There’s something especially compelling about a woman who has built a great deal in her life and still isn’t done becoming.
That’s what stood out to me about Nellie Akalp. She’s 54, a founder and CEO, a mother, a wife, and the kind of woman who speaks about midlife not as a slowing down, but as a deepening into her own authority. What I loved most about her answers is that they carry the energy of someone who no longer mistakes control for leadership. There’s real maturity in that, the kind that only comes when you’ve lived enough to know that trying to hold everything together too tightly often costs more than it gives.
This isn’t the story we’re often told about women in midlife. We’re taught to expect decline, uncertainty, or irrelevance. But Nellie’s answers tell a different story. One of clarity, calm, and decisiveness. A woman who knows that experience, instinct, and self-trust are not things to downplay, they are the very things that make this chapter powerful.
And maybe that’s what I found most striking here: the freedom. The freedom that comes when you stop trying to manage every outcome, stop saying yes out of guilt, and stop treating age as something that should make you smaller.
What stayed with me most from Nellie’s answers was her shift from control to trust. That is such a grown-woman lesson. So many of us are conditioned to believe that being responsible means holding everything, anticipating everything, carrying everything. Especially as women. Especially if we are leaders, mothers, partners, carers, or the ones people naturally lean on. But there comes a point where that way of living stops feeling noble and starts feeling exhausting.
Nellie’s version of midlife feels like the moment after that realisation. The point where you understand that leadership is not about gripping harder. It’s about seeing clearly, trusting wisely, and knowing when your role is direction rather than over-functioning.
Her boundary around saying no and meaning it stayed with me, too. Because that, to me, is one of the clearest signs of a woman who knows herself. Not the ability to say no in theory, but the ability to do it without over-explaining, apologising, or shaping it into something easier for everyone else to swallow.
And then there’s the quiet pause she gives herself before responding. That simple question: “What is required from me right now?” There is so much wisdom in that, so much self-leadership. So much unnecessary chaos was avoided by not reacting on autopilot.
Who are you, and what season of life are you in?
I’m Nellie Akalp, founder and CEO of CorpNet, but beyond the title, I’m a mother, a wife, and a passionate entrepreneur. Life is short, and this chapter is about using what I’ve learned in the past to create something meaningful for my future.
What surprised you most about your 50s?
What surprised me most about my 50s was the clarity and calm that came with it. I expected this decade to be about pulling back, but instead it’s been one of my most focused and powerful seasons. I trust myself completely now. My instincts, my experience, my judgment, and that confidence show up in every role I play, from entrepreneur to mother to wife and business partner. My 50s are less about proving myself and more about fully being myself, and that alignment has been incredibly freeing.
One thing you’ve stopped doing (and you’re better for it):
One thing I’ve stopped doing is trying to control every outcome. Early in my journey, I believed that being responsible meant having my hands in everything, anticipating every risk, managing every detail, and personally carrying the weight of every decision. Letting go of this has been one of the most helpful lessons of my life. When I stopped micromanaging outcomes and started leading with trust and accountability, our business became stronger, my team grew more confident, and I became a more grounded leader. I’m better for it, and so is everyone around me.
One thing you’re choosing instead:
One thing I’m choosing instead is to lead with clarity and trust rather than control. I’m intentional about setting a clear vision, aligning the right people around it, and then giving them the space and confidence to own the outcome. Instead of managing every detail, I focus on building strong leaders, clear systems, and a culture of accountability.
One boundary you now honour, no apology:
One boundary I now honour, without apology, is saying no, and meaning it. As a leader, a mother, and a wife, I’ve learned that every yes comes at the expense of something else: my focus, my family, or my values. I no longer over‑explain, over‑justify, or say yes out of guilt or obligation.
One micro-decision that changed everything:
One micro‑decision that changed everything was choosing to pause before responding, and using that pause to lead more intentionally. Instead of reacting or immediately stepping in, I trained myself to stop and ask, “What is required from me right now?” Often, the answer wasn’t execution; it was clarity, direction, or trust.
One practice that keeps you steady:
I give myself space to be quiet before the day starts asking things of me. Before I step into emails, decisions, or other people’s needs, I pause and check in with myself, what matters today, what can wait, and how I want to show up as a leader, a mother, and a wife. That moment of stillness keeps me anchored. It reminds me that I don’t need to react to everything to be effective.
One belief about midlife you no longer subscribe to:
I now know that midlife is not a decline, it’s an elevation, where experience meets confidence. I’m clearer, braver, and more decisive than ever, trusting my instincts and leading without apology. This isn’t a winding down; it’s stepping fully into my power.
The best thing about being in your 50s:
The best thing about being in my 50s is freedom. I know life is short, so I live fully, lead boldly, and don’t people‑please or compromise my values!
At 50+, I am…
At the age of 54, I am clearer, braver, and more grounded than ever while fully embracing what is to come!
This week, I want women turning 50 to remember:
Turning 50 is not the beginning of the end, but it’s the start of a new chapter of freedom and clarity. And age is just a number. So feeling good, staying empowered and keeping focus on our goals will keep us onto in midlife and beyond!
My Note to My Future Self
What I love about Nellie’s answers is the calm power in them. Not frantic power, not providing energy, calm power. The kind that comes from experience meeting self-trust. The kind that no longer needs to micromanage every outcome in order to feel safe.
I think that’s one of the deeper invitations of midlife, actually. To stop confusing over-functioning with strength, to stop carrying things that were never ours to hold alone, to lead our lives with more clarity, more trust, and far less apology.
And the older I get, the more freedom itself feels like the real luxury; freedom to say no, freedom to pause, freedom to stop people-pleasing, freedom to choose alignment over obligation. That is not a small thing. That is a whole new chapter.
If you’re following along this week
My Stop: Where am I still trying to control every outcome instead of trusting what I’ve built?
My Start: What would it look like to lead with more clarity and less grip?
My Boundary: Where do I need to say no, and mean it, without over-explaining?
My Micro-decision: What would change if I paused before reacting and asked what is actually required of me?
My Practice: How can I create a moment of stillness before the day starts asking things of me?
Journal prompt: Where in my life am I ready to stop managing everything and start trusting myself more deeply?
If you’d like to be part of the ‘85 Weeks to Fifty' series, or you know a woman whose voice would feel like medicine here, email me at hello@kiransinghuk.com. And if you’re reading this thinking, same, tell me in the comments: What is your takeaway from this interview?