Share your background.
I’m the CEO of Forever Fierce Media and the creative behind the lifestyle blog, CatherineGraceO.com, dedicated to helping women Master Modern Midlife. I host the Mastering Modern Midlife Talk Show/Podcast. I am the Founder of The Forever Fierce Revolution, a global community created to empower women at Midlife and Beyond and to shift the perception on Ageism to one that is relevant, vibrant and empowered. I host FierceCon, an annual event dedicated to igniting the potential in women at Midlife & Beyond. I have my Masters in Spiritual Psychology. I bring 28 years of study in spirituality and energy work into everything I do to help women learn to Master Modern Midlife from the inside out and outside in.
What is it about media that intrigues you?
Media is simply a tool to communicate a message. It’s a powerful tool. The explosion in media of all kinds over the past decade has given women the opportunity to have a voice that can be heard by people all over the world. It’s given women significantly more power than they’ve ever had to be heard and to affect change, to make an impact. It’s given rise to various women’s movements, uniting women around common causes throughout the globe.
When did you decide to become an Entrepreneur?
It happened very organically. My father was an Entrepreneur. I think I always had the desire in my bones. What was missing was belief, belief in myself and my ability to create. Following a Near Death Experience at the end of 2014, my beliefs began to change. I began to change. Using social media as a way of healing quickly evolved into my life’s mission. Within a year, I had launched a blog, a media production company, 2 social service campaigns reaching almost 10 Million in following, a global community to empower women, a talk show/podcast and hosting live events. It all happened so fast that I barely had time to think about it. It was clear there was a need and an underserved niche to empower women at Midlife & Beyond while shifting a perception on Ageism to one that is positive, vibrant and empowered.
What challenges have you faced as an Entrepreneur?
Many, many challenges. At 58, I had zero experience in social media. I had never been a model. My voice was silenced by abuse at an early age. Launching a talk show/podcast was scary. There’s no road map or guidance out there for older women. I’m completely self-taught. I had no idea how to do any of the things I’m doing today. I had no connections. What I did have was a newfound belief in myself and my ability to create. I began to reach for things that were way beyond my wildest expectations. It didn’t take long before things began to happen. I realized it was time to get out of my own way. I began expanding my mindset. It’s amazing how our beliefs can keep us small if we allow it. My biggest challenge was unraveling old belief systems and adopting new empowering ones. There’s a lot of rejection in the world of social media and “influence.” There’s also a lot of competition. I’ve worked very hard to show women there’s a better way through collaboration. Shifting paradigms and cultures isn’t easy. It takes time. It requires patience. It also requires surrounding yourself with a team that believes in you and shares a common set of values, personal qualities where you align internally. I would have to say that Ageism is the biggest obstacle I’ve faced and that’s why it’s my mission. I see getting older as an incredible positive. Life experience is priceless. The longer we’ve lived, the more opportunity we have to grow and evolve. Wisdom has immense value. Society continues to value youth for very superficial reasons. It’s wonderful to be young but it’s also wonderful to get older and to have lived life and learned from it.
Share your experience as an Ageism Positivist. What has been a pivotal moment in your life?
I’ve always been very young at heart. Age is simply energy. We project energy all the time. When we think we are old, we are. Science has shown us that a fear of aging takes 7 years off your life! When we fear aging, we accelerate the very thing we fear! That’s crazy. When I began this mission, I was invited to a very fancy event in a gorgeous home in the cliffs of Malibu. It was hosted by a well-known tech company. They invited me thinking I was a millennial. When I told them my age, they turned their backs and wouldn’t speak to me. That was shocking. The focus of the event was on a very expensive new type of technology, a TV that was as thin as a credit card and super lightweight. It cost over $20,000 and they were marketing it to millennials, the majority of whom couldn’t afford it. I reached out to the hosts to share my ideas on how to market the new smart home technology to the 35 plus market and they refused to talk with us. That showed me how most businesses have it all wrong. Almost all marketing departments are run by millennials and Ageism is rampant. Ageism is hurting their bottom line but most brands are reluctant to expand their marketing beyond the millennial demographic.
Tell us about Forever Fierce Media.
On February 19th, 2017, I launched my first social service campaign, “The Fierce 50,” on the 50th day of the year. The idea was to unite women over 50 in the blogging community and to create a collaborative, supportive community to celebrate older women and to shift the perception on Ageism to one that is relevant, vibrant and empowered. National brands took notice and reached out to ask us to create national video campaigns that aligned with our messaging. We basically launched Forever Fierce Media overnight and produced 4 national commercials for national brands in our first year. Forever Fierce Media is the media arm of CatherineGraceO, LLC. We work with a variety of national brands to produce message-based content for brands that want to reach the 40 plus demographic. We use real women in all of our campaigns. We tend to think outside the box to surprise the audience with refreshing, unique and fierce messaging in our campaigns.
“I began to reach for things that were way beyond my wildest expectations. It didn’t take long before things began to happen. I realized it was time to get out of my own way. I began expanding my mindset. It’s amazing how our beliefs can keep us small if we allow it.”
When did you launch The Forever Fierce Revolution?
I launched the Forever Fierce Revolution right after The Fierce 50. It was originally created as a way to connect women over 50. We changed the name to the Forever Fierce Revolution when we found that a lot of younger women wanted to join the community, women who were facing Ageism and finding it hard to connect to women who were interested in aging in a whole, new way. Many Gen X women felt they were invisible. We removed the age barrier to welcome all women interested in uniting around a positive message on Ageism. We now have women from 20 to 80 plus and a few brave men who support our mission. Our goals in 2020 are to continue to grow the community. So far, it’s been very organic with our message spreading by word of mouth. We have 6500 women from every state in the country and most countries around the world. We intend to reach 100,000 women and then a million women. You may not notice one Midlife woman on a street corner but you can’t help but notice 1 Million!
Why are you a Formidable Woman?
I believe every single woman is formidable. Most of us have lost that belief over time. Our culture isn’t so kind to older women. I believe that I’m formidable because I’ve taken control of my life, my beliefs and my mindset. I play by my own set of rules. Those rules include seeing getting older as an incredible gift, one many of us will never experience. It is my mission to shift a paradigm and perception for women at Midlife and Beyond to one that is vibrant and empowered. The amount of negativity projected at older women has a massive impact on our life experience. A Formidable Woman doesn’t accept those projections. She lives life according to her rules, empowering rules. Positivity is a choice. Being Formidable is a choice. Living a life of Moxie – which means Force of Character, is a choice. It’s an outlook. The more Formidable we are, the more we will be perceived as Formidable and shift culture and perception to one that is empowered.
You are the host of the Mastering Modern Midlife Talk Show/Podcast. What are your favorite topics?
The show is centered around helping women Master Modern Midlife from the inside out and outside in. I’ve been on a deeply spiritual path for over 28 years. I incorporate what I’ve learned into everything I do. My favorite topics have to do with empowering women and getting them to think outside the box. I’ve been blessed to interview a lot of celebrities and many gifted authors in the Self Help arena. My interviews aren’t centered around the “celebrity” but the human being on the inside and the human struggle. My ultimate wish list of guests include Oprah (of course!) and Brene Brown, one of my She-ro’s and ultimate role models. I would also love to interview Elizabeth Gilbert and my girl crush, Jennifer Anniston.
FierceCon, is attracting women from all over the country and around the world. What is the synthesis?
FierceCon is not a conference. It’s a connection. It’s the ultimate connection or reconnection with self. As women, we are meant to live in our hearts. We tend to lose that connection over time. As mothers, we are outwardly focused. Our lives become about putting our children and our families first. Our culture projects a lot of negativity and disempowering messages to women, particularly older women. FierceCon is a powerful experience, an inside out conference, designed to ignite the potential in the women who attend. The stories we hear from the attendees are out of this world. Their lives change because the way they see themselves begins to change. They learn how much power they have within to change the course of their lives. We all have that power. We simply forget over time. We help them remember. It’s also a heck of a lot of fun!
If you could lead all women, what would your motto be?
My motto would be “We are stronger together!” When we unite through our hearts and link arms to rise together, to lift one another, we rise faster and higher than we ever dreamed possible.
Share your goals for 2020.
My initial intention for 2020 is to relax and enjoy life more. The last few years have been fast and furious. I haven’t had the space to really enjoy what I’ve created or the actual process of creation. I’m stopping to smell the roses. My motto for this year is Chasing Joy. That motto is both personal and professional as those worlds are intertwined. Joy is the foundation of a happy life. Joy is the foundation of a successful business. Joy is who we are. I’m planning to work hard and play harder!
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Fantastic interview! I’ve been to Fiercecon the last two years, and it really is like no other conference. It is like a rocket ship of inspiration, hope and love drawing the most “others centered” women together, and creating lifelong and life giving relationships. This is all inspired by the belief Catherine has in each individual woman that they are worthy of a life of joy and that they have talents and gifts like no one else. She has changed my life for the good!
Beautiful lady. You have brought me to tears. I have been chasing my joy for 2 1/2 years. I want it back. I used to be a joyful woman. This horrendous path of grief so changed me I sometimes I don’t know me anymore. This group I feel will give me wings. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the adventure. My self esteem has taken a hit and I know I have much to offer again. I did start writing a book about Andrew called Missing the Crazy. He had some issues that we had to work through. Need to pick that up again. Love love love Forever Fierce