72 Comments
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Lynn Chen's avatar

Are we karaoke twins?!? I keep a karaoke list on my phone and my go-to song is LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY!

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

Woohoo Lynn! Great minds!

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Lisa Majeska's avatar

Happy 50th!! Thank you for the incredible list. Off to buy looser pants!

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

thank you! and enjoy the freedom!

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Monica Dubay's avatar

I loved the post ! It’s so easy to allow our negative emotions to make us feel there’s something wrong- when we all have them. My life began again at 50, I went to massage school and learned to heal people’s pain. I also go remarried. It’s never too late is so true. Oh and being comfortable in your clothes is hugely needed!

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

What an inspiring story, Monica!

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Jenna Jonaitis's avatar

Thanks for all this! Especially #14. My kids are young and that’s what I try to focus on, and I’m never sure if it’s the right decision so this is helpful to read. Happy birthday!!

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

So glad it was helpful - thank you so much for reading! You're doing a great job! xo

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Jenna Jonaitis's avatar

Thanks for those uplifting words!

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Istiaq Mian's avatar

Happy Birthday Amelia! This list is quite a gift to me and your readers. So many stand out and interestingly, I could read this on any given day and different ones would stand out to me. Today, the point about Not Quite Right really resonates. When it happens, I try to ignore it but when something is not quite right, it really means something! I’ll come back to this list I’m sure!

How long did it take you to write this piece?

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

learning to pay attention to the Not Quite Right feeling has been a lifelong lesson for me! I spent about a month jotting down ideas for this post, and then a few days writing it - thank you so much for reading!

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Donna's avatar

Thank you, Amelia. This is worth a year of therapy!

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

happy to help save some time and money!

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Foster Lyons's avatar

50! Just getting started. But, good start.

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

A lot still to learn!

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Jen Baden Howard's avatar

LOVE this, Amelia–and every iconic pic!! It's giving Wear Sunscreen (you know?) wisdom, but in the most relatable (and touching) way!!💖 Happy, happy 🎉50🎉 and wishing you wonderful, continued celebrations!!! XXXX

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

thank you so much, Jen! Wear Sunscreen should probably be on the list!

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Jen Baden Howard's avatar

Haha, I think No One Ever Said You Must Wear Tight Pants... deserves IT'S own backing track. (Seriously!) So good. 🥰

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Jennifer Haubrich's avatar

What a great list. So many great reminders. I want to print it out and hang it on the wall!

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

I'm honored!

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Bronwen Leigh's avatar

I turned 52 this year and I’ve just read your list whilst nodding sagely - but also there were a few reminders in there. Always good to remember to keep it real 💚

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

and there's still so much more to learn! ❤️

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Bronwen Leigh's avatar

Always 💚

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Rachel's avatar

I love this so much. Thanks for sharing.

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

Oh gosh, thanks so much for reading, and for saying that! ❤️

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Hannah Swierstra's avatar

This is a fabulous list, I love it. Number 30. Ignore any “data set of one" is my favourite, along with number 3 of course!

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

thank you so much for reading! ignoring any data set of one is an ongoing project for me!

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Hannah Swierstra's avatar

It’s a long & winding road … not sure if it’s truly achievable because our little friend self doubt will always be there lurking in the background!

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Maddie Burton's avatar

A very happy belated birthday, Amelia! 🥳 I’m obsessed with all the wisdom here, particularly this lesson: “Asking for what I want is better than being asked.” It’s been so hard to put this one into practice myself…but practice makes progress!

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

thank you! hope the travels are going well! I was wondering if that particular tip is true for other people or just me! I'm always so honored and flattered when I'm asked to do something but really have found that those things don't work out as well as the ones I go after...

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Maddie Burton's avatar

They are! 🤗 And yes, 100%…but I’ve never heard this particular piece of wisdom crystallized as succinctly as you did here. I’m bookmarking this as a continuing reminder to my future self!

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Inbar's avatar

Thank you for this post! I'm going to keep it and get back to it times and times again. So many great points here. And happy birthday!!

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

that is such a high compliment - I am honored and I hope these bits and pieces of advice are helpful to you! ❤️

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Cassie's avatar

One of my favorite Substack posts ever. I'll surely return to this and reread time and time again.

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

Oh my goodness Cassie, thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words - I loved writing this - it's a fun exercise to put down on paper all the things you've learned in life! ❤️

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Amy Kerr's avatar

If I had a highlighter, this entire post would’ve been neon yellow! So much wisdom here. Hope 50 has been good to you so far!

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Amelia Wilson's avatar

So far, so good on 50! Thank you for the kind words - it's nice to feel like I've learned a few things - I have a feeling there's a lot more to learn, though! 😉

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