Description

Outline

Midlife presents a profound invitation of self-discovery and reinvention.  It's a time to step back from the busyness of life and think about the bigger questions of meaning, purpose, connection, and contribution.

If you are feeling the pull for something more—a greater sense of direction, deeper satisfaction, or a legacy that truly matters—this course is for you.

What You Will Discover 

Through guided reflection and practical exploration, you will:

• unearth what’s most important to you: Reconnect with your deepest values and identify the central motivations that drive you.
• reclaim your narrative: Identify stories and scripts that no longer serve you and draw on the wisdom of your past experiences to shape what comes next.
• clarify your impact: Identify meaningful ways to apply your wisdom, skills and interests to make a difference in areas that matter to you. 
• strengthen social connection: Reflect on the role of community in a purpose-filled life and identify supportive relationships and spaces where you can connect and belong.
• start with small actions: Discover how purpose can be woven into everyday life through how you show up in your family, community and the world.

The course is led by facilitator and coach Megan Voorhees, who specializes in guiding adults through meaningful reflection and life transition work. She uses human-centered design principles and a wide range of reflective and interactive activities to help you meaningfully reflect, explore and connect with others at a similar life stage.

What’s Different

Cultivating Purpose: Bookend Retreat blends the best of an in-person cohort model with the flexibility of virtual gatherings. Participants gather in person at the start of the course for a day retreat. Over the next few months, the cohort will meet via Zoom. The course ends with another day retreat where participants synthesize their learning and focus on next steps to maintain momentum. 

Throughout the course, participants are part of a supportive cohort, engage in interactive learning experiences, learn from guest speakers, and dive into reflective assignments to help them gain clarity and move forward with intention.

Join us to start this journey towards a life that aligns with what is most important to you. 

What People Are Saying

100% of participants said they would recommend Cultivating Purpose to others. Here is what participants say about their experience in Cultivating Purpose:
“Taking this course has given me the time and space, the resources and ideas, as well as a new supportive community to help me get unstuck and tap into my P/purpose(s)!” 

“The Cultivating Purpose course provided me the mind space to pull together, challenge and think more deeply about the difficulties I was facing as I transitioned into retirement.”

“The cultivating purpose class really helped me let go of many fears about what happens next. It allowed me to emotionally connect with many more possibilities in a realistic setting.” 

“We spend decades planning for our retirement financial life, this course helps you think about the rest of your later life.”

“This course helped me to think big about my life and where and what I want to do next, in a very supportive group of people and a facilitator who cheered me on.”

Learn More

If you’d like to learn more before committing:

1. Meet course facilitator Megan Voorhees on The Midlife Academy Podcast episode "Purpose at Midlife." 
2. Read about Cultivating Purpose alum Matt Parker’s journey in this Stanford Center on Longevity feature.

You can also learn more about the Midlife Academy through these articles: Men’s Health and the Star Tribune.

Testimonials

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