Same women. More life. More confidence. More ourselves.
Who decided we were supposed to disappear?
There are things women talk about with their girlfriends all the time.
Botox. Hormones. Skincare. Our bodies. The things we love. The things we’d change. The things we’re finally learning not to care about.
But say some of those things out loud, and suddenly everyone has an opinion.
Especially as we get older.
We’re told to age gracefully. Embrace every line. Don’t try too hard. Don’t care too much. And whatever you do, don’t admit that you still want to feel sexy.
My conversation with Cynthia Garcia made me think about how many rules women have inherited that we never actually agreed to.
Maybe it’s time we stop following them.
The first time I met Cynthia Garcia, I remember thinking, this woman has presence.
And once you know her story, you understand where it comes from.
Cynthia is a four-time entrepreneur, founder of Rewritten and The Vanity Club, and host of I’d Like to Thank Myself. Her companies have generated more than $100 million in revenue, but her story started in the Appalachian Mountains, growing up in poverty without running water.
She has built, reinvented, and built again.
And at 40, something shifted.
We were both hiding something
In my 30s, my career was taking off. Most of my clients were men, and I wanted to be taken seriously. So I made choices about how I showed up. Pantsuits. Button-down shirts. Nothing too tight. Nothing that might distract from what I brought to the table.
Cynthia had her own version of it. She loved beauty, but for years she downplayed that part of herself because she wanted to be taken seriously in business.
When I look at those photos now, I don’t see younger versus older.
I see two women who finally gave themselves permission to become more of who they already were.
We’re sharing these photos because you should never be afraid to do what makes you feel good in your own body. Get the treatment or don’t. Wear the dress, change your mind, and choose what feels right for you. None of it requires anyone else’s approval. Getting older doesn’t mean becoming less of yourself. If anything, it should give you more permission to become exactly who you want to be.
This went much deeper than beauty
What I loved about this conversation is where it went next.
We talked about money and what happens when you build success after growing up with almost nothing. We talked about our daughters, ambition, identity, getting older, and whether women still feel like they have to choose between being powerful and being feminine.
And, because obviously I had to ask, I got Cynthia to tell me exactly what she does to look the way she does.
Cynthia does not mess around. 😂
You need to hear that list from her.
Come listen to this one
This conversation isn’t really about looking younger.
It’s about getting older without becoming smaller.
Whether you want to do all the things, none of the things, or you’re still figuring out what your version looks like, come join us.
And I want to know: What have you given yourself permission to own after 40 that your younger self struggled with?
Tell me in the comments. I read every one.
Xo,
Tracy
P.S. Cynthia and I made a deal during this conversation: I’d show you my old photos if she showed you hers. So there you go. Turns out getting older can have a lot less to do with losing something and a lot more to do with finally owning it.