94. Announcing a New Series on WAGO
"The most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what's in between." — Norton Juster
☕️ the main thing
At the start of this year, I excitedly (and sufficiently cringy) announced that I was starting a new career. Most of the reactions I got were positive, atta-girls, and high-fives all around.
A few — mostly close friends who generally knew what I was up to reached out and said, “But I thought you were doing that already?”
And a fewer few dared to ask, “Why?!” (NB: If you ask this question using different intonations, you’ll soon arrive at various troubling conclusions.)
I will answer these questions and share the behind-the-scenes of this adventure (crazy experiment? delusion?). Because, the truth is ... yes, it’s never too late and all that jazz... BUT building a career in the second half of our lives is markedly different from building one in our 20s.
Also complicating the plot are these strange mental hurdles that crop up the moment you decide to start something new. It’s as if the internal system is questioning your sanity for wanting to climb a new ladder when it KNOWS you’ve already reached higher rungs of some other ladder. (IOW: It doesn’t want to be a newbie all over again!)
For a New York minute, I thought about sharing stories from this escapade when I’m further up the ladder. This is probably the more common approach, for good reason. I’d benefit from distance, objectivity, and some time to reflect and put things “in perspective”.
My theory is that there are gems to be mined at every step along the way, and why hoard?!
But I don’t want to do it that way because we don’t know how long we have on this planet — Memento Mori and all that — and I don’t want to wait. So, I’m going to start talking about it as I’m climbing this new ladder or, to use another metaphor, as I’m making the sausage. My theory is that there are gems to be mined at every step along the way, and why hoard?!
How will I be telling this story:
Think chapters in a book or, better yet, TV series episodes. I’ll publish each episode every 3-4 weeks as a segment of We’re All Getting Older (i.e., this newsletter).
I imagine not everybody will be interested in this topic. Rather than force it on everyone, this new-career exploits series will only be available to paid readers. So, if you are interested in the topic, please consider switching to paid status now.
What will be covered:
Some of what will be covered in the series falls in the unknown category, as I don’t know what I don’t know (yet).
Having said that, here’s a preliminary list of topics I plan to cover:
Why build a new career? What are you looking to gain?
Starting Over versus Making a Pivot
Challenges with building a new career late in life
Advantages of building a new career late in life
Mental hoops and surprises
How to talk about it; how to address questions/naysayers
Earning money from your new career
When will this storytelling start:
This month, March! I’ll drop the first episode in mid-March. You’ll know about it because I’ll send you a separate email (if you’re a paid reader) and include a link to it on the regular Sunday WAGO issue.
One last thing
If there’s a part of you that’s considering starting on a new path after retirement (or before, even!), I invite you to follow along for the annual cost of one hardcover book. I promise to be candid and open about my experiences, including frustrations, side trips, and detours. Plus, you know I love to do research, so I’ll be sure to drop legit and useful strategies and resources as well.
Depending on how it goes, I may host Zoom calls later, too. The more, the merrier, and we can all use cheerleaders. And wouldn’t it be lovely if we ended up with a community of midlife career enthusiasts?
I hope you’ll join me as I maneuver this new career ladder—likely with equal amounts of clumsiness, grace (hopefully), and pigheadedness.
👤 a midlifer in profile
Gen Xer and Naval Officer Matthew Long says he’s pleasantly surprised by how happy he is in midlife.
“I think the older we get and the more comfortable we get with ourselves, the easier it is to be happy. I don't stress about things as much and try to focus on what I can control. I feel like I am a lot more accepting of things as they are rather than trying to change things to my way of liking, which I tended to do when I was younger.”
Read the rest of Matthew’s profile.
💭 muse
“I looked up the road I was going and back the way I come, and since I wasn’t satisfied, I decided to step off the road and cut me a new path.”
— a woman Dr. Maya Angelou quotes in her book Wouldn’t Take Nothing For My Journey Now
💬 last word
I can’t believe we’re already in the second week of March.
This year seems to be flying by — although, when does a year never fly by?! Oh wait. 2020. Never mind.
Here’s to a joyful week ahead.
Cool Beans,
Lou Blaser
Wonderful approach. Looking forward to it.
I am in total agreement of starting a second (or third or fourth) career midlife - Gosh we would do much better and be much wiser than when we were in, say 20s or 30s, I sure hope); and I love your ideas of starting sooner rather than later and in the form of series; most of all, would love to participate. But I have to be totally honest that I am bombarded with the amount of Substack reading and subscribing that has creeped up lately and I still have not worked out a strategy. So until then, I will just cheer you on from the sidelines.