Cultivating Purpose: Designing Your Next Chapter
If you are navigating a major life or career transition, or simply wondering how to build a life of deeper meaning as you age, this information session provides a valuable window into a course that acts as your roadmap. The Midlife Academy Program Manager Briana Smith and course facilitator Megan Voorhees discuss what it means to enter the era of "encore learning" and how the "Cultivating Purpose" course provides the structure, intention and community support needed to successfully navigate midlife pivots.
Megan, an educational program designer with over 30 years of experience, shares insights into how the course helps participants uncover what matters most. Backed by research on longevity and the "100-year life," "Cultivating Purpose" reframes transitions not as something to fear, but as an open invitation for curiosity, personal narrative exploration and crafted experimentation. The discussion underscores how a purposeful life directly improves long-term health, cognition and overall longevity.
The session also features a panel of former participants who speak to the transformational power of the academy's cohort approach. Rather than navigating uncertainty alone, learners come together to share collective wisdom, build new networks and hold one another accountable to their personal growth.
Webinar Highlights
00:01:45 – The Rise of Encore Learning: Why the concept of the 100-year life demands that we rethink traditional retirement and design flexible, purpose-driven "portfolio lives."
00:12:10 – The Science Behind Purpose: Megan Voorhees shares research detailing how identifying a clear life purpose measurably expands cognition, physical functioning, and life expectancy.
00:20:10 – Panelist Craig Partin's Reflection: Former participant Craig shares his journey of stepping away from a highly structured, intense 32-year corporate career, highlighting how the course provided the safe container and vocabulary needed to step into vulnerability, untangle identity from a job title and pause before rushing into what's next.
00:24:33 – Panelist Celeste Heather's Journey: Celeste describes the paralysis of facing endless possibilities after leaving a long-term position, explaining how the program's structured exercises and "dating" allowed her to safely experiment, follow low-stakes curiosities and rediscover hidden parts of her personal narrative.
00:27:49 – Panelist Matt Parker’s Experience: Matt details how the program encouraged him to explore an intense personal interest in genealogy and forensic technology, which built the actionable momentum and confidence required to transition his lifelong passion into teaching a highly popular community course.
00:32:00 – Panelist Sarah Diebel’s Perspective: Sarah reflects on navigating a dual transition — redefining her professional identity after leaving corporate life while concurrently adjusting to an empty nest — and emphasizes how the program shifted her away from looking for one monolithic career answer and toward designing a balanced "portfolio life."
00:36:45 – Course Logistics and Q&A: A breakdown of the upcoming course schedule, workload expectations and how the program facilitates deep, lasting peer-to-peer connections.
Explore The Midlife Academy
Ready to redefine your purpose and direction? Whether you're exploring new career paths, rethinking life goals or simply seeking renewed meaning, you'll get expert insights via online and in-person courses, webinars and podcasts. Discover what's next at The Midlife Academy.
