# This Is the Only Thing Stopping You: Joy Crawford on Empty Nest Reinvention- Part 1

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/create-your-best-empty-nest-7655799/this-is-the-only-thing-stopping-you-joy-crawford-on-empty-nest-reinvention-part-1
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/create-your-best-empty-nest-7655799/this-is-the-only-thing-stopping-you-joy-crawford-on-empty-nest-reinvention-part-1.md
Podcast: [Create Your Best Empty Nest](https://stenobird.com/podcast/create-your-best-empty-nest-7655799)
Published: 2026-06-16T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marianneiverson/episodes/This-Is-the-Only-Thing-Stopping-You-Joy-Crawford-on-Empty-Nest-Reinvention--Part-1-e3k9vmk
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/10db70cec/podcast/play/120962196/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-5-3%2Fab1b4a19-315b-1b38-fec1-aec67f53f657.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/create-your-best-empty-nest-7655799/episodes/this-is-the-only-thing-stopping-you-joy-crawford-on-empty-nest-reinvention-part-1
Duration seconds: 1236

## Resource

You know that quiet voice that keeps asking "is this really all there is?" This episode is for her. If you're in the empty nest season and you've been feeling lost, stuck, or like you've somehow disappeared into everyone else's life - you are not alone. And today's guest is living proof that the best chapter of your life can start at any age. Joy Crawford is 76 years old. She's a retired kindergarten teacher who built a movement of over 30,000 people from one single ordinary moment in a church nursery. She had no idea how she was going to do it. She just knew she would. In this episode Joy and I talk about what it really feels like when the kids leave and you suddenly don't know who you are anymore. We talk about losing yourself in motherhood, finding yourself after the empty nest, and what it actually takes to stop living through your kids and start living your own life. Joy shares the moment she stopped asking "what can I do?" and started doing it anyway - without a plan, without knowing how, and without waiting for permission. If you have been putting yourself on the shelf while everyone else's life comes first - this conversation is going to light something up in you. In this episode you'll hear:Why the empty nest transition can feel like an identity crisis -- and what to do about itHow Joy went from retired and questioning to building a movement of 30,000 peopleWhat it looks like to find your purpose after 50, after 60, even after 70Why "I don't know how" is not a reason to stop - it's actually where you startThe one thing Joy says is standing between you and the life you actually wantHow to rediscover yourself after kids leave and start living for YOU This is Part 1 of a two part conversation. Part 2 drops next week and you do not wa…

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