Beam Me Up...I've Got Another Talk to Give

There’s a moment—right after you say yes to another speaking opportunity—when the excitement hits…

…and then the quiet voice follows:

“Okay, now you actually have to write it.”

And not just write it. Refine it. Tighten it. Memorize it. Deliver it like you’ve lived it your whole life.

Which, in my case, means pacing around my house talking to myself like a completely reasonable person… while my husband and chocolate Lab Gryphon pretend this is perfectly normal behavior.

The Blank Page… and the Full Life Behind It

Every new talk starts the same way.

A blank page.

And a very full life behind it.

Because here’s the truth: at this stage of life, we’re not short on material—we’re overflowing with it.

Decades of experience.

Wins. Losses. Plot twists we never saw coming.

The challenge isn’t having something to say.

It’s deciding…

What matters most to say now.

Memorizing… or Becoming?

Now let’s talk about memorizing.

Because people always ask me, “Do you memorize your talks?”

Yes.

And no.

I don’t memorize words as much as I memorize meaning.

I walk it. I say it out loud. I feel where it lands. I adjust where it doesn’t.

I practice until it stops sounding like something I wrote…

…and starts sounding like something I believe.

Because the goal isn’t perfection.

It’s presence.

And Then… There’s the Technology 😳

Now here’s where things take a turn.

PowerPoint.

Or more specifically…

AI helping me design my PowerPoint.

Let me just pause here for a moment.

Because if you had told me years ago that I’d be using artificial intelligence to help create slides for my talks, I would have looked at you like you just stepped off the set of Star Trek.

“Beam me up, Scotty.”

And yet…

Here I am.

Typing into a screen.

Asking it to create visuals.

Adjust layouts.

Refine ideas.

And it actually… works.

68 and Still Figuring It Out

I’ll be honest—there’s a part of me that still feels like I’m getting away with something.

Like… Should I really be able to do this?

But here’s what I’ve realized:

Learning doesn’t expire.

Curiosity doesn’t age out.

And growth doesn’t have a deadline.

At 68, I am still learning new tools.

Still stretching into things I don’t fully understand.

Still willing to feel a little awkward in the process.

Because that awkwardness?

That’s the price of staying alive in your own life.

The Real Risk Isn’t Technology

People sometimes tell me:

“I could never do that.”

“I’m not tech-savvy.”

“That’s for younger people.”

But let’s call it what it is.

It’s not about the technology.

It’s about the decision.

The decision to stay engaged.

To stay curious.

To stay in motion.

Because the real risk in this stage of life isn’t that things are changing too fast.

It’s that we quietly decide to stop changing with them.

Your Third Act Isn’t a Victory Lap

It’s not a slow fade.

It’s not a “we’ve done enough.”

And it’s definitely not the time to sit back and admire the highlight reel.

Your third act?

It’s where everything you’ve lived becomes fuel for what’s next.

And yes—sometimes that looks like writing a new talk.

Sometimes it looks like learning a new piece of technology that makes you feel like you need a user manual… and a glass of wine.

And sometimes it looks like simply saying:

“Why not me?”

One More Thing

So here’s what I’ll leave you with:

Where in your life are you still playing it safe…because you think you’re “too far along” to try something new?

What are you curious about…but quietly talking yourself out of?

And what would happen if—just for a moment—you decided:

I’m not done learning.

I’m not done growing.

I’m not done becoming.

Because you’re not.

Not even close.

Now if you’ll excuse me…

I have a talk to finish memorizing.

And apparently… a robot to help me design the slides.