Timely midlife career change counsel

With regard to midlife career change counsel, if you are like me, you are probably
• looking for a new challenge in your life
• getting more satisfaction from your work
• seeking more fulfilment
• trying to make a difference in what you do
• wanting to enjoy your life more
• getting more results for less effort
• achieving greater balance in your life.

In her book, Don’t Stop the Career Clock Helen Harkness argues that you can have creative work at any age, dispelling the myths regarding a midlife career change.

• Aging does not necessarily mean physical and psychological decline.
• Aging does not equate with mental decline.
• Aging does not mean a decline in creativity.

Dr. Fred and I firmly believe that you can reinvent your life no matter what your age. We are advocates of the "rising energy model" of aging rather than the "declining energy model." The latter model presents aging as a period of powerlessness, emptiness, infirmity, depression and fear of death.

Throughout this website, Dr. Fred and I look at aging from the point of view of increasing inner energy or spiritual energy, as Peter Brill and David Debin refer to it in their book, Finding Your J Spot. This enables the individual to have greater fulfillment, joy and peace. I have found in my own quest to use midlife career change counsel to reinvent my life that having a business or life coach was an essential element in redefining my own midlife career. For information about how Dr. Fred and I are meeting the challenge of creating this website to help you reinvent your life, see our business story.


Five suggestions for choosing a coach

1. Look for a coach who offers a free sample tele-coaching session to get a feel for the coaching style.

2. Interview three coaches. If you talk to more it may lead to no action at all.

3. Find out about the career transitions of the coach. Work with someone who has actually gone through different midlife career change counsel experiences.

4. Choose a coach who can offer both individual or group coaching. I’ve found that group coaching sessions can be really rewarding with the right mix of people. You can learn so much from the successes and failures of others using career change counsel.

5. Work with a coach who will constantly push you to your limits in thinking and acting. A good coach will tell you things that you don’t necessarily want to hear. Once you’ve made a choice, stay committed to the coaching process. Don’t expect instantaneous results.


Starting an encore career: Become a career coach

We highly recommend the advice and materials offered by Valerie Young, founder of Changing Course.com.

• Over 23,000 people subscribe to her Changing Course Newsletter.
• Over 10,000 unique visitors a month stop by her website.
• Since 2003, hundreds of enthusiastic career changers have attended her annual workshop with special guest Barbara Winter, author of Making a Living Without a Job.
• Over 150 people have completed her "Profiting From Your Passions" Career Coach Program that provides valuable midlife career change counsel.


Recommended reading

In "The new retirement model - a pathway to happiness," Howard Stone recommends fully engaging in life and working with a sense of mission, calling and purpose.


Listen to this

lively conversation between Dr. Fred and myself about career change counsel.
To hear other interviews and to subscribe to our podcast
visit our midlife crisis coping podcast page.