The very inspiring and always intrepid Jacqueline Depaul, 50, whom we first profiled here, has recently entered the world of YouTube video, a medium generally associated with 18-year-old vloggers. Much like how she pioneered her modeling career at 38, she is fearlessly trying this new form of expressing her creativity to see where it will lead her.
YouTube Channel to Inspire 40+
Who are you looking to inspire with your new YouTube channel?
Anyone over 40 and above. That is the magic age range where I discovered I had to start making the choice to expand, move forward, grow, and try new things vs slowing down, headed for retirement, feeling not relevant, feeling unattractive, feeling left behind. This was a conscious choice of mindset for me which was not necessary in my 20s or 30s because I still felt that so much was ahead of me. Once entering my mid-40s, I started feeling as if I was “running out of time” and had to re-evaluate how I looked at my life. I chose vibrancy and to put the gas pedal fully down.
“It’s not too late to live with vitality”
What is the message you want people to receive?
It is not too late to chase a dream. It is not too late to fall in love. It is not too late to live with vitality.
Those of us in the AGEIST community have become accustomed, via your newsletters, to thinking about blasting forward into our second phase of life. But I think the average person hits their 40s and doesn’t have any role models to show them that life can accelerate vs slow down. I didn’t. I thought I was some kind of weird alien until I found your newsletter and saw so many people like me. I didn’t want to accept that it was too late to start something new, even though that is the message I got from many standard media sources. When we are young we look ahead in life because we feel there is much time. As a young person we are willing to take things on. Mid 40s I started to feel “old” and wonder if I could continue to drive forwards. I think this is a societal thing, because we think the end of the line is approaching. But in truth, it is not.
Taking People on a Journey
My YouTube channel is intended to be a demonstration of this approach. I’m not interested in preaching to people to tell them what they should be doing, while I sit on the couch and don’t do it myself. I’m interested in being center court, following this methodology, and taking people with me on my journey through a new career, a new love, and reinventing my health. I’m hoping that my followers will go with me on my journey, and be inspired to follow their own.
Starting My Late-Life Modeling Career
How do you feel us being a bit older will be taken by the younger people on YouTube?
I don’t know if younger people will find my channel content interesting. I have learned, however, that younger people WANT to see older people that are living life and inspiring to them, because they know that they will eventually get there too and nobody wants to feel irrelevant. A bit of “thank goodness life isn’t over at 50” happens when they see people 50+ who are thriving. The young people may or may not find the content interesting, but since YouTube has such a broad reach there is enough of an older audience to watch it, so I think we will do fine.
Do you think people our age will watch?
Yes, that is the hope!
The Scary Step Propels Life Forwards
Your whole career has been about embracing risk. What do you tell people who may be scared to try something new?
It is the scary step that takes me to the next level every time. The moment I chose to take each scary step was the moment my life moved forwards. That scary step is what has propelled me forwards into new opportunities in life. I push myself to just go for it. It is still frightening — I have to hold on and jump bravely sometimes, but in the end it always comes with some kind of reward or growth. Starting a YouTube channel about myself was terrifying. Filming myself in public? Understanding camera equipment? Having to talk about my feelings openly? Videos that will be out there for everyone to see? People seeing me from all over? Eeek! But here I am, leaning in…
Why, after your rocky start to modeling did you keep going?
I modeled because I liked it. I enjoyed the challenge. I enjoyed the artistry. I grew up with the hobby of dancing so I liked performing with my body. I was just driven to keep going. I found it stimulating, and even setbacks didn’t stop me permanently, although there were many days that they gave me pause…
“The universe is your waiter”
What advice would you give people about finding those open doors to walk though?
I think that we decide to do something and then the doors start to appear. The decision comes first. Without the decision not much happens. We can’t wait for the universe to give us the a-ok to start something. I believe I have to decide first, and then the universe opens up and shows me a path.
The decision is like a restaurant patron placing an order. If everyone went into the restaurant and didn’t place orders, the waiters would resort to bringing whatever they want, and then the diners would complain they didn’t like it (obviously). But nobody gave the waiter an order. If you just tell him you want a grass-fed burger and fries with mayonnaise, he would be happy to go get it for you. I call this the “Universal Waiter.” The universe is your waiter, waiting for you to place an order. DECIDE, and place the order.
In Love at 50
How does having a relationship affect your dual careers? How do you make time?
My relationship is an additional part-time job. It must be created, and my love and I do this in an ongoing fashion. We do it with small yet significant things. We look directly at each other, we touch each other, we admire each other constantly. This creates a tremendous connection and a truly fulfilling experience for both me and my #handsomeDevil. When we stop doing these things the relationship feels like it dies a little. The constant admiration we have for each other, constant appreciation of each other, fuels us so we have a blazing fire.
Put Effort Into Dating
What advice would you have for someone who is looking for a relationship but not sure where to find the right person?
I did 2 years and 57 first dates on the dating apps. Then I found the one in a coffee shop. I think there is something to be said about putting effort into dating, just like you would if you wanted to find a job. If you wanted to find your next job, you wouldn’t just sit in your living room and never send a resume, never contact anyone, never apply. It’s work to find a job, and one must really get oneself out there. I believe dating is the same: one must work at it, go out on dates, learn what you like and don’t like, meet people. It’s not going to happen by itself, no different than that job is not going to drop on your head from your living room ceiling.
Next…Acting?
If you look forward 5 years, what is your ambition?
For my next creative pursuit, I would like to move into acting. Talk about a screaming fear. That would be the ultimate exposure and potential embarrassment. But it would also fill my soul with something that feels so invigorating. But… one does not start an acting career in their 50s, everyone says, so… J
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