From Bulletproof Vest to Chocolate Farm: Anne van Leynseele's Radical Reinvention on Her Comeback

Host: Michelle Thompson Guest: Anne van Leynseele What do a Hollywood producer, a cannabis attorney, an Obama administration federal advisor, and an award-winning chocolate farmer have in common? They're all the same person. Anne van Leynseele joins Michelle to unpack the throughline behind a career built on reinvention as a discipline, not a fluke — and how her years inside the Social Security Administration led her to create Preferment®, a registered alternative to retirement built around lifelong developmental milestones instead of decline. Anne opens up about a career-defining trauma — a business partner who stole from her and threatened her life — and how that experience became a turning point toward empathy and post-traumatic growth. She and Michelle talk about identity beyond career ("who are you," not "what do you do"), the 67% depression statistic among retirees, and why Anne bought a farm in Hawaii at 48 to build a completely different next chapter. The conversation closes with Anne's chocolate farm, her cookbook Savor Your Chocolate, and her Adaptable House Project reimagining aging in place. Anne van Leynseele is the founder of Rarified Life and creator of Preferment®, a registered methodology offering an alternative to traditional retirement. Her career spans Hollywood production, Fortune 100 consulting, and service as a federal attorney-advisor in the Obama administration, including time at the Social Security Administration, where she saw firsthand how the traditional retirement model fails high-achieving people. She later founded an early cannabis law practice, co-owns an award-winning cacao farm on Hawaii's Big Island (Pa'ani Farms), and is general counsel for five nonprofits focused on at-risk youth and aging in place. She's the author of multiple books, including one on healthy retirement alternatives, one recounting her experience surviving betrayal and threats within the cannabis industry, a chocolate cookbook, and a book for young women. Notable Moments ● Anne on why she never had a single career: she followed a passion for stories across law, business, and writing rather than staying in one lane. ● On the SSA years: she noticed a pattern of high-achieving people whose sense of identity collapsed the moment their career ended. ● On Preferment®: she describes retirement as a product with a two-thirds failure rate that deserves a recall, not a rebrand. ● On courage: she credits self-efficacy — proof to yourself that you can learn hard things — as the real engine behind reinvention at any age. Resources & Links Mentioned Anne's Website: RarifiedLife.com Anne's Books: Preferment™ on Amazon https://a.co/d/0cjBn4Uo Savor Your Chocolate on Amazon https://a.co/d/0bgptvAj Her upcoming book is Girls to Rule Anne's Social: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook (search "Anne van Leynseele" or "Rarified Life") Michelle's Book: Courageously You: Seven Simple Frameworks to Create the Life You Love — available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H5717G3D Work with Michelle: michellethompsoncoaching.com/contact