What will your next act look like?

Michael Clinton believes that everyone should have a life filled with purpose and passion for what they do, at whatever age they are. Here, he talks to Attivo about reinventing your second – or even third ‘wave’.

What will your next act look like?

Ever feel your life isn’t working quite the way you want it to? Maybe it’s time for a second (or third) act. After a fulfilling and highly successful career as president and publishing director of Hearst Magazines, Michael Clinton decided to change direction and embrace the next phase of his life.

“If you open yourself up to the possibilities that are in front of you,
you can successfully step into a new chapter of your life” 

Retirement – in it’s traditional sense – just wasn’t an option. He ran the Antarctica marathon at 60 (finishing the challenge of running a marathon on all seven continents) is a private pilot, part-owner of a vineyard and holds two master’s degrees (one of which he’s achieved since leaving Hearst).

Retire or ‘rewrite’?

Clinton’s book Roar Into the Second Half of Your Life was written after his own lightbulb moment that the word ‘retire’ should be replaced by ‘rewire’. The book is backed by research into a cohort of 50-plus-year-olds who gave their opinions and experiences about what it means to live a fulfilled life.

The pages are filled with some 40 case studies, all of which involve people Clinton either know personally (including Julianna Margulies of ER and The Good Wife fame) or those he’s talked to in detail about their ‘life revolutions’.

And it really is an inspiration. He cites a man called Jim O’Callaghan from Ireland, who was a newsagent in his early fifties when he enrolled on a degree course, graduated in his sixties and then went on to study drawing and visual investigation, working as a guide at the National Gallery of Ireland. And of Fatima, who, following years out of the workplace whilst raising her children, started her own business as a stylist in her fifties.

“The ‘A-ha’ moment I had about writing this book was that everything that I read, every bit of research I did point to the fact that the word ‘retire’ means winding down. It’s an outdated, toxic word and an outdated concept that makes it sound as if you’re going to check out of life.

“People who are 50 or 60 are likely to live another 40 years, and they’re saying, ‘I can’t play golf for 30 years; that’s not sustainable.’ And so, the whole thesis behind the book was about how to rewire – or ‘refire’ yourself. You might choose at 55 to have an entirely new career for the next 20 years – you may decide to leave an unhappy marriage or become parents for the first time; the possibilities are endless.”

Prepare for your next phase of life

One of the messages Clinton would like to stress is that time is finite. If you don’t make changes now (around the traditional retirement stage of life), you’ll be stuck in an unhappy place for the rest of your life. His approach is both a practical and engaging springboard to help his audience to do this. Clinton tells us one of the chapters which resonates most with people is about ‘life layering’ which he refers to as an action plan. “It’s about creating a multilevel identity separate from who you are at work, as a parent or as a partner and the question is: who do you want to become?”

One of the messages Clinton would like to stress is that time is finite. If you feel change is needed and you don’t start the process now, you could be stuck in an unhappy place wondering ‘what if’ for the rest of your life. The book is both a practical and engaging springboard to help his audience to make these changes.

Clinton tells us one of the chapters which resonates most with people is about ‘life layering’ which he refers to as an action plan. “It’s about creating a multilevel identity separate from who you are at work, as a parent or as a partner, and the question is: who do you want to become?”

There have been some surprises along the way. “Women have been particularly responsive. I think they’re better at being flexible and fluid in how they live their lives because they’ve had to be. Often, they’ll have been juggling kids and had to jump in and out of their careers, and as they arrive in their early fifties, maybe they’re feeling stuck. I hear a lot of examples of women saying to their partners, ‘This new direction is important to me, and this is what I’m going to do. Are you coming along for the ride or not?’ Also, lifelong learning is a major topic point that really seems to resonate with people.”