out what a circle's like.
And so that's the best way just to. Again, my whole thing is come see if it works for you.
Do I feel like I can connect and do I feel like my ideas can grow inside this group, whatever group that is. If you wanna come check us out for networking or check out our circle that's, um, all
Shannon Russell: free to come check it out. Wonderful. I'll link to that in the show notes for sure. And I wanna mention you also have the Mama Genius Entrepreneurs podcast.
Michelle DeKeyser: And the whole thing for me is try and do things in, in mom time. And recently we just switched to the 15 minute, , format, which you were on. Mm-hmm. And it really is more to show what we as women can do in 15 minutes.
Shannon Russell: Yeah.
Michelle DeKeyser: And. To really propel ourselves forward. And just even the, the, the tips and things that come out in that amount of time is mind blowing. [00:25:00] My whole idea is that we need to learn how to do things within our schedules. Mm-hmm. Not to necessarily feel like we're taking on more, because it's not about taking on more, it's about being more.
Mm-hmm. And so how do we open up and realize that we do have more time and space? It's really about where we dedicate our time.
It's learning in small increments. What are the things that light you up?
When you choose where your time goes and it opens the doors more than if you just like all of a sudden, like you find yourself. Where did the time go? Yeah. When you were asking yourself, where did the time go? That's an indication that you're not putting as much intention behind it. And so the best way to do it is in small increments.
We start at the small increments to figure out what's gonna lie us up, and then we can keep moving forward and adding onto that as we so choose.
Mm-hmm. But I understand so much gets thrown at us as moms.
Shannon Russell: Well, I love this and it brings it back to you being so adaptable. I mean, you started your career in education, then you went to be a stay at home mom, which is a even harder career.
And then to create this community to [00:26:00] see how. Community and this hub and this business is going to help others. And I love that it's helping you at the same time, which is so special.
I feel like this is your act that you're meant to be in and that you can foster and grow and then get to see so many other mama geniuses go out there and create that and just extend that flow into their own worlds.
Shannon Russell: really empowering. And I thank you so much for being here.
Michelle DeKeyser: Well, thank you for having me so much. And I just love your podcasting idea of all of us getting out there and doing our second acts. Let's do 'em together. Yes.
Speaker: Thank you for joining us. I hope you found some gems of inspiration and some takeaways to help you on your path to second act, success. To view show notes from this episode, visit second act success.co. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. Reviews only take a few moments and they really do mean so much.
Thank you again for listening. I'm Shannon Russell. And [00:27:00] this is second act success.
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