Are You Telling Your Whole Story?

Are You Telling Your Whole Story?

From The Story I'm Telling Myself by Rita Ernst

March 26, 2026 · 39 min

About this episode

In this episode, Rita Ernst and Donna Cravotta discuss how to reclaim and upcycle existing experiences during career transitions instead of starting from scratch.

Are you standing in your own way, feeling the pressure to completely "reinvent" yourself for your next chapter? Go deeper with the companion Self-Reflection Guide In this episode of The Story I’m Telling Myself , host Rita Ernst sits down with communications expert Donna Cravotta to challenge the narrative that career transitions require starting from scratch. Donna shares her powerful journey of moving from a high-stress, "golden handcuff" law firm career and a burnout-inducing agency to a life of intentional visibility and sustainable business. The Core Conflict: Reinvention vs. Remembering In this episode, Donna argues that many women over 50 face a form of systemic imposter syndrome , in which society pressures them to "sit down" or to feel invisible. Instead of discarding 40 years of wisdom, Donna teaches how to reclaim and upcycle existing experiences into a "third act" that feels both realistic and authentic. In this episode, you'll discover The "Try to New" Framework: Donna details her transition from a standard "content audit" to a process she calls "Tried to New" —a combination of honoring what works…

People in this episode

Host: Rita Ernst

Guest: Donna Cravotta

Topics covered

  • career transitions
  • imposter syndrome
  • visibility
  • business

Keywords

  • reinvention
  • systemic imposter syndrome
  • intentional visibility
  • third act

Mentioned in this episode

Products: NotebookLM, Self-Reflection Guide

Books & works: Self-Reflection Guide, The Story I’m Telling Myself, Tried to New, The Real 50 over 50

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