52+: If Not Now, Then When?
By Guest Nudger Cheryl Holling
I recently appeared as a guest on Cheryl Holling’s podcast, 19Stories, where we talked about my memoir and this blog. After the recording ended, we continued to talk about our lives, and Cheryl told me how she was nudged to pursue her creative and expressive passions, which led to her launching her own show. So inspiring! I invited her to share her story with all of us. —Kathleen
Backstory: Growing up in Los Angeles with parents who came to the US from Canada to pursue their creative endeavors in theater, music, and television, I was exposed to and involved one way or another in the creative arts myself. Not a very unique story, given how many people through the decades have come to “Hollywood” with dreams of fame, fortune, and all the accolades that go with such success. But what many don’t know is how tough it is to pursue such a career and that LA—and the film and television business in particular—is VERY youth-oriented.
Although my parents had by many standards achieved success in their endeavors, it was never at a level that made them household names. After losing both of them in 2009 (just three months apart), as I went through so many of their playbills and music programs, I realized just how much they did to keep their creative pursuits alive while continuing to hold down “real jobs.” (They also divorced when I was rather young, which added yet another challenge, to try to amicably co-parent.)
I found myself thinking about the dreams that I still wanted to actualize in my life, and I started to ruminate on the phrase that a good friend of mine had said to me numerous times: “If not now, then when?”
What Happened: My father, George, had a cable TV show call Alive After 65 for over 20 years. He continued to host it up to six months prior to his passing and one month shy of his 93rd birthday. When he died, I thought there must be a way to carry on both his and my mother’s legacies and shine a spotlight on the amazing stories of a generation that Hollywood all but casts aside. That’s when I had the idea for my original podcast, Thrive After 55, because well, I was approaching 55 and wanted to highlight a generation of people who were thriving at a time when society tends to think of individuals in this age group as has-beens, should-have-beens, or sitting in a rocking chair knitting while feeding wayward cats and watching Jeopardy. (I do happen to love that show. 🙂 )
As we all know, it’s one thing to come up with an idea and an entirely different thing to execute that idea—especially when fear gets in the way and keeps you stuck in a never-ending cycle of GRTGR (otherwise known as Getting Ready To Get Ready)!
Then February 2020 came around, and I don’t think I need to say much about the fear that was gripping our world. Things instantly were crystalized with the awareness of “If not now, then when?” I still wanted to talk to creative people who were thriving in their chosen fields, and yet that seemed cavalier given all that was going on. So, I decided to face my own fear, pivot, and talk with people in all creative realms and walks of life about their fears, what tools or faith they relied on to move through the pandemic or other challenging times, and how they move into and hold onto Hope. Thus, my podcast 19Stories: from fear to Hope was launched in June of 2020.
The Ah-Hahs: I’ve now released 52 episodes (coincidence?), and my initial goal was to release an episode every week. However, I am a one-woman show in that I research, record, edit, and promote my podcast, and there are times that life has presented other priorities. If I’ve learned anything from my guests (including from the creator of 52Nudges), it’s that we keep going, keep facing our fears (and those things or people that want to steal or kill our joy or dreams), and we Hope for a better tomorrow. Life, as we’ve all hopefully learned, is too precious to let fear hold us back.
Listen to Cheryl’s podcast on your favorite audio channels, such as Spotify, Apple, Google, and Amazon. You can also listen directly here or on cherylholling.com. Kathleen is featured on Episode 51. If you have a guest or story idea that you’d like to recommend, please email Cheryl at 19stories@soundsatchelstudios.com
