Reading · Your Best Life Made Easy™: Thriving After 50

Photo Credit: Melanie R. Jordan My favorite tank top!

I used to think that doing what makes you happy was an all or nothing proposition.

Much like when someone skips a day of exercise because they’re too busy to get their regular workout in. They figure, “if I can’t go all in I might as well not go in at all.”

I was doing the same thing with my writing.

As I’ve previously shared, I started creative writing at age six and was published for the first time in my local paper at age eight. It was always supposed to be a part of me.

Photo Credit: Melanie R. Jordan Thanks to everyone who likes my writing so much they even read part one of this!

Somewhere along the way, it went on the back burner. I was dutifully career-focused with no time or energy for creativity.

I kept thinking that if I couldn’t focus on my writing and be all in on it, I should hold off for “someday.”

My first layoff brought back the itch to write something besides marketing copy day in and day out. I realized doing part of what made me happy was better than doing none of it.

I played with some blogging. At one point I had three blogs.

I even wrote and published five nonfiction books that saw some sales.

Ironically, my favorite book of the bunch actually had the lowest sales.

Still, within the early chapters of it, were the seeds of the writing style you’ve seen over the course of the last year (or however long you’re been reading my work). There was down-to-earth storytelling, humor, and pop culture references supporting information and perspectives about thriving in life.

That part of the book stood out to readers. That part of the book was also a blast for me to write.

I intended to dive deeper into that.

Then I got a bit sidetracked. I made some healthy changes in myself and this led to yet another career pivot to fitness teaching and health and wellness coaching. It ultimately changed my life personally and professionally, and led to a good decade plus run working for digital health startups that was probably the highlight of my career.

I was all in.

Guess what went on the back burner again?

Fast forward to Summer 2025.

I’m two plus years into a job that I can do, rather than one I really want to do. My third career layoff left me in a position where the music stopped for good on the game of musical chairs I’d successfully been playing in digital health coaching leadership as startups came and went.

Still, I’m getting the health insurance my husband and I need.

My soul, however, is not getting what it needs.

Knowing now’s not the time to chuck it all just yet, I decided something I can do is find a way to be creative outside of my “day job.” That, I can control.

I decided to lurk a bit on a new thing I’d heard of through a thought leader I followed called Substack.

Two months later, on August 13, 2025, I hit publish on my first post to introduce myself to the Substack world. My goals were simple:

Do something creative every day to get the creative juices flowing and find my writing voice again. Even if I just wrote a paragraph, jotted down an idea or took a picture of something that interested me to think about to develop for the future.

I have this sign hanging on my home office wall as a constant reminder.

Photo Credit: Melanie R. Jordan

Get consistent in writing creatively. I committed to writing at least one new piece every single week no matter what.
Build an audience who enjoyed my work. It did not need to be “bestseller” size. It just needed to be built with humans who cared, who would read, and who I’d sometimes hear from.

Today, exactly one year later, I’m celebrating Your Best Life Made Easy™: Thriving After 50’s 1st Substackaversary. Yes, I made that word up: Substack + anniversary!

This is post number 70! So I actually exceeded my original publication goal. Well, I always was a high achiever :)

Thanks a million, and then some, to those of you who have been with me for any part of this first year.

Whether you were one of the first who liked what I was doing enough to grace me with your email as a subscriber, or just joined today, you are appreciated and valued more than you know.

Every view, read, heart, comment, restack, share, subscribe and especially those extra kind people who became paid subscribers, bought me a coffee or became coaching clients, tells me that something I wrote spoke to you. That’s what matters to me!

It’s not the number of hearts that you get (although I get more all the time thanks to all of you), but the number of hearts you capture with your work.

You all mean the world to me and I hope we’re in each others’ lives for a long time to come. I’ll be here if you will!

Thanks also to the special fellow Substackers who gave this newbie a shot with a guest post or collaboration:

chris kalaboukis She Was a Digital Nomad Before the Term Existed

Tracy Mansolillo When Forced Change Throws Your Career For a Loop

Chris B. Writes Meet Caregiver and Writer Chris B. Writes with Coach Melanie

More of these are coming in the Fall!

I recently saw an interview with Billy Joel who made his last contemporary album, River of Dreams, in 1993. I’ve heard various reasons over the years of why he stopped making music outside of classical composing, but in this one, he claimed it was that his creative process was such that he basically had to lock himself away from his family to focus on writing, and he just didn’t want to do it anymore.

I’ve never understood how someone who created such a great body of work over the years could suddenly not want to create anymore.

While I haven’t always made the space for it in my life like I should have, I always have had more ideas begging to come out into the world than I had time to share them. I still do.

But now I share them with all of you every Tuesday, and sometimes in bonus posts like this one :)

I’ve had my tank top Do What Makes You Happy I showed at the start of this piece for years. It’s one of my favorites.

I haven’t always lived it like I meant to.

But after writing for my publication Your Best Life Made Easy™: Thriving After 50 for the last year, I can finally say I am living this.

Doing what makes me happy is no longer optional.

Photo Credit: Melanie R. Jordan Fall starting last year in Chicagoland

Cue up Earth, Wind and Fire’s September. It’s one of my “you can’t help but move” favorites. Especially the version one of our local Chicagoland bands, Hello Weekend, does.

It’s been 17 years since my last book.

That was never the plan. Where the heck did the time go?

As I shared in my last piece, When Serendipity Goes Awry, you never know when life can take a sinister turn. I’m done wasting time.

I’m excited to share that on September 1st, I’m going to kick off the writing of my next book, which I expect to be the start of a series.

Right now, I can share that it will be a combination of memoir, life observations and life lessons all designed to help others thrive at 50+ (or even 50-) in my unique, down-to-earth, humorous, pop culture reference-filled style seen in my weekly posts.

For the first time ever, I’m inviting those of you who are interested to peek over my shoulder as I write this book.

You’ll get:

Exclusive author insights;
The “stories behind the stories” of what I’m writing;
A look at my creative process as it all comes together;
The road to publication; and
My ongoing marketing efforts.

You’ll see my little victories, as well as the bumps in the road, weekly on Thursdays starting September 4th.

Bonus: You’ll also be able to ask me anything you like about this work anytime in a private subscriber chat.

These weekly posts will not be available anywhere else.

They, along with early full access to the book once completed, will be available only to paid subscribers.

My goal is to have the book completed by mid-December. But I’m also not going to rush it and sacrifice the quality.

It’s been 17 years. What’s a little more time? :)

To encourage you to come along for this very special new additional journey, and to celebrate my 1st Substackaversary, I’m offering a 25% discount one-time-only until I start my book on September 1st.

After that, you’re still welcome to join, but you’ll miss out on the savings.

So why wait? If you enjoy my Tuesday pieces, you’re really going to enjoy the new exclusive work I’ll be sharing.

Plus, know that you’ll be helping me cover the costs of publishing my book so it can get out into the world and help others.

I like to be in control of my work. Authors have to be the ones to get the word out anyway unless you’re John Grisham or Stephen King, and life’s too short for chasing agents and publishers in my opinion.

Get 25% off for 1 year

I want to be clear that, as promised, my weekly Tuesday posts for Your Best Life Made Easy™: Thriving After 50, monthly recaps and their archives will continue to remain free—no paywalls or teasers.

There’s no obligation ever to become a paid subscriber, although I do hope you’ll consider it. Thanks so much!

For too many years, I thought going back to real creative writing had to be an all or nothing proposition. It took having a job where I felt a complete lack of creativity during most of my waking hours to find out that just wasn’t true.

It’s perfectly okay to have one foot in “day job” world and in the pursuit of my own passions. The two can peacefully coexist.

So whatever it is that you’re truly passionate about, make even the smallest amount of time to move it forward.

You can waste a lot of time like I did getting wrapped up in your career, or other things that don’t light you up, and it’s never coming back.

As Keith Urban sings in one of my favorite songs Days Go By:

It's all we've been given
So, you better start livin' right now.

Thriving isn’t only about your health and wellness. Doing what makes you happy, and gives you purpose, even just a little, will make all the difference.

I know.

Wishing you maximum health and happiness always!

P.S. How do you make sure to do what makes you happy even if it can only be part-time? What is that for you?

Please comment. I’d love to hear what you do that makes YOU happy and how it fits into your busy life.

Doing What Makes You Happy Isn't Optional