How did you hear about The 3rd Act? 

I heard about from Patricia.  We have known each other for a long time as colleagues.  I watched her go through her own personal  transition from [...]]]> (Leslie attended a 3^rd Act workshop a little over a year ago)

How did you hear about The 3^rd Act? 

I heard about from Patricia.  We have known each other for a long time as colleagues.  I watched her go through her own personal  transition from her second act to her third act.  She told me about the idea she had about The 3^rd Act and that she had found a partner with a similar idea.  She then encouraged me to go through the workshop. 

Why did you decide to attend the workshop at this time in your life? 

It was the right thing for me and the right timing.  I was  at a transition time in my life.  I was not satisfied with my life and I needed some support and guidance.  I am an “empty nester” and my role as mother was winding down.  I was at loose ends… life had lost meaning and purpose for me.  At same time,  I was dissatisfied with level of work I was doing.  That had been a long term  issue but it became stronger and more pressing when my last child left the nest. 

What did you value most about the workshop?

The most valuable for me was the support of getting together with others going who were also going through the same thing.  To learn that I was a part of this generation was normalizing.  I didn’t feel so isolated.  In addition, I got specific ideas about how to move through the malaise I was feeling. 

What were the outcomes for you in attending?  How have you acted on those? 

I had a much more deliberate plan of what to do instead of just wishing I could do something.  I began to make some steps in right direction.  I looked back at periods in my life that had been more satisfying; what I had left behind that I wanted to pick up again.  This was a significant step for me.  I was able to reclaim things and activities I had let go.  Initially I took some workshops and as a result then I began to think how I could incorporate what I was learning into my current work. 

You are a member of our Encore Circles.  Why did you join?  (Encore Circles are monthly support groups of participants who have been through a 3^rd Act Workshop) 

Being a member keeps me on track.  For me it is a way to keep checking in with other people.  The group helps me to stay motivated and keeps me moving forward on my plan. 

Anything else you would like to say?

The 3^rd Act workshop is a really good idea to bring people together who are going through same thing.  I believe we find out so much more when move beyond ourselves.  It is also a place where resources multiply and you get many new ideas.  It is very expansive.

How did you hear about The 3rd Act?  Why were you interested? 

I heard about it from a friend who had met you.  We were talking [...]]]> We interviewed Jeri Brown a  few months after she flew up from Los Angles to attend the 3^rd Act Workshop.

How did you hear about The 3^rd Act?  Why were you interested? 

I heard about it from a friend who had met you.  We were talking about issues at this time of life.  So I went on line and found you and Sara Lawrence Lightfoot’s book.  I haven’t read her book yet but I got it together to come to the workshop.  I was interested because I had turned 65 and I was questioning how I wanted to live out the rest of my life; I was feeling “funky” about the process. 

Why did you decide to attend the workshop at this time in your life? 

The whole concept of the 3^rd Act was engaging and intriguing.  I was trying to wrap my head around this stage and realized that retirement didn’t hold water.  It was unusual for me to travel to something that was just for me.  It was different than going to a training or seminar for CEU’s.  Although, in my practice, I do have some women at this stage in life who are trying to figure out if companionship is what they should be focusing on or something else.  But I was coming to the workshop for myself.     

What did you value most about the workshop?

I valued the permissiveness from you and Patricia and the other participants.  It was a permissive atmosphere…a feeling that I could speak freely and watching the other women do the same even those that were shyer that I am.  There was a wide range of participants with a range of concerns.  They talked about fears, doubts, aging parents and many other issues.  The questions were invaluable, both those that were a part of the structure of the workshop, and those that came up from participants. 

What were the outcomes for you in attending? 

I set goals that day to think about forming a group; finish my book; and I don’t remember the third one.  It looks like my book will be published, although I haven’t quite finished it.  I rearranged office to host a group but I haven’t moved on that because of other concerns that have since arisen.    The other result was that the workshop opened my mind that I could do these things…that they were possible. 

Anything else you would like to say?

Although The 3^rd Act workshop is not a “support group”,  it is a supportive group.  The workshop introduces the idea that these years after 50, are a specific time in our adult growth.  There is acceptance in that.  Life doesn’t end at 50, or 60, or 70.  The workshop environment is safe, nurturing and encouraging.  This enables people to be forthcoming about their doubts and fears.

How did you hear about The 3rd Act?  Why were you interested? 

I was working with you at JFK University about 4 years ago, as you were thinking about it and [...]]]> We interviewed Sharon Mulgrew about three years after she attended an early 2 day workshop. 

How did you hear about The 3^rd Act?  Why were you interested? 

I was working with you at JFK University about 4 years ago, as you were thinking about it and developing the concept. You were embodying the workshop in yourself and becoming your own 3^rd act. I was beginning to realize that “retirement age” was coming up on me and I was not at all interested in retiring.  I had always had an upward ramp of my future that was taking me different places.  Around 59-60 the ramp turned downward and I thought it was good to explore.  I knew both you and Anna, and I heard your first workshop had gone well.  So it was timely to attend the second workshop.  I also loved the idea of a women’s workshop as I had embraced the feminist perspective in 60-70’s.  

What was most valuable to you about the workshop? 

Many small things…it was 2 days and allowed us to sink into material…elegant setting, soft, comfortable, safe, flowing environment…intelligent,  curious women…you and Anna had thought a lot about it, activities were paced well and moved along…we each had an opportunity to hear from one another, great ideas from a lot of different visions. 

For me personally it was a challenging time.  I had unwittingly attended on the anniversary of my mother’s death.  It hit me during the workshop…I was still going through a grieving process.  But still  the workshop theme for me became “generativity”. The workshop helped me come to the realization that I wanted to write –something I hadn’t thought about it before–about all the work I have done over the years. 

As I was thinking about this interview I got the connection between grieving for my mother and writing.  She had started her 3^rd act, writing romance novels and she was not able to publish the romance novel that she had finished.   My sisters and I have completed the process – publisher, edits, book cover design. We will have it out by end of Sept.  It is so fascinating that in many ways my mother went through the workshop with me. 

What were the outcomes for you in attending? 

I have become a writer.  It took me a couple of years to clear my schedule to do it.   I started a book on group development while still doing my last career.  It was too piecemeal and hard to do both full out.  Now, I love being at home and writing.  It is a lot more fun than I thought it would be.    I found an e-book company interested in my work with internal service agreements.  Published in two sections as 2 books, it is a practical guide of all I have learned from consulting projects about internal service agreements.  I am now taking a blogging course and have turned my group development course into a blog on member effectiveness in groups.  And I have 3 other books in mind.   

Anything else you would like to say?

Everyone owes this to themselves…an interesting retirement or entirely new career.  When I heard that women might now live to a 100, I realized I can’t just sit around.  There is time for at least one other career if not two.  As I approached 60, with my career ramp turning downward, I had reluctantly said…OK it is time to prepare for the end of life.  The workshop helped me to realize that I didn’t need to do that.  As a result I am now walking again on an upward ramp.

About 4 years ago, I was looking forward and seeing that my son would be graduating from high school in a few years. That would open new space in my life and I wanted to be wiser [...]]]> Why were you interested in the 3rd Act?

About 4 years ago, I was looking forward and seeing that my son would be graduating from high school in a few years. That would open new space in my life and I wanted to be wiser than the last time space had opened up in my life. I wanted to take a time out to assess and then think forward. .

What was most valuable for you from what the workshop?

The opportunity to take a time out from a very busy life…to reflect… and be in a community of women who were supportive of one another in that reflective process. It was inspiring to hear one another’s stories and to be influenced by one another. I was doing something good for myself.

What were the outcomes for you in attending?

It made be more conscious about planning my 3rd act versus having it happen to me. I came away with increased clarity about how important my work is to me and that I want to continue to do the work that I love into my 3rd Act. I made a recommitment to my profession.

I met with my financial advisor and outlined my thoughts and wishes and got his support and ideas for how best to move in the direction I want to move in. I opened up conversations with friends and colleagues in order to share information and learn from them.

Anything else you would like to say?

It is a wonderful gift to give oneself. I highly recommend it to others. It makes me think about how much time we spend in childhood, our teens and early 20’s preparing ourselves for life. It is just as important to give ourselves opportunities to prepare for the next phase of our lives.