Meet Debbie

Who is Debbie?

My First Third

Growing up in Austin, TX, I worked in retail sales for several specialty and local department stores. I kept busy – I was a young entrepreneur, always finding ways to make money.

I married Dave in 1973. It wasn’t always easy but we’re still going strong in our ThirdThird.

We had 5 kids: 4 boys + 1 daughter (who have all flown the nest now). The kids always had projects and jobs: paper routes, bake sales, pet sitting, and even a guinea pig “factory.” We’ve worked hard to help our middle son with Down Syndrome build a fulfilling life. Our family has also gone through challenges with addiction and mental illness. But through it all, we’ve learned to support each other as independent individuals.

My Second Third

So I spent the first half of my SecondThird raising our children. I successfully navigated cancer and myasthenia gravis.

I also started my consulting business. I trained in the DiSC Personality Profile System and consulted clients on team building, leadership development, and fostering relationships. My clients were businesses, churches, schools, service clubs, etc.

Dave and I also bought an abandoned boarding school and developed it into a non-profit Retreat and Training Center complete with ropes courses. We focused on personal and team growth: building confidence, communication, trust, and planning.

I created workshops and seminars focusing on self-esteem and leadership to present in numerous states and Honduras.

I hired, trained and developed staff for my own business. I also helped other businesses (for-profit and non-profit) do the same.

I published “Try This”, a weekly newspaper column that focused on management and leadership. (I’m now compiling the articles into a book).

Late in my SecondThird, I traveled. I organized, planned, and led several construction trips on my own and later with Habitat for Humanity, Global Village to Honduras, El Salvador, Jamaica, Armenia, Hungary, Poland, and Kyrgyzstan. I also helped Dave with his Authentic Mexico Travel business.

I was offered the position as a CEO to develop a franchise Real Estate Office. For over 4 years, both in Illinois and Pennsylvania, I ran real estate offices: learning systems and models, recruiting and training real estate agents, managing a large budget, and overseeing site buildout and staff.

I helped them to return to profitability.

My Third Third

My ThirdThird has been the most fun so far!

I opened my own Real Estate brokerage.

I wrote a book, Which Old Woman Will You Be? Currently, I’m working on a second book.

I run a Food as Medicine program for a local community health clinic with a focus on getting nutritional and culturally appropriate food to the most underserved in our community. I have been given the following awards:

I flipped 2 houses.

Dave and I built 2 homes and are now Airbnb hosts at our Wren House.

We have a non-profit chicken project in Mexico that provides baby chicks to indigenous families in Copper Canyon.

We also hosted a “Leader Dogs for the Blind” breeding mom.

Now I’m the proud grandmother of a fun brood of grandchildren, whom I help with homeschooling.


What I Can Do For You and Your ThirdThird

Having lived for two thirds of our lives, we often find ourselves lacking the pizzazz of our youth or simply searching for something more. 

However, even if we are in our ThirdThird, we have not lost our potential to make a difference and live life with meaning.

I can help you revive your intentions, purpose, and optimism for life.

I can help you downsize and find the things that make life fulfilling.

Whether you’re an individual or a group, I can help you design your ThirdThird to be the best Third.


Testimonials

Debbie is an amazing business coach with extensive knowledge in company culture, leadership, finance, and operations. She really helped take our business to the next level by providing mentorship and guidance. We highly recommend Debbie for new companies just starting out as well as established companies looking to grow and improve.

Debbie has been my life/business coach for many years. Now that I am entering my third third I can truly say she has been a big part of the person I am today. I have a clearer vision on how I want the last third of my life to look like.

I read Which Old Woman Will You Be? while on vacation celebrating my 60th bday and my husband was so intrigued he read it too. It opened up a great conversation about the things we wanted to do and the way we wanted to live in this third third of life. I shared it with 2 friends who are now sharing it with more friends… why? Because it is a loving wake up call about this precious third of our lives… one that can be the best yet… and the most purposeful. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone… at any age actually, who wants to enjoy every stage of life and not squander it away, feeling unfulfilled. The author is generous in lending suggestions and practices to achieve a fulfilled life, full of connection, wonder and love.

As a man in my late 30’s this book is an amazing resource for contemplating your personal traits and how you live your life every day. This is a “quick read” that I would recommend re-visiting often. I also encourage all to check out her blog, it is equally useful and always changing with new content.

Debbie has been a great help to me through the years. In my work as a newspaper publisher, I hired Debbie to conduct DISC profile analyses for over 100 employees. Debbie’s personal insights in addition to the information provided through DISC, were invaluable to my staff, allowing them to better understand their employees their managers and their peers. Debbie also wrote a well-received column that ran for several years in the newspaper. I engaged Debbie as a personal life coach to assist me at a significant turning point in my career. Debbie developed a quick self-analysis form that was used with hundreds of entrepreneurs in their start-up planning. The analysis allowed the prospective business owner to recognize and budget for assistance in areas they would tend to put off because it was not something they enjoyed doing. Debbie also conducted workshops on various topics for Vermilion County area small businesses through the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Danville Area Community College. Debbie understands people and knows how to utilize that skill to help others as they move through their careers and their lives.

I have worked with Debby Hensleigh on and off for over 15 years. She has always proven to be an excellent advisor, team building champion and provider of myriad services to my private medical practice. She has helped staff members understand each other better, thereby improving office function and spirit. She has helped us hire new employees who fit into our group seamlessly. She has helped think through difficult situations of all sorts and has helped make staff evaluations more useful and pleasant.

Now that I am in my third third her essays have spoken to me and helped me to decide what’s important in my daily life- what I want to keep and what to set aside to live my best third third. I’ve decided that the positive aspects of keeping my office open and seeing patients half time far outweigh the negatives of my job. I am confident that Debbie will be there to help me overcome future hurdles and make future decisions with the same intellect, resourcefulness, energy, humor and humanity that she has shown over the last 15 years.


Want to Know MORE about Debbie?

Check-out these interviews and events Debbie has appeared at below.

Radio Shows

Debbie on Central Illinois Business Radio with Alex Ruggieri

Part I
Part II

Podcasts

Debbie’s work mentioned on the That’s What She Said podcast

Events

Debbie at That’s What She Said summit at the Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL