Why one woman’s decision to try 70 new things after turning 70 might change the way you think about aging forever.
What if the best years of your life aren’t behind you?
What if your 70s became your decade of adventure instead of slowing down? What if the key to staying mentally sharp, physically active, and emotionally fulfilled wasn’t found in another supplement or fitness program—but in simply saying yes to something new?
That was exactly the conversation I had with entrepreneur, speaker, and founder of the Fabulous 70 Challenge, Alese Johnston, on Living Ageless and Bold.
I’ve interviewed hundreds of incredible women over the past few years, but every once in a while someone says something that completely reframes how I think about this stage of life.
Alese did that.
Her story isn’t about climbing Mount Everest or becoming famous in her seventies.
It’s about curiosity.
It’s about courage.
It’s about giving yourself permission to keep growing when society quietly expects you to start shrinking.
She reminded me—and all of us—that life isn’t measured by birthdays. It’s measured by experiences, relationships, and the stories we collect along the way.
If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late to reinvent yourself, start something new, or simply become a little more adventurous, this conversation will convince you otherwise.
Reinvention Has Been the Theme of Alese’s Entire Life
One of the things I loved most about talking with Alese is that reinvention wasn’t something she stumbled into after retirement.
She’s been doing it her entire life.
She began college studying commercial art because she loved creativity. But after becoming a single mother, reality set in. She realized that passion alone wasn’t going to provide the financial security she needed for herself and her daughter.
So she pivoted.
Instead of seeing that change as failure, she learned computer programming and entered the technology world—an industry where very few women worked at the time.
That decision launched an entirely new career.
Eventually she moved into banking technology, consulting, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
Listening to her career path reminded me how often women think changing directions means they somehow “got it wrong.”
It doesn’t.
Sometimes changing direction simply means you’re growing.
We often celebrate people who stay in one career for forty years.
But what about the people who continue learning?
Who adapt?
Who evolve?
Those are remarkable stories too.
And honestly, they’re becoming much more common.
Maybe You’re Not Scattered. Maybe You’re Multifaceted.
There was one moment in our conversation that really resonated with me.
Alese admitted she spent years believing something was wrong with her because she always wanted to build something new.
She would create one business.
Then another.
Then another.
Eventually she realized she wasn’t flaky.
She wasn’t unfocused.
She was simply someone who loves creating.
I laughed because I completely understood.
People often ask me how I juggle PR, television, freelance writing, speaking, and my podcast.
The answer is simple.
I genuinely enjoy all of it.
Meeting new people energizes me.
Learning new skills excites me.
Creating new opportunities keeps me curious.
For so many women—especially women over 50—we’ve spent decades trying to fit into boxes someone else created.
The dependable employee.
The perfect mother.
The supportive spouse.
The responsible daughter.
Eventually we begin believing we’re only allowed to have one identity.
Alese’s story reminds us that’s simply not true.
You can reinvent yourself again.
And again.
And again.
Why We Need to Stop Being Afraid of Failure
One of my favorite parts of our conversation centered around failure.
Or maybe more accurately…
Our fear of failure.
Alese shared that growing up, she believed making mistakes meant she wasn’t good enough.
Perfection became the goal.
If something wasn’t going to be successful, why even try?
I think so many women can relate to that.
We’ve spent our lives trying to avoid mistakes.
Trying to make everyone happy.
Trying to get everything right.
But here’s the problem.
Growth requires failure.
During the interview I shared something I often say:
I believe in failing forward.
Every failed attempt teaches us something.
Every rejection redirects us.
Every disappointment gives us information we didn’t have before.
I told Alese about my own experience.
For years I wanted to become a lawyer.
I took the LSAT multiple times.
And I bombed it.
At the time I thought my dream had ended.
Now I realize it simply made room for a better one.
Had I become an attorney, I wouldn’t have invented products, built a PR business, hosted television segments, written for national publications, or launched Living Ageless and Bold.
Sometimes what feels like failure is actually redirection.
The Courage to Walk Away
Another deeply moving part of our conversation involved Alese’s divorce.
After thirty years of marriage, she made one of the hardest decisions of her life.
She left.
Not because she had everything figured out.
Not because it was easy.
Because she finally realized staying was costing her too much.
One story she shared has stayed with me.
She walked through her beautiful home before leaving.
The furniture.
The artwork.
The landscaping.
The things people spend decades accumulating.
Suddenly none of it mattered.
She realized she’d rather have peace than possessions.
That takes courage.
Especially after thirty years.
So many women listening to this podcast have experienced similar crossroads.
Divorce.
Widowhood.
An empty nest.
Career changes.
Retirement.
Life rarely unfolds exactly the way we imagined it would.
But Alese reminded us that endings often become beginnings we never could have planned.
The Fabulous 70 Challenge Started With One Article
Here’s my favorite part of her story.
The Fabulous 70 Challenge almost never happened.
Alese read about a man who decided to try sixty new things during the year he turned sixty.
His reasoning made her laugh.
He said he needed new stories because he was tired of boring his friends with the same old ones.
What a brilliant way to think about life.
Instead of collecting more possessions…
Collect experiences.
Instead of waiting for excitement…
Create it.
She immediately decided she was going to do the same thing.
Except she was turning seventy.
So she committed to trying 70 new things during her seventies.
At first, she thought it would simply be a personal project.
She told a few friends.
She wrote about it on her blog.
And then something unexpected happened.
People started getting involved.
Friends began suggesting ideas.
Someone gifted her a flying lesson.
Others wanted to complete their own challenges.
One little idea became a movement.
Isn’t that how so many meaningful things begin?
Not with a business plan.
Not with investors.
Just with one person deciding to do something different.
New Experiences Change More Than Your Calendar
When people hear “70 new things,” they often assume skydiving or mountain climbing.
But that’s not what this challenge is really about.
It’s about stretching yourself.
Some of Alese’s adventures were exciting.
Others were funny.
A few were downright uncomfortable.
She took a flying lesson.
She tried indoor skydiving.
She attended her first NFL football game.
She explored cryptocurrency.
She launched a meme coin just to learn how it worked.
She booked a boudoir photo shoot.
She tasted foods she’d never eaten before—even oysters, which she quickly decided she never needed again.
Not every experience became a favorite.
That’s actually the point.
Trying something new doesn’t guarantee you’ll love it.
It simply guarantees you’ll learn something.
And you’ll have another story to tell.
How often do we stop ourselves before we’ve even begun?
“I probably won’t like it.”
“I’m too old.”
“I’ve never done that.”
“What if I fail?”
Those thoughts quietly steal decades of possibility.
The Science Behind Trying New Things
One of the reasons I loved this conversation so much is because it aligns with what so many experts have shared on this podcast.
Our brains need novelty.
Learning something new creates new neural pathways.
It forces us to problem-solve.
To adapt.
To think differently.
Research continues to show that lifelong learning and novel experiences support cognitive health as we age.
I’ve interviewed physicians, neuroscientists, and aging experts who all say something similar:
Keep learning.
Keep moving.
Stay curious.
Alese didn’t create the Fabulous 70 Challenge because she had read the neuroscience.
She created it because it sounded fun.
But the science supports exactly what she’s doing.
Every new experience becomes exercise for your brain.
Loneliness Is the Conversation We Need to Be Having
Toward the end of our interview, Alese introduced me to another project she’s passionate about: the Agora World Project.
Its mission is simple but incredibly important.
Helping people avoid dying from loneliness.
Think about that for a moment.
Not disease.
Not accidents.
Loneliness.
We’ve all seen the research.
Loneliness affects our physical health, emotional well-being, and even our longevity.
Many women experience this after retirement, divorce, widowhood, or becoming empty nesters.
Suddenly the community they’ve spent decades building changes overnight.
That’s why I loved hearing Alese talk about intentionally creating opportunities for people to connect.
Community isn’t something that just happens.
Sometimes we have to build it ourselves.
And often, it starts by saying yes to one invitation.
One class.
One volunteer opportunity.
One new experience.
What Could Your Challenge Be?
As we wrapped up our conversation, I kept asking myself one question.
What if all of us created our own version of the Fabulous 70 Challenge?
Maybe you’re not seventy.
Maybe you’re fifty-two.
Sixty-four.
Seventy-eight.
It doesn’t matter.
Your challenge doesn’t even have to include seventy things.
Maybe it’s twelve.
One new experience every month.
Maybe it’s twenty-six.
One every other week.
Or maybe it’s simply one.
One thing you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t.
Learn pickleball.
Take an art class.
Travel somewhere you’ve never been.
Join a hiking club.
Take dance lessons.
Learn photography.
Volunteer.
Write the book.
Start the business.
Call the friend.
The point isn’t the number.
The point is momentum.
The Biggest Lesson
If I had to summarize my conversation with Alese in one sentence, it would be this:
Your life expands every time you say yes to something you’ve never done before.
That’s really what Living Ageless and Bold is all about.
Not pretending aging doesn’t exist.
Not chasing youth.
But embracing every season of life with curiosity, courage, and confidence.
I often tell women that our best years aren’t behind us.
Alese is living proof.
She isn’t slowing down.
She’s speeding up.
Creating.
Learning.
Building community.
Helping others.
Trying new things.
Living fully.
And that’s exactly the kind of example I hope more women see.
Your Next Story Starts Today
Here’s my challenge for you.
You don’t need to complete seventy new experiences this year.
Just choose one.
One thing you’ve always wanted to try.
One thing that scares you just enough.
One thing that makes you wonder, “Could I really do that?”
Because here’s what I’ve learned after interviewing so many extraordinary women:
Reinvention doesn’t happen all at once.
It begins with one decision.
One brave yes.
One new story.
Who knows?
Years from now, that one decision might be the moment you look back on and realize everything changed.
Listen to the Full Episode of Living Ageless and Bold
Watch and subscribe on YouTube
If this conversation resonated with you, I hope you’ll listen to my full interview with Alese Johnston on Living Ageless and Bold.
We talk about reinvention, entrepreneurship, embracing failure, navigating major life transitions, brain health, loneliness, and why saying yes to new experiences may be one of the most powerful ways to age boldly.
No matter your age, one thing is certain:
Your next chapter is still waiting to be written.
Watch the full episode here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgaLCxE4o2Q