Interview with Catherine Grace O'Connell, Founder of the Forever Fierce Revolution

Hello!  Today I have a very special guest to introduce you to.  Her name is Catherine Grace O’Connell and she is the leader of the Forever Fierce Revolution and also runs her own fashion and lifestyle blog CatherineGraceO.com .  I wanted to interview Catherine for quite some time because my personal feeling about beauty and aging is that all women are beautiful regardless of what age they are.  To me beauty exists both inside and out.  I feel that the more life experience we have, the greater wisdom we have to share with the rest of the world as well, and that wisdom makes us shine even brighter. 

So, here we go…

Hi Catherine!  Thank you for spending your time with us today.

You have accomplished so much in your life!  I am super impressed.  Can you please tell us a little about your background?

Thank you so much, Joanna. I’m honored and always humbled. I’m 57 and coming back from almost losing my life to Lyme Disease just 3 and a half years ago. My voice was silenced by abuse at a young age and the abuse and trauma continued to play out throughout my life and my marriage. I left a 20 year marriage after breaking into a million pieces. I moved out to LA to get my Masters in Spiritual Psychology and to begin a new life. Not long after, I had a series of very serious and life threatening health challenges. After over a decade searching for answers, I was finally diagnosed with late stage Lyme Disease in the spring of 2014. By then, the disease had spread to my brain and within a month of treatment, I couldn’t walk for a year due to daily seizures. On 11/11/14, I went through a Near Death Experience and didn’t understand why I survived…until now. Finding my voice and launching my blog was the key to saving my life. I set an intention to use my blog as a platform and my voice to empower and inspire through my story.

How did fashion play a role in your healing from lyme disease?

My love for fashion is literally in my DNA. As a little girl, my bed would be strewn with  fashion magazines and I would dream of being in the pages. I found that fashion changed the way that I felt immediately. 3 years ago, my daughter encouraged me to start an Instagram account. Honestly, I had never heard of Instagram. She began taking photos of me and I decided to use fashion as a medium to share my message. I always say, “I’m not changing clothes, I’m changing lives.” I find that fashion is a powerful way to capture a woman’s attention. I had no idea the impact finding my voice would have on my healing. At the beginning, I was very weak and frail from the illness but I found that I got stronger and stronger each day. Finding my voice became the key to healing. Eventually, I stopped all the treatment and protocols and started living from a space of passion, purpose, joy, creativity and serving others…and I began healing rapidly. I was seeing a doctor who was a specialist in Lyme who told me she had never seen anyone so ill and she had no idea how to help me. I found that I had to help myself through personal empowerment. Today, there is no trace of the disease.

What made you decide to start the Forever Fierce Revolution group?

In February 2016, I launched a campaign called The Fierce 50 along with 3 fashion bloggers although the campaign wasn’t about fashion. The idea I had was to bring together 50 bloggers over the age of 50 on the 50^th day of the year to celebrate one another and create a collaborative, supportive community for women over 50. The vision and mission was centered around a message to shift the perception of women at Midlife & Beyond and to show the world that we aren’t who you think we are. We only had a few weeks to plan the campaign and we ended up with 70 bloggers. Within a month, I launched a Facebook Community and soon after I changed the name to Forever Fierce. We had a huge demand from younger women who felt invisible. The Gen X generation was forgotten. The Forever Fierce Revolution is a global community for women at Midlife & Beyond. To us, Midlife isn’t an age but an experience when the world starts treating a woman differently or she starts seeing herself differently. We have women from 20 to 80 and from many countries around the world. We also have a few brave men who are known to support our demographic. FFR is a Movement, a Revolution to shift a paradigm and perception of women over 35. Our current culture tends to be very youth focused. We are here to show the world that we aren’t over the hill…we are conquering the hill! We have almost 6000 women and it’s grown solely by word of mouth. I have a fabulous team of about 15 women who volunteer their time to run the community and help with the mission of The Forever Fierce Revolution.

How would you describe the “Forever Fierce Revolution” group and what will we find there?

The Forever Fierce Revolution Group is intended to be unlike anything else a woman has experienced. We are changing the culture of the way women treat women. We believe in spreading kindness and uplifting one another. The team members share the same heart centered values. We had one member post in the group that she felt she had just woken up from a bad dream and landed in heaven on earth! It’s comments like those that keep us working around the clock on our mission. Women at Midlife & Beyond aren’t seen as relevant, productive and visible members of society. When they join the FFR Sisterhood, we make sure they know they are relevant and they are valued. We have many women literally springing back to life starting businesses, launching blogs and finding a new lease on life. I like to think of myself as a Cat-alyst. I have no desire to influence anyone. My greatest desire is to spark change from within a woman to allow her the space for her dreams to come true. We help her to believe in herself so she has the power to go for her dreams.

How large is this group now and how fast is it growing?

We have almost 6000 members and we are in the midst of planning a big event in LA in October that’s only for FFR members called FierceCon 2018: It’s Not a Conference, It’s a Connection. We will be celebrating love, relationships and sisterhood with the theme: Our Fiece Love Story Starts Now. Our team has worked together to launch 3 global social service campaigns over the last year and we have reached almost 10 million in following. We are spreading our message in many different ways. One of the campaigns was called Bridging the Gap and paired 100 Millennial Influencers with 100 Midlife Influencers to blur boundaries and end divisions amongst the generations. We are on a mission to grow to 10,000 members this year and our next goal is 100,000 members. We feel there is power in numbers. You may not notice 1 Midlife woman on a street corner but you can’t miss 100,000. The more women we have joining our mission and our movement, the faster this paradigm will change and we will be seen as relevant.

What do you enjoy most about being a part of this group?

Absolutely everything! When I entered the world of fashion blogging, it was hard to see the way older women were treated. We were so disconnected from one another and we didn’t have a voice or a unified presence. I created what I needed which was a true sisterhood and community. I’ve made some of my closest friends in my group. The women on the Admin team are some of the kindest and most giving women on the planet. The time they invest to change the world and ensure that we have a safe and sacred place to allow these women to open up and be their most vulnerable touches my heart every single day. The stories we hear from the women about their lives changing by believing in themselves and being truly loved, supported and accepted by other women is incredible.

Can you tell me what turning “40 years old” was like for you, what your mindset was like at that time, and what advice do you have for the rest of us who have that big birthday coming up?

40 was an interesting time in my life. I don’t like the term Midlife Crisis. I refer to it as a Midlife Awakening. When I turned 40, it was as though the Universe said…ok…you’re not going to pretend to hold it together any longer and that façade is going to come crumbling down…and it did. The wheels came off. I was a big runner for 20 years and my knees blew out. I was literally grounded and couldn’t run any longer. I began having really serious health challenges and my abusive marriage spiraled out of control. When I turned 45, I had a breakdown and my doctor looked at the stack of medical and hospital records and told me that if I didn’t leave my marriage, I wasn’t going to make it. Soon after, I filed for divorce. I thought the worst was over but it wasn’t only just beginning. Looking back, I’m grateful for what I’ve been through in my life, including almost losing my life to Lyme Disease. This time has truly been an awakening for me. I’ve been on a deeply spiritual path for over 25 years and have done a great deal of inner work with lots more ahead. I believe with all my heart that this beautiful Universe is designed to force us inwards to do the work we are meant to do. I’ve learned so much about myself through this process and that I’m a lot stronger than I ever knew. In the end, the only thing that matters in life are the lives we’ve touched along the way and leaving this world a better place. It’s a true “Heroine’s Journey,” the toughest and most rewarding journey is the one from within.

What is your mindset like now when it comes to approaching our “big birthdays”? 

Honestly, I don’t even think about it. I feel so young on the inside. I had such a different perspective on aging growing up. What I saw was so vastly different than what I’m experiencing today. Every year is a blessing. There are definitely some challenging parts of aging such as menopause and the hormonal fluctuations that come along with it that I don’t love but have to accept. The most important thing is the way that we feel. It’s so important to take care of your health so “big birthdays” can be enjoyed and celebrated rather than feared.

You look Stunning and Fit/Healthy in all of your photos!  I think we would all like to know what your diet is like, what you do to stay healthy/fit, and about any skincare secrets you can pass along to the rest of us.

It wasn’t long ago that I was under 100 lbs with daily seizures. I looked dramatically different than I do today. I’ve shared those photos openly as I feel it’s so important for women to understand that we all have challenges. My life has been a journey with some beautiful highs and some painful challenges and dark times. It’s such a mix of pain and beauty. I’ve been studying holistic healing and nutrition for over two decades. I’m an energy worker and a meditator. I use food as medicine and love Farmers Markets and natural remedies to disrupt aging. I have tried many different “diets” such as vegetarian or all raw and found that balance works best for me. I favor healthy, organic choices and grass fed chicken and and beef. I absolutely love fish. My diet is more paleo with lots of healthy fruits and greens. I start my day with a meal replacement shake that’s filled with live, raw enzymes. I add MCT oil to add some healthy fat and boost my metabolism. I also add an immune booster that’s loaded with a variety of mushrooms that help with energy. I’m a big believer in using probiotics and prebiotics. I always have raw sauerkraut in my fridge to boost healthy gut bacteria which is vital for health and well being. I use vast amounts of oils such as ghee and flaxseed oil as well. Avocados, eggs, salads, raw nuts are a big part of my nutritional plan. I also like to have fun and absolutely love dark chocolate. I work with a functional nutritionist to help me disrupt aging as naturally as possible. I’m very active physically. I start my days with meditation and yoga or the Bar Method. I do yoga for my inner world and flexibiity while Bar Method is an amazing isometric workout for toning. I just added in weight training which becomes really important for our bone health as we age. When it comes to beauty, I love trying new things. I don’t have any botox or filler in my skin. I’m definitely open to it and simply haven’t had the time. I’ve never used lasers before but would love to give them a try. I discovered a skincare system by a Korean company called “Saranghae” and it’s become the cornerstone of my skincare routine. I approached them as I had done a lot of research and tried many different lines but this one is my absolute favorite. It’s all natural and loaded with the finest ingredients including mushrooms and truffle extracts. I find that my skin has changed dramatically with menopause and this has made a huge difference by restoring moisture and radiance. I absolutely love their masks for an instant glow.

Part of my goal in starting my blog was to show the world that beauty exists in all of us regardless of our socio-economic status, ethnic background, or age.  What advice would you give to young women in their 20’s and 30’s who are afraid of aging?

I love this question as this was a big part of the mission behind The Bridging the Gap Campaign to take the fear out of aging. A lot of that fear comes due to a misperception and misunderstanding. Did you know the research shows us when someone has a fear of aging that it takes 7 years off of a woman’s life? Now, that’s crazy as that is completely in our control. What I would say is the most important thing in the world is to know yourself. Being mindful and conscious about who we are, the authentic desires in our hearts, and being real and vulnerable with ourselves and others. Letting go of our judgments, particularly the ones we have about ourselves and moving into Self Acceptance and Self Love is vital to our health and well being. Being mindful means being aware of our negative thoughts, particularly about ourselves. Every time we have a negative thought, there is a cascade of hormones sent throughout our body and that will do more damage to us than anything else. Our thoughts can feel out of our control but they are completely in our control. I’m not an enlightened being by any means and I have to work regularly on my mindset and thought process. Our culture can be very unkind to women as we age which only makes it that much more vital that we choose to be kind to ourselves. When we love ourselves, the world looks brighter.

If we are a woman in midlife and would like to join the Forever Fierce Revolution, where can we join?

We would love for you to join the kindest sisterhood on the planet. Click here to join the FB Group. We also have a fabulous newsletter where we feature women in our community and share our fierce secrets for health, well being, mindset, fashion, beauty and wanderlust. If you’re a member of the tribe, you can join us in LA this fall for FierceCon 2018!

http://cgo.style/FFierceFB

https://fiercecon2018.eventbrite.com?discount=FierceFirst

http://cgo.style/FFnewslet

Where can we find you?

Blog: CatherineGraceO.com

https://www.instagram.com/catherinegraceo/?hl=en

Forever Fierce Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheFierce50/

Forever Fierce Show/Podcast:

https://catherinegraceo.com/forever-fierce/

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/CGOstyle/pins/

IG: @catherinegraceo

Thank you for your words of wisdom on beauty and aging and for sharing your health, beauty, and fitness secrets with us.  The Forever Fierce Revolution is such a wonderful group of women who have a treasure trove of knowledge to share with the rest of us.  Every time I listen to your podcasts/ radio show, read a Forever Fierce Revolution blog or Facebook post, I learn something new and feel truly inspired to grow into my own wisdom and fierceness.  Thank you for sharing this community of fierce women in midlife and beyond who are "conquering the hill!".  You are an amazing and inspiring woman!