Live Like a Girl with Dr. Mindy Pelz - Leanne Morgan: Why Your Best Years Might Start After 50

Episode Date: October 5, 2026

Leanne Morgan spent more than 20 years pursuing comedy before her career exploded in her 50s. Now, at 60, she's selling out arenas, starring in her own Netflix series, and living a life that once felt almost impossible.In this conversation, we talk about what changed when Leanne stopped worrying so much about what everyone else thought and started trusting herself. We get into menopause, imposter syndrome, aging, ambition, health, family, and what happens when a woman's life gets bigger at the exact age she was taught it should start getting smaller.In this episode:Leanne's 27-year road to successAlmost giving up in her early 50sMenopause and finding confidencePrioritizing health while touringAging, body image, and longevityWhy Leanne won't “fake peace” anymoreFamily, friendship, and learning to say noReinventing yourself later in life_MORE ON LEANNE MORGANLeanne Season 2 Airing on NetflixThe Time of Our Lives TourWhat in the World?! by Leanne MorganInstagram: @leannemorgancomedyFacebook: @leannemorgancomedyX: @leannecomedyYouTube: @LeanneMorganComedyTikTok: @leannemorgancomedyFor more resources related to today’s episode, visit the podcast episode page: https://www.drmindypelz.com/ep375/_CONNECT WITH DR. MINDYJoin Reset AcademyWatch the episodes on YouTubeFollow Dr. Mindy on InstagramSubscribe to Dr. Mindy’s newsletterDisclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, fasting routine, or lifestyle.

Can I be honest with you for just a second? So many of the women who have come to me have literally already tried everything. They've done the diets. They've worked themselves out to death. They've done the programs. They've diligently followed the advice of their doctors. And yet they are still exhausted. They are still hormonally lost.

They are still wondering why nothing seems to work for them. And here's what I've learned after two and a half decades of working with women. It's not a willpower problem. I promise you, it's an education problem. Your body has a very specific set of needs. And most health advice out there was never designed with those needs in mind. And so this is exactly why I built my Reset Academy. It's my monthly membership community where I teach you how to use fasting, food,

and lifestyle to genuinely work with your female biology. Every month you get new trainings, live Q&A's with my team and I, and a community of incredible women who are all in it with you. They're doing the work, they're seeing the results, and the best part is they're cheering each other on. If you're ready to stop guessing and start actually understanding your body and finally getting results, come join us over there. All you have to do is head over to resetacademy.

Dot, Dr. Mindy Pels.com, and I would love to see you inside the community and help you accomplish your health goals and fall in love with your body again. So that's Resetacademy. Dot, Dr.Mindy.com. Hey, Dr. Mindy here, and welcome to the Live Like a Girl podcast.

where I bring you icons, disruptors, educators, scientists, and doctors that show you what can be possible when you love and celebrate the female body you are blessed to live in. Let's dive in. There is a myth I want to dismantle right out of the gate. The myth that your window for a big life closes somewhere in your 40s. that if you haven't made it by then, you missed it. And the rest of your years are just about managing decline gracefully. I don't believe that. And today's guest is living proof of exactly why. For 27 years, she sold jewelry out of people's living rooms, not because it was her dream,

but because she was a young mom, isolated, far from home. And it was a way to meet people and pay the bills. What nobody knew, including her, was that those living rooms talks were actually a stage. She was funny. She was a storyteller. And slowly over decades, in comedy clubs, most people never even heard of, she kept chasing the one thing that lit her up, even when nothing about the outside world was telling her to keep going. Then she hit her early 50s, and she hit a wall. She sat with her husband and cried and said, I don't think this comedy thing is ever going to happen for me.

27 years in, and that was the first time Hope actually ran out. And then in her 50s, everything she had built for decades exploded into a life bigger than she ever let herself imagine. not despite midlife because of it. Here's what I know from my own research into the menopausal brain. Something shifts in a woman's confidence during her menopause transition. We stop being so addicted to what everyone else thinks of us. We get pickier about who gets our time.

We finally trust ourselves enough to bet on the thing we've quietly wanted the whole time. This is not coincidence. This is biology finally working in our favor. This is exactly why I have brought you comedian Leanne Morgan. Leanne Morgan is a stand-up comedian. She's an actress and a New York Times best-selling author whose Netflix specials and hit show have made her one of the most beloved voices in comedy today. All. after building the foundation for decades before the world caught on. In this conversation, we talk about what it actually takes to keep believing in a dream nobody else can see yet.

How to know the difference between giving up and simply needing a different door. And why midlife might be the exact moment your confidence and your dream finally catch up with each other. I have to tell you, listen all. the way through because I also did something really unique and special with Leanne in the second half of this episode. And I cannot wait for you all to hear it. It is my true honor to bring you Leanne Morgan. Okay, Leanne, first I have to welcome you to my Live Like a Girl podcast, which is the perfect name for you. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for having me, Dr. Mindy. You

smart thing. Thank you. You know that I've been following you and watching everything, and every time something comes up, I think, what is Dr. Mindy saying? I need to listen. Thank you. I appreciate that. So I hope you realize what an inspiration you have become for midlife women.

Do you get that? Like, we're all cheering you on and are so excited about your success. Thank you. I do feel it. and I hear it every time I'm walking through an airport or, you know, headed to a show. Women say that. They go, I feel like I can do live out my dream because you're doing this. And yeah, it has really been sweet how people have reacted to all this.

It's very sweet. That's awesome. So walk us through mindset. How do you go from selling, being a mom selling jewelry in people's living rooms to Netflix, best, biggest comedian. How do we make that journey in our mind? Well, it took 27 years. Yeah.

But I, so I was, had married Chuck Morgan, had my first baby, Charlie, and I wanted to breastfeed him and stay at home. I had a degree, but I just, I was up there isolated, didn't know anybody, and Chuck Morgan doesn't talk. And he was, had a business, he was 27 years old running a business, had employees, and So I started selling that jewelry. It was just a fluke. One of my friends, she said,

Lynn, you'd be so good at this, and you enjoy people. You could meet people because you feel isolated. It was just a perfect storm. And I look back on it now, and I didn't have comedy clubs, and I always knew I was going to Hollywood. I was doing something,

but I didn't know how. And I was in those living rooms. You know, selling jewelry, and I sold quite a bit of jewelry, Honey, because there was a lot of earrings for 1999, and people love a gold earring to give themselves a pop. So I started selling that jewelry, and I got to meet people, and I am a talker, and I like to have a good time. And I developed some of my first 45 minutes of material in those living rooms, because I had an audience of my peers, you know, and women that were getting pregnant, and breastfeeding and, you know, all that, the same thing that I was going through in life.

And it was perfect. It was better than a comedy club, I think. And then I eventually got in comedy clubs and then, you know, 20 years of trying to grind it out, honey. And I just, the whole time thinking, I know I've got something. I got to keep going. I loved it so much. I would have done it for free. It's just something that I'm a storyteller and I just loved it.

I love being on stage and connecting with an audience. And I, you know, had three babies, but I just kept going. Yeah. You know, then I got in my early 50s, and it was the first time in 20-something years that I really got down and thought nothing was going to happen. And I had shot a dry bar special, which is clean comedy online. I didn't even know how the Internet worked.

We thought nobody had ever seen it. You know, they gave me a little bit of money to go shoot that thing. and that gave me the money and a little bit of notoriety. I couldn't sell tickets, but I had a lot of gigs from that, but they weren't good gigs. They weren't what I wanted to do. And I got so down and out, and I said to Chuck, I cried, and I said, I don't think anything's going to happen.

That's the first time I felt down and didn't have hope. and because I'd had television deals and stuff, always something brewing. Even if it didn't make it, it gave me hope. And he said, no, you got to keep going. And that's when I'm invested in myself. Things changed. I can talk about that if you want me to. And then, honey, it blew up bigger and better than anything I ever dreamed of.

In my early 50s. So here's what I hear. you had it something you were doing for many years that lit you up, that there was like, you were in a flow state, you were like energized by making people laugh. Would that be accurate? Yes, yes. I loved it. I didn't care if it was man that spoke Japanese and made carpet fiber. I didn't care, which that was a gig, and that was hard. Did they understand you? Yeah, I loved it so much that I, anything anybody asked me to do.

I would get up and do it because I loved it that much. See, I think that's important because a lot of women in my community are trying, I hear them all the time say, I don't know what I want to do. I don't know the kids are gone. I don't know what I need to be doing at this point. And I think I just want to point out, and you add to this, that it's the things that light us up that don't feel like work. Follow the crumbs of that.

Uh-huh. And I also think, Dr. Mindy, that things you love, doing as a child. I've heard that before. Like things that you really, that set you on fire growing up, that that might be a clue of, you know, of what you want to do. Because I've had friends that said, I wanted to be a nurse, but I didn't have the confidence and I didn't think I could make it academically and that kind of thing. And I've got friends that went back and then became a nurse and then a nurse anesthetist with a CRNA, is that how you, because I, with honey, three kids.

and, you know, in their 40s, and going through that difficult curriculum and having to lock themselves in a basement, but they felt they, you know, couldn't do it when they were 20, when they went to college, but now they have the confidence to do it. And they did it. Yes, that's the key. I mean, this is, this was the whole point of my book, Age Like a Girl, is if you look at how the brain rewires itself through menopause, you start to feel more confident because you're not addicted to everybody. else's opinion of you. Did, did you feel that when you said you hit that dip at 50 and you hit a wall there? Was there like a fuck it attitude? Like, I'm just going for this? Or what did you do in that moment? And when I turned 50, the day I turned 50, I felt like, like, I could unload like

friends that were really not my friends. Amen. Amen. I felt like. I felt like. You know, I made my circle smaller. I only wanted to be with people that give, you know, and not suck the life out of you. And I realized that I had a lot of, you know, when your kids are in high school and everybody's on cheer team or whatever, and you have to deal with people. And it's, you know, and they're not really for you. Right.

I think the best thing that ever happens to you when you turn 50 and you shed all that and you don't care what other people think and you want to spend time with people who love you and you love them. And that was what I learned in my 50s. And then after I had that little slump and thought, this is, you know, I can't be going and riding in an Uber with a man, high on marijuana as a female by myself. And then they put me in a motel that looks like I'm going to be murdered.

That was why I got so down. It was just not, you know, I thought, is this really what I'm going to be doing in my 50s? I don't want this. If this is what it is, I don't want it. And then when COVID hit, I mean, I was, I had hired these social media boys that I'm still with that put out my stuff. And I thought I'm going to give them three months if it doesn't make it, because it was expensive. I thought if it doesn't make it, then that'll be a sign from God that it's time to move on.

I knew I was having a grandbaby. And they put out one video that went viral about me taking Chuck Morgan to go see Deaf Leopard and Journey. and everybody had planter fasciitis and looked sick. And that boomed. And then people, you know, were finding what else I had done. And then they were calling every comedy club and I started selling out all over the United States. But then I got my first deal for a big tour,

Hunter City Tour called the Big Pony Tour because I was talking about my big panties. And then it COVID hit and everything shut down. And so I just sat on my back porch and with no makeup on, I didn't even realize what I was, I mean, I just thought everybody's hysterical. It's a terrible time. I was taking care of elderly parents, cooking for them. You know, nobody could go anywhere. And I just started making videos of like, you know, what are y'all doing?

I'm making a chicken cassero. And my mom and daddy have got their thermostat on 78 and I'm going through menopause and I feel like I'm going to. And that's when I think I really connected with. women and men, but mostly women, and it was that authenticity and that I don't care if I don't have on makeup. I don't, and I think people related to that. And so that, yes, in my 50s, it was like, I don't care what people think. This is it. This is who I am. I've got elderly parents. My mama's had a stroke. You know, I know I'm having a grandbaby, all that, like everybody else is going through. And that's what I talked about. And I think it grew, I know.

know it did. It was more like a community that grew. It was bigger than stand-up. Yeah. You know, I found you during that time. That's when I found you because I decided during the pandemic, I was like, I need to get humor into my brain. I got to stop watching the news, being worried about what's going to happen. And so I started, I got addicted at the end of every day. I would go and just scan YouTube for different comedians. And that's when I found you. And, um, I'm like, this woman's hysterical. And I had decided in that moment that one of your gifts, and I think this should be a gift of all women, is calling yourself out, laughing at yourself. Like, that is the gift, I think, outside of your reinvention story that you offer all of us is an opportunity to say, well, Leanne Morgan made fun of her husband, your poor husband, by the way.

and you know and she's still married maybe i can joke about this marriage has anybody ever giving you that feedback yes everybody says to me every day everywhere i go i'm married to chuck morgan i'm married i need to do a t-shirt on tour that says something about chuck morgan because i'm making him into a folk hero i think everybody and there's in chuck morgan you know nobody closes is a garage door right. Nobody took the trash out. He's got to be grumpy, crumaginy. He doesn't understand menopause.

I hate to tell you that. He has never understood. I know, and I could beat him to death. And I'll say, I put in my vaginal estrogen, Chuck, leave me alone. He probably wants to leave you alone at that point. Bat him off of you. I know, I put in my vaginal estrogen. And then also, you know, he's, Lord, he's on testosterone.

and he's barely tripping around because he tore two Achilles and a tent playing tennis, but he still plays, but he's got inflammation. Honey, I have to tell his doctor what to check. He needs a sleep apnea test. He doesn't tell his doctor anything. I have tend him like he's a toddler. But yeah, I think everybody relates to that. And then I swear, Dr. Mindy, I think I was the first person to talk about perimenopause.

I think you were too. Because I was deep in studying pari menopause and helping my patients. Because nobody had really, I mean, the only book out there was Christian Northrop's wisdom of menopause. And we weren't really talking about it. And so I was having conversations in my clinic with women. And then I would go home and watch your comedy. And I'm like, oh, my God, you're better than a supplement. You're better than HRT.

Like, you just got to watch this woman and just laugh about this. So I do agree. I think you helped us all. Thank you. And I was so lucky that I had a nurse practitioner in Knoxville, Tennessee that was going to medical. She was, her mom and dad were both doctors. She was going to medical school. Somebody heard her sing and said, you've got to be an opera singer.

And so she went and was an opera singer on Broadway. And then in her, like, 40s decided to go back to school and become a nurse and then an MP. and she sat and studied hormone replacement in women's health and would read all the time brilliant. And I happened to get in with her, honey, going through perimenopause. And then my career was basically in the toilet and I said, hey, what if we did a podcast together? Nobody's talking about perimenopause and you've got the information and maybe I can make it fun. and we did a podcast called Sweetie and Pist Menopause and More years ago before, and I got so busy I couldn't do it anymore.

And I think if we had stayed doing that, it's no telling what that thing would be now because she had the information. I tried to make it fun. And I was the layman that would ask questions and get, because she's very clinical. But I realized there was a hole there that people weren't talking about it. And I thought, why would people not be talking about perimenopal? everybody's going through it, everybody's going to have to go through it. It's a nightmare.

Right. But now, now, thank the Lord, everybody's talking about it. Right. Yeah, absolutely. And I think your career turned out okay, not necessarily doing the podcast circuit. I think you're in the right place. Thank you. So how do you help the woman who's like listening to this and is like, I have something I want to do, but the imposter syndrome shows up. surely that happened to you. Yes. Honey, I get it all the time. Coming out on this third third tour

because I'm going into arenas. And that really, I did some arenas in the last one but this is really heavy in arenas and I never dream that big. I'm a big dreamer but I never thought I'd be in arenas and I I really had a hard time.

I was shooting the second season of Leanne and I shot that in L.A. from January to 8. April. And on the weekends, honey, at 60 years old, then I would be learning a script during the week and then I go to clubs on Saturday and do two shows and try to work out new material because I'd start touring as soon as this show ramped. And I really worried about it and thought, am I good enough? Is this, you know, this is my fourth hour that's been, that will be taped. That's a lot of material over somebody's life. Now people just throw out these,

comedy specials, but it's hard. It's hard to hone something and it'd be good enough to be on Netflix. And I just was like, is this going to be any good? People are going to pay ticket, big money, and I want them to love it. And yeah, I went through it again. And I've got a good friend in comedy that has been my best friend for 20-something years now, a comedian out of Chattanooga, Karen Meals. And I called her and said, I don't know if I can do it.

She goes, Lynn, you go through this every time. You have imposter syndrome every time before you're starting to shoot a movie, before you start shooting your series, you do it every time. And I do. I have to work through it and think, okay, I know I'm supposed to be here. I've put in the time. God wouldn't put me in something that I'm not supposed to be in. I really have to go through that every time. So when you have your audience worries about that, everybody goes through that.

I think. But you got to push through it. You got to push through it. And know, in your heart, you're meant to be there. You're meant to be doing that. It's okay. And I also say this, Dr. Men, if you fail, okay, you learn from it. Keep going. You know, that's not a big deal. Yeah. If you supplement with only one ingredient, my vote is that you supplement with magnesium. It's literally the most important mineral on earth for human health. And I think a lot of us think about it just for sleep. But magnesium has so much more power for you than just that. It supports heart health, bone health, muscle tissue, mood.

You name it. Magnesium is truly a gift to a stressed out body. But the magnesium you're taking, yeah, this is where it gets a little complicated. you got to look at the label. It's likely it's just one or two forms of magnesium. And some of these forms aren't even really bioavailable. That's why Qualia magnesium plus is hands down the most comprehensive magnesium supplement ever made. It has 10 complementary forms of magnesium. Yes, 10. So you don't have to figure out like which one do I need for sleep, which one do I need for stress recovery, it's all in this one supplement. Plus, they added 70 trace minerals. And it's now

clinically tested. So here's the cool thing about this supplement, just two capsules a day. I take, honestly, I take mine at night. And you're getting the most diverse, bioavailable version of magnesium supplement I personally have ever seen. So head on over to Qualia Life. com forward slash Mindy. They're giving our community up to 15% off if you use the code Mindy. Yay, thank you, Qualia. And all of their supplements are backed by their 100 day guarantee. So that's Qualia magnesium plus code Mindy at qualiaLife.com forward slash Mindy. Enjoy. You know, one of the tricks I always did because I was, of fear of public speaking and now I love to public. Give me a good audience and I'm excited is I would have a conversation with fear. And I'd be like, I hear you. I know you're there. We're going to do

this together. Let's go. Like it was almost a partner in the process. Yes. And I've done that too. If I'm torn up and I feel butterflies, that's like, okay, my engine's going. Let's do this. I do. I feel I had to make peace with that. And yes, that's a good way of putting it. Like, now I have a partner. We're in this together. Because that does. That drives you. That gives you adrenaline. Because right before I go out on stage, I get kind of sleepy. I heard Tim McGrawl say that one time in an interview. And I thought, is that your body kind of getting ready or something? You start feeling tired and I'll yawn. And then that audience, you know, they say my name and my adrenaline goes up. I've got butterflies. and that fuels me. Yeah. I got to do this. And I've got one life, one time to do it, honey. And I'm going to make the best out of it.

I'm going big. I said 27 years ago when I met my concert promoters who I have nail, who are the biggest concert promoters for comedians in the world. And they asked me, what did you want to do out of this land? It's probably about 25 years ago. And I said, I'm going big. I'm not, I'm either, I'm not doing it or I'm not. I'm going big.

And I just, you know, and that's hard, I think, for a woman my age from the South, we're, you know, we're very polite. Don't take up a lot of space. Yeah. And so it's, I finally feel like I'm coming into my own to say what I want and what I need. I'm running a team of 25 people. Never ran a company or anything like that. I'm doing that now.

But I think, yeah, I can do that. things. Amazing. I can do things. You know, and people ask me all the time, they go, what would you say to that 17-year-old? When I would say to my 17-year-old self, it makes me want to cry, I want to say, you are so smart. You know, I just didn't know.

Then I just didn't have the confidence and I was made, you know, to feel like, oh, be pretty so you can get a husband that can take care of you and all that. And I did. And I know how to flirt. I use that. I use that, Dr. Medina. Work to your advantage. Dan, yes, my fanny is big, but that helped me get a husband with health insurance. But I look back and I think, I want to tell that little girl, you got it, your instincts are right, your gut is right, listen to it.

And that's what I did. You know, I would be so self-conscious. I went on and got an undergraduate degree. I love my degree. but I always had this burning desire. I'm going to be in show business. I'm going to be in show business. And there would be times in the Appalach Mountains where there was no way.

But I just kept thinking, I just had faith, and I kept thinking, something's going to happen, something's going to happen. Yeah. And so, you know, women. Yes. Yeah. And it doesn't have to be show business. You know, I've meet women all the time that say,

I've always wanted to be a yoga instructor. Well, good night, go take classes. Wouldn't that be fun? Go learn like it, you know? Yeah. Step into the energy of that. Get into the vibration of what that might feel like and then see where you go from there is always what I say is like, take the next step, see how it feels and then take the next step. And pretty soon you've got a life that you're loving, absolutely loving. for sure people have asked you how are you doing being on tour with being postmenopausal like how do those two things mix i'm just going to go through brain fog word recall hot flashes this one i'll tell you one i gave a presentation to a thousand people in a room which is was a lot for me and i was in a peri menopause moment and i had a silk shirt on and literally there was just pit like stains on my armpits and I was a look down as they were micing me up and I thought oh fuck okay I'm just going to call it out like I can't I can't pretend

I don't have these big water stains on my arms so how are you managing and I bet they loved it I bet they loved it when you went look at the yes I'm having a hot flash yeah but what What were you asking me, my dream? So how, like, how are you, like, do you, I mean, there has to be intense word recall in your acts. Like, do you lose your memory? What, are you tired? Like, how are you sustaining this career? Well, thank the Lord.

They bought, they got me a girl who I love. Lisa is her name. Who goes over lines with me. Yay. And we, she figured out, I got her about halfway through first season because I was like trying to learn how to do a. script. I didn't know. And I, and my, my youngest child is my makeup artist, and she's in the union in LA, and, um, uh, real bad Mamma Jama makeup artist. Thank the Lord. She's with me, does my makeup,

but she was helping me with lines. We didn't know how to do it. So they hired somebody that really helped me, but, but it's a lot. And so I have, you know, my endocrinologist that does my hormones. I do a testosterone cream on my inner thigh in the morning. I do two flicks of Estra doll in the morning, one at night, and I have progesterone that I take orally at night before I go to bed to help me sleep. And I feel like, like all my friends from Tennessee would say, girl, how are you doing it? Are you drinking wine? Get yourself a glass of wine.

I said, if I drink wine, then I don't sleep well at night. I don't get enough sleep, and then I can't learn. I can't retain this. So there's no alcohol. I don't do any. very rarely. Do I, sometimes I've got to have a margarita with a chip. But I don't do that during the week.

I don't, I'm not, and I really prioritize my sleep. I ran a house in L.A. that, thank the Lord, they don't care if I run that thermostat. And I mean, you could hang me in that bedroom at night. And I, because Chuck Morgan doesn't do that at home. And that's, we need to go into therapy over that. But I love that room to be cold. I have a weighted.

eye mask called a nod pod that I've fallen in love with. I have red light therapy. Sometimes I put a red light on me. I take a hot bath at night with some magnesium flanks. I take in the morning I take, or in the daytime at lunch, right, I take vitamin D, K3, my fish oil. I added fish oil because they said that was good for all kinds of things, brain and heart. And I love a supplement. Dr. Mendy, I love a supplement. And so in my B-12s, I've got that M-T-H-F-R methylation thing. Thank goodness somebody figured that out about me. And I really try to eat whole foods when I'm filming.

On the road, it's hard. It's so hard on the road. It's so hard on the road. That's one of the reason I stopped traveling. I'm like, I can't get my food dialed in. It's really hard. It's terrible. And you do the best you can.

can. But it's, you know, when I'm in the green room, and before my shows, I have fresh vegetables, and they make fruit, cut fruit for me, and we have a little bit of cheese, you know, just to have something on my stomach so that I don't burp in the microphone. Because if I eat a big meal, I'll burp in the microphone, and then, and it made me have some gourd come up. And then I try not to eat late at night because I know that I don't sleep well when I've got a full stomach. I feel like I'm trying to digest and I can just tell a difference in myself. So I try to, you know, time out my food. But when I'm home, I really try to eat whole foods and do the best I can because, honey, I got a lot going on. And I do. I made that connection with food. You know,

I can't. And I'll eat a cookie and I'll eat a caramel turtle, you know, but I try to do the best I can, you know. But I really, I think sleep has been the main thing. Yeah. And what I heard in all of that is you prioritized your health because you could not do this if you didn't prioritize your health. And that's, that I think is so key because everybody can look at your life and be like, I want what you're doing, but they don't necessarily see the backfill of what it takes to perform at that level at your age. So I do need to do more. I love exercise. and I love like group classes in my gym at home. And I love dance and I, you know, like jazzercise and Zumba for my brain.

But I know that, and I like to lift. But it's real hard when I come into a hotel and I've been traveling all day. And I'm like, I want to lay down so bad and get my mind right. But I try to go to that gym and do something, even if it's a little 10 minutes here. on the set, I would do squats. Like little Tim Daly that plays my love interest to. Everybody in your audience would love to make out with. And let me tell y'all that it's fun.

It is fun making out with Jim Daly. And he is as beautiful as you can imagine. So is there tongue when you make out? No. Dorn it. Shout. I know, but he is so precious. He gave me this tip.

Like he'll, if he can't remember, something, he'll get down and do push-ups and do something to, you know, to get his blood going. And so, and little Glenn Powell, I did a movie with Glenn Powell. You're talking about Darling, too, and cut in his pants. And he said, do you want one of my protein balls, Lynn? He eats well. He hydrates. He's got electrolytes and a big old glass, Mountain Valley water. And then his nutritionist makes him little peanut butter balls with protein in it that are to die for. But anyway, little, I would look up. over and he would be doing jumping jacks so i try to do so many squats a day like even if i'm just in my

you know just to do something you know because i got to have longevity honey i want to live long and die quick you know what i'm saying i don't want to die long and you know and so i know i got to keep doing that kind of stuff for my mental and my i love to walk and that helps with my stress but So much. Muscle. Yeah. Yeah. And if you don't fight for it, it goes away.

So I absolutely agree on that. Okay. So I want to do something fun with you because you're the perfect person to do this with. So when I did Age Like a Girl, my big thing, that book was really, I think you read it, was really about how we reinvent ourselves in menopause. And so I was like, what are we going to do with all these women when they read this book? and then they're like, how do I reinvent myself? So what I did with my publishers,

we came up with a card deck. And it's called, it's a conversation card deck. And it's looking backwards on the screen, but it's called, Who are you becoming? Yeah. So I'm going to ask you some questions from my card deck. Okay. And before you do that, when you tell me about Caveman,

like the whole thing of, or maybe I watched YouTube, too. I can't remember. Okay, but that was fascinating to me and that made perfect sense to me about how your brain changes. The grandmother hypothesis. Yes. Yeah, and how your brain changes. And my big plight for menopausal women is I actually think when you look at the way our brain changes, you are built for leadership more in your postmenopausal years than any other time. So this is why I love your story. I'm just like, come on. It's our moment to rise up. It's our moment to do what we want to really truly do.

We've given our lives over to family and careers. And now let's do what lights us up. Because you're neurologically wired for that now. It's amazing. That's amazing. Yeah. Okay. So here's my question.

So we have them in different categories. This one's category is called igniting your power. And the question is, what are your greatest fears about aging? My greatest fear about aging, I don't, my mom had a stroke, a debilitating stroke. So I, but I don't have any blood pressure problems and all that. But I guess it runs in our family. Her dad had one. So I want my health to be right.

And watching her being a wheelchair and she works so hard and goes to physical therapy. And my mom and dad were working people. They had a meat processing plant. And so they worked manual labor. and our whole family worked in it. It was a very successful business. And I remember when she had this stroke, her physical therapist saying,

because you work so hard, Lucille, all of your life, it'll help you in your physical therapy and to get over this stroke. And she did, and she was walking again, and then something happened, pooled and pooled back there. They had to go back in, do a surgery, and that's when it really took a toll on her.

But she goes to physical therapy. She's there, but she's there. day, honey, and works like a meal. She's chaining for the Olympics. But I don't want to, when I said, live long, I want to live long and die quick. I don't want to suffer and go through what she's been through because it's been so hard on her. So I think about that and I don't want my mind to go, but I don't think it's going to because I work so hard. And, you know, doing what I'm doing.

And it made me realize that if I'm not, if I quit doing all this and I'm going to have to learn the drums or language or something, we all got to keep learning and doing. Agreed. And then, you know, I don't find, I don't like having white hairs and I'm finding white hairs everywhere and it's weird. Yeah. And I don't want to. Yeah, I was going to say like how you look. Are you, are you? I don't see the white hairs, but do you worry about, you know, a lot of women worry about getting wrinkles because then they'll look old and then they're worried they'll be tossed aside. Yes. And I, in this season two of Lynn, the first episode, they put prosthetics on me and Kristen Johnson that plays my sister and made us 80-year-old women.

And there's a picture of me. And I mean, it was the bad Mammajama, Hollywood people that do Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and they did a hole in that people can watch that first episode and see me what I'm going to look like at 80 going into an assisted living. And it was freaky seeing it. But there, I do struggle. Like I see myself on TV and I think, oh, my neck, oh, my under eyes getting creepy. Oh, but, you know, and we have an episode in this second season about us going to see if we want plastic surgery.

So I do think about it. And then I think, no, I want to, I don't mind. I mean, I think it's wonderful if people want to do that. But I think I kind of want to be my age into myself. Yes. Yep. And I want to have expression. You know, I can't get a, I don't, I've never had Botox or anything because I've got to be able to express myself.

when I'm doing stand-up. And so I think I'm not as worried about that. But I do see myself sometimes in the mirror and I think, Lord, where did time go? And that probably, that motivates me to think, oh, there's so many things I want to do. I got to do them. I got to do them.

You know? But, yeah, I do think about that. And it gets me down sometimes. But then I think, I'm okay. Just keep going. I'll be okay. And I don't want to have an unnecessary surgery that I don't have to have to. Right, right.

Like throw that into your tour schedule. That's a little bit much. Now, I do love a laser, honey. Every once in while they burn my face off at my dermatologist. And I do love a good laser and a PRP, whatever that, all that mess thing is. And I suck on gas because it hurts so bad. Yeah. And look how beautiful you look because of it.

It's time for another laser. Next question. What parts of your body have you grown to love more as you've aged? Honey, I love my arms. I've still got, I've still, that was my good part, you know, everybody's got a good thing that they can, like women that have pretty legs, I think that's wonderful. I don't.

My legs are not my, it's my arms and I'm proud of them because they're my daddies. I took after my little daddy who cut all that meat up, honey, and worked three jobs. And I, and I'm, I think, you know what, I'm strong. I can lift these grandbabies. Now, my fanny needs some toning. There's some jiggly legs, honey. It looks like somebody moved out of my legs. Well, maybe they moved to your arms.

Maybe it did. Maybe it did, but I need to do some inner thigh work. Yeah. Well, you need a thigh master. That would be quite easy to just bring on tour with you. You could do a whole skit around a thigh master. Oh, my gosh, are they still making those? I'm sure they are. I am sure they're out there somewhere.

I'm a Lord. Okay. I see a whole skit coming on with the thigh master because it's a funny little piece of equipment, but it does work the inner thighs. It really, Suzanne Summers was on to something. Okay. Ordering. Ordering today. Excellent. Okay. Next question. What truth feels harder to suppress now?

Honey, I cannot fake peace anymore. I have, you know, I think as women, we make sure that everybody else is okay. And if anybody else is upset, we tamper it, you know, we make it, you know. And I don't want a fake peace anymore. I want real peace. And so when somebody says something to me that I don't like, normally I would have okay, and I'm a peacemaker and I like to diffuse and all that. But now I feel like I had the guts and the strength to go, no, no, I'm not doing that. And that does not feel right to me or I don't

agree with you, I'm doing this. And that was very hard for me. And now I feel that is like my thing now. I'm not going to fake peace anymore. I want real peace. I don't know how much time I've got left on this earth, honey. I want it to be peaceful. You know, you hear women say all their lives. I've heard it at the swimming pool. My kids had swim lessons. Somebody'd say, I just want a condo and some peace. Now I finally get what they're saying. You know, it's, you only have one life to live. It needs to be peaceful. Whatever that takes. What was unpeaceful for you? Was it doing what everybody else wanted you to do? Was it not? And just, yeah, and not making decisions. like feeling, you know, like I had to hand everything else over to other people.

And, you know, Chuck Morgan is the, is for me, as a Christian in the South, it's biblical, you know, for the man to lead and all that. And he's been wonderful at that. But I can lead alongside him, not behind him, alongside him, alongside him, you know, and that's what the Bible wanted us to do. It says in the first two chapters of Genesis, I just didn't read it because. You didn't think it was necessary. But somebody told me that, Dr. Bend, and that it is you're supposed to walk alongside and be a team.

And I, so, yeah, if there's some things that Chuck go, no, we're going to do this or whatever, I go, I want this and, you know, but compromise and not just mow over him, but I'm finding myself, more confident and more and I've got an elderly daddy who is precious but he's he's going to be 86 he's struggling he was my mom's caregiver the last seven years we do have

caregivers for her too but he wouldn't let him do anything he had to do it and he is you know it's he knows he doesn't feel good he's difficult sometimes to deal with which we understand why he's got a lot on him but I find myself going, no, Daddy, we're going to do this. You know, as a daughter, you don't want to disrespect your dad, but you're going to have to start making decisions for them, you know,

so my sister and I are dealing with that. So that kind of stuff, like, I'm going to take charge, and I'm going to, you know, and I'm not going to just say, okay, and thank this peace. Let's have real peace, you know. Yeah. And that, you know, that was a large part of age like a girl, too. was that the people-pleasing neurons in the brain as estrogen goes down, they go away. And all of a sudden,

you're speaking truths that you're like, oh my God, am I going to say this? Am I going to say this? Okay, I'm going to say this. And then you say your truth enough times. I can do this. This is what I'm in charge of, just like you said. And then it starts to become second nature. I think that's the beauty of being postmenopausal for sure. Yeah, it's no telling what my sister has said at Majong. Honey, she went through it and she didn't get on HRT, which I begged her to. And she had a doctor that did not believe in it. And she told everybody everything, honey. And I'd be like, that's what I'm thinking.

You're ripping everybody in your butthole band. And maybe you need to pull back. But she still gets invited to Mahjong, so everything's okay. Yeah. So, you know, it's funny when I was talking to a friend about the brain changes that happen when estrogen goes down and how we just. start blurting things out. And my friend said, oh yeah, because we were all drugged on estrogen, so we kept quiet. And then estrogen went away. The drug went away. And all of a sudden we're like,

hey, we got to talk now. We have some things to say. But I was like, yeah, I was drugged on estrogen, wasn't I? That was a good time on that estrogen. Yeah, it was a good time. That was a good time. Yeah. We didn't know how good we had it, didn't we? And we did it. And then you can't, I mean, you can rub all the creams you want on you, but it's just not the same as your own coming out. Yeah. I don't know if I'm absorbing this or not. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Okay, next question.

This one I think is going to be really interesting for you. Where in your life are you feeling instinctive pull towards slowing down, solitude, or simplicity? Okay, when I think of that, I'm loving what I'm doing and I'm busy and it's crazy and it's fun. But I am making more time to be with my grandchildren. Oh, nice. Because they are three and a half and five, and they are yummy. And they live 10 minutes from me. And so I have told my team, I need more time at home.

I've been going like a banshee, honey, since this blew up before COVID. And it has been nonstop. And I am, I still want to work. And I'm still, you know, doing touring and all that. and I hope I get a third season. And I love doing movies. I love doing parts in comedies. But I'm going to take more time, big chunks of time, and prioritize my family.

Because these babies, honey, are growing up. And then my girls will marry and they'll have babies. And I want to be there for that. And this has been such a blessing for this to blow up at the time it did because my children were grown and they didn't need me like they did. and when I had television deals in my 40s and young 40s when they were in elementary school and sixth grade, when I looked back and think, if that had made it, I could not have raised them and had this pressure and long and all this and shoot and block and be on set and all that. So this was the best time in that this happened to me when it did.

And I want to go, I want to be Betty White. That's who I want to be. I want to be Betty White and funny movies. You have like a guru, like a mentor. Yeah. Yeah. And so I can still do this, but I can have family time too. And that's what I'm going to prioritize.

Because I've missed a lot in the last few years. This has been wonderful, but I miss. And my friends, I've missed my friends. We always go out for somebody's birthday lunch and bring a candle or a, you know, or a little tea tail and a little gift. And I've missed that. So I would like to do more of that. Yeah.

It's like a trade-off, right? you got this amazing life. But there is a moment you get to decide how to integrate it all is what I'm hearing. Yes. And I now know that I can say, no. And I'm going to do this. And I've got a wonderful team and they want me to have, they know. And they're really good to me about it.

Yeah. Okay. Next question. This is under what lights you up. What kind of impact matters more to you now than income? Well, okay. Let me think about things. because I do think about what I say and what the material that I do, what I want to say,

and I do want it to be, of course, funny first, but I want it to be loving. I'm not a, you know, I'm not political and I don't, you know, roast anybody or anything. And I know there's a place for all that, and that's great and wonderful. But that's just not who I am. and I like to bring people together. Yeah, you do do that. Thank you. And what is so precious is I have,

I have more women come up to me and go, my 90-year-old dad loves you, my 80-year-old dad loves you, my 8-year-old loves you. And so it's sweet that, like the television series, laying in like a whole family, can sit down and watch it, and we don't have a lot of that, you know, today. So true. And so I think that's the impact I want to make.

I want to be able to provide that kind of entertainment that is funny and gives people a break, and whether that's in stand-up or the series, I think that's important right now because the world feels like it's on fire, and everybody has to hear horrible things all the time on social media, and I think we need a break from that.

I think it's ruining people's mental health, and I think we all need to get outside and hike and then watch a fun show and laugh. I do think laughter is medicine. Oh, laughter is so important. That's the impact I would like to make. Yeah, well, you're doing it. And I would say that your style is inviting, not polarizing. And it gives you, again, I'm going to go back to what I said before, is it gives you an opportunity to laugh at yourself and laugh at each other. And I think as opposed to more caustic comedians that, you know, are funny, but they leave you in a little bit of discontent and agitation. I never feel that when I'm watching you. So, yeah.

And, you know, I used to watch Golden Girls with my grandma all the time. Was that not a wonderful show, honey? Yeah. And people watch it all the time, nail. People love it. Oh, they're on reruns. Interesting. Yeah, so Betty White nailed it.

Nailed it, honey. All of them. Weren't they all wonderful? Amazing. And they were in their 50s. They looked 100, but they were in their 50s. Little Sophia. Well, she not a doll.

Wait, they were in their 50s when they started. that show? Uh-huh. And how long did the show go? You know, I don't know, but I mean a long time, but I don't know that. But people talk, bring that up in interviews, that they were, you know, like 50. Yeah. And they, and, but they made them look, you know, so much older and you just don't think. And now, I remember my little grandmama who was farming people and she could ring a chicken's neck and then fry it, pluck it, fry it right in front of us. And I'm, I'm, I'm, I mean, just strong, short, round, cooked three meals a day for field hands and all of that. But I remember her just always looking so much older.

And then now you see somebody 60, 70, and they look like movie stars. I mean, everybody, you know, we're younger, younger feeling, wanting, you know, to be vibrant. Yeah, it's a new world. It's a different, we're not in the Golden Girls era for sure. Yeah. Okay. next question what abilities have you accumulated post menopausally that you are excited about like what qualities do you feel like you have now that you didn't have in your younger years that really

excites you about this stage of life um i i think i am i know that i am so much more confident yeah i'm so much more confident and i know that i am smart i mean i you know i was not the best school. I mean, I did fine, but I just never thought of myself as, oh, my gosh, like, I think I'm good at business. Well, I know I know. I, I, when the, the instincts that I've had in this comedy industry, and I, and it was after, it was going through menopause and after menopause that I made the decision to get the social media people. I saw that people were not watching television, listen to the radio is much, the newspaper. And I, and I, I made the decision.

I'm getting social media people. What are these people doing that's so successful? They've got social media people. So I'm going to do the same thing. I feel like, I don't mean to sound arrogant. Like, I couldn't do what you're doing. Honey, I couldn't go and be a doctor. I couldn't do that.

But I realize that I am smart, that I trust myself. I feel very competent and I feel very confident. You know, I'd really do. And I hope everybody feels that way. Yeah, I think that's the benefit of menopause that isn't talked about enough as you get to the other side and all of a sudden you don't care. You're confident. I feel the same thing.

I'm like, I could learn anything that I wanted to learn. I just, if I put my mind to it, I could do it. Oh my God, my 20-year-old self did not think that at all. Mine didn't either. Mine didn't either. That's why I want to, when they ask me, I want to cry for her because she didn't know what she had. You know? It's probably a good thing I didn't know what I had, honey, because I was, you know, and I was at a club in the 80s. Yeah. But yeah, I believe that. And I also think that we find those relationships that are important, that people that love you and lift you up and they don't suck the life out of you. I don't know what it was in my 40s, but I was around a bunch of ding-dongs, honey. And people that really didn't care. You know, and we're not going to invite her or her kids are not coming. But,

My kid. All that, mess, I don't have any of that, honey. I got rid of all that. So I'll be 57 next month, and I have several friends that are in their 40s, and they will tell me situations, and I'm like, oh, you'll get over that. Like, it seems like a big deal. You're just going to get over that. It's so ridiculous. I think the 40s are about reassessing who you want to hang out with, because the drama gets high. The drama gets hot. Everybody's in perimenopause and it's like middle school. And it's awful. And I write about that in my book, there's a chapter in what in the world. There's a chapter about a heartbreak of a friendship that I thought was real. And it wasn't. And it was based on really my husband's, her husband worked with my husband and it was political and things that I had no idea. And boy, was that a blessing when. that ended. It broke my heart at the time. But oh my gosh, then I found the friends that really cared about me and my kids and Chuck. And what a blessing that was. I shed all that. Yeah, agreed. So this podcast is called Live Like a Girl, because I want to make Like a Girl like a Power Statement, Not a Derogatory One. So what does it mean to you to live like a girl?

Honey, I just, I really am coming into this and I think about it all the time. Boy, are we strong. Yeah, we are. When you think about that you have kept peace for everybody, you have made sure everybody was fed, you have made sure that everybody got educated, you did all these things, you birthed, you breastfed, you did all this out of your body. And then you, you know, take care of everybody and then you go through the chance. change and you make it through that and then you become better and smarter than you've ever

coming. Man, aren't we something? Amazing. Aren't we something? Yep. Agreed. Absolutely agree. That's exactly.

I'm like if you, if I always say that my following, if you could go inside my head and see how I see the female body and brain, you would never doubt yourself again. We are, we just need to accept it and step into it. And we should be ruling the world personally, I think. So it's, yeah, spot on. Yeah. And I have a son and grandsons and I love men and we need men and they're strong in their way. But we're strong in our way.

And I'm just realizing it's a miracle, really, what we do and what we can do. And that we get to give birth, you know, and nurse. And then, you know, I, yeah, I went through perimen pals and it was rough, but I did it. Yeah. And I, you know, and I'm okay. I feel good. I can still go and do. And, you know, I want to take care of myself.

I want to go into my 80s and my 70s and 80s feeling good and active and learning and engaging. I want that for everybody. Yeah, agreed. Amen, sister. Well, you have to know that we are cheering you on. We are laughing with you. We are so grateful for you. How long's the tour ago?

Thank you, my darling, you angel. No, you're just, yeah, how do we go see you live and be in your humor? Leeannmorgan.com is my website where women and men can click on that goes to the right and not these third party. Weird things, because that's really a problem. Yeah, good point. And so, Leeanmorgan.com, I'm touring right now. through December and they're about to announce all of 20207 dates when we find out if I do a third season of Leanne's because I got to chunk out that time and film in January to April,

but I don't know if I've got a third season yet. I'll find out in a couple of weeks, but I will tour for sure all over the United States and Canada. I need to do a European one, but I don't have time right now, but they won't be over there. I'm big in Australia and UK, honey. Who would have thought that? Amazing. And then I'll shoot a third special for Netflix at the end of this tour.

Wow. And it's about 120 cities, but they're adding shows. So I don't know what it's going to end up, 150, 160 shows. And it's crazy. And it's in theaters and small arenas and some big arenas. Yeah. And we're having a ball. And I called it The Time of Our Lives Tour, because I feel like

This is the time of our life, honey, is now. And let's have a good time is what I say. Yeah. Amazing. Well, again, know that we're cheering you on. Know that we're laughing with you. And thank you so much for what you're bringing forward to all women. I mean, really, you are inspiring women to get off the couch, get out of the doubt,

and to step into their brilliance, just like you have. So appreciate you. Thank you, my darling. You don't, that pretty smile. Thank you. Thank you. You, honey, you don't know what all you do for. us. Thank you for everything you do. Because it, you give so much information and we need it.

Yeah, thank you. Somebody's got to tell us. Thank you. It's my, it's what I feel like I'm in my purpose. So, you know, it's the same thing. We're doing the same work just from different angles. Yeah. So amazing. Thank you so much for joining me in today's episode. I love bringing thoughtful discussions about all things health to you. If you enjoyed it, it. We'd love to know about it. So please leave us a review, share it with your friends, and let me know what your biggest takeaway is. When I was a little girl, a boy told me that girls don't surf. And unfortunately, I believed him. Now I'm in my 50s in the middle of writing a book about menopause, about what happens to our brains and our bodies as our hormones shift. And I picked up

a surfboard. And something miraculous happens. out there in the water that I did not expect. I felt calm, genuinely, deeply calm in a season of my life that hadn't felt anything but calm. And then I realized, this is what the book, Age Like a Girl, is actually about. This is what menopause is actually offering us if we're willing to receive it, a chance to go back and find the little girl we left behind. and to say to her, I'm coming back to you. That's what age like a girl is about.

Yes, there's science in it. The neuroscience of what's actually happening in your brain during this transition is genuinely stunning. And I can't wait for you to read it. This book is an opportunity to finally ask yourself what you want and how you want to live. And maybe this is a question that you're asking yourself for the first time. Age Like a Girl is available now at Dr. Mindy Pells.com slash books. And no, it is literally a piece of my heart.

It is my vision for women as we age. I hope you enjoy the book. And again, Dr. Mindy Pells.com slash books. You'll find Age Like a Girl there.