Phase 5 - Reinvention

Phase 5 offers you a sequence of tasks required for career reinvention.

“In doing research for this book, I spoke at length with nearly forty people, most of whom were in their fifties and sixties, who are having the time of their lives working in their second acts. And even though they typically no longer earn what they once did, they are energised, engaged, and connected to their communities; they feel valued, are learning new skills, and know they are making a difference.”

-Nancy Collamer, Second-act Careers

Career reinvention is the launching of a new beginning and a new chapter in your life towards the long-term plan. But rather than a big jump into a career reinvention - which would likely cause the emotional brain to put the anchors on. We need to appeal to the emotional brain. So, it’s a case of slicing reinvention really thin. It consists of “gradually exposing” the emotional brain to the unknown, unfamiliarity and uncertainty of a potential new career.

The “gradual exposure” works by a slow, methodical staggered, step-by-step approach. It begins with smaller, easier tasks, then progresses to bigger more challenging tasks. At every step, emotional brain can slowly adjust, get familiar, get comfortable and “get used to” the idea of the new career. This will make change feel “less scary.”

The first task begins with exploring new career ideas & interests, but first it would help you to give you an idea of the kinds of career reinventions blokes normally go through and to introduce omens.

What Kinds of Midlife Career Reinventions Do Blokes Normally Go Through?

Generally, midlife career reinvention follows one of four pathways.

1. First, a Streamlined Reinvention of Their Current Career: For some men this is enough. In phase 2, recalibration gives them time and space. In phase 3, they plan for retirement. In phase 4, they let go of “trying to keep up with the Joneses.” Combine this with the security of a regular paycheck and they have the perfect soil to plant and nurture seeds for a side hustle or to explore their creative side. For example, they do their job during the day - and in the evenings they run wood working groups - or do-up and sell cars at the weekends - or run weekend scout camps. In other words, their job provides the income that sustains their creative work.

2. Second, a Reinvention to an Adjacent Field: For example project management to management consulting - working direct or contracting / freelance.

3. Third, Starting a Business in a Similar Field: For example working for a large property developer, then starting a business property developing.

4. Fourth, a ‘Full’ Reinvention to a Different Field: This is constructing a new career from scratch. For example, general manager turned basketball coach – or the consultant turned aged care worker – or town planner turned kindergarten teacher.

“Second-Act Careers”

The second, third and fourth pathways, could be called “second-act careers.” Although they may have changed jobs and careers before, the term “second-act” refers to making a clear-cut shift from their “big” career in the first half of their lives to a more meaningful ‘second’ career in the second half of their lives.

While the fourth pathway is a big second act into something completely new, the second and third pathway, in some way, shape or form is related to what they did before. For the second and third pathways, they recycle their skills and talents - they figure out which parts of their old career they most enjoyed (skills, people, companies, places, industry) and then blend the ‘old’ pieces with ‘new’ interests, causes and purpose. By doing so, they leverage their “career capital” “body of work” and “years of experience” into a new career.  

Phases of Coaching Model Still Apply

Even though the four pathways are different, the 5 phases of the midlife coaching model still apply.

Multiple Career Reinventions

A man might go through the second reinvention pathway, move to an adjacent field, then four years later, take reinvention pathway four, and go through a ‘full’ reinvention to a different field. Alternatively, he might go through pathway four, do a full reinvention, and then return to a modified version of his previous career.

The Goals of Each Pathway

While the midlife career reinvention pathways are different, they each contain, in some way shape or form, the same goals:

• Meaning & Purpose: To leave a legacy. To contribute to a cause “greater than themselves.” To “give back” to the community. To feel like they are making a difference, that their work matters and that they can see a real, live physical impact from their work on other people.

• Authenticity: To find a career that expresses who they really are. In other words, a career where they can truly be themselves.

• Control & Time: To “call the shots” in their lives. To work on their own terms, on their own schedule and in their own way. This gives them the time to spend with the people that matter to them and to enjoy the “simple things” in life.

• Freedom & Growth: To have the freedom to grow, learn new skills and develop their creative capacities. To push the boundaries of their potential and to shape and direct their own life.

Now, I’ll introduce omens.

Following Omens to The Unlived Life

When you put energy out there to the world that you’re open to change, the world provides feedback through what I call “omens.” Omens are the worlds way of supporting you, telling you that you’re okay and giving you direction. In phase 3, you may have begun assessing the unlived life within you. Well, while we have half an idea of what that could look like, it’s omens that show us the way.

Generally, we plan for our future life based on what we’ve done in the first half of life. We’ve got tunnel vision. We can’t see a life that could be far outside of what we already know. In other words, we can’t see the unlived life within us. Therefore, we need to allow the world to show it to us. It does that through omens. Omens are signals or signposts from the world that shine a light on the path to the unlived life within you. Omens will show up in your life as coincidence, chance meetings, out-of-the-blue miracles, random encounters, twists of fate or unplanned conversations. Omens may look like this: At 42, a bloke went from being an electrician to being a music teacher. He used to play the guitar as a hobby. But in a chance meeting someone said to him “you should go into teaching.” So, he did. When the omens happen, they will “light you up” or “produce a spark” in you. They are signs that the world sees something in you that you don’t see in yourself. These ‘seemingly’ random events open the door for you to see parts or aspects of yourself that you haven’t seen before, show you a different side of yourself that you didn’t know existed or show you a new path.

So, throughout phase 5 reinvention, be open and flexible to allowing the world to show you a life you can’t yet see. Be open to going in a different direction than you had planned. The unlived life may closer than you think. It could be standing just outside the door of your everyday awareness, waiting for you to pay attention and invite it in. So, pay attention to when these omens occur, and they will occur. Let go of the fixed plan and follow the signals the world gives you. See what the world invites you to see. And then respond by following the trail of breadcrumbs. Let life steer you where it wants you to go, and you will find the unlived life.

For my own Omen example, I met my life coach of 4 years, when I booked accommodation for a weekend away. She then opened the door for me to leave construction and go back to school to study counselling and psychology. That one chance random accommodation booking changed the course of the rest of my life. It showed me the unlived life.