Divas That Care Network
The #DivasThatCare movement is a dynamic force of positivity and progress. It's a collective of empowered women united by a shared vision: to pave the way for future generations. These women are not only breaking barriers—they’re also committed to equipping the next generation with the tools, resources, and confidence to lead with purpose.
By discovering and defining your purpose, you unlock the power to uplift those around you and contribute to a better world—every single day.
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Divas That Care Network
Live It List
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Come and listen to our Host, Candace Gish, as she chats with inspiring guest Nicole Middendorf for our “Speak Up & Stand Firm” Podcast Mini-Series.
This powerful series is all about finding your voice, trusting your truth, and having the courage to stand firm in what matters most. We’ll explore what it means to speak with confidence, create healthy boundaries, advocate for yourself and others, and stop allowing fear, guilt, or the opinions of others to silence you.
Through honest conversations, real-life stories, and practical wisdom, we’ll encourage DIVAS to step into their power—not by being the loudest person in the room, but by being confident enough to know that their voice matters.
Whether you’re learning to say “no,” having a difficult conversation, standing up for yourself, or finally speaking the truth you’ve been holding inside, this series will remind you that your voice has value, your boundaries deserve respect, and your story deserves to be heard.
Nicole is a money maven, a knowledge junkie, a survivor, a single mom, and a born coach. She is an entrepreneur who left Morgan Stanley in 2003 to run her own wealth management firm, Prosperwell Financial. Nicole is the author of five books, a world traveler, philanthropist, and an accomplished public speaker.
https://theliveitlist.com/
https://prosperwell.com/our-team/nicole-n-middendorf-cdfa/
We sit down with wealth advisor and Live It List founder Nicole Middendorf to talk about rebuilding a life after control, trauma, and a painful divorce. Nicole shares how experiences, purpose-driven money choices, and community can restore confidence and help us thrive.
• Nicole’s path into financial planning and business ownership
• Starting over as a single mum and redefining “success”
• Turning a bucket list into a positive Live It List
• Why experiences often create more happiness than things
• Using money as a tool for purpose, freedom, and healthy boundaries
• Building confidence by doing one brave thing a month
• Joining a global community through trips, events, coaching, and classes
• Practical tools like the happiness wheel, journalling, and vision boards
• A reminder to give yourself grace and stop chasing perfection
For more Divas That Care Network Episodes visit www.divasthatcare.com
Welcome And Series Theme
SPEAKER_01It's Divas that Care Radio. Stories, strategies, and ideas to inspire positive change. Welcome to Divas That Care, a network of women committed to making our world a better place for everyone. This is a global movement for women, by women engaged in a collaborative effort to create a better world for future generations. To find out more about the movement, visit divas that care.com after the show. Right now, though, stay tuned for another jolt of inspiration.
SPEAKER_02Well, hello everyone, and welcome back to the Divas That Care. My name is Candice Gish. If this is your very first time tuning in to us, a huge welcome. We've been doing this now for 16 years, and we're listening to it in over 34 countries around the world. And honestly, it has been a blast. We have the opportunity to interview some amazing individuals that have really inspired us through the years. And today we're going to be introducing a brand new diva to our family. We introduced her. I want to tell you about our mini-series here that we're doing. It's called Speak Up and Stand Firm. This powerful mini-series is all about finding your voice, trusting your truth, and having the courage to stand firm in what matters most. We'll explore what it means to speak with confidence, create healthy boundaries, advocate for yourself and others, stop allowing fear, guilt, or the opinions of others to silence you. So welcome to the program, Nicole Middlef.
SPEAKER_00Hi, thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I am very excited to have you, Nicole. I'm really excited to get to know you a lot better and welcome you to our Divas family.
SPEAKER_00Awesome. Thanks for
Nicole’s Story And Mission
SPEAKER_00having me.
SPEAKER_02Nicole, would you mind introducing yourself to our Divas?
SPEAKER_00So I'm Nicole Middendorf. I'm a mom of two teenagers. I've been a single mom since my daughter was six months old and my son was two. I own uh I'm a business owner and I own a couple of companies. The main one is Prosper Well Financial, so I'm a wealth advisor. And then I have the Live It List, which is a positive spin on the bucket list, as well as if I have a foundation. Um I'm a thriver of domestic violence. And so the Live It List foundation takes women and men not just from surviving a traumatic life event. It doesn't necessarily have to be domestic violence, and helping them really thrive. And so I'm all about empowering women. I public speak, I've written six books, I'm on Fox TV weekly, and I'm all about um sharing my story because I feel like I've created the perfect life for myself. And I want to inspire other women that, you know, they can have whatever they want or whatever they dream of. Anything is possible.
SPEAKER_02Oh my God, I love that. You know, there's so many things that I can dive into right now. But the first thing I want to ask you is how did you decide to get into financial planning and to help people out?
SPEAKER_00I mean, that's part of the story is I I went to I studied abroad over in Germany. I had the amazing opportunity in high school as well as in college. And so over there, uh, a friend of mine did an internship at the United Nations, and that really brought in my eyes. And I'm like, I want to go to law school. I want to be like Madeline Albrecht or Ruth Bader Ginsburg and change the world and make some impact, um, which I believe I'm changing the world in just a different capacity. And uh in so in college, I went to school for international business and marketing, but I met a guy and everything was super fast. We we were dating for a number, a couple of months, we were engaged, and then boom, we had a house and I was married, and he refused for me to go to law school. And he's like, You're gonna work with me. And he had dreamt of being a stockbroker his whole life. So he started back then, it was Dean Whitter, which became Morgan Stanley, Dean Whitter, um, which that's where I got started. And so I never planned on being a financial advisor. My mom owned a business, so I always knew I would own a business in some capacity, but I didn't, I loved helping people, but money for me simply is just a vehicle to help make things happen. It wasn't like my driving force, I really believe. Um, and that's the magic of this. Like when um, so I the magic of this, I believe everything happens for a reason. And um, and when I learned a lot about money and happiness, like it made sense of why I'm a wealth advisor. But so fast forward, I started. Um I left Morgan Stanley in 2003, so 23 years ago, started a company called Strategic Financial. And as part of our divorce, so fast forward, um, he was arrested for the first time in 2010. My daughter was six months old, and my son was two. And so, as part of our divorce, I had to give him
Control, Divorce, And Starting Over
SPEAKER_00the company name, the website. There were 12 financial advisors. And in 2012, I started all over again, but never in a career that I planned on. I loved helping people, but I didn't necessarily plan on being a financial advisor or a wealth advisor. And so I got the kids to bed one night, and I'm like, how'd I end up here? Like from the outside, my life looked perfect. I had been doing a radio show, I had written one or two books by that time, you know, living in the house had the four-wheelers, the boat, you know, all of these things, but none of these things made me happy. And not a single thing from our house to the car that I drove to my career had I picked out myself. It was all picked out or driven for me. And so um I got the kids to bed and I'm like, I had I'm a former figure skater, and one of my figure skating coaches had her PhD in psychology. She always worked with me with the power of the mind, and she always had me have lists. And so I'm like, I'm gonna rerun my bucket list and I'm gonna do one thing a month for a year. Well, um, I hopped on a plane to fly to Vegas, and because I was gonna drive a race car, and uh, the gentleman on the plane scene next to me couldn't understand why I was flying to Vegas just to drive a race car. And because he's like, Well, where are you going to gamble? I'm like, I'm not. I'm a financial advisor. I gamble with people's money every single day. I don't need to go to Vegas to gamble. I'm just simply going to drive a race car. I rewrote my bucket list and I'm doing one thing a month for a year. And he's like, Oh my gosh, he's like, I'm so sorry. He's like, is it cancer? You know, what's going on? And I'm like, no, I'm just a single mom of two kids and going through a horrible divorce. And I rewrote my list and I'm doing one thing a month. And so it was at that, I'm at that moment on that plane ride where I'm like, my world was so negative. I'm like, I can't have one more thing. And I don't want people thinking that I'm dying. I'm like, I've already died, like, life can't get any worse than this. So I just started calling it the live it list for me. And then as I started digging into like happiness and gratitude, I then learned that one in three Americans is happy. I learned that if you spend more money on experiences, you're gonna be happier if you spend money on things. So never in my wildest dreams did I ever plan that it would be this own separate company where I now have a full-time employee that runs the Live It List. I never believed that I would have a podcast about the Liv It List. I we took nine people to Egypt last year. I'm headed in a couple of weeks to Iceland with seven women. Um, next year we're headed to Turkey. We've got Japan. Uh, we do local events, um, we do a golf tournament now, a women's empowerment luncheon once a year. And so never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that it would become this thing. Um, but I learned that I needed to share my story and and being being a person um that has experienced domestic violence, those feelings of control or intimidation, lots of people have those feelings about money. And so I will, I mean, I even have the chills now as we're talking. And so so many times, um, and that's just really our our our mission now is really making money easy and fun. And every client gets a financial plan, and it's you know, what what's on your live it list? What do you want to do? Because literally every every week, you know, someone is something's happening, a medical thing, an an accident, you know, experiences, things that are called life. And it's what, you know, we want to ask those tough questions of what is all the money for? Like, what are you doing it for? And really empowering women to feel in control about their life, let alone their money, let alone
The Live It List And Happiness
SPEAKER_00their happiness.
SPEAKER_02Oh my God, Nicole, I'm gonna be honest. Like when you're talking, I had chills running up and down my arms. And I'm thinking, this is amazing. And I just want to thank you so much just for sharing that story with our listeners today, because it is so powerful. It is so impactful. And I do, I love the idea of the live it list because I remember back in 2000 when, you know, everybody was like, well, you know, it could be the end of the world. That was the thing that I was doing too, is like every month I wanted to try something new, just to say that I did it, because who knows what's going to happen in the future. And I was trying to live my life to the fullest. You know, that's always been my life goal is to live it to the fullest each and every day. You know, obviously life happens and things change, and you get almost absorbed within what is happening right then. And sometimes you forget about who you are. And for you to go out there and say to people, it's like, no, you need to live your life. You know, you have to have these reasons. And all that honestly, I'm just absolutely thankful to you to be doing this. And I can't wait to learn more about how a person can get involved more with this. Is this something that uh women from around the world can join you?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we have a Facebook group. It's the Liv It List community. And so that's where the whole goal is to have, you know, post pictures of things that you're doing, videos things that you're doing. Um, it's all about being inspired. And a lot of times, like we do, and even on the website, we have lists, the a live it list for things that are free or less than $100 or inexpensive. And so, one, people can join the community because that's where people are talking and being positive. Anyone, I mean, Iceland, there's a woman that's coming from Germany and meeting us in Iceland. And so, you know, anyone of anywhere can join us on these trips, these experiences. You know, we we do online coaching as well. We've got Zoom classes, we have tons of things online. So anyone anywhere across the world, and that's where it's interesting because there's a person that reached out to me and he's like, I'm from Australia, but I live in the United States. We set up that we do a live it list experience to Australia. I'm like, absolutely. And you know, it's it's and it doesn't have to be these big trips. That's what I was gonna say earlier. Is that, you know, I took my kids to Africa when they were 13 and 14. And so many times people are like, oh, you know, I I couldn't do that. Like I couldn't go to Africa or I couldn't go to Hawaii, or some of these things are so big, but that's the whole point of it is like, yes, think big. Like, what do I want? If it were, you know, if I can, if I can manifest like this perfect dream life, what does it look like? Think big. And these things may not happen tomorrow. Like Africa, I was told you should take your kids to Africa when they're 13 and 14. And I was told this when the kids were like three and four. So I talked about Africa for 10 years. My kids and I, we put money, yeah, we put money in an account to go to Africa for 10 years. And so one of the, and those that is the trip that we will probably talk about forever. Because we talked about it's not about just doing something, it's about thinking of what's that big thing that you want in life, or even simple, you know. The concept is is do one thing a month, and that could be having a pillow fight to your kid with your kids, or going to a movie by yourself, or yes, maybe it's taking a trip to Iceland, you know, have some of these bigger things, and then you put money aside for those, or you make that a goal. And sometimes it may not be that you can do this thing tomorrow, but that's the beauty of it is setting that intention of I want to do this in five years. Because then, you know, the man that's like, Hey, I want to take a group to Australia. I'm like, could we do that like in five years? Yeah, so you're you're talking about it for five years, you're putting money in your manifesting for five years, you're manifesting it.
SPEAKER_02You know, and it's funny because I was looking at your website and you have a limit list and going to Japan in 2028. Yeah, okay. So this Japan has always been somewhere that I want to go, and it would be something I'm like, okay, I can manifest this, and you know, maybe I could go on this trip with you. Tell me what is entitled when a person joins these adventures with you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, Egypt, I'm still like in awe that we
Community Trips And Big Goals
SPEAKER_00went to Egypt. We had we had to cancel Egypt a couple of years ago because it just wasn't safe to go. I'm so blessed that we got to go when we did. Um, Sarah, who is my good girlfriend, is a travel concierge. So she knows people across the world and curates these once-in-a-lifetime experiences. And so there's a Netflix show, The Man with the Hat, and there is a real life Indiana Jones. His name is Dr. Zawahi, and we got to spend time with him. And that alone is just this like magical, amazing thing. But there's uh there was a brand new dig site that he found, and so we went in there and climbed down this ladder. And his staff were like, he hasn't even opened up these coffins for us. Like, I can't believe he's opening it up for for you. We got to see the uh new brand new Egyptian museum. We were there November 1st. Um, and the Egyptian, and but we got we did a cruise on the Nile first, and so we got to the museum, I think, on like the sixth. It had only been open, it opened on the first, it'd only been open a couple of days. So our tour guide, he's like, This is my second time inside of here. Like it's completely surreal, this trip that we curated. And what I love about it, our our first trip was to Napa, and we had a woman, she was also on Egypt too. And and in Napa, she goes, I went to Napa with 19 strangers, and I came home with 19 new friends. And that's the beauty of these trips is one, it's this, you know, like in in Iceland, I'm super excited. We're going hiking with huskies. You know, you can go hiking, right? But like to add this like unique and different twist on it. And it's all about just gathering amazing people together and having this once-in-a-lifetime experience and pushing yourself and meeting some phenomenal men or women or who, you know, whomever, and just having an amazing experience.
SPEAKER_02And how do you decide where to go?
SPEAKER_00It's hard. That that I think is the hardest part. Um, and there's just I so when I I when I went was in college, I was in school for international business. And so there was a man that came over and studied here in the States at our university that was from Egypt. And so that's where I was like, I want to go there. And um, there's a business here in Minnesota that they are from Turkey and they have these amazing olive oils and these amazing Turkish towels and stuff. And I've just gotten to know them, and and I've seen, you know, the hotter balloons. And and the thing now, you know, back years ago, we didn't have Instagram where it's listening to you, and then you open it up, and now all of a sudden everyone's, you know, if you're listening to this and you have your Instagram, like you're now gonna see things for Egypt and Turkey. Like, and so one, it's driven by when when I did my list, when I wrote down the want to go to Egypt, like I want to go to Turkey. The thing is, is then you go to these places and you meet other people that are traveling too, or you know, our clients share places that they've been, and and and that's where you hear about them, you're like, oh my gosh, like that just sounds amazing. And so that's where it's curating pla it's places that I've never been generally that I would love to go to.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh, I love it. The more I see your website, the more I listen to you, the more I excited I get because we forget to enjoy our life. You know, why are we here if we're not here to at least enjoy it, to experience it and to really live it? And right, you know, you're how you've named it and how you've you've said live it list, you know, it really is. That's what it is. You are living this.
SPEAKER_00And that's the goal. Like when I rewrote my bucket list, I'm like, that has just such a negative connotation. And my world was so negative. I'm like, I need something positive. And that's where it's just the the irony of it that I'm a wealth advisor, let alone helping inspire people to really truly live life. Because otherwise, you know, it's I we one of the tools that we have in in the Livitless Coaching is a happiness wheel. And you can do this, you just take a sheet of paper, draw a circle, and it's more or less ranking the areas that you are that you have in your life from your health to your physical environment to your friends, your family, and you're gonna rank them. And the goal is that you have this great equal circle, but that's life that rarely ever happens. And so for me, I usually do this at least twice a year. And usually health is the one that kind of deteriorates, and then you've got to go and make that a focus again. But if you focus on all of these things, that's where life can be overwhelming. And so that's where it's all about having a plan and being very thoughtful. And the Livitless can be that tool, at least for me, it was the tool to not be numb anymore in life. It was the tool to boost my confidence. Because if I when I swam with sharks, when I repelled down the Eco Lab building, when I did this some of these things that were super scary, and I'm like, okay, like even traveling by myself, like when I would go do these things, I'm like, okay, like if I can do that, coming in with my air conditioner being broken or getting in a car accident or having an issue with the kid or whatever it is, it makes life less stressful and it makes things a lot easier.
SPEAKER_02Oh, it does. Oh my gosh. How can our listeners learn more about you? How can they be a part of this? I know that there's probably a lot of people right now that are getting excited like I am, and they're looking for that because it is scary to do it by yourself. But if you could be a part of a community, a part of like-minded individuals that have that adventure, that have that want to live life to the fullest, how can they be a part of you that with you?
SPEAKER_00Right. They can go to theliveit list.com. That's the website, that's where they can join. We've got the Facebook community, they can follow us on Instagram, social, and you know, social media. We're at we're we're everywhere. We're we're LinkedIn. The podcast, the Live It List Podcast is launching again shortly, so they can listen to that. There's tons of coaching also that's available. Um, we have a money questions class, we have a goals class, we're launching a happiness class, or that's where they can see
Tools, Journals, And Giving Grace
SPEAKER_00all the trips and the adventures and join us at one of our events.
SPEAKER_02Excellent. So, Nicole, I want to ask you a little bit about your books and how our listeners can go and get those.
SPEAKER_00You can find them on Amazon. Otherwise, same thing. They're at everything you can buy is at thelivitlist.com. We have the Livet List journal. And I always wanted something that I could take with me to journal and write, but that also had some questions in there to get me thinking, let alone the happiness wheels inside of the journal. Let alone I'm a huge vision person. So I would always every year make a vision board. Well, it'd be in my office versus carrying it with me. So the journal has pages that flip out that you can make your own vision board and you can even buy your own vision board making kit. We sell those. It's all at thelivitless.com.
SPEAKER_02Thank you so much, Nicole. And you know what? This has been really great for this mini podcast series because I truly believe that if you are living your true life, you are you know having that confidence, you are building that you're gonna be able to share your voice, you know, with that with that, whatever you are doing in life. This is just a part of it. If you can have that confidence, you can do everything else.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh, thank you so much. Thank you. Cool. Is there any last minute tips, tools, anything you'd love to share with our listeners?
SPEAKER_00I would say for women, um, one of my my mentors who there isn't today that doesn't guy that I don't talk about him or think about him, even though he passed away a number of years ago now. Um, my I own a commercial building and it's in the LLC called My Grace Properties. And it's because John every day would remind me, give yourself grace. And so I always share that message. Us as women, um, we are the hardest critics on ourselves. And social media always makes life look so perfect, and it's it's not. And so, you know, no matter where you are in whatever situation, make sure you're always giving yourself some grace along the way.
SPEAKER_02I love it. Thank you so much, Nicole.
SPEAKER_00Yes, thank you.
SPEAKER_02Well, I hope, Nicole, that you come back on the DivaZec Care and share some more of your wisdom. I think that you have so much that you can offer our amazing listeners around the world. And I really do hope that they connect with you and you know, learn more about you in the future.
SPEAKER_00Awesome. Thanks so much, Candace.
SPEAKER_02Thank you. And to all of our amazing listeners, thank you so much for tuning in to Speak Up and Stand Firm podcast miniseries. You know, listening to Nicole was just absolutely inspiring and powerful for myself. You know, I'm all about how people can build confidence and you're creating different healthy boundaries and you're advocating for yourself. But I think what's most important is that when you have people like this, they really encourage us to step into our own power so that we can be the best versions of ourselves and no matter what we do. So thank you so much for listening to Nicole today. Make sure that you check out her social media links. I'm going to be posting that on our social media so that you can just click on them. And also remember to do something kind. The world needs a lot of kindness, and it starts with you. So you are the ripple effect. And so make sure you do something kind today. Until next time, everyone.
SPEAKER_01Thanks for listening. This show was brought to you by Divas That Care. Connect with us on Facebook, on Instagram, and of course on divas that care.com, where you can subscribe to our newsletter so you don't miss a thing.