Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait

In this episode, I share a story I haven’t spoken about in years.At 24, I found myself alone in Thailand, caught in a situation that didn’t feel right from the start.Every part of me was telling me something was off… and I ignored it.What followed was a chain of events that led me into a second situation where I nearly lost my life.But this isn’t just a story about what happened.It’s about what I realised after.Because when I look back, my instinct didn’t fail me - I just didn’t trust it.We talk about:The moment you know something isn’t right (and why we ignore it)How self-doubt overrides instinctWhy your younger self was often braver than you thinkAnd what changes when you finally start trusting yourself againThis episode is a reminder that you already have what you need. You just need to listen to it.---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, stretched too thin, or unsure of your next step… this episode is for you. Ahead of the new season of Real Women’s Stories… I wanted to share something a little more personal.After a few weeks away from uploading, this is a bonus episode I felt I needed to record.I was completely burnt out. Exhausted. Overwhelmed.And instead of stopping, I did something that didn’t make logical sense - I got on a plane and flew 5,000 miles to Dubai to meet three women I’d only ever spoken to online.I nearly didn’t make it through that first night. I questioned everything.But what happened next reminded me why I started this podcast in the first place.In this episode, I’m sharing:what burnout really felt like for mewhy I chose to trust my instinct, even when it felt riskythe power of being around the right people at the right timeand what this experience taught me about moving forward when you feel stuckThe Dubai interviews will be coming soon, but for now, I wanted to give you a glimpse into what this journey meant - and why these stories matter.---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait

When we’re younger, we tend to say yes to opportunities without overthinking them. We experiment, we take risks, and we trust that things will somehow work out.But somewhere along the way, many of us start playing it safe.In this coaching episode, I reflect on why that happens - and the moment I realised I might be doing it myself. Is it responsibility? Fear of getting it wrong? Or the stories we tell ourselves about what we should and shouldn’t do after a certain age?If you’ve ever found yourself hesitating over an opportunity, second-guessing a decision, or wondering whether it’s “too late” to try something new, this episode is for you.Because maybe the curiosity and courage you had in your 20s hasn’t disappeared…maybe it’s just been buried under caution.So let me ask you one simple question: If you were 27 again… what would you do next?---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait

At 27, Laura England walked away from everything - a long-term relationship, her business, and the life she thought she was building - and ran off for a “Mamma Mia summer” working on cruise ships in Greece.What looked like escape became something much bigger.In this episode, Laura shares how she rose into senior roles at sea, only to walk away again - this time signing a 12-month lease with no clients and no safety net, determined to rebuild from scratch on her own terms.We talk about pivoting at any age, detaching self-worth from career, navigating comparison, and finding the courage to begin again - even when it feels reckless.If you’ve ever questioned your direction or wondered whether it’s too late to change, this conversation will remind you: your life isn’t written in permanent marker.---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait

What if the reason you feel stuck right now… is because you’re trying to get back to who you used to be?After speaking to Talia about her accident and the moment her life completely changed, I kept thinking about something she said: she wasn’t meant to be that person before. This is who she’s meant to be now.And it made me reflect on my own life - and on so many of the women I work with.We think resilience means rebuilding what we had.We think strength means getting “back to normal.”But what if it doesn’t?In this coaching episode, I’m asking you to stop trying to return to an old version of yourself. Instead, I want you to consider who you could become because of what’s happened.If you’re feeling derailed, stuck, in transition, questioning your job, your direction, your purpose - this episode is for you.I’ll share the mindset shift I see time and time again in the women who create real change. And I’ll ask you the reflective questions that might just help you take one small, intentional step forward this week.Because maybe this isn’t about going back.Maybe this is your moment to reinvent.---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait

At just 25, Talia Lazarus faced the unthinkable - a life-altering accident that nearly took her life and left her having to learn to walk again. What followed wasn’t just recovery - it was a complete reinvention of who she thought she was and what she wanted out of life.In this deeply personal episode of Real Women’s Stories, Talia shares the raw, unfiltered truth about pain, identity, and transformation. We go beyond the physical injury to explore the emotional wreckage that followed: the panic attacks, the grief for the person she used to be, and the moment she realised that surviving wasn’t enough.Rather than returning to her old life, Talia chose something radically different. She burned her old world to the ground - not out of anger, but out of clarity - and started again with a mission to help others do the same.Through her work with her I Got Back Up podcast, Talia now supports people rebuilding after trauma, teaching them what she had to learn the hard way: resilience isn’t about bouncing back - it’s about rising up with purpose.Join us for a story of survival, reinvention, identity rediscovery, and the courage it takes to walk into a life you never thought possible.---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait

In the last episode, I shared what was happening to me physically - the pain, the fear, and why I felt unable to stop, even when my body was forcing me to.In this coaching episode, I reflect on what that mindset of “just keep going” really cost me - not just in health, but in how I viewed strength, resilience, and success.This is a conversation for anyone who feels trapped between listening to their body and fearing what will happen if they step back. If stopping feels like failure… if rest feels risky… if pushing on feels like the only option - this episode is for you.I share what I’d do differently now, the questions I wish I’d asked sooner, and how redefining resilience changed everything.You don’t need to change anything today.But you might start noticing what your body has been trying to tell you.---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait

Chronic pain doesn’t always come with visible symptoms - and for many women, it’s hidden behind silence and shame.In this episode, I share my personal experience of living with debilitating pain caused by a widely misunderstood and rarely discussed health condition. What followed were months of fear, isolation and being told it was “all in my head”.Joined by specialist clinician Ellie Bradshaw from The Functional Gut Clinic, this conversation explores why women are still reluctant to talk about toilet health, how stress and pain become trapped in the body, and why speaking up can be the first step towards recovery.If you’ve ever felt dismissed, embarrassed, or alone with your health, this episode is for you.---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait

You might say you’ve “done the work” - but how do you really know?In this episode, we explore the one question that reveals whether healing has actually happened… or whether you’re still sitting in the story.After recording the last conversation, something stood out immediately: it wasn’t what was shared, but how it was shared. No charge. No reactivity. No need to convince. Just calm, grounded self-awareness.This episode unpacks:the difference between talking about your past and truly healing from itwhy some stories still feel emotional - and others feel neutralhow deep inner work shows up in your nervous system, not just your mindsetwhy real healing isn’t loud, performative, or dramaticand how accountability (not blame) changes everythingIf you’ve ever wondered whether you’ve genuinely moved on - or whether you’ve simply learned to explain your past better - this conversation will land.This is for anyone on a self-development journey who wants honesty over affirmations, depth over surface-level tools, and real growth over quick fixes.---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait