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
The "Someday" Syndrome and Procrastination Right, let's tackle the inner critic in our potentially entrepreneurial minds: the myth of "perfect timing." You know, that elusive moment in the cosmos when the stars align, the economy hums just right, and your...
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Margaretha Montagu
I'm a physician. I've been blessed with ideas and resources to use technology to make the world a better place. That's what I would like to leave behind. Patrick Soon-Shiong Introduction I recently read a book about the ancient art...
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Margaretha Montagu
Escaping the Illusion of Security to Redefine Success on Your Own Terms #Post-Crisis Reconstruction Protocols Introduction A penthouse suite, the kind where the city lights twinkle like a million tiny, envious eyes. Inside, a gathering of the usual suspects –...
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Margaretha Montagu
Invest in Yourself I'd like to update my book, "Secure Your Future" - I thought that might be a good idea in the current unpredictable political, economic and well, general climate, so I've compiled a list of suggestions to include...
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Margaretha Montagu
“What if the very thing that made you successful is also what's driving you to the brink of burnout?” Introduction What if I told you that your relentless drive, your impeccable work ethic, and your ability to power through exhaustion...
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Margaretha Montagu
Success Doesn’t Silence Self-Doubt—It Amplifies It “When I won the Oscar, I thought it was a fluke. I thought everybody would find out, and they’d take it back. They’d come to my house, knocking on the door, “Excuse me, we...
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Margaretha Montagu
How a Shift in Perspective Turns Cash into a Catalyst for Change and Connection Introduction: Money—The Frenemy We Can’t Escape Ah, money. That one friend who’s always either making your life easier or dramatically ruining your plans. One day, it’s...
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Margaretha Montagu
Reframing Success in the Second/Third/Fourth Act Jason sat at his desk, staring at the framed photo of his family. The clock on the wall ticked away the seconds, each one echoing loudly in his mind. Thirty years in the corporate...
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Margaretha Montagu
I have just published After the Divorce - The Ultimate Roadmap to ReConstructing Yourself: For Men. Why did a woman write a book about divorce for men? In this post, I'll tell you. Introduction: Divorce Doesn’t Care About Your Resume...
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Margaretha Montagu
How it all began I sat at my desk, fingers hovering over my keyboard. I had been wrestling with my latest blog post for what felt like an eternity. My mind was a whirlwind of half-baked ideas and thoughts that...
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Margaretha Montagu
10 Irreverent Ways to Rebuild When “Resilience” Feels Like a meaningless Buzzword Anna: Rebellious, and relentlessly hopeful Anna sat at her kitchen table, staring at her untouched cup of tea. The morning light filtered through the window, casting soft shadows...
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Margaretha Montagu
A French Escape from Life's Uncertainties Posted March 18, 2025 I'm sitting on a weathered stone bench in the garden of this ridiculously charming cottage, watching the afternoon sun cast long shadows across the countryside. Five days in Gascony in...
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Margaretha Montagu
In a world that’s rewriting itself in real-time, there’s never been a better moment to ditch the script and design a life that fits who you are now. There’s a moment in every good disaster movie when the main character...
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Margaretha Montagu
Chaos as the Ultimate Muse Let’s face it: Between economic plot twists, climate curveballs, and the ever-looming “AI will steal your job” headlines, uncertainty has become our collective roommate. And let’s just say, it’s not great at doing the dishes....
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Margaretha Montagu
The secret to staying calm when everything else is falling apart. Let’s be brutally honest: the world right now feels like someone handed the steering wheel to a caffeinated squirrel. Political tension? Check. Economic turmoil? Double check. Environmental disasters, AI...
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Margaretha Montagu
How to Think Clearly When Everything Feels Unclear Introduction Why your brain is tired—and how to fix it. Let’s be honest: in a world where even deciding whether to stockpile pasta feels like a monumental life choice, our brains are...
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Margaretha Montagu
Survivor's Guide Life transitions are not linear but nonlinear, and highly individualised. They involve both external changes and internal psychological adjustments. Effective navigation often requires resilience, adaptability, social support, and reflective practices to integrate new identities or roles successfully. Currently,...
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Margaretha Montagu
How to Think Clearly When Your Brain Feels Foggy Why your brain is tired—and how to fix it. Let’s be honest: in a world where even deciding whether to stockpile pasta feels like a sensible life choice, our brains are...
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Margaretha Montagu
Sustain Your Support System Because no one should try to navigate chaos without snacks and someone who gets your memes. If there’s one thing the last few years have taught us, it’s that life is unpredictable. Political unrest? Check.Economic uncertainty?...
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Margaretha Montagu
Surviving a 24/7 news cycle without losing your mind. Let’s be honest: if the world gets any more chaotic, I may have to take up knitting just to feel like something is still holding together. Every time you open your...
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Margaretha Montagu
Discover how walking can help you process uncertainty and reveal the next version of you. You know the phase:You’re standing at some metaphorical crossroads (or actual kitchen counter), half-seriously asking your cat if you should quit your job, end your...
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Margaretha Montagu
If your old plans don’t fit this new world, it’s time to upgrade. Let me say the quiet part out loud:Some of the stuff you’re still gripping onto for dear life?It’s not working anymore. Your five-year plan written in 2019?...
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Margaretha Montagu
When life throws you lemons, start a lemonade (or limoncello 😏) empire. Let’s be honest: the world’s current vibe is less “easy breezy” and more “what fresh hell is this?” Between political circus acts, economic mood swings that rival a...
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Margaretha Montagu
To help my readers stay afloat during these politically turbulent times, while it feels as if we are all stuck in the same life Quake, I'm going to write a series of 10 short, sharp, thought-provoking blog posts, each discussing...
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Margaretha Montagu
Why It’s Crucial to Have Role Models Who Have Achieved What You Want to Achieve Introduction In a world that often glorifies the myth of the “self-made” success story, we find ourselves in a peculiar predicament: even the most celebrated...
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Margaretha Montagu
From scientific revolutions to fashion revolts, discover the women who ignited a radical renaissance and dared to rewrite the rules of success. Introduction In the immortal words of Simone de Beauvoir, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.”...
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Margaretha Montagu
A Significantly Stress-Reducing Revelation Introduction Ever found yourself self-righteously rejecting the idea of journaling, imagining it as yet another tedious chore rather than a much-needed escape? Picture this: instead of a serene evening spent in reflective bliss, you're staring at...
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Margaretha Montagu
Your Experience is a Goldmine Waiting to Be Tapped Introduction Reinvention Is the Real Fountain of Youth It’s 1975, and a 52-year-old chef, recently fired from a restaurant he helped build, finds himself at a crossroads. He could retire. He...
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Margaretha Montagu
Mastering Energetic Detachment for Explosive Growth Introduction Imagine this: a high-powered CEO, let’s call him Jake, spends years hustling to scale his business. He micromanages every detail, obsessively tracks every KPI, and loses sleep over every minor setback. But nothing...
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Margaretha Montagu
Introduction: The Hidden Force Behind Manifestation—Why We Attract What We Feel What if your greatest asset isn’t your network, training, experience or work ethic—but your emotional state? For decades, the personal development and manifestation industries have promoted the idea that...
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