Dr. Carolyn D. Mack – Age 56

About me

Dr. Carolyn D. Mack was born in Philadelphia PA and raised in South Carolina, where she completed high school and attended the University of South Carolina at the flagship campus in Columbia SC.

During college, she began her work career in the retail and customer service industries. She began her retail life working at a Majik Market, a convenience store two blocks from her campus dorm room. She then moved on to work in sporting goods until she graduated.

Upon graduation, she began her foray into the higher education arena, which so far encompasses over half of her career years. Dr. Mack began her career in higher education at her alma mater, the University of South Carolina in the School of Business. Fifteen years of her higher education career were spent at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center – El Paso. I am currently employed at The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences at the Naval Base in Bethesda Maryland.

Alongside working in higher education, Dr. Mack uses her time coaching, consulting, and serving women. As an entrepreneur, certified master life coach, and career advancement coach, she supports women in navigating life transitions. I am also writing a how-to book on self-acknowledgment and navigating life transitions.

What do you do and why do you do it?

My mission is to empower midlife professional women navigating life transitions to reimagine their purpose to have a life not a living.

 To focus on “What’s next?” as they let go. of experiencing feelings of loss, guilt, uselessness, and fear of change to transform, reinvent, and reinvigorate their lives.

I do what I do because I spent much time winging it as I progressed through my forties and into my 50s. I spent much time beating myself up, feeling guilty for not having stuff, and aspiring to reach milestones I was unsure I even wanted. I want women to discover who they are on their own terms and what they want for themselves without the entanglements of society, culture, and familial inputs that leave us unfulfilled and resentful. However, in a twisted way, we want to please others by reaching those imaginary pinnacles of success as defined by the world. And this is the dichotomy that leaves women feeling torn from themselves and their truth. I want to empower women to break out of their roles and become the mold for a life full of relentless intention and reckless joy.

What changed for you after age 50?

After age 50, I felt like I shouldn’t be beholden to anyone to have the life that I wanted, but I did not have a blueprint for how to break out of the current life mold that I was in. I wanted to move but was indoctrinated and vested in my stories, upbringing, and societal norms. I needed have some breathing room.

So, I began winging it. I started on my own journey of incremental change. I can say that now in hindsight, but at the time, I felt completely crazy and out of control, because what I wanted seemed so far out of reach, and I did not have any preset tools to guide me. I constantly felt and still feel sometimes like I am grasping for spiderwebs to support me as I continue on this journey.

What would you tell the 20 or 30-year-old YOU?

It’s not a matter of what I would tell myself at that age because I doubt I would listen and take the advice to heart. I realize now that my 20s and 30s were when I was living out my life indoctrination – go to college, get a degree, get a good job with a retirement package, and work until you retire. Little did I know that life, society, politics, racism, and discrimination would be part of that nice neat life plan.

What do you think you’ll tell yourself in retrospect at the end of your life?

At the end of my life, I want to tell myself that it was all worth it and necessary for my life plan. I needed to do things as I did them so that my story would support and serve others without them having to invest the same or more time to get similar or better results.

What impact do you think increased visibility can have on your business?

Increased visibility will allow more opportunities to connect with women whom I can serve.

Who or what inspires you and why?

I live in Washington DC, and there is the Eastern Market, a local vending spot in the city. Every weekend they shut down a few blocks around this long brick building that has stationary food and produce specialty shops inside. On weekends outside the market, they offer pop-up spaces for vendors to show up and sell their goods. There are a myriad of specialized clothing, art, food, candles, and supplements vendors there set up and waiting to offer you their wares.

I am so inspired by the number and types of vendors that show up and the highly specific wares that they sell. I go there weekly to buy great items, be inspired, and rejuvenate my spirit as I continue my entrepreneurial journey.

The lessons that I re-learn each week are:

1. Be specific because people have specific and direct wants and needs.
2. Show up. You cannot be known if you are not seen.
3. Attend to those who visit your table. There are others like you, but they are not you. Your special sauce is different from any other.
4. Weave your story into the fabric of your product. Perfect it, share it, revel in it.

Something else I’d like to share

As I look back over the monumental moves and shifts I have had in my life, I notice that it was always when I did not have a roadmap or guidance that I had my best outcomes.

By recognizing this trend, I know I can trust my instinct and do what is best for me, even if it does not fit the best-laid plan or process.

I know I don’t know what I don’t know, and sometimes that’s a good thing. In those cases, my success is guaranteed because that first experience becomes the baseline by which I compare myself. I set my own standards for what accomplishment looks like.