On meeting Amy

When we first met Amy she was in her 30s and responsible for the technical sales team of a video streaming platform across the APEC region. She had successfully moved from the UK to Australia, married her dream guy, and was growing in responsibility in a fast-growing industry. On the outside, she had all the external signs of success.

However, she felt she carried a missing link that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “A health scare put career dissatisfaction on hold and I remained with the company who were supportive during my treatment,” she adds.

However, that gnawing feeling never went away.

The Paradox of Success

Amy’s story is not unique.

Scholars like Richrard Rohr in his book, Falling Upward say somewhere between the ages of 35 and 55, most people begin to question their life’s path. They recognise the first half of life has been filled with chasing financial stability, status, and success. However, when they look forward they recognise that further achievement of these things will not result in deep meaning and fulfillment.

“A journey into the second half of our own lives awaits us all. Not everybody goes there, even though all of us get older. A further journey is a well-kept secret, for some reason. There are too few who are aware of it, tell us about it, or know that it is different to the journey of the first half of life,” he writes.

This is the paradox of success. That we can spend half our lives chasing success only to find it is not the thing we truly seek.

The next Catherine Zeta-Jones

Amy was brave enough to go on the further journey through our PX™ experience.

In a peer group with other halftime leaders, she went back to the beginning of her story to find the golden threads of purpose that would inform her next half.

Born in a small town in North Cornwall in the UK she recalls growing up with a love of music and the performing arts.

“I loved music and singing so my brothers would record the weekly Top 10 for me to listen to on my Walkman. When my younger sister became old enough she became my audience for my made up plays and musicals that I would perform to her with the latest Take That album as a backing track. My family believed I would be the next Catherine Zeta-Jones.”

We noticed Amy’s face light up and her posture change with these memories. However, it was in a sliding doors moment that she parked her dream of being a performing artist to follow a more predictable path working in video technology.

“I stopped imagining what my perfect day would look like. I set my dreams aside and handed my days over to society.”

The day she shared her story with the group was when she began to dream again.

Amy in her next half

The beauty of seeking a further journey at halftime is that Amy could rewrite her story. She’s still got half her life and career left. What would it mean now to get on the train instead of remaining immobilised on the platform?

Her purpose to be a truth seeker who empowers freedom in others began to open doors for her. As a result of PX™, she left the role she was in to be in one that was more aligned with her values and purpose. She found the confidence to get on the train.

Her purpose will continue to open many more doors for her in the course of her life. After all, she has time. She also has many ways to connect back to her love of the performing arts through her work in video technology, and in her hobbies and interests.

Making your mark

Richard Rohr says, “The first half of life is discovering the script, and the second half is actually rewriting it and owning it.”

According to him, very few ever get the chance to do so.

If you’d like to rewrite your script on your journey from success to significance, say hello@markdglobal.com.

If you’d like to connect to Amy to learn how she is finding truth and freedom, link in with her here.