Sam McKinlay Made an Abrupt Break From PR… and Became a Real Estate Rookie of the Year


Sam McKinlay experienced something a lot of people can relate to in work and in life: she spent almost 25 years married… in her case, to a career that was exciting, fulfilling and rewarding. But over time she and the career she once loved grew apart from one another. They fell out of love and split up.

Sam faced plenty of adversity over the years: a series of poorly timed recessions in her native England; an initial move to America that landed her in Florida (which wasn’t a match for her); and later the clean break from a well-established career and a leap into the unknown.

After dipping her toe in the real estate waters, Sam found her calling. She was able to apply a surprising amount of her PR and marketing experience to launch a new career as a concierge real estate agent. And it worked! In her first year she earned a prestigious “Rookie of the Year” award from her broker.

In this engaging episode, Sam walks through the challenges she faced trying to find a meaningful career path early on; her journey through working for other people, then working for herself, then selling her firm and working for other people again; and the eventual abrupt end of her time working in PR.

You can learn more about Sam McKinlay by visiting her website at www.sammckinlay.com.

Second Act Stories theme music: “Between 1 and 3 am” by Echoes

PYTHON HUNTRESS! Amy Siewe Left Real Estate to Hunt Pythons in the Everglades


Amy Siewe is the quintessential embodiment of how passion drives a second act.

She left a safe and lucrative career as a real estate broker to hunt pythons in the Everglades.

She proudly shares that she’s 5’ 4”, 120 lbs., and captures pythons as big as 180 lbs. by physically jumping on them and wrestling them into submission.

This is what pure passion looks like.

In this fascinating episode, Amy shares what motivated her to leave a relatively safe career selling real estate to become The Python Huntress.

In this wild ride, she shares how she became so interested in snakes, unbelievable accounts of actual hunts, how she built a business out of hunting pythons, why her role is necessary, and which of her two careers is more stressful.

Follow Amy Siewe, The Python Huntress, on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

Second Act Stories theme music: “Between 1 and 3 am” by Echoes