Midlife Rethink: Navigating 4-Quarter Lives

3-Mondays in June Open Programme (20% off for Paid Subscribers)

Feb 7, 2023

Join Me for a Midlife Rethink?

To share some of the research, thinking and writing I’ve been doing on 4-Quarter Lives, and the work I do inside companies, I also try and make room for some affordable and easy-to-digest open programmes. Here, the goal of these three short, sharp online sessions over 3 consecutive weeks is to get you thinking, with some context, oodles of research, lots of fun and a supportive community (spaces limited).

A Simple Structure

Three 1.5 hour online sessions, on consecutive Monday nights, that travel through:

The Past - Where I’ve Been
Mapping the 4-Quarter roadmap of life
The highs, the lows, the learnings and the imprints.
Where you come from, and what you want to build on.
The Present - Where I’m Standing
Moving/ planning a Q2 to Q3 move - becoming a skilled transitionist
Who and what do you know, and who knows you?
What’s the current context, what do I want to keep, and what needs to be shed?
The Future - What I’m Dreaming
What do I want to explore? Who do I need to meet? Where do I want to move?
Building a vision, and a plan
Getting help and designing support

What Is It We Need Now?

After a couple of years of exploring midlife transition programmes around the world, and running my own, and going to Harvard’s ALI for a year, I find everyone is still working at defining what it is people need at this stage of life. ‘What is it?’ is a question I’ve been discussing with colleagues recently.

Here’s my short summary of what I’ve observed and what The Midlife Rethink seeks to provide in an accessible and affordable way.

Name & Normalise. The 3rd Quarter is a new thing. The 25 years after 50 are science’s gift to humanity. But we haven’t quite figured out how to use it yet. Transitioning into Q3 is not always easy. It can feel turbulent and confusing, and leave us feeling lost or restless without understanding why. We need to recognise that adulthood has phases, that longer lives require us to recognise and manage each one more consciously, and that old models don’t serve us in a new era of longevity. Rather than joke about a Midlife Crisis, let’s normalise and prepare for Q3.
Transition in Community. It helps to do this exploration with a group of like-minded people, preferably strangers. It can be a bit embarassing to confess confusion to friends and colleagues. After all, at this age, we should know what we want to be when we grow up.
Open the Windows. The answer to what’s next is often not clear. It may be hidden in a distant land, a distant past or an unknown career or issue you’ve never heard of. The only way to discover it is to meet new people, new ideas and new horizons. To try them on for size and see what works. To open doors and windows and get outside of your box - whether it’s a longtime career, industry or expertise. You may decide you are fine where you are, or surprise yourself with a complete re-invention.
Don’t Travel Alone. Make sure you launch with the tools, networks, systems analysis and personal advisory board that helps you make the right choice, commit to the right partners and prepares you for success.

Feel free to email with any questions, and look forward to seeing some elderberries rethinking.

Upcoming Sessions

June 12th, 19th, 26th from 6 - 7h30pm London (BST)
- Sign up here

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If you are a paid up elderberries subscriber, you have all my gratitude and thanks - and 20% off. Email us for the discount code, at queries@20-first.com.

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