Caroline Paul: How Outdoor Adventures Improve Life as We Age - Lessons from 'Tough Broad’. Discover how embracing bravery and the outdoors can lead to a fulfilling and adventurous life at any age.

Join us on this episode of the Tough Girl Podcast as we welcome Caroline Paul, an inspiring author and adventurer. 

Caroline's new book, TOUGH BROAD: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking―How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age, explores the transformative power of outdoor adventures for aging gracefully. She is also the author of the New York Times bestseller The Gutsy Girl: Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure and Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation, and GPS Technology, which has been translated into fifteen languages.

Caroline's TED Talk, “To Raise Brave Girls, Encourage Adventure,” has captivated over 2 million viewers. With a rich history of adventure and storytelling, Caroline is a longtime member of the Writers Grotto in San Francisco, where she has lived for over 40 years.

In this episode, Caroline shares her journey from growing up with an identical twin and a younger brother in the 60s and 70s to becoming a firefighter at the age of 26, one of the first women to do so. Her passion for bravery and adventure is evident as she discusses the importance of encouraging young girls to embrace adventure, leading with bravery, and pushing boundaries.

Caroline also dives into the unique challenges and joys of aging, discussing her research into fulfilling aging, the importance of community, purpose, and a positive mindset. She shares stories of inspiring older women, like her mother who went skydiving at 62, and her own experiences of surfing, bird watching, and scuba diving with an 80-year-old.

Tune in to hear Caroline's insights on aging, bravery, and the transformative power of the outdoors. Discover why she believes the biggest adventure of all is aging and how we can all continue to expand our comfort zones and embrace new experiences at any age.

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Show notes

• Who is Caroline Paul?
• Publishing her 7th Book
• New Book:  TOUGH BROAD: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking―How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age
• Living in San Fransisco, California for over 40 years
• Growing up in the 60s/70s with an identical twin and a younger brother
• Valuing adventure from a young age
• Being encouraged to become a well-rounded individual by her parents
• Being inspired by the National Geographic Magazine 
• Not seeing many women doing adventures 
• Deciding to become a journalist
• Going to Stanford University to study Communication, with the idea of becoming a documentary filmmaker 
• Becoming a fire fighter at age 26 in 1989 (the 15th woman out of 1,500 men) and being paid to have adventures
• Starting to become interested in bravery 
• Ted Talk: To Raise Brave Girls and to Encourage Adventure   
• Advice for parents 
• Women are coming from a place of fear where as men come from a place of bravery
• Leading with bravery and how it can open up your life
• Why do women lead with fear?
• Wanting to protect girls and to do that fear is instilled in girls from a young age
• The importance of risk assessment, hazard assessment, pushing boundaries, learning about your own decision making process 
• Why teaching girls to be afraid can be harmful. 
• Raising boys and girls differently - the subtle differences 
• Book: The Gutsy Girl 
• 55 years young and surfing in a winter swell and starting to wonder where all the women are
• What is the messaging that older women are getting that is stopping them from going outside
• Feeling invisible and culturally irrelevant and how it can cause women to narrow their lives and to not embrace things
• Doing research into fulfilling aging 
• “The way we look at our own aging predicts how well we age”
• Having her mum as a positive role model while she was going through her aging journey 
• Being interested in who she would be when she got older
• Her mum deciding to go skydiving at 62 and how it changed her life 
• I might not be a brave person, but I’ve done a brave things.
• Turning 60 and loving it 
• People told by multiple women that their 60s was their favourite decade
• Menopause and how it can change women especially with regard to care giving hormones 
• Connecting with women in the outdoors to interview them for the book
• Going bird watching and why it was an adventure 
• The benefits of spending time in the outdoors
• Birdability 
• Going scuba diving with an 80 year old
• Learning how to BMX race with a 74 year old
• What makes fulfilling aging; Community, purpose, novelty, health and a positive mindset about your own aging.
• Becoming more selfish and becoming set in my ways
• Advice to keep expanding your comfort zone
• Why novelty is important to help keep your brain firing 
• Why invisibility can become a superpower 
• It’s not too late to learn - it’s a perfect time, until it’s not
• Don’t stop yourself too early
• The importance of having a sense of belonging
• Why the outdoors is the best medicine 
• How her view of adventure has changed since writing the book
• The feeling of ‘awe’ and why it’s so good for you
• Tapping into the deeper emotions
• People who feel awe tend to feel more gratitude 
• Being able to access awe on your backdoor 
• Seeing the Northern Lights and looking up at the sky
• Future plans for her 60th decade 
• How to connect with Caroline online
• The power of taking tiny steps to get outside 
• If you are spending time outside - keep spending time outside
• The need to protect nature 
• Best of luck with ageing….!!!
• The biggest adventure of all….. ageing!!!  

 

Social Media

Website: www.carolinepaul.com 

Instagram: @carolinembpaul 

Book: TOUGH BROAD: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking―How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age