#98 - Clearing the Mental Clutter During Big Life Changes

Eric Blake: Welcome to another episode of the Simply Retirement Podcast. I am your host, Eric Blake, practicing retirement planner for over 25 years, founder of Blake Wealth Management, and I would not be the man I am today without the women in my life. On today's episode, I am joined by Jill Beck, founder of Go Long.

Jill spent years in investment banking in a high performance, high pressure environment before making a significant transition in her own life. Today, she works with high achieving women who are navigating major life changes and helps them simplify, gain clarity, and move forward in a way that feels sustainable.

She takes a very practical, high touch approach, staying closely connected with clients and helping them make small, intentional changes that actually stick. Jill, welcome to the Simply Retirement Podcast.

Jill Beck: Eric, I am so glad to be here. Thank you for having me.

Eric Blake: Absolutely. We have been working on this for a few months now. We got it done. But before we get to our primary conversation, you have recently done something that I am extremely impressed by. You recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. Would you mind sharing just briefly what your experience was like?

Jill Beck: It was challenging, and you do a lot of thinking. You are not sitting there talking the whole time while you are climbing. It was like a seven day trek. I was not feeling great, and I think the thing to take away from that is I wrote about it recently, there are some days where you have to bring your best, even though you do not have your best.

There is never going to be the stars that align for that, but you just have to figure out a way to make it happen. Somehow I found a way to make it happen on summit day without being able to eat and without sleeping.

Eric Blake: I bet, yeah. I am very impressed though.

Jill Beck: At 54, that I was able to do it with three autoimmune diseases, I am very proud of that. I am proud that I pushed through some adversity in terms of how I was feeling.

Eric Blake: Awesome. Well, that is a perfect lead into our conversation then. I want to start with your story. You built a successful career, but at some point you decided to make a pretty big life change yourself. What was going on at the time in your life that led you to make that transition, and how did that experience shape the work you are doing now?

Jill Beck: I think the thing is that I was in corporate for 30 years. Ten years in investment banking, 20 years in tech building products. High stress environments, very male dominated. Not a lot of conversation about mental health or anything else for women. Whatever you are dealing with, you put it aside and you cannot talk about it.

About three and a half years ago, I left corporate. I had had enough. I had enough with the misogyny. I had enough with the hustle culture for the sake of hustle culture. Over the course of my time in tech, I had also gone through a major health transformation.

When I left investment banking and went into tech, I had been diagnosed with my first autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis. It was a time when there was not a lot of information out there, and people did not talk about autoimmune conditions. It was really challenging.

I did not take care of myself at all. I was burning the candle at both ends. I was trying to outrun my disease, which was very unwise in retrospect. I started a journey over 20 years ago to get healthy. You could say that culminated a couple of months ago with summiting Kilimanjaro, but that did not happen overnight.

It happened by making a lot of mistakes along the way and rethinking how I was living my life, even while I was in corporate, making small incremental changes and learning that big swings were not the way things were going to stick.

That influenced the questions I would get from friends and friends of friends. There is so much misinformation out there, and I am sure you see that in the financial space as well. I realized I was passionate about informing women over 40 that they actually have more time than they think. They just need to rethink how they manage their time.

That is how accountability via texting came to be. You get reinforcing, supportive nudges on a daily basis that help keep you on track so you can build habits incrementally.

Eric Blake: How did you land on text messaging specifically?

Jill Beck: I was working with a business coach, and they suggested I try it. Texting is easy. Then I thought about it. If you have ever gone to therapy or worked with a trainer, they tell you to do things between sessions. Most people have so many distractions that unless they are highly motivated, they are not going to do it.

Texting is asynchronous. You do not have to be in a meeting. You can receive the message when it works for you, take action, and respond when you can. It felt less invasive and allowed me to send practical advice people could act on.

Eric Blake: I think that is a great concept. You get those messages at the right time, and they can really hit.

Jill Beck: Exactly. Life gets in the way. The texting allows me to meet you where you are and give you a small, actionable step. Something like, go outside for a 15 minute walk. That feels manageable, and most people can do it.

Eric Blake: In our practice, we often see women who know something needs to change, but they hesitate. What are the main reasons you see that prevent women from making a big life change?

Jill Beck: There is always fear of the unknown. You think, this is not great, but I can handle it. Also, they have not had enough skin in the game yet. There is usually a moment where someone decides, I deserve better.

That was the case for me. I realized I deserved better. When you reach that point, then people can come in and help you. That is the signal that you are ready to make a change.

Eric Blake: Once someone decides to make a change, what are some mistakes they make early on?

Jill Beck: Perfection. Women are so hard on themselves. They think they need to have everything figured out before they ask for help. There is never going to be a perfect time.

I experienced that myself recently. I delayed sending an email for two years because I wanted it to be perfect. Finally, I just sent it. It was not perfect, but it was done. Perfection holds women back because of the constant scrutiny they feel.

Eric Blake: What are two or three things women can do to successfully navigate a transition?

Jill Beck: First, narrow your focus. Do not try to do everything at once. Pick two things you can realistically accomplish.

Second, understand your why. Why do you want to make this change? That will shape everything.

Third, be willing to be uncomfortable. You need to prioritize yourself, even if it feels selfish.

Eric Blake: I see that often, especially with my wife. She will help anyone, but struggles to prioritize herself.

Jill Beck: That is very common. Helping others can be a way to avoid doing your own internal work. Saying no is something I spend a lot of time helping clients with. No is a complete sentence.

Eric Blake: That makes sense.

Jill Beck: I had a client who put off a divorce document for four months. We broke it down into small steps, and she completed it in nine days. That is the power of simplifying and focusing.

Eric Blake: What about situations where the transition is not planned, like widowhood or job loss?

Jill Beck: You have to start with basic needs. Are you safe? Can you pay your bills? Then balance what you can emotionally handle.

It depends on the situation. Sometimes it is about emotional support and small steps forward. Other times it is more tactical. It is very individualized.

Eric Blake: What does it look like to work with you?

Jill Beck: You start with an intake questionnaire so I understand your situation. Then we have an onboarding call. After that, it is daily texts and monthly check-ins.

I also have clients map out how they spend their time now versus how they want to spend it in six months. That helps them see what needs to change.

Eric Blake: Who is the ideal fit for you?

Jill Beck: Someone open minded and willing to be uncomfortable. If you want everything to stay the same, I am not the right fit. My approach requires trying new things and shifting from a task focused mindset to a possibility focused mindset.

Eric Blake: That is great. For listeners who want to learn more, how can they connect with you?

Jill Beck: My website is golong.me. I am on Instagram at Just Go Long, on LinkedIn under Jill Contour Beck, and I write a Substack weekly.

Eric Blake: We will include all of that in the show notes. Jill, thank you so much for joining me. This has been an awesome conversation.

As always, thank you to our listeners for tuning in. If you are navigating a major life transition and this conversation resonates with you, we will include Jill’s information in today’s show notes so you can learn more about her work.

That is it for today’s episode. For all the links and resources mentioned, visit simplyretirementpodcast.com.

Until next time, please remember, retirement is not the end of the road. It is the start of a new journey.