Reinvention & Motivation: Don't Let Your Age Be Your Cage

Judith Colletti is a serial entrepreneur who has reinvented herself at every stage of life. Her guiding motto — "Don't let your age be your cage" — reflects a lifetime of choosing growth over stagnation and possibility over limitation. She believes deeply that we grow as we age and that every chapter holds the potential for transformation.

Judith's story is woven from sorrow, loss, business, and family. She has come up from the ashes and risen like a phoenix, shaped by her faith, her community, and a hard-won love of self. It is that foundation — God, family, community, and self-love — that she credits with her ability to keep moving forward no matter what life has brought.

Today Judith speaks her truth to inspire and motivate others who feel stuck, overlooked, or defined by their age or circumstances. She joins Live Your Legacy™ to share that reinvention is not reserved for the young — it is available to anyone willing to rise.

"Don't let your age be your cage."

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome to Live Your Legacy. Where every story holds a turning point. And every turning point holds the power of legacy.

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Welcome to Live Your Legacy, A Miss You Grand production, a conversational podcast where we explore how life's defining moments shape the legacy we leave behind. I'm your host, Patricia D. Fortenberg, also known as Patty from New York, and this show is rooted in one simple truth. Grief is not always about death. Sometimes it comes through life's changes, losses, detours, and new beginnings. And here we speak with entrepreneurs, authors, and leaders and creators who have turned life's defining moments into meaningful work and lasting contributions. Because legacy is not only what we leave behind, it's also what we are shaping right now through vision, impact, and purpose. And today I am honored to welcome our special guest, our special guest, Judith Kalodick, who is a serial entrepreneur who has reinvented herself at every stage of her life. Her guiding motto, Don't Let Your Age Be Your Cage, reflects a lifetime of choosing how to grow over stagnation and possibility over limitations. She believes deeply that we grow as we age and that every chapter holds potential for transformation. Let's welcome Judith to the stage. Judith, how are you? Yay! Tell us a little bit more of what you're doing and where are you coming in from?

SPEAKER_00 1:34

I'm coming in from Rockford, Illinois, in my office. And what am I doing right now? I'm helping, I'm helping professionals and entrepreneurs rediscover their purpose and confidently pivot into their next chapter, regardless of their age.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Nice, nice. Well, I am excited to get into it. We've met on an audio app, and we also met in person at CreativeCon and at a beautiful entrepreneurial event. And now you're my guest here on the show. And I'm excited to get into it. So put your scuba gear on, everybody, because we're getting into it. The first question we like to ask our guests, and this is maybe controversial for some. Would you agree or disagree that hindsight is always 2020? Judith, take it away. Ooh, hindsight.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Well, I wish I knew at 40 what I know at 60, that's for sure. And I wouldn't have done the things that I did, and I would have handled it so differently. Yeah, I would say that hindsight is really where what leads me into today and what helps me. So I learned my lessons, got my hand slapped, and um moving forward from you know what I did in my 30s and 40s.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Beautiful. Can you take us back for a moment and share with us a pivotal moment that changed the direction of your life and work today?

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Oh, a pivotal moment. Well, I'll be honest and tell you when I was in my 40, when I was 40, I was dating a 25-year-old.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

Oh, baby. Okay, leaning in, let's go.

SPEAKER_00 3:10

Woohoo. I was on my game. I owned and operated a car wash detail center, and I was the only woman in the state of Illinois that both owned and operated a detailed car wash detail center. I had a 140-foot conveyor, which was quite a big operation. We had in the winter time we had 35 people working, and in the summertime we had 20. Winter's a big thing to keep your car clean here in Illinois. Lots of things. So I traveled, I had fun. I wish I would have saved some of that money and put it to good use and created a IRA or a 401k and things like that. So, but I I lived my life freely, and I just, you know, took care of my children and dated young. I did to the men what the men were doing to the woman back then. So I that was a model back then.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

Tell us about the tell us about go back. We're not gonna let you get away with this one. Take us take us back, take us back, rewind a little bit, take us back to that pivotal moment though. So you own a car wash, which isn't crazy. What what what was what was pivotal about that? What was pivotal? What brought you back to that?

SPEAKER_00 4:22

Well, yeah, well, what brought lots of happy moments actually? I just was on top of my game, Patty. Like I feel I'm on top of my game today. You know, I feel that owning and operating of and being the founder of Priority Medical Transport at 62 years old. I started at 62 in my retirement. You know, I feel like I'm back on top of my game again. And I feel that as an entrepreneur, we have to continue to reinvent ourselves when we get lemons and we make lemonade out of them. So that's what brings me back is I remember my tenacity that I had in my in my 40s, and I remember the way that I handled myself then. And I'm I'm not dating yet. Well, I do date youngers still, but nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that. I just have something with men in their 60s. But I I just really feel that you can recover yourself and live your best life at any moment. You don't have to stay stuck in the rut.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

That's a good message. That's a good message, and we got some other messages out here in the world. Bella Rigby, Bella, Bella Rigby unplugged. Let's go. BWC got some love there. We got some love in our in our live chat. Thank you so much for viewing our friend Bella from BWC and and beyond. Judith, okay, now what challenge would you say was a blessing in disguise?

SPEAKER_00 5:51

Losing everything. Tell us in 2018. I lost my car wash, I lost my house, I lost everything.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

I had a mental situation that happened because now I see the correlation of that pivotal moment. Oh my god, okay. I'm sorry, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 6:11

It's okay. So I lost everything, and I was just devastated because I had a mental situation go on, and due to that mental situation, I just gave up and I lost my house, I lost my my car wash, I lost everything, and but it was okay because I started a new detail shop, a smaller version, which went under two because I've had some failures, and I jumped into a vehicle. I think driving's always been my way of getting out of my struggles, and I jumped into a vehicle in 2018 and started driving Uber through COVID. Oh, so I did 3,000 rides in seven months. Wow, I don't think I've done 3,000 rides anywhere. I never I never had the Uber app to have somebody pick me up until I started this business. When I drove a lot of people everywhere, so you've met 3,000 people. I met 3,000 people in seven months.

SPEAKER_01 7:10

Wow, wow. Now that explains why you're so well-rounded, though, because you're very, very easy to talk to, and now that gives me more insight in why. So who has been the most memorable mentor in your life and why? And again, if you feel like, oh my god, it's not just one, tell us more. But that that is the question I have for you.

SPEAKER_00 7:33

My memorable mentor has been my father. I started at eight years old going to his car wash with it. It's his car wash that I owned and operated, and I bought it from him in 1999. But I started at eight years old when we lived in Chicago, and I went to the car. I didn't what happened was is my mother left me a note of what did she leave me a note? She left me a note saying, please dust, vacuum, and take out the garbage before I get home. And that next week during the week, I had talked to my dad and said, I'm not doing tours around the house. Can I come to work with you? And his motto was is if you're up and dressed and ready to go, you can get in the car and come with me anytime. And I never looked back. And that's you snooze, you lose, mom. But I went with dad, and that was a remarkable time when I was eight, nine years old. I we had a Schwin bicycle shop across the street from the car wash, and like people got cars, I got bicycles. I would go across and I would get like a bike a year and stuff like that. And he would take me while we were out in the Elgin, he would when he went on his his run to do bank deposits, we would stop at a local store and get clothes. So I was daddy's Italian princess, Sicilian princess.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

Oh, that's so beautiful! So I I I'm a nickname girl, so you know, I'm just saying this publicly like when I see you next time, I'm gonna call you Wheels, Wheels of Steel. Just remember that.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

That's really beautiful. I shouldn't incorporate that. What was that? I said I should incorporate that into my mantra. Wheels of mantra.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I love driving. Um it's just fascinating because you're like drive automobiles, drive bicycles, you know. Next thing you know, you might be driving a train. I don't know, maybe. But I love it.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Oh, I did drive semi for I did drive semi for a while. Shut up from 2010 to 2015.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 9:33

When the economy was really bad, I got in and I drove semi for a while. I had a class A CDL for quite a few years.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

Wow, so that really is like in your blood. You that's like your like I mean, I I I'm even knowing this, I'm even seeing this. You got some more love, way to go, Judith. And we got Shar here, Shar saying, you are an incredible lady that's beautiful. All the love you're getting. Well was there a revelation, personal motto, or lesson to help you guide your journey?

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Oh, personal motto. Let me think for a second. You know, there's a revelation that I have on a daily basis, and one of the things that I do right now to help me keep the person that I am is to be grateful. You know, gratitude is really, really the way that I live my life now, and that's my revelation. And I wish I would have got it in my younger years versus my older years, but as long as I'm growing, you know, the world is happening for me, not to me. And as long as I stick with that and I know that I have faith in a higher power, and I'm a child of God, therefore I'm loved, and I know that I don't walk this earth alone. I very much believe that we can accomplish anything because gratitude rewires your brain, gratitude helps you live a more productive lifestyle and changes your mindset.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

Wow. Wow. Well, that leads me right into the next question. What would you say to your younger self today?

SPEAKER_00 11:13

Oh, my younger self. Get out of your own way.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

I like that one.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

Get out of your own way. No, I think that I was well aged before my time. That's one of the reasons why don't let your age be your cage works for me, because I think even in my 20s and 30s, I was 21 years old and opened and operated my first delicatessen, my first restaurant. So I was way beyond my years, and that's why I call myself a serial entrepreneur because I failed at many things and I tried many things and I kept getting up and doing things. But even after I got done doing the delicatessen, I went to driving a school bus when my children were little. So everything went to driving. Driving saved me from everything, so it helped me become the person I am today. And that's one of the reasons why, you know, we do non-emergency medical transport now, and we deliver people to and from hospital appointments and doctors' appointments and things like that. So yeah, wheels of steel sounds really good, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_01 12:16

Yeah, I mean, that's what you know. I flow with the spirit, you know. What could I tell you? I just as you were speaking, I'm like, this is this is this is what I'm hearing. This is what I'm hearing. What wisdom would you want your future self to keep holding on to?

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Stay grateful, wake up every morning and be grateful, be grateful. Tell God in the you know, as as David Melzer says, tell God first thing before your feet hit the ground. That thank you for waking me up. And he's one of my he's one of my mentors, is David Melzer.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

So interesting. How did you how how did that work out? How how how did you it's working out great?

SPEAKER_00 12:55

And so I met him, I met him personally at Creative Con.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

Oh, so just recently, just two years ago.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

I I met him the first time I went to CreativeCon, not the year I think, but the year before.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

I didn't go that year. Okay, that's why I'm thinking my first time was wow, okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

And then I met him the second time at Creative Con. And it was even more special then. And now I'm part of his weekly question and answer session. Nice. So you know, and he's very personal. He he holds he hosts an he hosts a question and answer sensor on your every Monday morning, and he's very personal about what you can you can ask him anything. You know, I ask him about because my son is joining my son and my daughter-in-law to be are joining my company or our company now. It's not mine anymore, it's our company.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

Gotta get it right. But that's really awesome too, because that means it's growing, right? I like the R because that means it's our company because it's growing, you know. Nothing's wrong with solopreneurs. Hey, I'm still a solo out there, but the idea of when you become an R company, you know, that's a beautiful thing. So congratulations on that. Yeah, but it's scary because we're making one basket, you know. Yeah, well, you know, it's like getting married, right? It's like all of a sudden you're like trusting somebody else with you know, all of you, you know, because let's be real when it's your business, it's your baby. So now you're trusting all that blood and sweat, you know. You're now you're trying trusting another human with that, you know, whether it be a family member or not, you know, it is a big deal. So I totally get that. And I've I came from a family business, so I totally resonate with those feelings. I've changed careers, but nonetheless, it's about you. What does legacy mean to you personally, Judith?

SPEAKER_00 14:46

Legacy means to me, boy, you're shooting these questions at me. Legacy means to me, I want my 13-year-old granddaughter Aubrey to be proud of me. That's where I want my legacy to be. I want her children and her children's children and her children's children to know that Judith Claudie walked this earth and she was a powerful woman. That's what legacy means to me.

SPEAKER_01 15:11

Well, we're gonna go a little deeper on this one. What do you what do you hope people remember most about the way you lived, worked, or served?

SPEAKER_00 15:22

Well, my granddaughter gave me a sign that says, I think I'm a big deal.

SPEAKER_01 15:28

That's that's really cool.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

I want people just to remember me for my compassion, my love, and my positivity. I don't want people just to remember me for my professionalism and that I drove everywhere and did everything. You know what I'm saying? I want people to remember me for my for my love of life and for my love of people. My children used to tell me when we used to ride the train to Chicago every year that I could make a dead dog wake up and speak to me. Because I talk to everybody on the train. You know, I mean, I I just I I tell people as they're walking into Jewel or or whatever grocery store you shop at, good morning, how are you? You know, I'm driving around in my little van, and when I get out and help my clients in, I tell the next driver behind me, good morning. So I mean, I I just want people to remember me to be that friendly face, that person that said good morning. And I tell my children all the time that I love them. I text them, you know, my adult children, I'm a 42-year-old, a 40-year-old, and a 32-year-old. And I I text my 42-year-old quite regularly just to say, I love you.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

Wow. First of all, it's hard to believe that you have children in their 40s. Uh uh, I'm not even gonna go there, but you I mean, it's you are so inspiring because you really fit your tagline because you don't act your age, you don't look your age, so it's just like fascinating. This model really works. You're because you're the you're the proof in the pudding, like you're living your motto. That's really, really awesome. If you could do it all over again, would you change anything? Or did every part of the journey have a purpose?

SPEAKER_00 17:12

I wouldn't change anything. I'm where I'm supposed to be today, and I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be today, and I'm good with that, and I'm loving it, I'm loving every moment of it with all of the pain and suffering and challenges and blessings. You know, without the challenges, there's no blessings, you know. I mean, it's it's kind of like you come on, you're an entrepreneur, you know how it goes. You know, you're up and down and down and up, and you know, all over the place. So um, but I think that the challenges make the blessings better.

SPEAKER_01 17:51

But you wouldn't want to do it all over again, though.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Well, I don't want to start from nine. You don't want to do it all over. I wish I I wish my father could see me now.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Oh, I mean, you know, here's where we could get into another full conversation of something completely different, and you know how I feel about it. I'm like, he's with us now. Not only can he see you, he's with us, but you know, that's my own perception. What could I tell you? Another day, another topic. This is one of our signature questions, and you know, this one I find sometimes can be juicy or just fun. But what is something about your journey that most people would be surprised to learn about my journey?

SPEAKER_00 18:35

I told you most of it, you know. I think I love younger people to keep me. I mean, like, I'm learning so much in technology. I mean, I have to call my granddaughter to help me with TikTok, or you know, she got me enough, she got me 50 people so that I could go live, you know what I mean? She taught me how to do that.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

I mean, that is a surprise, like you know, because okay, yes, young people are awesome, right? Young people, but like the fact that you own it, like I like to be around young people. Not everybody, you know, they might admire young people, but I don't really hear that a lot, so that is a surprise. That's really, really nice. I don't know if you want to dive a little bit more into that, but that's like really awesome that you're just like, yeah, we could learn from the young people.

SPEAKER_00 19:20

We're not always the smarter ones, right? You know, I I go for four o'clock in the morning donut runs with my granddaughter Aubrey.

unknown 19:30

What?

SPEAKER_00 19:31

I need her where she's at, you know. I mean, there's this whole thing about staying up all night when you're a teenager. Well, she's going to bed while I'm waking up. So I text her sometimes in the morning and say good morning. And she'll be like, I'm hungry, and I'll be like, Well, the only thing open is Dunkin' Donuts. But so we'll climb in the car and we'll go get it done. You know, she gets a chocolate sprinkle with chocolate milk. Oh, priceless before she goes to sleep.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

Priceless, priceless moments. I'm you're giving me the goosebumps. Like, yeah, uh I'm telling you, I I love what you're sharing. It's just so, so awesome. Judith, you know, where can people find you? Where can we see you? People want more of Judith. Where can we go? Tell us what you're doing. Let us know a little bit more about Judith today. Now, where can we go? Where can we see you?

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Well, thanks to my family, I'm able to do things like this. I'm able to speak now. And there we go. My Facebook page is really one of the best places because I do a lot of funky lives, and I get on Facebook every once. I I tried to be consistent, but with this business, I'm I'm a little wonky right now. But I'm gonna try and do a weekly, this old broad live segment on Facebook.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

So wait a minute, wait a minute, okay. I'm I'm and I'm loving your that I'm I'm thinking that's your dad. That's my dad. Yeah, so this is this is Judith's Facebook. It's Judith for any of our audio listeners when we drop it on our podcast. It's Facebook at Judith.coletti. That's J-U-D I T H dot C O L L E T T I. And you'll see her dad as her banner, and you can't you can't miss it. It's awesome. Tell us a little bit more about your lives.

SPEAKER_00 21:32

What I was his favorite place, the cash register of the car wash.

SPEAKER_01 21:36

I love it. That's great. He does look happy. Look at him, he's busy doing what he needs to do. Wow. So tell us a little bit more about your Facebook. You did mention you do lives.

SPEAKER_00 21:46

I do a lot of lives when I travel, when I go places, when I go everywhere, I try to, you know, just randomly things that things that are mundane to other people, I try to point them out. Like I was watching a community.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

construction site the other day and the they were filling up dump trucks and the truck was bouncing and I took a live of that okay so so you're you're keeping everybody in the loop you're keeping everybody in the know right while while you're on the go I'm trying to rhyme keeping everybody in the loop while I'm on the go I'm trying to try to rhyme here that's working I like the wheels of steel I think I'm like that was like a download that was like a download you know from the from the heavens or from wherever but here on live your legacy you heard it everybody wheels of steel right here Judith Collati am I pronouncing your last name right by the way coletti okay I knew I was doing something wrong coletti I think I said it right before and then I said it wrong again so uh colletti coletti like it very much coletti is that I'm trying to be Italian now there you go it's supposed to be Coletto I think but they messed it up at Ellis Island when they you know how it is when they came there you go there you go through the island so Judith you know as we're wrapping it up here on the show and I'm so happy that you you know took us through a a journey with you I I loved everything you shared inspiring message can you give us some closing remarks my closing remarks would be be who you are today meet yourself in the morning when you wake yourself up and you're brushing your teeth tell yourself you love yourself and every once in a while take your right arm put it on your left elbow take your left elbow put it on your right arm and hug yourself because you can't pour from an empty cup wow that's that's really important though because if we're not if if we're not operating from a place how can we how can we give that right how can we give love if we're not loving ourselves how can we give anything if we're empty so that's a really really powerful message. Well it's been beautiful to have you here today I am so thankful for all the listeners here with Judith Colletti. I got it right come visit her on Facebook come check out her lives come support the work she's doing she's doing awesome things in this world wheels of steel right here live on Live Your Legacy again thank you for listening and don't forget to subscribe leave a five star rating and write a review and if you can find us on Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon YouTube or wherever you get your podcast there we are and until next time thank you so much for tuning in to Live Your Legacy a Miss You Grand production Judith thank you so much and I hope you come back again to tell us all right awesome there's more there is the story is not ended but today the show is with that being said good day and God bless God bless and every turning point holds the power of legacy every step every scar every store we make the mark the time