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 Surprising Power of A Yearly Week-long "Pilgrimage" to the Southwest of France "Pilgrimage" in quotation marks, because the Camino de Santiago trail no longer has a solely religious connection. These days, 200,000+ people walk the Camino every year to...
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Margaretha Montagu
Claire’s Story I wake to the gentle clatter of breakfast preparations at the farmhouse. There’s a reassuring hum of activity in the kitchen—our host trundling crates of rosy apples in, someone humming an old troubadour melody, the clink of butter...
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Margaretha Montagu
It sometimes feels as if life consists of one transition after another - from career shifts and relocations to relationship changes, health challenges, or processing loss. These moments can feel overwhelming, yet with the right support, they can become tremendous...
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Margaretha Montagu
In the landscape of personal and professional development, we've been sold a seductive narrative: when life throws you a curveball, reinvent yourself. This mantra has become the gospel of countless self-help books, TED talks, and LinkedIn posts. In certain situations,...
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Margaretha Montagu
Mindful Miners vs Surface Skimmers In the high-stakes world of professional achievement, we've mastered the art of the pivot. We navigate corporate restructuring, career changes, and industry disruptions with the composed exterior of seasoned veterans. We survive. We adapt. We...
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Margaretha Montagu
Essential Tips from Experienced Travellers The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step—and a bit of preparation. Whether you're joining one of my Camino de Santiago walking retreats or embarking on another adventure, the difference between a...
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Margaretha Montagu
5 Key Takeaways The Camino can be walked year-round, with each season offering unique experiences. There's no single "best" time to walk—it depends on your personal preferences, though spring (May-June) and fall (September-October) generally offer the most balanced conditions. Summer...
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Margaretha Montagu
A Path to Impactful Reinvention There's a particular kind of disorientation that arrives after the dust of divorce begins to settle. The immediate legal and logistical storms may have passed, but in their wake lies a question that can feel...
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Margaretha Montagu
Finding Your Way Back to Self-Trust There's a particular kind of silence that follows a professional setback. It's the space between who you thought you were and who you fear you might be. If you're reading this, chances are you...
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Margaretha Montagu
“Books should go where they will be most appreciated, and not sit unread, gathering dust on a forgotten shelf, don’t you agree?” —Christopher Paolini Introduction: The Gentle Art of Getting Lost (in a Book) When was the last time you...
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Margaretha Montagu
Because someday, Future You will thank Present You for remembering what Past You went through on this walk... Listen, I get it. You’re already carrying blister plasters, protein bars, and a pebble from your garden to drop on the way…...
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Margaretha Montagu
A Compass that works even when the Map has been destroyed In the landscape of our lives, some changes arrive like gentle breezes, while others crash through like seismic events, upending everything we thought was solid. These "life quakes"—major disruptions...
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Margaretha Montagu
Why Success Requires Accepting—Not Avoiding—These Uncomfortable Realities #LifeTransitions:Employee2EntrepreneurSeries Let’s start with a confession: You’re not here for a pep talk. You’ve earned your stripes in boardrooms, hit targets that would make Excel weep, and mastered the art of nodding politely...
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Margaretha Montagu
Thriving Through Life's Pivotal Moments You've climbed the ladder, navigated boardrooms, and likely aced a few metaphorical tightropes in your career. As accomplished professionals, you understand the art of strategic moves and the value of a well-honed skill set. But...
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Margaretha Montagu
The most important role models in people's lives, it seems, aren't superstars or household names. They're "everyday" people who quietly set examples for you-coaches, teachers, parents. People about whom you say to yourself, perhaps not even consciously, "I want to...
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Margaretha Montagu
(Part of the Post-Crisis ReConstruction Protocols series) INTRODUCTION: THE IDENTITY CRISIS NO ONE TALKS ABOUT Who am I? Not the Instagram bio version. Not the résumé bullet points. Not the person people politely applaud at a fundraiser. I mean the...
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Margaretha Montagu
Building a Business That Makes a Difference #LifeTransitions: Employee2Entrepreneur: Of the whole series, this is my favourite post. I hope it will inspire you too. Introduction Let’s be honest: the word “profit” has had a bit of a PR crisis....
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Margaretha Montagu
#LifeTransition:FromEmployee2Entrepreneur Introduction: The Strategic Value of Maintaining Corporate Connections Ah, the corporate world—a place of stability, predictable paychecks, and the occasional office birthday cake. It's a comfort zone that many successful professionals find hard to leave behind, even when the...
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Margaretha Montagu
Introduction Imagine standing at the edge of a cliff, the wind whipping around you, and the vast expanse of the unknown stretching out before your eyes. This is the exhilarating and often terrifying reality of entrepreneurship. The path is fraught...
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Margaretha Montagu
Reinventing Your "Retirement": Purpose-Driven Careers After 60, 70, 80 (and Beyond!) Introduction: the "Anti-Retirement" Revolution Does the notion of "retirement" conjure up images of beige cardigans and endless daytime television, a kind of elegant fade to invisibility? A gold watch,...
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Margaretha Montagu
“In the world of business, it’s not who you know; it’s who knows you.” – Jeffrey Gitomer Introduction There’s something magical about a second act—especially when the lead character already knows the ropes. You’ve been around the block (possibly a...
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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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