The Third Act

The third act - what a wonderful way to describe the last three decades of life. This talk is well worth ten minutes of your time (she is eloquent and wise, and wow, does she look good in her 70s!). The longevity revolution is real - we are living 34 years longer than our great grandparents. What an amazing gift we have been given. The gift of time.

Jane talks here about how we use this time and says that in her third act she has experienced the most powerful feeling of well-being. And the well-being comes from reflection on the first two acts. 'In order to know where I was going I had to know where I'd been'.

Instead of viewing 'age as pathology, we should view age as potential'.

Everything I do is about preparing my clients for the third act. And the preparation is not just about money, although you cannot achieve that powerful feeling of well-being if you are down to your last dollar. Many people really struggle with finding purpose and relevance in the last third of their life. And it's because they haven't prepared for it. Retirement takes thought, preparation and practice. We may not get it right first time - we may find ourselves cycling in and out of work, trying to find the right balance between vacation and vocation.

Making conscious and responsible decisions with our money in the second act (and even the later parts of the first act) gives us a much better chance of living a fulfilling and purposeful third act.

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