Jam Session Podcast – Candid conversations on self-discovery and growth.

Tune into your purpose (TIYP)

The Jam Session Podcast is for anyone navigating change in careers, relationships, and purpose — with heart, humor, and zero judgment.

Welcome to the Jam Session

You’re not starting over. You’re starting from experience.

Jam Session is a biweekly podcast for anyone defining what’s next—whether you’re switching paths, finding your voice, or figuring it out as you go. You’re not alone.

Friends and hosts Ji Kim (transition coach & Founder of SecondAct Coaching) and Mel Hightower (storyteller & Founder of High Tide Content Lab) combine their unique expertise to help you navigate self-discovery. Each episode delivers personal stories, practical insights, and plenty of fun as we share authentic truths and empower you to uncover your potential.

Meet The Hosts

We’ve had the conversations that got us through life’s pivots — this podcast is where we keep having them, with you.

Founder

Ji Kim

Ji Kim is the founder of SecondAct Coaching, where she helps women navigate their next chapter—their best chapter. A former HR executive with over 15 years of experience leading people strategy at Bay Area companies, she later launched her consulting firm focused on culture-building and change management. She is a certified Co-Active Coach with a master’s degree in I/O Psychology; she brings deep expertise, empathy, and curiosity to every conversation on the podcast and while working with her clients.

STRATEGIST

Mel Hightower

Mel Hightower is a former tax attorney and banker who knows what it means to pivot — professionally and personally. Now the founder of High Tide Content Lab, she’s a strategist working to amplify a different kind of wealth: the power of untold stories. A sought-after speaker and media contributor featured in The New York Times, Barron’s, Essence, and Bloomberg Radio, Mel helps people build wealth on their terms—and unapologetically design what’s next.

Episodes

Start Listening

Jam Session Podcast

Jam Session is a biweekly podcast for anyone defining what’s next—whether you’re switching paths, finding your voice, or figuring it out as you go. You’re not alone. Friends and hosts Ji Kim (next chapter alignment partner & Founder of SecondAct Coaching) and Mel Hightower (storyteller & Founder of High Tide Content Lab) combine their unique expertise to help you navigate self-discovery. Each episode delivers personal stories, practical insights, and plenty of fun as we share authentic truths and empower you to uncover your potential.

In this episode, Ji and Mel explore what it means to take a non-traditional path in midlife, living without a partner or children, whether by choice, chance, or circumstance. They dive into how family expectations, cultural pressure, and societal stigma shape women’s decisions about marriage and motherhood, and what life looks like when you choose a different path. With honest reflections on love, independence, and aging, this conversation is for women defining what happiness and purpose mean on their own terms.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

Why early family experiences shape how we view marriage and children.
The stigma—and freedom—of being single or child-free in your 40s.
The narratives women must release to embrace their authentic choices.
The financial and emotional realities of aging without children or a partner.
Practical advice for women undecided about marriage or children.
What Ji and Mel would tell their younger selves about self-worth, independence and love.

What We Discuss:

00:24 — Why Ji and Mel chose to have this conversation.

03:00 — Early influences on views about marriage and kids.

09:25 — Choice vs. circumstance in deciding not to have children.

19:26 — The freedoms and gains of being single and child-free.

21:52 — The challenges: loneliness, aging, and financial security.

28:34 — Advice to their younger selves and to women still undecided.

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