Meet the Quest Makers
Quest Makers are women in their 40s or beyond who declared "now it's my time," and then set off on their own journeys to realize their dreams. Every month a Quest Maker is featured in the FREE monthly e-newsletter, Your Next Quest Chronicles (click here to enjoy archived e-newsletter issues). To enjoy reading the complete interviews for any of the Quest Makers featured below, click on its corresponding pink link.
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May 2011 Quest Maker "I just decided to take control." I'm going to let Marjorie tell you what prompted her to set out on her quest in 2007: "After years of being promoted and fired twice and downsized and right-sized and acquired I was tired. I was tired of having the economy dictate what happened. I was tired of having bosses who arbitrarily made decisions dictate what happened to me. I just decided to take control. I have more faith in myself than in all those other external things. Sure, there are challenges, but now I have control over the kind of work I do and who I really want to serve." |
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April 2011 Quest Maker "The common thread for me is As an entrepreneur myself, I have watched Linda grow her own business, achieving one milestone after another. In 2007, she was acclaimed Best of Boston Feng Shui Consultant for Boston Magazine. In 2010, she published The Smarter Home Office, which since then has moved from #12 to #2 in the Home Office Design category on Amazon.com. As she says: "Next stop is #1!" Experiencing burn out after seven years as a nurse in a hospital's child and adolescent psychiatric unit, Linda became a design consultant. Along the way she also become a professional speaker and published author. Weaving through it all is a common thread—helping people heal themselves. |
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March 2011 Quest Maker "When you meet resistance, embrace it; When Cathy set out on her journey to become an entrepreneur, she also set out to learn how to heal herself, combining a zest for living a balanced and healthy life with helping others achieve the same. That passion propelled her to go back to school in her late 50's to become certified as a holistic health coach. Along the way, Cathy was confronted by a number of personal obstacles. Yet it was because of these challenges—and the words of a wise teacher—that she realized a profound truth about what happens when one embraces the bumps in the road. |
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February 2011 Quest Maker A Christmas gift from her youngest sister—a book full of poems written by their mother when she lived on the Texas Gulf Coast—set Susan Woods on a personal quest to connect once more with this remarkable woman. Responding to her mother's poems by writing short prose pieces, Susan found herself reflecting on their relationship. In the process of celebrating "that bond that fell between the lines and beneath the surface of their every day interactions," she'd written a love letter to her mother in the form of a book, Guacamole Conversations: Mother Daughter Reflections Across Time and Place. In her early 60's , Susan is on the cusp of moving in a new direction as she explores where Guacamole Conversations may lead her next. |
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January 2011 Quest Maker From a stress producing job Theresa toiled for 15 years in a stressful job. While it paid a good salary and supported her family, it drained her spirit. At 48, after two health scares, she needed to make some changes and asked herself, "What am I waiting for?" Theresa set her intention to manifest her dream: by the time she was 50, she would be doing art again. Theresa didn't stop there; she declared her intention to friends and family alike and let her subconscious guide her path step by step. |
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November 2010 Quest Maker From pressing past her fears "I discovered your Next Quest site sometime last year. . . .you and people like you who are sensitive enough to recognize how difficult it is sometimes to work through life's transitions, to press past your fears and insecurities, and pursue your dreams or even create new dreams. . . ." To me, there is as much value in sharing stories of women at the beginning of their quests as those who have reached an important milestone or achievement. What I love about Deborah's story is her persistence and ability to keep her eye on her quest's destination and for making a conscious choice to in her own words: "press past a life-altering experience and basically re-create Deborah with a new direction, new interests, and new connections. Now, I'm glad to say I am on my way. Still got a long way to go - but I'm meeting new people and learning new things. |
Year 1 Quest Makers: Continuing the Conversation
October 2010 marks the 2nd anniversary of Your Next Quest Chronicles, our free monthly e-newsletter. In that time, I've interviewed more than 20 Quest Makers. Where have their quests taken six of my first year Quest Makers? Click here to find out!
Hilary Cooper-Kenny |
Judith Shangold |
Margaret Winter |
Tracy Colson |
Cheryl Young June 2009  |
Camille S. Musser |
Meet Our October 2009-September 2010 Quest Makers
Meet Our October 2008-September 2009 Quest Makers
Every month the Quest Maker interview is one of the features in our free monthly newsletter, Your Next Quest Chronicles.
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What you can expect to find in every issue of YNQ Chronicles