sHeroes: How Lia Jill Levitt of Ain’t She Sweet is intellectually inspiring seniors and those who care about them
--
I had the pleasure of interviewing Lia Jill Levitt. Lia is the Founder & CEO of Ain’t She Sweet, LLC, a company dedicated to intellectually inspiring seniors and those who care for and about them. Lia left a successful corporate career in Leadership Development, Change Management & Executive Coaching after working in global roles in insurance, financial services & engineering companies and has taught courses such as Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communication and Argumentation & Debate at the college level. Lia is a lifelong learner and global citizen, having traveled to over 50 countries who most recently completed her formal education with her second graduate degree, from the University of Pennsylvania in Organizational Consulting & Executive Coaching.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My grandmother told me that I wasn’t destined for an average life and that statement became the spark that ignited a fire of confidence. I quit a six figure corporate job to write the world’s first happy (and true) story about skilled nursing facilities, which features my witty, blind grandmother. Luckily business is booming and I spend my days and nights driving from nursing home to assisted living to senior center and I’ve never felt happier or more fulfilled.
What does it mean for you to live “on purpose”? Can you explain? How can one achieve that?
Living on purpose is synonymous with living with intention and joy. This is individual in nature, but has an incredible impact on community and society when achieved. I found my Grandmother to be the greatest example of this. When she broke her hip a few days shy of turning 90, had an unrelated emergency gallbladder removal in the same hospital stay and then got pneumonia and her prognosis was bleak. She told me on one of our many overnights together in the hospital she was not ready to die. She had still had goals, desires, dreams and purpose. She lived nine more years against all odds, continuing to excel as a blind painter, as President of her nursing homes Resident Council, holding her twin great granddaughters after they were born and…