6 Reasons Men In Midlife Seeking A Career Change Should Consider Becoming A Midlifepreneur

6 Reasons Men in Midlife seeking a career change should consider becoming a Midlifepreneur

Who is a midlifepreneur? A midlifepreneur is someone who have decided that they are going to be an entrepreneur at midlife. More than likely they have worked for others in the past, and have become disillusioned, dissatisfied and discouraged with how their life have been unfolding up this point. They have tossed and turned with the idea of a career change but realize that is not what they really want to do at this point in their lives.

Working for another fifteen to twenty-five years clocking into work and being told what, when and how to do certain things, is no longer what they want to do. They want to take charge of their lives rather than have someone else doing that for them.

The days of working a 9 to 5 job for thirty or forty years and somehow retire with a pension and being given a gold watch, which really doesn’t happen anymore, is over. Those days are passe.

No longer can they count on having social security or some form of government assistance, which really is not an assistance; it’s the government paying back what they took over the years that they worked. Those days of promise is getting darker and darker. The horror stories of the government not having enough money to pay is leaking out more and more, which has become very chilling.

This has now led to men who are at midlife having to reconsider how they want to proceed in the future. Do they simply want a career change or do they want a lifestyle change? And that is the question facing many men who are now at this stage of life.

The midlife stage according to psychologist Erik Erikson, is the years that spans from 40 to 64 years of age. Here is how he outlines what happens at this stage of life as outlined in Wikipedia.

He labels this stage of life as one of stagnation. It is where a person has reached that point in their life when they are trying to figure out who they are. “Who am I without the labels of dad, boss, president, supervisor, manager, lawyer, etc” they ask. An identity search begins at this stage as it was during the adolescence stage of life. There is a sense of confusion and uncertainty as to what to do at this point. Erikson suggests that the question being asked is “Can I make my life count?” This question is centered around work and parenthood even though there are other areas as well, which I will outline in a future blogpost.

That’s where I was in the latter part of 2007 and the early part of 2008. I entered what would be considered midlife and as most men do and maybe some women, is that we begin to look closely at our lives to see if their are any areas of significance. We are examining under the microscope what have been our accomplishments so far and whether or not we will have much if any, in the years to come. This discontent brings on the idea of a career change or launching out into the arena of entrepreneurism.

With that in mind, here are 6 reasons why men at midlife should consider becoming a midlifepreneur.

1. To be in control: taking control over your own life and responsibility for your destiny, is something that you may want to consider. It will take away the idea of someone else dictating the how, when and where of your life.
2. To do what you love: I think it was Confucius who said, “find a job you love and you never have to work another day in your life.” To me that sums up this reason. You will be loving what you do. Why put all the energy and hours into someone else’s love? Why not put it into yours?
3. Financial Freedom: Instead of making someone else “rich” off your back and I’m using this phrase loosely, why not make yourself rich? Why not work the 40 to 60 hours a week doing your own thing … what you love?
4. To be location flexible: You could set up the type of business that you are considering in such a way that you could manage it from wherever you are. You don’t have to be stuck to a building. As a matter of fact, I would advice you not to invest into buildings unless it is real estate investments. Why not consider working out of your home?
5. The Gatekeepers have been removed: We are living in a time when the information age has allowed us to virtually do business from almost anywhere in the world. All we need is a computer and wifi. The world is linked together, which puts you in access to billions of people. Social media makes it more expeditious so we don’t have an excuse. The gatekeepers who chose to selectively determine who had access to what and where, are no longer able to prevent you from gaining access. They can’t stop you.
6. To choose your best life now: This is the essence of what this blogsite is all about. It is to suggest that it’s never too late to live what is your best life now. At midlife, you could have a chance to do a do-over. Why not do it now. If not now, when. If not you, who.

I know that the immediate push back to these reasons is that “what if it doesn’t work?” My response is this: “What if it does work?”

As you can see this is a shift in mindset and philosophy of life. If you are having difficulties with this, may I suggest you join up with other men in midlife who are having similar feelings of dissatisfaction as you are having and brainstorm ways to make this shift. Find others who are already in the game and ask to join them. You would be surprised to see how many men in midlife are doing exactly what it is I’m proposing. I’m one of them. So I know it can be done.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this blog. Would you take a moment and leave me your feedback in the comment box below? I would love to continue this conversation. So, if you have questions or would like to discuss another area that is related to men in midlife who are considering a career change, please leave me that as well.