Life in Chapters

Most of us in The Best-Life demographic have faced many changes in life. We’ve had a lot of chapters. You may be wondering: “Do I have a next chapter?”

This week, I had the opportunity to write a pitch offering myself as a guest for a podcast called The Next Chapter. Never before, had I sat down and looked at my life changes through this “next chapter” filter. I don’t know if the host, Charlie Hedges, will choose to respond affirmatively or not. But the exercise of looking at my life in chapters (after all, I am a writer) was interesting and included, in my 6+ decades, several reinventions.

These changes were mostly not planned—rather they were thrust upon me by life. You have probably found the same to be true for your life. The challenge is to thrive in the new, often unwanted, role. These changes may include divorce, death of a spouse or child, a job loss, a catastrophic weather event, or more. I find that if we are open to going through the door before us and give it all we’ve got, we can excel. I’ve also found that past experiences often prepare us for the next chapter—even though we may not see it until we are further down the long and winding path.

My Life in Chapters

My early childhood was very “Father Knows Best”—though I was the one who was always in trouble. My mother was a stay-at-home mom and my father went to work everyday. As a teen, I didn’t know what I wanted to be, but I was always helping decorate the apartments of the guys I was dating. So, in college I majored in Interior Design.

Shades of Beauty

In my early 20s chapter, my mother and a friend, Emilie Barnes, were teaching a seminar for women called Feminar. At the time, it was popular for women to “have their colors done.” They encouraged women to use the “color analysis” services of a woman in our area. After a while, this woman became so successful that she didn’t have time for the Feminar customers. Mom and her friend suggested that with my background in color, I could fill this spot in their program. For nearly a decade I worked with them, did women’s colors, taught the program I developed, wrote a book on the topic (my first), and spoke on color, wardrobe, and makeup throughout the US. Ultimately, it seemed, that everyone who wanted to have their colors done, had done so. My business diminished.

CLASS

Then in my early 30s, my mother, Florence Littauer, and I had developed a 3-day program through which we trained men and women to be speakers and writers. We called it The CLASSeminar (Christian Leaders, Authors, & Speakers’ Seminar). It was offered throughout the country. In the beginning, my mother did most of the teaching and I handled marketing and facilitating—though each year, I handled a growing portion of the teaching. By the end with the program, I was doing about 60% of the teaching and Mom about 40%. As the course grew, my father and sister were involved—a true family business.

The Personalities

During this time, as I matured, my personal speaking skills and topics had morphed from superficial subjects into deeper things like relationships—especially The Personalities (the topic of my mother’s multi-million bestselling book Personality Plus). Having been under her tutelage for decades, I added new elements to the greater body of work and wrote two books on the topic: The Personality Puzzle (no longer in print) and my best-seller Wired That Way.

Energy Makes America Great

In my early 50s chapter, my husband of 29 years left suddenly. I had gone on a girl’s trip. When I got home, I found he had moved out. This changed my life. I had become known for my work on relationships. Yet, my primary relationship failed. I was ashamed. I left the family business and was able to find employment as the executive director of a nonprofit organization that advocated on behalf of energy and the energy industry. I had to learn an entirely new topic. Within a short period of time, the role of executive director (the only staff person) transitioned to incorporate my speaking and writing skillset. I found myself, once again, traveling the country speaking and writing. I wrote a weekly column that connected oil and gas to the news cycle. It was published in newspapers throughout the southwestern oil community and online commentary sites. I wrote my 20^th book in this role. It is through this work that I met my current husband. Our marriage resulted in my move from New Mexico to Texas.

Triumph Properties

In 2016, now in my late 50s, oil prices were low and raising money for my advocacy efforts became nearly impossible. Long story short, I had the opportunity to return to my original interest: interior design. I started flipping houses. I gained experience and now work as a remodeling contractor—albeit at 67 (in October), semi-retired.

The Best-Life Project

In my mid-60s, I felt led to launch a blog dedicated to a mix of inspiration, ideas, and instruction for women 60+ who want to live their best life. In 2.5 years, the readership is growing steadily, the project has over 25 contributors, and we have more than 200 unique posts. A whole new chapter emerged.

Certified Personality Training

As my remodeling work winds down, my focus on The Best-Life Project increases. Plus, with the freedom and security my second marriage provides, I’ve been able to develop a much-requested online course to train and certify folks to teach the material on The Personalities my mother and I developed.

I am enjoying more travel with my husband and my friends. This chapter also includes more cooking and entertaining—which I love. I find that despite this circuitous route, I am, today, truly living my best life!

(For the sake of brevity, some key aspects of my story have been omitted. A more personal version of this story can be found here.)

What if you looked at your life as chapters rather than a series of successes or failures? I believe you will would find that you are stronger than you think; that you have lived through some tough stuff and that you are a better person for it. This realization will help you face any new chapter you may find when you turn the page. Don’t be afraid to turn the page and see what happens next!

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Marita Littauer Tedder has spent the majority of her adult life working with women—helping them improve relationships, achieve their speaking and writing dreams, and being the best version of themselves they can possibly be. The author of 20 books, this Living Our Best Life Project is her newest effort—through which she hopes to challenge women to be fulfilled where they are.