💬 message Denise

https://ignite2026.lovable.app/

Join this IGNITE: The Inner Uprising ™ waitlist here - excited to see you in real life 😍❤️

What if the thing keeping you home isn't the cost of the ticket or the fear of getting lost, but the belief that someone else has to plan it for you first? Maria Kamau has spent 37 years proving that belief wrong. She has travelled to 100 countries across five continents on a Kenyan passport, all while working full time as a health data specialist for over 20 years.

For part of that career she ran her own travel agency and helped more than 300 people plan trips they'd been putting off. Then she noticed that the women who came to her needed more than a booking. They needed the confidence to plan their own trips on their own terms. In 2022 she stepped into travel coaching, and she has since guided close to 20 women from "I don't know how to do this" to "I know exactly what I'm doing." Maria is an ICF certified travel coach.

In this conversation we talk about why so many women say "I'll travel when I retire," and why the best time is usually now. We get into the guilt women carry about spending their own money and time on themselves. Maria shares the story of a client who travelled for a decade without ever booking her own flight, and what happened once she did. We also cover how to understand yourself as a traveller, how to choose travel companions wisely, and why solo travel can show you who you are away from everyone who knows you. Maria's advice on starting small, with a nearby city or a friend abroad, makes the first step feel doable. She also takes on the biggest misconceptions about international travel, including safety, cost, and who travel is "for."

Connect with Maria Kamau:

www.travelwithmkay.co.ke

-www.facebook.com/TravelwithMkay/

CONNECT WITH DENISE DRINKWALTER

Website: denisedrinkwalter.com

Podcast: @thethriveafter45podcast

IGNITE waitlist: ignite2026.lovable.app

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Thank you for spending time with me today on the Thrive After 45™ podcast! If this episode spoke to you, be sure to hit that follow button so you never miss one.

I will be hosting a live, in-person experience called IGNITE: The Inner Uprising™ .

It is a two-day immersive gathering for women in midlife — women who feel the quiet pull toward something more truthful, more embodied, more fully their own.

IGNITE is an extension of these conversations.

It’s where reflection becomes embodiment.

Where insight becomes integration.

Where women who have held so much for others gather to stand fully in their own sovereignty.

If something in today’s conversation stirred you — if your body leaned in — that is NOT accidental.

The ticket sales will be coming soon, so get your name on the waitlist, and never miss an update and special price breaks that will exist for early registrants.

https://ignite2026.lovable.app

There is a place for us to gather.

If you loved this episode, I’d be so grateful if you left a review - it helps more amazing women like you find this show!

Your journey doesn’t stop here - let’s keep the conversation going! Connect with me at denisedrinkwalter.com, and follow ...