Career Change at 50: What Nobody Tells You About Starting Over

I enjoy your videos Lucy, you have a lot of life experience to draw from.

Starting over at 50 takes real courage. This perspective feels very honest and grounded.

The dead rat was a timely story-telling metaphor ;-)

I retired at 52 this January. Unless you are financially dependent on work, do not look for work. Why would one want a "midlife career change" is beyond me, especially if your work is in corporate and management? It just goes to show you need work to define you, to give you a routine, to provide human contact (albeit in a corporate setting) or you love "managing" people. We have one life, and it is short. In your mid-50s you have 15 years left before you are 70, then 80 comes quickly and then you die. You are not actually "reinventing yourself", you are trying very hard to remain the person you are, i.e. the CEO, the person with a career, the person who enjoys "moulding" others into what you think is best for them or perhaps in your own image. If you want to "reinvent" (hate that term), maybe do something completely different. Now, that's the real challenge.

I'm new to your channel but I'm loving it and I really relate to so much of what you're saying so well done for sharing well done for some good content. I shall look out for some more of your videos. I too lost my dad towards the end of 2021 from prostate cancer. When he was gone it was like what do I do now? Anyway sending lots of love to you. I'm not working through ill health now but if I was I think I would have enjoyed having you as a colleague. I did my CIPD training certificate is one of my qualifications so understand the coaching theme but the main bulk of my career is IT analysis❤😊

Lucy I just watched your video it’s Friday morning just had my light breakfast and will be heading out the door for my morning walk . I’m a 63 year old empty nester and working through ideas if I should go back to work knowing that my competitors will be of a younger class. Since resigning my last position which was this year to also care for my mom with dementia. I’m incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to care for mom. Yet why do I feel like I have more to give to society before I get mom’s age . Is this feeling common as women have an empty nest and are at the begining of retirement . Lucy , I sure would love to know that I’m not alone in this life experience thank you for your content so relatable that it brought me to tears . Thanks again

Honestly after taking hundreds of foster kids to their dreams and the royal wedding and meeting true visionaries and the 12 i made pledge their fortunes in 1980 to orphans and those 12 whom did not want to repeat their very horrid childhoods

A great video, Lucy. It's wonderful to hear you're getting questions about one-on-one coaching and that you're racing toward 20k subscribers. I'm here cheering you on. Kathryn 💛🙏😊

They say cats have 9 lives. I feel I've had at least 4 or 5, minimum... each of which served as a separate layer of paint on my personal portrait. I regret none of the changes, some of which were sudden and unexpected. Like you, I lost a sibling early in life (in an accident). It was really trauamatic, and then a few years later, when I'd lost hope on anything good happening to me, I ended up at Oxford. And then I got cancer...and survived...only to find (in America, at least) that they use any past cancer history as a reason to classify you as disabled, even if I'm not disabled, at least not cognitively/intellectually. But work has been arduous to find, since then. Some of it has been demoralising. But good things have crept through the darkness, despite these highs and lows. Thank you for your videos, Lucy. I find them extremely helpful. So glad I found you. 💕

Hey Lucy, thank you for sharing your story 😊

nice shot of the way in front of you ❤

Thank you for sharing your story Lucy. Very inspiring <3 All your videos are very helpful. I Iost my father, - also in 2021. He was only 61 years old. So, life for sure can get turned upside down quickly. Today I live in the Norwegian countryside with my mother close by. A quiet and peaceful life, but for me it is a rich life. Still working on getting out of my 9-4 job that I have outgrown, but I am getting there. My YouTube channel is growing, so I am excited to really go all in. - Magnus

❤❤ woke up ruminating about work and reflecting on “ office politics” and your latest upload was there. I can only imagine what an open, compassionate and transformational CEO you must have been; your genuine interest in people and making a positive difference to society. You are authentically you; having tackled the UK workplace system of systemic ageism; especially for a female CEO. Thank you for walking and talking; demonstrating self care in the virtual workplace of a podcast. Different and refreshing. You have inspired me to be more Lucy! Thankyou!

Thank you for your content, Lucy. I'm a relatively new subscriber but have subscribed because you speak to the kind of experiences I have had. Your content helps me to know what to do next in my life and that I'm not the only person experiencing tough times especially in career, right. I love your clear compassionate communication. So glad you are on YT helping us navigate, learn, practice a fulfilling work life. Not always easy but we can get through thanks to folks like you. ❤

I love your videos. Could you share some advice on transitioning careers for us Millenials? Our career situations are very different. Even though I’ve been in the workforce for 12 years and I’ve had a leadership position for 5, now that I am being pushed out after I came back from maternity leave, I cannot afford to take a break to study or quit my job without a new one lined up or even take another job because they pay less.. all because my housing costs are so incredibly high. I feel a lot of the advice on the internet is based on a reality that no longer exists. Would love to see you address that. Love your channel

Loved this walk n talk journey. Love from New Zealand ❤❤❤

Love it! And no, you didn't forget about telling who you are... In fact you're doing it throughout the whole video 😌 very human of you. Cheers from Poland

Hi Lucy I love your honesty in this video. Life can be such a challenge, and we can often see others looking like they have everything together, when in fact people can have so much going on.

I have reinvented myself a few times in my life. From not doing that well at school, then working in poorly paid jobs, and feeling like a disappointment, to then marrying the right person who then encouraged me to get the degree I'd always wanted to achieve whilst also being mum to 4, then reinventing myself again after working in various part time jobs around the kids, struggling for a time with serious illness, then retraining in horticulture, to retraining through the thrive charity as a therapist to now working as a volunteer. I don't currently earn any money, as I work as a volunteer, but I am the happiest I've ever been at work. I'm lucky to have my husband's support of course... I know I'm lucky that I don't need to rely on that salary, but I feel like I'm in the right place, and at almost 53 years old, I still have time to give more to the world yet. Life is a journey of ups and downs.

Love the channel Lucy. You are helping so many to explore and reflect too ❤️

Great video. The thing is I feel like I'm competent in my job at present but also feel a bit stuck too. It's a tricky one. But yeah I suppose it is the risk of finding something new.

Lovely video! Have you made one on starting a new job/imposter syndrome?