EDITORS NOTE: We had several technical systems challenges on this interview, between the translator and bandwidth issues, but overall, these are barely noticeable for the audience until the very end, so please tune to meet Karen and get inspired!
Life Ahead of Me is Wide Open
Living life wide open, Karen Putz is a woman on fire with passion and purpose. She turns 50 this year, in 2015, and she’s looking forward to it with pride, as well she should, because she looks younger today than she did five years ago!
Deaf at age 19, Karen is a mom, wife, champion barefoot skier, many-times author, speaker, advocate for the deaf and overall amazing and wise human being.
“All our life experiences are building blocks to the next opportunity, to the next path, to the next journey, and it’s up to us to take that and go in that direction.”
Karen sees her life as wide open, with loads of projects and possibilities… she has her list of top 100 things which she created during a life-transforming experience with Debra Poneman, in her Yes To Success program, and we’ve no doubt she’ll be checking on that list and creating a new one!
“When you surround yourself with people who are doing these things, you get the sense that you can do it too.”
“Everyone said, ‘You’re going to hurt yourself. You can’t do this. You’re too old to be thinking about this.'”
“I have role models in my life that I didn’t have before… that are living life, who are breaking the boundaries.”
“”I have learned that time is a really precious commodity to me now. I don’t spend time around toxic people.”
“I find I am much happier when I’m around people who are like-minded… who have dreams, who are deep in their own passions and don’t have time for the pettiness of life.”
For more of Karen’s story, be sure to visit the inspiring media site for boomers: Growing Bolder, that we mention several times in the interview. They have a great video of Karen’s story where you can get some more of the details beyond our video interview.
Karen Putz is passionate about helping others unwrap their passions at any age. And she’s a living example of someone who has overcome adversity and struggles. No longer flailing in the wake of the past, she is forging her future by living each day fully engaged… living life wide open.
Karen was born with normal hearing and became hard of hearing after a bout of illness in elementary school.

At the age of 19, she tripped over a wake while barefoot water skiing and cartwheeled into the water. She thought she merely had water in her ears, but being deaf was here to stay, thanks to a wacky gene in her family. Becoming deaf turned out to be a blessing; after she dried the tears, Karen decided to embrace life and a whole new world opened up.
Today, for starters, Karen is a speaker, writer, Passion Coach, and competitive barefoot water skier, and above all, a mom. Visit with us, and please connect with Karen, and check out her books.
You can connect with Karen via her website, or:
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Pinterest
Email
RESOURCES
BOOKS KAREN HAS AUTHORED OR CO-AUTHORED
Global Voices of Social Media: 25 Women Share Stories of Strength, Love and Triumph
In Pursuit of Passion: An Inspirational Journal
ORGANIZATIONS
PROGRAMS KAREN RECOMMENDS
Debra Poneman’s Yes To Success
The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do, by Jeff Goins
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