967: LEADERSHIP STORIES: 5 Lessons I’ve Learned in 50 Years

Shameless Leadership

Sara Dean

Self-improvement, How To, Business, Management, Education

4.7 • 800 Ratings

🗓️ 25 November 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I recorded this episode on the eve of my 50th birthday. I’m writing this show description at 6:23am on the morning of my 50th birthday. 50 feels weird. Maybe because for the first 48ish years of my life, it felt one million years away. Then, suddenly it’s just… here… For the past few months, people have been asking me what I plan to do to celebrate this monumental birthday and it’s felt overwhelming to decide on one thing. I feel this pressure to make the BEST choice because I’ll always remember whatever I choose. Therefore, it must be super special and memorable. That’s just too much pressure. To date, I’ve made no decisions. I don’t know how I’m celebrating. I guess I’ll have to keep you posted in that arena. Instead of making the perfect birthday plan, I’ve been thinking about what 50 means. I have a few thoughts about this milestone and the apparent wisdom everyone says women unlock at this age. In fact, I was sitting with a multigenerational group of people last week and laughing about how at every new age milestone (20, 30, 40, 50, etc.) we think we “finally” have it all figured out. However, I think the older I get, the more I realize there is so much more to still figure out. That actually feels really exciting. In this episode, I’m sharing 5 things I’ve figured out so far. But, honestly, I’m so excited to uncover so many new learnings in the years and decades to come! Today, I’ll share the major lesson my 13-year-old keeps reminding me (that is as profound as 6-7), how I’m embracing messiness and the “worst” parts of myself, what I’m protecting most, and where I’m mining for magic. THANK YOU to you for listening to the show and being a significant part of my life. 10 years ago, on the morning of turning 40, I had no idea I would launch a podcast that would be approaching 10 years and 1,000 episodes. In fact, at this time 10 years ago, I was just starting to think about, “maybe I’ll do a podcast… someday….” It’s an honor to be in your ear. Thank you for listening, sharing, and making my work feel meaningful. Meaningful work has always been and always will be one of the very best parts of my life. I couldn’t do it without you. Links Mentioned: Join me for Shameless Rising, a 2-part workshop series to release the noise, reclaim your voice, and reignite your vision in 2026: saradean.com/rising [OPEN ENROLLMENT] Join Sara’s Aligned Leadership Incubator: saradean.com/aligned Hire me to speak: saradean.com/speaking Coach with me: https://saradean.com/executive-coaching-services Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saradeanspeaks Watch Shameless Leadership episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@saradeanspeaks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to shameless leadership. I'm your host, Sarah Dean. This show is for women, transgender people, non-binary folks, as well as allies, who are committed to advancing their leadership while also advancing the leadership of those around them. In each episode, we will offer practical tips, leadership strategies, and inspiring
0:21.9	stories to help you become a more confident, compassionate, and inclusive leader. The truth is,
0:27.5	you were born to lead. What might happen for you if you were to wholeheartedly embrace that
0:32.2	part of yourself? So let's start now, together. Hello, shameless leaders. I'm so excited to be here today because I'm celebrating my 50th birthday.
0:42.0	So I'm recording this the day before I turn 50.
0:44.2	When you hear this, I will be freshly 50, a few days into turning 50.
0:48.9	And I'm sure I'll be feeling very 50 and very fabulous by then.
0:52.5	For this episode, I want to do something a little different,
0:54.7	a little bit fun. And so this will be connected to being a shameless leader kind of in a more loose
1:01.0	way, but I think also in a helpful way and also in a way that just allows me to do a bit of a deep
1:06.7	dive into like, what is the wisdom that one has at 50? Someone was telling me the other day about
1:11.7	the pride and wisdom that they started to feel after they turned 50 and well into their 50s
1:16.8	and that you just have this sense that like I know some things. I was laughing because I feel like
1:23.3	there's been a lot of ages that I've hit where I'm like, I know a lot now. And there's been
1:27.7	ages that I've hit where I've thought, I know all the things now. What I know now, for real,
1:32.7	for real, is that you never know all the things. But I do appreciate feeling like I know a lot of
1:38.4	things in a more humble way, maybe than in past milestone birthdays. And I also know that I have so much more that
1:47.5	I'm still going to learn. And that actually feels really exciting. And that ties into some of what I'm
1:51.9	going to share in a little bit, knowing there's more to come that I don't even know about.
1:55.7	That there is like things that are going to land in my path that I have no clue that they're coming
2:01.4	that will flip my life upside down, good ways, bad ways, but in ways that all provide lots of
2:06.7	lessons and lots of learning. And that actually feels exciting. I think that I've really learned
	...

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