At last, the life you want . . . post 50.
We’re living longer, in better health, with higher expectations than any generation in human history. With an extra adult chapter to look forward to, what will you do? Who else could you be? How will you evolve the best plan for your life between 50 and 80?
Judy and Adrian Reith have decades of experience in helping people see hidden possibilities, clarify their goals and achieve life-changing results. In Act 3 they suggest practical steps to make your life more fulfilling as you age. From the ground up this book will help you identify and strengthen the four roots you’ll need for a happy and successful third act. It illustrates how your attitude, purpose, relationships and values are keystones to a life without regret.
Act 3 gives tools and tips to help you focus on what matters, with chapters on Work, Home, Money, Health, Play, the World and Friends. You’ll be inspired by original stories of those who have changed their lives after 50 and be able to re-imagine your future, and so get the life you want . . . at last.
'This is exactly the book I want to read right now! It’s inspiring, intelligent and provocative - but also unexpectedly comforting. It makes getting older feel like a grand adventure. I want to give this to all my contemporaries' Brian Eno
'Your head says you're 34. Your body begs to differ. Wise up young codgers! Try these useful and inspiring stories and feel better instantly' Simon Mayo
'Packed with stories and practical ideas' Justine Roberts, founder of mumsnet and gransnet
'Judy and Adrian Reith here guide us wisely and cheerfully into the wonderland of old age. Forget adventure tourism, here is a way to plan for a more amazing expedition. Step into these pages, fasten your seatbelts and prepare for the trip of a lifetime: the sublime astonishing experience we have all been waiting for and wondering about' Michael Leunig, Australian cartoonist, poet and cultural commentator
'With more and more us living better, for longer than ever before, the idea of being on the ‘wrong side of 50’ is way past its sell-by date. Act 3: The Art of Growing Older is therefore a book for our times. With the right blend of insight and inspiration, tips and tools, Judy and Adrian Reith show how we can all make the most of later life' Carl Honoré, author of Bolder: Making the Most of Our Longer Lives
'Age is a strange thing: we dream of it; we dread it; we learn to leave some things behind; we loathe to leave some things behind. With each decade comes new lessons, new sadnesses, new joys. This book helps navigate those changes: the easy ones and the difficult ones. It brings comfort, and celebration, and wisdom . . . it is a balm' Pádraig Ó Tuama, poet and writer
How This Book Works
Mental Pipes Unblocked
As authors, we take a ‘coaching’ approach to Act3. As coaches we know the best answers to our client’s questions are found inside them. We believe the same will be true for you. Coaching principles and mind sets are well known in the world of sport, but they bring excellence and satisfaction in other areas of life too. We’ll show you how.
‘Starting in 1971 on the tennis court I found myself asking a question I’d never been asked or told to ask, “I wonder what’s going on inside the head of a person while the ball is approaching them?” And that opened the door to The Inner Game. The answer was obvious. Much too much. Championship athletes said when they were at their best their mind was quiet, focussed, not full of shoulds and shouldn’ts.’ — Tim Gallwey, The Inner Game of Tennis
We All Have An Outer Game And An Inner Game.
Tim Gallwey – one of the fathers of modern coaching - was one of the first to address the internal narrative of shoulds and shouldn’ts, to help sports people, or business people perform not only to reach their potential, but to far exceed it. His work has been emulated worldwide and way beyond sport and business.
Dealing With Shoulds and Shouldn’ts
As coaches in business and life we listen, reflect back, ask questions, support and challenge the client to dig below the surface, to get clear on what they really want their life to be about. Then we work with them to create practical steps to achieve those goals.
We’ll do the same in the book: Act3 – How To Live A Better Life After 50: You’ll ‘say hello’ to the unhelpful voices in your head, acknowledging their power. You’ll recognise your limiting beliefs about yourself, you’ll find ways to break out from these restrictions.
You Cannot Be What You Cannot See
If the voice in your head drowns out your ability to hear or imagine anything better, or stops you creating change – you have a problem.
"My dad always said I wasn't musical. I wasted fifty years believing him, until a friend took me along to sing in a community choir and finally I gave myself permission to believe that my dad was wrong."
To be something different, you first have to see something different in your mind’s eye. You need to see a destination, a goal, a better outcome. You need to think differently. As a clever guy once said:
‘We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.’ — Albert Einstein
You Create Your Own Reality
It’s easy to create a reality, and then convince yourself it’s the only possible reality.
It isn’t.
External Prosperity vs Inner Prosperity
Most people pay most attention to the external stuff. But whatever your external circumstances, a change to your internal prosperity will improve your ability to see and deal with the external things like Money, Health, Work and Relationships.
Act3 - How To Live A Better Life After 50 is practical.
We’ll start with a practical guide to gathering your SELF. Making sure you have all you need for the journey.
Why Can’t I Gather My Self Myself?
Actually you can. And you will. Our task is to provide tools and encouragements to help you to re-find your self. This leads to a new ability to Act & Think Differently for yourself.
Act differently. Think differently. Feel differently.
‘A day is over and so much of it was wasted on things that meant too little to you, duties and meetings from which your heart was absent. Months and years pass and you fumble on, still incapable of finding a foothold on the path of time you walk.
A large proportion of your activity distracts you from remembering that you are a guest of the universe, to whom one life has been given. You mistake the insistent pressure of daily demands for reality and your more delicate and intuitive nature wilts. When you wake from your obsessions, you feel cheated.
Your longing is being numbed and your longing becomes merely external. Your way of life has so little to do with what you feel and love in the world. But, because of the many demands on you and responsibilities that you have, you feel helpless to gather your self; you are dragged in so many directions away from true belonging.’
— John O’Donohue, ‘Eternal Echoes’
A Person Is Like The Titanic
The Captain on the bridge believes he is in sole charge of the ship. Yet he doesn’t have direct control, as a car driver does. Any order he gives needs to be executed by others. Orders are issued: to the helmsman to steer; to the engine room for speed, forward, back, stop or start; to lookouts for eyes; to radio operators for ears; to deck hands to arrive or leave port. What could possibly go wrong?
Use Act3 - How To Live A Better Life After 50 To Control How You ACT In Act3
It will help you increase self-awareness and self-control.
It will help you discover what is really driving your direction, behaviour and choices, what you say and do in life. And give you back the means of control.
Then you’ll get more of what you really want in Act 3.
Feel Cheated?
If you feel cheated by life – having done all the stuff you’re supposed to – you are certainly not alone. We’ll address that.
How?
We Will Go Below Deck
The more you pay attention to your feelings, habits, beliefs, values, hopes, fears, emotions – what’s below decks in the Titanic metaphor – accept and understand them, the quicker you’ll master them and find your direction.
We’ll work this principle through all practical areas of your life, so you’ll get positive and satisfying change in the areas of Act 3 that matter most to you.
Remote Sort-of-Control Will Become Direct Control
As you begin to Act & Think Differently, as Albert Einstein said above, you’ll find new outcomes. These will lead to further, even more positive outcomes. Better than you could hope for. Imagine that.
Write, Draw, Scribble, Doodle, Make Notes In This Book
This is your manual. Use it as a journal. Break the rules. Write in it. Draw in it. Act & Think Differently. The feelings will follow.
Pay Attention To Metaphors You Draw In The Book
Metaphors will be powerful for you. Pay attention to them. It’s the stuff from below decks telling you something important. Abandon ones that don’t resonate. Seize the ones that have power for you, as this client did:
“Deciding to put my mother in a care home felt like stumbling about in a scary dark wood. By talking about my difficult feelings of loss and anxiety the feelings became more manageable. I began to see pathways, and they led to a clearing in the wood. I felt then that it was going to be alright. She would be safe.”
There’s No Rush.
We’ve put quotes, illustrations, and stories to ponder to help you connect with your real self. Stop. Breathe. Listen to yourself. Go at your own pace.
Take a walk.
Living by the sea as we do, we see trees growing sideways. They submit over a lifetime to an invisible force. What invisible forces are acting on you? What would you change?
Make a list here. Don’t think – write…
At last, the life you want . . . post 50.
We’re living longer, in better health, with higher expectations than any generation in human history. With an extra adult chapter to look forward to, what will you do? Who else could you be? How will you evolve the best plan for your life between 50 and 80?
Judy and Adrian Reith have decades of experience in helping people see hidden possibilities, clarify their goals and achieve life-changing results. In Act 3 they suggest practical steps to make your life more fulfilling as you age. From the ground up this book will help you identify and strengthen the four roots you’ll need for a happy and successful third act. It illustrates how your attitude, purpose, relationships and values are keystones to a life without regret.
Act 3 gives tools and tips to help you focus on what matters, with chapters on Work, Home, Money, Health, Play, the World and Friends. You’ll be inspired by original stories of those who have changed their lives after 50 and be able to re-imagine your future, and so get the life you want . . . at last.
'This is exactly the book I want to read right now! It’s inspiring, intelligent and provocative - but also unexpectedly comforting. It makes getting older feel like a grand adventure. I want to give this to all my contemporaries' Brian Eno
'Your head says you're 34. Your body begs to differ. Wise up young codgers! Try these useful and inspiring stories and feel better instantly' Simon Mayo
'Packed with stories and practical ideas' Justine Roberts, founder of mumsnet and gransnet
'Judy and Adrian Reith here guide us wisely and cheerfully into the wonderland of old age. Forget adventure tourism, here is a way to plan for a more amazing expedition. Step into these pages, fasten your seatbelts and prepare for the trip of a lifetime: the sublime astonishing experience we have all been waiting for and wondering about' Michael Leunig, Australian cartoonist, poet and cultural commentator
'With more and more us living better, for longer than ever before, the idea of being on the ‘wrong side of 50’ is way past its sell-by date. Act 3: The Art of Growing Older is therefore a book for our times. With the right blend of insight and inspiration, tips and tools, Judy and Adrian Reith show how we can all make the most of later life' Carl Honoré, author of Bolder: Making the Most of Our Longer Lives
'Age is a strange thing: we dream of it; we dread it; we learn to leave some things behind; we loathe to leave some things behind. With each decade comes new lessons, new sadnesses, new joys. This book helps navigate those changes: the easy ones and the difficult ones. It brings comfort, and celebration, and wisdom . . . it is a balm' Pádraig Ó Tuama, poet and writer
How This Book Works
Mental Pipes Unblocked
As authors, we take a ‘coaching’ approach to Act3. As coaches we know the best answers to our client’s questions are found inside them. We believe the same will be true for you. Coaching principles and mind sets are well known in the world of sport, but they bring excellence and satisfaction in other areas of life too. We’ll show you how.
‘Starting in 1971 on the tennis court I found myself asking a question I’d never been asked or told to ask, “I wonder what’s going on inside the head of a person while the ball is approaching them?” And that opened the door to The Inner Game. The answer was obvious. Much too much. Championship athletes said when they were at their best their mind was quiet, focussed, not full of shoulds and shouldn’ts.’ — Tim Gallwey, The Inner Game of Tennis
We All Have An Outer Game And An Inner Game.
Tim Gallwey – one of the fathers of modern coaching - was one of the first to address the internal narrative of shoulds and shouldn’ts, to help sports people, or business people perform not only to reach their potential, but to far exceed it. His work has been emulated worldwide and way beyond sport and business.
Dealing With Shoulds and Shouldn’ts
As coaches in business and life we listen, reflect back, ask questions, support and challenge the client to dig below the surface, to get clear on what they really want their life to be about. Then we work with them to create practical steps to achieve those goals.
We’ll do the same in the book: Act3 – How To Live A Better Life After 50: You’ll ‘say hello’ to the unhelpful voices in your head, acknowledging their power. You’ll recognise your limiting beliefs about yourself, you’ll find ways to break out from these restrictions.
You Cannot Be What You Cannot See
If the voice in your head drowns out your ability to hear or imagine anything better, or stops you creating change – you have a problem.
"My dad always said I wasn't musical. I wasted fifty years believing him, until a friend took me along to sing in a community choir and finally I gave myself permission to believe that my dad was wrong."
To be something different, you first have to see something different in your mind’s eye. You need to see a destination, a goal, a better outcome. You need to think differently. As a clever guy once said:
‘We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.’ — Albert Einstein
You Create Your Own Reality
It’s easy to create a reality, and then convince yourself it’s the only possible reality.
It isn’t.
External Prosperity vs Inner Prosperity
Most people pay most attention to the external stuff. But whatever your external circumstances, a change to your internal prosperity will improve your ability to see and deal with the external things like Money, Health, Work and Relationships.
Act3 - How To Live A Better Life After 50 is practical.
We’ll start with a practical guide to gathering your SELF. Making sure you have all you need for the journey.
Why Can’t I Gather My Self Myself?
Actually you can. And you will. Our task is to provide tools and encouragements to help you to re-find your self. This leads to a new ability to Act & Think Differently for yourself.
Act differently. Think differently. Feel differently.
‘A day is over and so much of it was wasted on things that meant too little to you, duties and meetings from which your heart was absent. Months and years pass and you fumble on, still incapable of finding a foothold on the path of time you walk.
A large proportion of your activity distracts you from remembering that you are a guest of the universe, to whom one life has been given. You mistake the insistent pressure of daily demands for reality and your more delicate and intuitive nature wilts. When you wake from your obsessions, you feel cheated.
Your longing is being numbed and your longing becomes merely external. Your way of life has so little to do with what you feel and love in the world. But, because of the many demands on you and responsibilities that you have, you feel helpless to gather your self; you are dragged in so many directions away from true belonging.’
— John O’Donohue, ‘Eternal Echoes’
A Person Is Like The Titanic
The Captain on the bridge believes he is in sole charge of the ship. Yet he doesn’t have direct control, as a car driver does. Any order he gives needs to be executed by others. Orders are issued: to the helmsman to steer; to the engine room for speed, forward, back, stop or start; to lookouts for eyes; to radio operators for ears; to deck hands to arrive or leave port. What could possibly go wrong?
Use Act3 - How To Live A Better Life After 50 To Control How You ACT In Act3
It will help you increase self-awareness and self-control.
It will help you discover what is really driving your direction, behaviour and choices, what you say and do in life. And give you back the means of control.
Then you’ll get more of what you really want in Act 3.
Feel Cheated?
If you feel cheated by life – having done all the stuff you’re supposed to – you are certainly not alone. We’ll address that.
How?
We Will Go Below Deck
The more you pay attention to your feelings, habits, beliefs, values, hopes, fears, emotions – what’s below decks in the Titanic metaphor – accept and understand them, the quicker you’ll master them and find your direction.
We’ll work this principle through all practical areas of your life, so you’ll get positive and satisfying change in the areas of Act 3 that matter most to you.
Remote Sort-of-Control Will Become Direct Control
As you begin to Act & Think Differently, as Albert Einstein said above, you’ll find new outcomes. These will lead to further, even more positive outcomes. Better than you could hope for. Imagine that.
Write, Draw, Scribble, Doodle, Make Notes In This Book
This is your manual. Use it as a journal. Break the rules. Write in it. Draw in it. Act & Think Differently. The feelings will follow.
Pay Attention To Metaphors You Draw In The Book
Metaphors will be powerful for you. Pay attention to them. It’s the stuff from below decks telling you something important. Abandon ones that don’t resonate. Seize the ones that have power for you, as this client did:
“Deciding to put my mother in a care home felt like stumbling about in a scary dark wood. By talking about my difficult feelings of loss and anxiety the feelings became more manageable. I began to see pathways, and they led to a clearing in the wood. I felt then that it was going to be alright. She would be safe.”
There’s No Rush.
We’ve put quotes, illustrations, and stories to ponder to help you connect with your real self. Stop. Breathe. Listen to yourself. Go at your own pace.
Take a walk.
Living by the sea as we do, we see trees growing sideways. They submit over a lifetime to an invisible force. What invisible forces are acting on you? What would you change?
Make a list here. Don’t think – write…
A gentler, kinder way to grow older – these stories give me hope
