Paula Washington, a strategist, speaker, and author specializing in business, career, and life reinvention for women 50 and older, delves into the notion that turning 50 is not about settling into retirement but about embracing new opportunities – launching businesses, changing careers, and creating fulfilling life chapters. Paula Washington discusses her Encore Playbook and Methodology, which has helped women leverage their wisdom and experience to build impactful and lasting legacies. Topics covered include decade mapping, building authentic relationships, and leveraging life experiences for reinvention.
3 Key Takeaways
Double Paula Power- The Conversation Begins:
When Paula Washington first joined Paula Okonneh on the show, it was the perfect synergy of “double Paula power.” Both women shared anecdotes about how societal norms have evolved—no longer is 50 a milestone for winding down. Instead, it is now a launchpad for reinvention. Washington highlights the antiquated notion of life’s roadmap, suggesting: “Go to college, get married, work 30 years, and retire” is a script that no longer fits modern ambitions.
Decade Mapping and Life After 50:
Paula Washington introduces her concept of “decade mapping,” a strategic tool designed to help individuals outline their life goals from their 20s through their 90s. This empowering tool helps women project their professional and personal aspirations into reality, giving them clear, structured pathways to achieve their dreams.
Through this conversation, Paula Washington emphasizes that life after 50 is not just about survival but about thriving. The essence of her message was clear: “The best is yet to come.” By using the wisdom, resilience, and life experiences they’ve gathered, women can pivot and create their unique legacies.
Turning Challenges into Opportunities:
Life’s abrupt challenges—downsizing, health issues, caregiving—are not the end, but rather a catalyst for transformation. As Washington shares her personal health journey and experiences as a caregiver, she notes how such adversities shaped her resolve and creativity, ultimately leading to the best years of her life.
Washington’s “Encore Framework” provides practical steps for setting resonant, progressive goals and building authentic relationships that can support personal and professional development. It’s about transitioning with intention and using each experience as a stepping stone for future successes.
ShowNotes
Click on the timestamps to go directly to that point in the episode
[02:55] Personal Journey and Reinvention
[03:46] The Encore Playbook and Methodology
[06:33] Life Lessons and Wisdom
[10:30] Six Pillars of Reinvention
[24:25] Decade Mapping Explained
Get In Touch:
If you’re interested in connecting with Paula Washington, you can reach her via her website, via LinkedIn, via Instagram, or via Facebook.
For those interested in sharing their own stories on “Chatting with the Experts,” reach out to Paula Okonneh through her website or connect via LinkedIn.
Paula O: [00:00:00] Hello, hello, hello everyone, and welcome to yet another episode of Chatting with the Experts where I call the hosts speak with women from Africa, from the Caribbean, and in the diaspora. And these women are successful entrepreneurs and professionals. They share with me the mission of educating, empowering, and inspiring women globally. Today, our topic’s very interesting. It’s called The Power of the Pivot, Encore Reinvention Strategies for Women 50+, redefining the next chapter. My guest, who will be joining me in a few minutes says, gone are the days when turning 50 meant settling into retirement planning. She says, today’s women over 50 are launching [00:01:00] businesses, changing careers, and creating the most fulfilling chapters yet. She is a strategist, a speaker, and author specializing in business, career and life reinvention for women 50+. She’s the author of the Encore Playbook and Methodology. She has helped hundreds, I almost said thousands, hundreds of women, transformed the second acts into the most successful chapters yet, and she combines practical strategy with authentic leadership instincts, empowering women to leverage their wisdom, resilience, and experience to build lasting impact and generational legacies.
Please help me welcome to Chatting with the Experts. Ms Paula Washington. [00:02:00] Hey, hey, hey, hey.
Paula W: Hello Paula. It’s so nice to be on a show with you. Another Paula. It’s so cool. Your Paula, I know, right? Your Paula O and Paula W. Thank you so much for having me .
Paula O: Absolutely, absolutely. It was thrilling when we met and I realized when we were introducing someone said, you know, her name is Paula too, and it’s like, yes, at long last we can have double Paula power, right?
Paula W: Absolutely. Y’all better watch out. Coming for you today.
Paula O: Coming for you today. Well, I know that you said gone are the days when 10 and 50 months settling into retirement, you know, absolutely. And you know, just, you know, settling for, oh, I’m 50 and my years on earth are over, or my years of being fulfilling over. You say, that doesn’t happen, or that shouldn’t happen anymore. Let’s talk about that.
Paula W: Well, you know, in my own personal journey in twenties and thirties, discovering who [00:03:00] I was and experiencing downsizing and various other things that have happened in life and in my personal life as well, going through divorce and all of that at one time, I realized, wait a minute, there’s gotta be more than life than the script I was given. Go to college, get married, work 30 years and retire. And when your life plan falls apart based on what was given to you, you have to kind of reinvent that and figure out, okay, what’s next for me? So as I move forward in my career in corporate training and leadership development and things of that nature, I realized, wait a minute. I don’t want what everybody said I have to have.
Paula O: Mm-hmm.
Paula W: And I need to really pivot and use the talents and the gifts that God gave me to manage my own time, manage my own schedule, and move forward. And so being forced to step up into a new realm, I created a formula called decade mapping where you actually map out the decades what you wanna see, where you are [00:04:00] realistically, where you wanna be, and what will it take to maintain that lifestyle or to get to that place. And I realized, wow, in my fifties well, my daughter would be gone. I’d be an empty nester. Yay. And I would be in control of my life. However, along the way life happens, I was caregiving for my parents long-term caregiver would help my mom with my dad, and then my mom and my grandparents and so forth.
And all of those in what you would call disruptions or interruptions caused me to look at everything differently. And it’s not that it’s over at 50, it’s just beginning. And the number 50 means jubilee. So that is celebrating. Okay? So if you’re in the midst of any of those situations or you’re on your way to empty nesting, let’s get planted, let’s get going because the best really is yet to come. But every decade I realized. I was more energetic, more enthusiastic, and I was [00:05:00] clear on who I was and what I wanted to do and that those roles that I had to play throughout life, now I dictate what’s next. Not everyone else in every situation, in every circumstance or a job or this, or fear or anxiety or all of those things that chase us our whole life make us think we’re less than or we missed the boat.
No, we didn’t miss the boat. We getting ready to steer the ship so. This is where we are. And so at 50, when I turned 50, it was very liberating for me. And then what happened? Then I got sick and the doctor mentioned, oh no. Yeah. And the doctor said to me, it had nothing to do with how you cared for yourself or anything. It was the culmination of what you’ve lived. So now let’s go to the next stage of that and shift. So I did a natural process for healing for cancer and all. Took a, got another degree and reestablished my businesses in a whole different way and my life, and [00:06:00] I found the greatest joy. And so now in my sixties, I look back at my fifties and I was like, wow, people really need to know the best is yet to come.
And things do work out. May not be the way you expect. May not even be the way you want, but when you get on the other side of through, you’re gonna see how you grow. You’re gonna see the opportunities, and you’re gonna know how to leverage the best part of you to monetize that for your next opportunity because you are actually now holding the pen to your own story.
Paula O: I love it because what I’m hearing from you is that life begins at 50.
Paula W: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes it does. And no matter what it throws, guess what? You know how to catch that ball now. Before it was a little rough, I’m trying to figure it out. In your fifties, it’s like, I don’t care. You know, whatever you do. And in your sixties, it’s like, hmm. And you just keep looking in different directions because everything [00:07:00] is not as urgent and as important as it was at that time because you didn’t know where you were going. Now we cannot actually write down everything that’s going to happen, but we can. We have the wisdom now to know the natural things that will happen and be prepared for those things.
We also have the wisdom now to leverage what we know and who we are to show up and be the best person in the room to build those authentic connections and relationships where we trust others and they trust us. And number one, we trust ourselves. One of the things that I’ve found in coaching and working with women and providing, you know, different strategies and pathways for them is they lose trust and confidence in themselves because of the hits of life. Life can hit you to a degree like you wondering, wait, I don’t know which way to go, and you’re standing around, looking around like, huh, you know, and because of that, sometimes you don’t wanna try [00:08:00] again. Sometimes you don’t wanna get back up again. And sometimes, you know, your faith gets shaken.
You’re like, God, really? Are you there? Did you walk away? Or, what’s happening here? And it’s just right helping you to recognize who you really are inside and the resilience and the power you have. And so when we are talking about pivoting, that’s being able to move on a dime. And the reason we can move on a dime now because we have the wisdom and the hard-earned experience. This did not come. You’re not gonna get it in your twenties. You’re not gonna get it in your thirties. It’s not gonna happen until you get to the other side where you are looking at what’s in front of you.
Paula O: Mm-hmm.
Paula W: The years in front of you are less than the years behind you, but they are the most significant, they are the most powerful. They are the legacy years that the experience is phenomenal and only you are the one that can determine if that’s the direction you wanna go.
Paula O: [00:09:00] I love that. You know, you said something next. Really jumped out at me that we have to realize that the years ahead of us are less than the years behind us. But what I hear from that too is that, and the years behind us, you know, we’ve had experiences that can help us, you know.
Paula W: Exactly.
Paula O: Because many times, you know, people look, oh my gosh, I don’t, I’m in my sixties or seventies and yeah. You know, statistically we don’t have that many years ahead of us, but you can look behind and take what you learned behind and use that to prep up what’s you experiencing right now?
What’s ahead of you.
Paula W: Exactly. Do you know the world? Exactly, because, you know, Forbes has a article that the majority of entrepreneurs start in their fifties and sixties for women because why we are no longer caregiving. We’re no longer you know, parenting, we’re out of the roles that confined us [00:10:00] into a particular pathway.
Paula O: Mm-hmm.
Paula W: Those roles don’t define who we are in the future, but they help shape the expertise, the natural talent we have, and our brilliance of intelligence to take that, package it and move forward with it. You know, now we are the chairwoman. We actually need to get an Oscar for our own performance.
Paula O: Yeah, I love it.
Paula W: If you make it to this stage in life, baby, you have been through some things and you have done some stuff, okay?
Paula O: Mm-hmm.
Paula W: And so in my on work framework, I have six pillars of reinvention. I have exit with intention, okay? So, you know, we’re gonna go through transitions in life. And because those things are gonna happen. Okay, let’s look at what’s the next transition you wanna go through. Whether you wanna leave the job or you’re moving to another city, or you’re whatever it is in relationships. Let’s outline that. Strategize about the best options available and put a timeline and a communication plan, and who’s gonna [00:11:00] be affected by that. Then next we go to navigate the new. This is charting with clarity in uncertain terms. In other words, after the crazy and the chaos is over and that we created, I happen to have been the fire in the frying pan. And then after cut out realize, hold up, I need to change. Okay. Because everybody else is not moving and not changes after we’ve owned all of us, and we look and the dust settles. Now we’re moving forward into a new territory we’ve never been. You’ve never been 50, you’ve never been 60, 70, 80, 90, whatever.
Paula O: Yep.
Paula W: But the good thing about it’s you’ve got all of those years behind you. So we’re not come trying to recreate the past. We are trying to leverage that for our future. And the only way we can do that is through C is the commitment, communication, and connection. In order to move forward in anything in life, you have to be committed. You’ve gotta be committed to yourself [00:12:00] and to the goals and objectives that you have set forth and committed to the values that you have in your life, your shared vision and core values in order to communicate that properly, to connect with other individuals. Because we are not an island by ourself. We are our best when we’re with others, where we can share who we are and bring out the brilliance in who they are and vice versa. And we are building those solid, authentic relationships. And as we get older, we really know how to tap into that and we really know how to leverage those things.
It’s more important, relationships become more important because people are here today and may not be here tomorrow. So in my sixties, I’m looking at, you know, when I had all these family members pass away five years ago and they were all in their nineties and you know, from 89 to 97 and I said, hold up. What am I gonna do with my time left? You know, I may have 30, 40 years left. Okay? That’s the best years in [00:13:00] front of me because I’m free to be me and enjoy that. So then there’s the opportunity, there’s the oh, in Encore, creating, seizing, and aligning your opportunities around the the strategy that you develop that you want to see in the next decade, and then back into that.
So we have the next decade. For me it’s 70. Okay? So now from 60 to 70, I have something I need to do every year to get to where I wanna be. If you’re 40, if you’re 50, you’re gonna back into it. And that keeps you focused and it keeps you on track. And then you are constantly assessing and then you celebrate your wins and celebrate all the milestones along the way. You learn and you adapt. And we accept, just accept what is. Every opportunity, we’re gonna season and line it. Some may work, some may not. But at this stage we have the option of what risks we will take and what risks we want.
Paula O: Yes.
Paula W: And then we, [00:14:00] yes, and then we look for relevances in the R, setting resonant progressive goals. Don’t go coming up with all these lofty ideas that you cannot do. Can we just be realistic here? Let’s be relevant of what’s happening in your life today. What’s happening in the world today? If it’s a business or a career, you’re moving forward to, what are the resonant, progressive goals that you can lend your time, energy, and talent to, that you are looking to get paid for?
Paula O: Yes.
Paula W: You know, it’s time to get paid the value of what you are worth and who you are, and that’s only gonna happen if you have a plan. Let’s align that plan and then move towards it progressively. So then E is the last letter in the Encore, and that’s for excellence, your personal trademark. Each one of us have a standard of excellence, that we are the go-to person. Like Ms. Paula O is the go-to person for this podcast, TV show, all that [00:15:00] she does. She’s the woman that has evolved in her reinvent and everybody wants to be on her show. Why?
Paula O: Yes.
Paula W: Because she’s mastered who she is, and she is proud of it. And so, we have to get to that place in ourselves.
Paula O: Yeah.
Paula W: And it’s a journey and it’s fun. It has highs and lows, but we know how to overcome. We know that, you know, sometimes it may be a little cloudy or maybe have some shadows, but we can see the North Star through that because we’ve already been there.
Paula O: Yeah, I love your Encore framework. Oh my gosh. I was looking at it and writing it down and saying, woo hoo. Not loud enough for you all to hear you in the audience, but for me to internalize it and say, this is great. Exit with intention. Navigate the new. Commitment, communication, connections, opportunities, creating seasons. Relevant, that’s very important. Setting [00:16:00] resonate, and realistic goal. Excellence- your personal trademark, oh my God, did I get them all?
Paula W: You got them all and you got them perfectly. That is wonderful. Yes.
Paula O: I’m gonna put this up. Paste it on my mirror in my bathroom and look at it every day because, you know, as you rightfully said, as you hit your sixties, where I am in that same, on that same floor with you.
Paula W: Mm-hmm.
Paula O: You realize that, yeah, some things you did, but not quite, you know?
Paula W: Mm-hmm.
Paula O: Learn from it. It’s time to move on.
Paula W: Exactly.
Paula O: And so that exit with intention is important because it is not just exiting, but making sure that you’ve got a plan, which is what you’re talking about.
Paula W: Yes. And one of the things that people, what I’ve learned to do is take the business strategies and align them with life.
Paula O: Mm-hmm.
Paula W: Because they work.
Paula O: Mm-hmm.
Paula W: In business, we always have an exit strategy.
Paula O: Yes.
Paula W: When we’re doing risk management and stuff, any plan, any program, anything we are gonna create, we have [00:17:00] a exit strategy. Why not in life? As we were growing up from home to elementary school, we had orientation elementary to middle, high school, college. You go on your jobs, they give your orientation, but there is no playbook for life.
Paula O: Yeah.
Paula W: So, you know, now in my Encore years, which are my best years, and if you look at so many women who have been extremely successful in their sixties and seventies, which I put in my book and eighties and so forth, it’s because of the culmination of the wisdom and expertise that they have learned over the years, and now they’re the most powerful they’ve ever been. They’re the most secure in who they are. They are the most confident and courageous because they know how to stand. See, if you’ve never been through nothing, you don’t know what to do. You gonna fall apart at everything. You know, most everybody’s so weakened now. Let me not get on that train anyhow, but you know. You have to have adversity. It’s gonna [00:18:00] happen.
Paula O: Yes.
Paula W: You’re gonna go through. You’re gonna go through. The most challenging thing is I’ve experienced, I’ve found not only just my own health challenges, but just caregiving and caregiving for the persons that have brought you in the earth and now you are looking at them slowly slipping away in whatever capacity it is. That whole realm changes you for life.
Paula O: It does.
Paula W: I mean, once you finish that caregiving role, you are never the same human being after that. And when you finish that caregiving role, you are the best human being you ever was. Because for me it helped me look at my mortality and like, okay, God, you know what? What’s your plan this time? ’cause I know what I did. So let’s look at what you really wanna do. You gotta have faith. I mean, the only two people got real faith are the entrepreneurs and those who have been ill. Because you gotta believe God for [00:19:00] everything. Okay. And I’m not saying other two people, because entrepreneurs believe God for what? Everything. Okay.
Paula O: Every penny.
Paula W: Every penny. Every day when the phone is ringing. All of these things. And then when you’re ill.
Paula O: Yes. That’s so true.
Paula W: And especially people who are terminally ill.
Paula O: Yes.
Paula W: And God wakes ’em up every day. Come on now.
Paula O: Yes.
Paula W: You know, and they’re not on a machine or something like that.
Paula O: Yes.
Paula W: You know, and then those who are caring for those who are ill, not just the family members, which is huge and I talk about that in my book, but the hospice, the nurses, the doctors, everyone that comes in contact with the individual that needs care.
Paula O: Mm-hmm.
Paula W: You know, they have a personal life as well. And they’re pouring out of their heart to give to help you.
Paula O: Yes.
Paula W: That individual live you are pouring out of every fiber of your being to keep the ship [00:20:00] going to the degree sometimes you don’t even remember all about your own ship.
Paula O: Yeah.
Paula W: So I remember I forgot to pay my own bills. Okay. Because I was taking care of everything else. I didn’t even know what was going on. One of my cousins called me on the phone. He said, Paula, whatcha doing? I said, I thought I’m doing all the estate stuff and this and that and the other thing. Oh, you’re the POA? I said, yes. He said, well, did you take care of yourself? Thanks for reminding me. He said, well, you finish all of that, gimme a call back, and I wanna make sure you get your stuff together. And that was such a great conversation because all of us at that time were losing our last parent, and it was just so nice to laugh, you know?
Paula O: Yes.
Paula W: Someone that understood it.
Paula O: Understood.
Paula W: Yes. Because during that season, you need the support. And I talk about the fact it’s not just the financials. That’s a given. I mean, my father designated me as POA and end of life decisions at 35. He said it over [00:21:00] dinner that they went on a cruise. Okay. So it was like I had a full list together. Okay. Who knew in the next couple of years, we were gonna have to take care of him. So I’m just saying that those things in life, they take every bit of who you thought you were out and you learn, not only do you understand your own resilience and who you really are, but there’s a beauty that comes through you that you never experienced. And there’s joy. And so the more mature we get, the better We become like fine wine, you know, like a beautiful little flower that buds through the ground and it took all that time to burst through. And then you see those little leaves and then it grows up into a big, beautiful bush of roses or a tree, or, you know, and all those things. Nature has a way of just showing us evolution of who we are.
Paula O: Yeah. Ooh. Yeah, you are so right. [00:22:00] Especially, you know, when you talk about, you know, I have become an avid gardener, but not for flowers. I wish I could say. And in addition to that too, you know, like planting edible…
Paula W: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Paula O: Things but I’m not there yet. We’ll get there.
Paula W: Mm-hmm.
Paula O: But what you said is so true. You know, you put something in the ground and you don’t know all the workload’s going on, and then it emerges as a beautiful flower and you’re like, wow, look at that.
Paula W: Mm-hmm.
Paula O: And that’s the same thing with life. And that’s the same thing as you said at this stage of life. All those ups and down adversities, you know, the good times and not so good times are all enabling you to blossom into, for the most part, into this wonderfully poised 50+ year old woman with a lot of experience.
Paula W: Mm-hmm.
Paula O: A lot of, you know, gifts that you can share with others so much more than, you know, sometimes we even think.
Paula W: Mm-hmm.
Paula O: ’cause you know, you talked about my podcast, it’s taken me like 13 years to get to [00:23:00] where I am. I started in 2012 not really knowing what I was doing.
Paula W: Exactly.
Paula O: That about the calling, you know, and here we are.
Paula W: Yes. And look at how you know, that’s another thing people think, oh you’re overnight wonder. No, you are not. You in the background over the years making it happen, you are learning new technologies.
Paula O: Yes.
Paula W: You’re going through the highs and lows of the industry. You’re going through competitors, you’re going through so many different things. In the background is where everything is built because when you think about a rose and it comes through and it’s a tea rose and it’s colds real tight, then it starts to open and open and open, and then that aroma comes out. And then wherever that rose is, you smell that aroma. So just as a woman, just as you starting a podcast in 2012, the aroma, the work speaks for itself. And so you have a catalog of work that speaks for itself. So now you don’t have to talk. Like you see the pink roses behind me. They’re just sitting there smelling. [00:24:00] They just smelling good and looking good…
Paula O: and looking good
Paula W: And looking good, being fine and foxy any way they wanna be today. You know, I put a little stuff in there to help them stay perky but bottom line, at the end of the day, this is who we are.
Paula O: Amen. Amen. Amen. Well, before we join the rest. I mean, we invite people to join us and ask you question. You mentioned at the beginning of our conversation decade mapping.
Paula W: Yes.
Paula O: Let’s talk about that. I mean, that’s so interesting. Decade mapping.
Paula W: Yes.
Paula O: It’s not a term I’ve heard in the, you know, before. So can you talk a little bit about that?
Paula W: Yes. I created a decade map from the ages 20 to 90. And I did that, you know, as I was going through my journeys in my thirties and forties and so forth, and a lot of the leadership development and all the training I created, I would also use it in my afterschool programs for entrepreneurs young women. And they enjoyed it [00:25:00] because now they had to map where they wanted to be.
Paula O: Mm-hmm.
Paula W: I was mapping where I came from and what I need to happen now because I’m in the midst of the crazy, okay. I’m in the midst of life. And so the decade mapping is actually I have all the categories of life, personal, professional occupational, which is different from professional because you go from either a career in a work environment into an entrepreneurial experience, a passion project or something. A lot of women wanna be on boards. They want to set up nonprofits and things of that nature.
Then you go into the financial aid of it, and then you’re also looking at the social. So now we’re have a whole life of your own corporation, if you will, . And then, so at the time that I created it, I did it till 90 because I had the research, I had the relationships, and I was interviewing people in their nineties, you know, I can extend it to a [00:26:00] hundred, but I’m leaving it where it is. And then every decade you have put in there at least one or two things you want. Then when you get to the legacy side of your life, you’re looking at what do you want to leave as you go and as you grow, because we leave a legacy every day, a smile, a hug a kind word, whatever. That’s a legacy to another human being.
But what do you want the next generation in your lineage not to have to start over and do? Not just economically, but what are you gonna leave behind? So if at 90 you’re ready, you’re saying, I’ve set up this, I’ve set up that. I’ve set up that. Now how are we gonna get there? Well, wherever you are currently, we’re gonna back into it. So every year, within the decade you’re in, you are going towards that ultimate goal. And the short term goals in between. And so now when you have 10 years to acquire or aspire to where [00:27:00] you really wanna be, that takes the pressure off. Because what I realized is three, five year plans doesn’t work because guess what?
You have a life happening. You have someone ill in your family. All these women and men that have been laid off 300,000 people have been laid off. Women have been laid off. Okay? They ain’t no three, five year plan for that.
Paula O: No.
Paula W: You know what I’m saying?
Paula O: No.
Paula W: There’s nothing for that. The company could go bankrupt and then your pension of 401k is gone. What?
Paula O: Mm-hmm.
Paula W: So within 10 years, you can rebound, recoup, reclaim, reignite, restart, whatever re look needs to be. But reinvention is always there.
Paula O: Mm.
Paula W: Because I always know where I wanna show up and what I wanna show up and be, and I wanna be the best version of me.
Paula O: This is so good. This is so good. The decade mapping, is that in your book?
Paula W: Yes, it’s in my book. I have a whole course, the Power [00:28:00] of Decades, and it’s been in my book, it’s been in my catalog for oh many, even over 20 years because it’s evolved as I evolved, you know, so. And that’s a beautiful thing about it. I love the whole decade mapping that kept me on track, kept me focused, and gave me hope. You know, loss is with hope and grief is no hope. And so during the losses of life where I had to grieve for things I had hope because I saw where I was going. I remember one time my father was in the hospital, everybody was upset and crazy and all that. And I was like, well, the sickness is on to death, he’s not dying.
Okay, we just gonna have to walk through this. So I have a tear down one eye and I’m writing a business plan in another for women’s foundation. Here we go. And I ran that organization for over 12 years. I’ve had clients in corporate wanting to exit out one in particular and she wanted to exit in 18 months and she said, I wanna set up [00:29:00] my business. My husband’s setting up another business and we wanna do this, this, and this. So we put it all together. Long story short, her division got cut. She was able to take that actual plan and negotiate the best deals she could ’cause she was a C-suite executive. And then when she exited, a family member got ill and she had the caregiver, but she was in position because why? She had a plan.
Someone else would’ve been, oh I’m not gonna do what I wanna do, and no, she had a plan. Okay, so I’m not gonna do that now a hundred percent, but I can work on it in the background, which I call it playing with your toys. It makes you happy.
Paula O: Love.
Paula W: Yes.
Paula O: Playing with your toys.
Paula W: Play with your toys. Yeah. Go in the room. Play with your toys. I don’t care if it’s Jacks. Whatever you like to do, double touch. I don’t care. Call it playing with your toys because why? Now I know I’m going to do this once I get through this. And as I go through this, [00:30:00] I’ll have more freedom as I go along. I told a client the other day, she’s parent with small children and she is like, I’m so exhausted, I’m gonna get, I said, listen, the older they get, the more freedom you have and the more economic responsibility you have. However…
Paula O: Absolutely.
Paula W: You’ll have more energy to create something along the way in the background just for you. So how does that make you feel? Oh, it’s not so bad. I’m like, yeah, not so bad. So,
Paula O: mm-hmm. Loving it. Loving it. Well, we need to have time for the audience, who I’m sure are waiting to talk with you.
Paula W: Yes. Yes.
Paula O: To ask you more questions like on some of the biggest mistakes that women make when trying to reinvent themselves. I think that’s a great, great question. Audience, if you haven’t thought about asking that question to Paula, that Paula, Paula W.
Paula W: Haha, looking forward to chatting with all of you. It’s gonna be so [00:31:00] exciting.
Paula O: Exactly. So where can you be found online? Because anyone who hasn’t been in the audience and is watching this later on. We want to just get in touch with you and people find online.
Paula W: Okay. You could. Mm-hmm. You could go to my website, paulawashington.com. You can go LinkedIn at Paula Washington MBA. And also I just lost a YouTube channel called the Encore Playbook. So that’s at Paula Washington. And so you can find me online. You can set up a free discovery call. I’ll be glad to have a chat with you.
Paula O: Absolutely. Are you on Instagram or Facebook and those?
Paula W: I’m on Instagram at, I’m Paula Washington and I am on Facebook, but I don’t remember what it is.
Paula O: Don’t worry. Don’t worry, we’ll find you.
Paula W: Yeah. So, all of those, you’ll find me, and it’s so funny sometimes people put my name in and Paula Washington, Denzel Washington’s wife comes up. It’s real. And then I’m down there on the bottom underneath, so it’s really funny that a [00:32:00] lot on YouTube. So it’s real funny. But you’ll find me, paulawashington.com has all my information and my LinkedIn is very active, so you’ll be able to find me.
Paula O: Absolutely. And for those of you who are watching this later on, you’ve just heard the other Paula. We are amazing, but she is the other amazing Paula and if you’d like to be a guest on the show just like she has been, reach out to me on my website, which is chattingwiththeexperts.com. I’m also on LinkedIn, very active on LinkedIn as Paula Okonneh. I have a page there as well, Chatting with the Experts. I am on IG. My handle there is at chat_experts_podcast. I’m glad I get it right now. I didn’t at first. I’m also on Facebook as Paula Okonneh and I too have a YouTube channel that ask for you to subscribe because I’ve got amazing, amazing, amazing women who have shared their [00:33:00] expertise on my YouTube channel, you get an opportunity to see them. And so now we open up the floor to all who joined us. And any question that I haven’t answered or I haven’t asked, not answered, the other Paula is answering them. Please feel free to ask. Thank you, Paula, for saying yes to being a guest on Chatting with the Experts.
I enjoyed every minute of it.
Paula W: I did too. And thank you so much for having me. This has been a blast.
Paula O: All right.