37 Celebrating the Creativity and Fearlessness of Older Women with Cate Field

Episode Description:

Join Suzanne Proksa, HR and business strategist, and Cate Field, a life coach and therapist helping women to achieve their creative and career goals, as they discuss the importance of recognizing and following one's values when considering a career change. Hear inspiring stories of successful clients who have taken the financial risk to pursue their dreams. Learn how to navigate fears associated with making a career change at any age. Get motivated to follow your dreams - no matter how long you have been in your professional career!

Guest Bio:

Cate Field is a life coach and therapist helping women to achieve their creative and career goals. Born in London, England and now living by the sea in Dorset, south west England, Cate was a teacher for more than 25 years, working in mainstream and special needs schools. Prior to becoming a teacher, Cate worked for 10 years in mental health services. She left her position as vice principal last year to set up her own business coaching professional women. A qualified therapist and coach, Cate brings a wealth of experience with a no-nonsense approach. Her clients are often older women looking to change or develop their careers. Cate embraces the changes that middle age brings, and encourages everyone to live life to the full. She completed a MA in fine art at age 55, because it was something she always wanted to do, and she sings with the a cappella group Academix.

Guest Socials:

https://www.instagram.com/catefield/

Guest Website: https://catefield.com/ 

Listen In 🎧

Where to listen:

Subscribe to The Suzanne Show on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, IHeart Radio and Amazon Podcasts.   

Follow the podcast page HERE.

Show Links:

Links Page

Summary:

This podcast conversation between Suzanne Proksa, HR and business strategist, and Cate Field, a life coach and therapist helping women to achieve their creative and career goals, focuses on celebrating the creativity and fearlessness of older women. Kate has worked in mental health services for 10 years prior to becoming a teacher for more than 25 years in mainstream and special needs schools.

She left her position as vice principal last year to set up her own business coaching professional women. The main fears that older women have when considering changing their careers are not being taken seriously due to age, fear of doing something different than expected by family or friends, fear of making fools of themselves, etc.

To help navigate these feelings and challenges, it is important to identify core values and look at people who are admired for their work. Through this process it can be easier to narrow down what type of career change is desired and how best to pursue it. The speaker suggests that the first step is to identify core values followed by challenging limiting beliefs.

After gaining clarity on what one wants to do they should engage in a brainstorming exercise by creating a journal or scrapbook allowing their imagination to run wild without judgment. It is liberating to understand that a career change doesn't have to be permanent; it can be done for a year or two with support from others who can cheer them on, hold them accountable, provide feedback on ideas etc..

Two examples of successful clients are given: one is a textile artist looking further develop her career path through television/book writing; the other was held back by her own fear/anxiety but was able overcome these barriers with support from others. In this episode of the podcast, Suzanne and Cate discuss the importance of recognizing and following one's values when considering a career change.

They emphasize that it is important to pay attention to the little voice inside that may be nudging you towards a new direction. Cate shares her story of helping another woman take the financial risk to pursue her dream of running art groups and narrative storytelling. She now works part-time in her job while slowly developing her creative business.

Cate offers four week and six week group coaching programs, one-on-one coaching, and video programs on her website (catefield.com) as well as content on Instagram (@catefield). Her main message is that it is never too late to follow your dreams - no matter how long you have been in your professional career, if you want something else then go for it!