Trailblazers’ Stories: not-your-average Blog
Here you’ll find more than 450 full-lenght articles, most 4000 words+, about subjects that would interest people who are navigating huge life changes, challenges and crises and are starting the next chapters in their lives. Most articles feature the story of someone who had to cope with a life-altering crisis. Maybe you’ll find the story of someone who survived the exact same crisis as you are facing? You can use the search function below to find inspiring stories:
Here are the main themes:
1. Retreats – Stress Dissolvers & Direction Finders – The transformative power of retreat experiences for people navigating major life transitions, career pivots, and personal crossroads. Explore how stepping away creates space for clarity, renewal, and intentional next chapters.
2. Horses – Partners in Transformation – How equine-assisted learning can accelerate emotional healing, build self-awareness, and guide stressed professionals toward their next chapter with wisdom that only horses can provide.
3. Navigating Life Changes, Challenges & Crises – Practical strategies and emotional support for weathering life’s storms—from unexpected upheavals to planned transitions. Learn to navigate uncertainty with resilience and emotional adaptability during pivotal life moments.
4. Burnout & Stress Management in Transition – Understanding why life transitions amplify stress and burnout risk. Science-backed approaches to managing acute and chronic stress when you’re already navigating significant personal or professional change.
5. Life Purpose – The Foundation of New Beginnings – Discovering and reconnecting with your deeper purpose during times of change. Explore why clarity of purpose is essential when reinventing your life, career, or identity.
6. Emotional Intelligence, Empathy, Self-Awareness & Mindfulness – Developing the inner resources that make transitions smoother. Cultivate emotional maturity, self-compassion, and mindful practices that support you through life’s most challenging passages.
7. Reinvention and Reconstruction after a Major Life Change – Navigate relationship shifts, empty nests, health scares, career pivots, redundancies, retirement, relocation, professional success without fulfillment, and find clarity for your next chapter.
8. Grief, Loss & Legacy – Honouring what’s been lost while creating meaningful legacy. Process grief from death, relationship endings, or life chapter closures, and discover how loss can transform into purposeful living.
9. Nature, Sustainability & Slow and Solo Travel – Reconnecting with natural rhythms as an antidote to modern overwhelm. Embrace sustainable, intentional living that supports well-being during life transitions and beyond.
10. Writing, Reading & Storytelling – How words heal and transform during major life changes. Explore writing your story, reading for solace and inspiration, book reviews, and storytelling circles as powerful tools for processing transition.
Margaretha Montagu
Case Study 21966 "Hello and welcome to my little corner of the internet. I’m Diane, a not-so-young mom in my fifties who’s been on a wild roller coaster ride over the past few years—specifically, the ride called “the Empty Nest.”...
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Margaretha Montagu
The Rise of Alternative Tourism Introduction My Camino de Santiago walking retreat guests often ask me if it is worth visiting Bordeaux before or after their retreat. "Of course it is," I answer, with unshakeable conviction, "Have a look at...
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Margaretha Montagu
Beyond Romance: 12 Qualities of a Loving, Lasting Relationship If you are struggling through a major life change due to a relationship ending, you are probably viewing the approach of Valentine’s Day with trepidation. The 14th of February is just...
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Margaretha Montagu
What long-distance walking and open-water swimming have in common - a journey through history, health, and the healing power of open water. #whisperingwoods #wildwater Introduction "The first time I waded into an icy lake for a wild swim, I laughed....
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Margaretha Montagu
Social Wealth and the Value of a Strong Support System Introduction Imagine this: You wake up in a gorgeous home, sunlight streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows. Your bank account is thriving, your investments are secure, and you’ve achieved the financial success...
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Margaretha Montagu
Introduction: An Unforgettable Hiking Adventure Picture this: You’re walking the Camino de Santiago through southwest France, where rolling hills unfurl like a medieval tapestry. Stone villages cling to cliffs, sunlit vineyards rustle in the gentle breeze, and ancient trails hum...
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Margaretha Montagu
Walking Long Distances can Lead to Life-Changing Epiphanies Introduction: The Problem With Overthinking Have you ever spent hours—days, even—trying to think your way out of a problem? You analyse it from every angle, create action plans, hire a coach, read...
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Margaretha Montagu
Creating Professional and Personal Resilience Ever found yourself wondering whether you need a mentor or a coach? You're not alone. In fact, this question pops up more often than unsolicited LinkedIn connection requests. Let's dive into the confusingly complex world...
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Margaretha Montagu
Because sometimes, hot cocoa, reading under a weighted blanket and candle-lit bubble baths just don’t cut it. Winter. I keep telling myself how spectacularly beautiful winter is this year, and how much I have to be grateful for, despite stepping...
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Margaretha Montagu
Introverts vs Extroverts: Many introverts spend decades pretending to be extroverts to fit in but according to Laurie Helgoe, "Introverts are more effective leaders of proactive employees. When you have a creative, energetic workforce, an introvert is going to draw...
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Margaretha Montagu
Without necessarily Meditating on a Mountain Top Trying to “find your true calling” can feel like looking for a needle in a philosophical haystack. And while classic advice like “determine your values” or “write a mission statement” works for some,...
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Margaretha Montagu
Introduction: Rethinking the Bucket List For years, the bucket list has reigned supreme as the ultimate blueprint for a life well-lived. Scaling Everest? Check. Sipping champagne in a hot air balloon over the Serengeti? Done. Absolutely. Dining at a three-Michelin-star...
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Margaretha Montagu
Summary This article reframes life purpose discovery as a cutting-edge strategy for amplifying success rather than an esoteric or "new age" concept. It challenges the assumption that life purpose is secondary to professional achievement. Introduction: The Missing Piece in the...
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Margaretha Montagu
Introduction The midlife crisis—a cultural relic that once inspired impulsive sports car purchases, drastic career overhauls, and soul-searching trips to far-flung destinations. For years, it served as the poster child for life transitions, often wrapped in a haze of regret...
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Margaretha Montagu
Alright, readers, buckle up! We're about to embark on a wild ride called Identity Shift: From Zero to Hero. I have written a number of very SERIOUS articles recently, in an attempt to be helpful (one is nearly 3000 words...
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Margaretha Montagu
“The greatest tragedy in life is not untimely death, but to live a life of emptiness.” – Debasish Mridha Imagine finally reaching the summit of success, surrounded by every external marker of achievement, and feeling… nothing. Not triumph, not joy,...
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Margaretha Montagu
Introduction From bubble baths to binge-watching Netflix, traditional self-care has been reduced to a checklist of indulgences that often leave us feeling more drained than rejuvenated. For all its popularity, the "treat yourself" culture has become little more than a...
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Margaretha Montagu
Introduction Have you ever noticed how some people seem to navigate life with quiet strength, no matter the circumstances? It’s not because their lives are easier or free of challenges. Their secret lies in their perspective: they live with a...
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Margaretha Montagu
Strategies for Introverts Introduction Time is ticking, the pressure is mounting, and a decision must be made. Whether you're a leader steering your team through a critical juncture, a professional juggling multiple priorities, or simply navigating life’s daily challenges, the...
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Margaretha Montagu
Our willingness to wait reveals the value we place on the object we’re waiting for. Charles Stanley In Praise of the Pause We've all been there – stuck in life's waiting room, checking our metaphorical watches and wondering when our...
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Margaretha Montagu
What is the Secret of Living a Meaningful Life? The secret of living a meaningful life isn't really a secret at all - it lies in understanding that it is up to us to make our lives meaningful. How you...
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Margaretha Montagu
A Light-hearted Guide for Trailblazers, Visionaries, Groundbreakers, Guidinglights, Empire builders, Torchbearers and Pathfinders Sausan, a brilliant CFO I worked with, found herself staring at her reflection one morning, wondering why her recent promotion to a coveted board position felt more...
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Margaretha Montagu
When did burning out become something to brag about? Picture this: You're sitting in a meeting, bleary-eyed and clutching your third cup of coffee as if it were a lifeline. Someone casually remarks, "I haven’t had a proper vacation in...
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Margaretha Montagu
Especially during Life Transitions Introduction Storytelling is one of humanity’s oldest and most powerful tools for making sense of life. Beyond entertainment, stories provide structure, convey values, and reveal truths about our lives. By adopting storytelling techniques, we can infuse...
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Margaretha Montagu
Major Life Changes can make even Seasoned Professionals feel like Anxious Amateurs You've spent decades mastering your field, earning those battle scars of experience, and finally feeling like you belong with the best. Then suddenly, a seismic shift occurs –...
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Margaretha Montagu
Don't Spend It, Invest It. Harry sat in his sleek, glass-walled office overlooking the city, the rhythmic clicking of his Montblanc pen against the desk filling the sterile silence. The faint scent of leather from his chair mingled with the...
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Margaretha Montagu
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” — Isaac Newton Potential clients often ask me what happens during an iNFINITE iMPACT mentoring consultation. Below, I share an example of such a consultation, entirely...
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Margaretha Montagu
Turning Points and Existential Questions Life transitions: they’re the moments when the universe taps you on the shoulder and says, “Time for a Change.” Whether it’s a career pivot, the starting/selling of a business, part- or full retirement, the loss...
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Margaretha Montagu
Why Successful Professionals Secretly Question Their Accomplishments (And What They Can Do About It) Part of the #12 Strategies Collection Introduction In my years of working with the impressively accomplished, I've observed that many of them (though not all, mind...
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Margaretha Montagu
Anthony didn’t do breaks. Vacations, maybe. But they were the carefully curated kind—five-star hotels, perfectly chilled martinis, and assistants who’d answer his emails faster than he could order room service. He wasn’t the sort of guy who meditated, journaled, or...
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