After 17 years at the top of the international medical technology industry, Constanze van Ginneken had it all on paper—prestige, responsibility, and success. Yet inside, she felt a growing question: Is this enough? Choosing clarity over comfort, she left her corporate career to follow her passion for movement, health, and meaningful connection.

Today, as the founder of Joyful Ageing, Constanze empowers women 45+ to reclaim their energy, strength, and confidence—and has already supported more than 1,000 women in building a healthier, more self-directed life. She proves that success isn’t just what you achieve, but how consciously and fully you live.

“Strength grows in small, consistent steps—at any age.”

You left a successful corporate career to start your own business. What made you take that leap?

From the outside, I was successful – but on the inside, more and more questions began to surface.
Do I really want to stay permanently externally driven, always chasing faster, higher, further?
How do I want to be remembered at the end of my life? What kind of legacy do I want to leave?

After 17 years as a leader in the international medical technology industry, I realised that performance alone does not make us happy. And it can never replace a genuine connection with ourselves.

I also consciously wanted to change sides. Not to treat illness, but to start earlier – to support people in staying healthy in the first place.
I had seen many people, including clients, postpone their health, dreams and vitality to “later”. And at some point, that later becomes very expensive. I didn’t want that for myself.

Movement has always been a central part of my life. I love motivating people to move, because movement is pure energy – physically and mentally.

So I left. Not out of crisis, but out of clarity. Out of the desire to do something that truly matches my passion and feels deeply meaningful.
For me, this shift from performance to purpose became the foundation of Joyful Ageing – and the way I live and work today.

What does empowerment mean to you, and how do you help women truly feel empowered?

To me, empowerment means self-empowerment – coming back into your own strength, physically, mentally and emotionally.
Feeling: I am in charge of my life.
I am my own best friend, and I treat myself with care. I know how to take responsibility for myself.

I don’t work with pressure or performance thinking. I work with lightness, small steps and repetition. Because real strength does not come from willpower alone, but from routines that last. And humour is absolutely allowed.
When a woman starts to feel her body again, regains her energy and takes herself seriously, empowerment happens quietly.
She says yes to herself – and can look at herself in the mirror with pride. Self-care becomes natural. It’s not a quick fix, but a very sustainable process.

First of all, I live what I share. I try to be my own best example.
Instead of following learned thoughts like:
“Aren’t you too old for that?”
“You don’t have time for this.”
“With this body or at this age, that’s not possible.”

I prove to myself – and others – every single day that it is possible.
I fulfil my dreams. I live the life I once wished for.
I take care of my health, train my body, stay curious and keep learning.

At the same time, I invite women to question their own inner limits and to honestly look at where they are right now. Most importantly, I encourage them to trust that there is far more potential within them than they believe.

Often, we start with movement. Because it very quickly shows what is possible – through small steps, not through force.
When a woman goes from being a non-runner to completing a marathon within a year, it doesn’t just change her body. It strengthens her confidence, her mental resilience – and spills over into her everyday life and business.

You have completed 15 marathons. How has that shaped your mental and physical strength in business and in life?

Running marathons has repeatedly taught me one essential truth:
Strength is not built in a sprint, but through consistency.
The journey to a marathon – the training itself – is what really matters. It requires discipline, but equally self-care. More is not always better. And motivation grows when we learn to recognise and celebrate small milestones along the way.
No marathon feels easy. And no business journey does either.
Both demand patience, trust and the ability to deal with inner voices asking: Why are you doing this?
I’ve learned that the most decisive kilometres don’t come at the beginning, but when things get uncomfortable.
In a marathon, that’s the last ten kilometres.
In life, it’s often the phases of doubt, fatigue or uncertainty.
In those moments, it’s not the body that decides – it’s the mind.
I’ve trained myself to say: I can always take one small step.
That sentence has carried me across many finish lines – in sport and in entrepreneurship.
Running marathons has taught me to trust myself. And that trust is one of the most valuable resources in business and in life.

Your workshops focus on energy, mindset and purpose. How do you help busy women make time for themselves?

I usually start with something very relieving:
You don’t need more time. You need different priorities.I often work with short challenges – a limited time of practicing together in a group, like a supportive kick-start. Afterwards, women continue on their own. This reduces pressure and creates momentum.
Many women believe self-care has to be big, time-consuming or perfect. The opposite is true.
I work with small, realistic routines – tiny habits – that fit into everyday life instead of turning it upside down.
What matters is not duration, but consistency.
Once women feel how these small moments restore their energy, their relationship with time changes completely. Space appears – and often even the desire for more.

I often work with short challenges – a limited time of practicing together in a group, like a supportive kick-start. Afterwards, women continue on their own. This reduces pressure and creates momentum.
Many women believe self-care has to be big, time-consuming or perfect. The opposite is true.
I work with small, realistic routines – tiny habits – that fit into everyday life instead of turning it upside down.
What matters is not duration, but consistency.
Once women feel how these small moments restore their energy, their relationship with time changes completely. Space appears – and often even the desire for more.
This approach is also what inspired my book. It’s about shaping ageing consciously and self-responsibly through small, healthy routines – step by step, without pressure. For me, this is Joyful Ageing in its most practical form.

What three habits can women start today to feel stronger and more confident?

First: Daily movement integrated into everyday life.
Noticing where daily activities can become movement: taking the stairs, standing while on the phone, dancing while cooking.
It sends a clear message to the body: I’m here. I care about you.
Even ten minutes make a difference – physically and mentally.

Second: A kind inner dialogue.
Many women are highly competent – and at the same time very hard on themselves.
Shifting from “I have to” to “I get to” changes more than we realise.
A good test is to speak to yourself the way you would speak to your best friend.

Third: A daily moment of joy or gratitude.
This shifts perspective and trains the mind to notice what is good.
What we consciously focus on strengthens mental resilience and self-confidence.

These habits are small.
But they change how a woman feels in her body, in her daily life and in her life overall.

Can you share a story of a woman whose life changed through working with you?

I think of two women who started very differently – yet share something essential.

One woman came to me full of insecurity, barely able to look me in the eye, ready to leave again. One year later, movement is an integral part of her life. She has lost over 25 kilos and radiates a new sense of confidence. At 60, she inspires others simply by having chosen her own path.

The other woman considered herself completely unathletic. We started gently – walking and short, slow running intervals. Step by step. One year later, she crossed the finish line of the Paris Marathon. What brought her there was not ambition, but joy in movement and a strong inner commitment.

Both women show that when something changes in the body, posture and self-belief change too – and that energy reaches far beyond movement, into everyday life and business.

How do you show women that beauty, strength and health don’t disappear with age, but evolve?

When a woman reconnects with movement, feels her energy and feels at home in her body again, her presence changes automatically.
Beauty does not come from youth.
It comes from presence, strength and self-connection.
I show women that their bodies are not problems to be fixed, but powerful systems to be used and respected. The more they move, nourish and value their bodies, the more alive they feel.

Ageing doesn’t mean less.
It means different, clearer, freer.
And that is visible – now more than ever.

What would you say to a woman who is afraid to start something new later in life?

I would tell her: I feel fear every time I start something new.
And every single time, I’ve been rewarded for having the courage to try – because I learned, grew and stayed alive inside.

You don’t need to see the whole path.
It’s enough to see the next small step – and take it.

You also don’t have to do it alone. Ask for support, work with professionals, surround yourself with people who walk with you. It’s easier – and often more joyful – together.

Celebrate every small success.
And never forget: You are not too old.

Live by the motto: Now more than ever.

How do you challenge common stereotypes about women ageing and succeeding in business?

I challenge them by consciously surrounding myself with women who think and live differently. I’ve stepped away from constant negativity and complaining – because it drains energy and blocks growth.
I don’t believe in retreating, becoming quieter or making myself smaller.
On the contrary: I see women in their 45s, 50s and 60s who are clearer, braver and more entrepreneurial than ever before. I actively seek out these role models and let myself be inspired by them.
Maturity brings something no coaching programme can replace: experience, intuition and inner stability.
Today, success no longer means exhausting yourself – it means being effective in your own way.
And there are few things more fulfilling than doing work that truly matters – and earning money with it. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of supporting more than 1,000 women in building strength, confidence and sustainable success—on their own terms.