NOW BOARDING: Second Wind: navigating the magnificent mutiny of midlife
Build a vision for the second half of life in this immersive 6-month online course & community with midlife coach & author NICK THORPE
What is it?
Six video modules, delivered monthly to your inbox, by midlife coach, trainer & author NICK THORPE
Six live 90-min Zoom workshops to connect and learn with fellow voyagers
Membership of online community for resources and support
Structured around four archetypal energies for navigating "your one wild and precious life"
Most relevant for ages 30s to 60s
JOIN US!
When is it?
VIDEO COURSE MODULES
Delivered monthly 1st Oct 25 - 1st Mar 26
LIVE COURSE WORKSHOPS
Wednesdays 6.30-8pm
29 Oct, 19 Nov, 10 Dec 2025
21 Jan, 25 Feb, 25 Mar 2026
Fridays 10-11.30am
31 Oct, 21 Nov, 12 Dec 2025
23 Jan, 27 Feb, 27 Mar 2026
SAVE THE DATES!
What's it like?
"A poignant and remarkable experience.” Karen
"Thank you for opening my eyes to the limitless possibilities of the new phase." Firas
"I made some huge life changes that I hadn’t imagined possible when the course began" Elspeth
“Nick was warm, professional, compassionate, and shared personal things that made it okay for the rest of us to be vulnerable." Steve
MORE TESTIMONIALS BELOW
Let’s be honest: there are times when navigating midlife feels far from magnificent.
As we encounter converging storms of family conflict, career change, health challenges, caring responsibilities or relationship breakdown, it can feel more like drifting, sinking - even drowning.
Even if we’ve so far dodged the worst of the weather, the middle passage can leave us stuck in the doldrums, as existential questions bob to the surface around us: Where exactly am I going? Why do I feel so alone? What’s happened to my energy and motivation? Dare I pursue the life I really want?
The good news, I've discovered in my own rather choppy midlife journey and the courageous struggles of my clients, is that what many of us experience as a crisis can ultimately be a portal into much truer versions of ourselves.
According to the psychoanalyst Carl Jung, the arduous passage to the second half of life is both necessary and life-giving, as we shift from fulfilling the expectations of others to confronting death, finding new meaning in living and living our unique purpose in the world.
The bad news is that it often takes a mutiny to break us out of old patterns that no longer serve, confronting uncomfortable truths about ourselves. But we don’t need to do it alone. And as Jung put it: “I would rather be whole than good”.
Why not join me on a shared 6-month journey of discovery, to see if we can support one another to make the necessary shifts for the magnificent mutiny of midlife. I believe the more courage and vulnerability we bring to our exploration, the more joy we’ll experience when that second wind fills our sails.
ONE MUTINEER'S EXPERIENCE
NEW MAPS FOR MIDLIFE
As a philosophically-curious travel author turned life and leadership coach and facilitator, I’ve beach-combed all the most transformative things I’ve learned in decades of journalism, group work, personal development training and rites of passage work and built them into the vessel of this course.
After nearly 1500 hours of coaching clients through everything from procrastination to burnout, relationship breakdown to business start-ups, stagnation to identity crisis, I've spent the last few years scanning for some kind of shared navigation system.
And what I've noticed are four archetypal energies that show up again and again - each bringing both shadows and superpowers, and a capacity to either help or hinder us:
The Drifter (Jellyfish)
Master of the fertile unknown, able to surrender to the lost art of letting go, this wildcard character can change everything. Usually marginalised but as essential as sleep to the functioning of a healthy crew. Superpowers: rest and spirituality; shadow: lostness and lack of energy.
The Wayfinder (Albatross)
A big-picture dreamer, scanning the horizon to envision possibility and connection, but sometimes struggling to land things practically in the real world. Superpowers: vision, creativity, imagination. Shadow: Scatteredness, failure to take action, ungroundedness.
The Mutineer (Crab)
This is the resistant energy that frequently forces us to seek help in the first place, the critical friend turned saboteur, great at saying “no” but often stuck inside armour that's starting to pinch. Superpowers: boundary-keeping and self-protection; Shadow: self-sabotage and avoidance.
The Commander (Salmon)
A powerhouse of action and leadership, striving for change, but battling burnout and a sneaking suspicion we might be swimming up the wrong river. Superpowers: willpower and action; Shadow: Unsustainability and narrow focus.
Do any of these sound familiar?
Most of us have elements of all these navigation styles, but with definite favourites and aversions. Ideally they work in balance together as a kind of inner crew: each complements and needs the others to form a system I’ve called the Navigate Drift Matrix – because it allows for both navigation and drift as vitally important.
Each has a certain energy we can recognise in our body, bringing specific strengths for particular moments in any project or life-journey. In becoming conscious of where each is showing up – and cultivating our neglected energies – we can create a 360-degree navigation system for making sometimes difficult life choices.
I’m excited to discover what it might mean practically for your individual situation, as we journey through each of the navigational energies in turn over the six months and support each other to discover our purpose and particular calling in our second half of life.
MODULES, WORKSHOPS, COMMUNITY & COACHING
From 1st October 2025 you’ll have access to the first of six monthly online modules navigating our way through each of the particular energies needed for midlife. Each will combine teaching, inspiring stories and practical worksheets and exercises – while the live meet-ups will allow for group discussion, small-group exercises and general connection.
On the first of each month, a new module will drop in your inbox. Then later on in the month – either Wed evening or Friday morning depending on your availability – we’ll get the chance to meet up on Zoom to meet each other and share our life learnings.
By opting for Wednesday evening or Friday morning live groups, you'll get to deepen your connection to the same group of people across six months in a way that will build trust and friendship. However there will also be flexibility to accommodate visitors from other cohorts to help with commitment clashes, and sessions will also be recorded and available for those who can't make it on the day.
There’s also an online Whatsapp Community where we can share thoughts on a range of issues connected to midlife – and meet other midlife mutineers from past years or different cohorts.
And for those who want to dive even deeper, sessions or packages of 1:1 coaching can be purchased as a bolt-on from Nick, who will help you explore particular challenges in your own life, using the archetypes and other frameworks in a confidential setting.
You can book a free coaching discovery call or paid sessions with Nick here.
VOYAGE ITINERARY
Here’s how the modules pan out in a bit more detail – though as on any voyage, you can expect some improvisation and swelling of the timbers as we chart our progress together.
In keeping with the deep dive of the archetypal Hero's Journey, we’ll be journeying down and inwards through the autumn and winter, towards our resistance and our deep need for rest and nurture, before surfacing in the new year to face back out into the world with a clearer sense of our inner guidance system and individual mission.
OCTOBER
MODULE 1: Shadows and Superpowers
Course content: an introduction to the archetypal energies - envision, strive, resist, surrender - and their interrelatedness with the cycle of our first and second parts of life. We’ll examine how each archetype has superpowers and a shadow - that part of us we hide repress or deny - and how to mine it for transformative gold using projection as a diagnostic tool. We’ll pool learnings in the online forum, and a few weeks later in our live meet-up we’ll get to know our fellow voyagers, set basic ground rules for confidentiality etc, and share stories and a guided visualisation together.
NOVEMBER
MODULE 2: Befriend Your Resistance
Midlife is often beset with unfinished projects, frustrated dreams and general procrastination around what we can’t quite bring ourselves to do, or stop doing. So as autumn deepens we’ll offer deep curiosity to those parts of our lives we most resist, daring to embrace the stuck places and seeing what they might be trying to tell us. Our companion here is the mutineer, represented by the crab, the part of us who procrastinates, rebels, subverts, sabotages - but also might have something important to teach us about boundaries…
DECEMBER
MODULE 3: The Lost Art of Letting Go
Approaching the winter solstice in December, we'll be dropping into the generative space of the drifter. Floating like the jellyfish, we'll drop below the surface to harness the power of the subconscious, taking a look at our dreams, our needs for nurture in this traditional time of hibernation. We'll consider the possibility that something bigger than ourselves is holding us, whether that's a spiritual system or the simple interconnectedness of life. A module inviting us to deep and generative rest – and sustainable work-life patterns for the coming year.
JANUARY
MODULE 4: Intentional Drift
January is the month we change perspective from inward to outward and take flight with the Wayfinder, getting an albatross-eye view of our lives to envision where we want to go. Like the seafaring monks who set off without clear destination in search of “the place of their resurrection”, we'll be considering the virtues of intentional drift, scanning the horizon for possible paths at the start of the year. We'll be looking to calibrate our internal compass, trust our instinct and flow with the Tao along the path of least resistance.
FEBRUARY
MODULE 5: Striving to Thrive
By February, it's time to bring the power of the Commander into play. Like the salmon, capable of astonishing waterfall-leaping feats in pursuit of the spawning grounds of its destination, we may now be clearer on our mission in the second half of life, and willing to hold ourselves accountable to get there. With the balance of the other archetypes, we'll also learn how to harness our willpower without risking burnout – the shadow tendency of the commander – and keep our perspective wide enough to ensure we’re swimming up the right river.
MARCH
MODULE 6: Integrate your Ending
As spring arrives in the northern hemisphere we'll be in sight of the course's final harbour - and somewhere beyond that, our own inescapable deaths! Harnessing some existential memento mori, it will be time to seize the day, integrate and balance the archetypal energies we've encountered, using guided visualisations, writing exercises and group work to build sustainable support into our ongoing lives. We'll be celebrating the changes we've seen in each other over the voyage and building a way to stay in touch for those who wish it.
My experience over many years of facilitating 6-month coach trainings teaches me that strong bonds and friendships can form when we choose to trust our fellow-travellers with our deepest hopes – and I hope that will be true of this course.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
Signing up for the course will get you:
Six modules of online recordings and lessons with associated PDF exercises and resources. Released 1st of the month starting October.
Six live 90-minute zoom meet-ups (recordings available for those who miss one)
Digital community and message boards to stay in touch with other participants between modules
Resources, articles and reading list for further study
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Here are some of the possible applications of the things we’ll experience in our six-month journey together:
Befriend the resistant patterns and parts that you've previously critiqued as self-sabotaging – and find new ways to work with and transform them.
Experience a range of tools for self-discovery, from cognitive enquiry and journaling to guided visualisation and somatic exercises
Understand the Jungian concept of the shadow and awareness of inner gold in what we habitually repress, hide or deny.
Understand projection and how to diagnose our own issues and needs from what we habitually attribute to others.
Use the archetypes of the Navigate Drift Matrix to diagnose when we’re out of balance and bring less familiar energies into play in our daily life.
Use the Navigate Drift Matrix to track phases in work projects, relationships and the cycle of life – and know when to anticipate or initiate change.
Birth a vision or mission for the second part of your life, with resources to help you stay on track.
Make new friends to accompany you on this transformative journey and keep you accountable to changes you want to make.
LIVE COURSE DATES
WEDNESDAY EVENING LIVE
1: Shadows and Superpowers:
Wed 29 Oct - 6.30-8pm
2: Befriend your Resistance:
Wed 19 Nov - 6.30-8pm
3: The Lost Art of Letting Go:
Wed 10 Dec - 6.30-8pm
4: Intentional Drift:
Wed 21 Jan - 6.30-8pm
5: Striving to Thrive:
Wed 25 Feb - 6.30-8pm
6: Integrate your Ending:
Wed 25 Mar -6.30-8pm
FRIDAY MORNINGS LIVE
1: Shadows and Superpowers:
Fri 31 Oct – 10-11.30am
2: Befriend your Resistance:
Fri 21 Nov – 10-11.30am
3: The Lost Art of Letting Go:
Fri 12 Dec - 10-11.30am
4: Intentional Drift:
Fri 23 Jan - 10-11.30am
5: Striving to Thrive:
Fri 27 Feb - 10-11.30am
6: Integrate your Ending:
Fri 27 Mar - 10-11.30am
COME AND JOIN US!
TESTIMONIALS from Second Wind 2024-5
“A thoughtful, gentle but powerful exploration of midlife and transition - wonderful spaces to explore where we have been, where we are and where we're going to in a safe but encouraging way. Really helped me recognise where I was at and which of the archetypes needed easing off as well as inviting in. Thank you Nick - your honest and authentic approach and your complete openness to everyone's ideas and perspectives always draws me in and supports a journey and a shift.”
KAREN WEBB
“I am at a moment of transition and wanted to take the opportunity to introspect in a group setting. I've also enjoyed Nick's books and perspective on the world and knew I would resonate with the way he ran the course. I most enjoyed exploring the archetypes (which I have shared with so many people!) and how they have brought to life elements of my personality I struggled to previously articulate. I also enjoyed the timing of each archetype, esp having the jellyfish over the winter solstice.”
LUCY LEONELLI
“Thanks Nick - this is a huge body of thoughtful work, well done. And, most pertinent to me will always be the permission to grant myself 'intentional drift'!
RACHAEL KEWLEY
“An amazing course for anyone, not just mid-lifers. I'm 67, but I've been surprised by the relevance of these archetypes to my life situation. Incredibly useful!”
ANDREA
“An excellent course. The simplicity of explanation and descriptions enabled this to stay forefront of my mind and will be easy to refer to when living my life, choosing my direction, approach for future challenges. Thanks Nick!”
RACHEL EDWARDS
Nick was warm, professional, compassionate, and also shared personal, vulnerable things about himself that made it okay for the rest of us to be vulnerable and admit to mistakes and fears.
STEVE
Thank you for opening my eyes to the limitless possibilities of the new phase. It's not the end, and definitely not a crisis.... it's the beginning of something much much bigger and more exciting than the first part of my life.
FIRAS
“Nick’s course with its genius structure of archetypes gave me a wonderful map and compass at a time when I was trying to make sense of where I’ve got to in my journey so far. I gained a great deal of understanding about myself and others and felt very safe with Nick’s leadership of the group. Since the course began, I have made some huge life changes that I hadn’t imagined possible when the course began and am so grateful for the chance to embark on this midlife adventure!”
ELSPETH MURRAY
“Nick's a creative, intelligent and kind force for good. It's always meaningful to spend time with him.”
PAUL
“It's been so enriching to reflect on my midlife journey with Nick and the other participants on the course - something I could not have contemplated on my own. The marine metaphors really resonated and I am particularly grateful that I've been a participant in this moment of my life.”
MATT HATTON
“This course provides an opportunity to think, reflect and discuss with others who are also going through the complexities of mid-life. The archetypes that Nick shares provide fantastic guidance on how we might navigate the mid-life journey with a sense of wisdom and hope.”
ESTHER
“A powerful & interesting short course, with well delivered material & structure, that'll get you thinking, reflecting and leaning into 'whatever's next'...”
CLAIRE CARPENTER
Nick is calm, kind, fun, honest and just an absolutely brilliant facilitator.
KAREN
NICK'S QUALIFICATIONS
Nick Thorpe is an award-winning journalist, author, PCC-credentialed coach, supervisor and trainer for Animas Centre for Coaching, where he leads a 6-month diploma in transformative coaching. He works with executive leaders including senior academics and head teachers seeking fresh thinking. In his private coaching practice in Edinburgh, he leans towards person-centred, integrative coaching, with a particular passion for midlife/career transition, male rites of passage, shadow work, spiritual & creative process and intentional drift.
In his 25-year career as a journalist he worked across most UK broadsheets and BBC radio, latterly specialising in travel writing, for which he won a number of awards. He has written three acclaimed travel memoirs, all experiments in drift of one kind of another. Eight Men and a Duck was a hare-brained 2500-mile voyage to Easter Island on a slowly-sinking boat made of reeds, while Adrift in Caledonia tested the existential art of boat-hitching around his adoptive Scotland and was serialised as BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. Most recently, in Urban Worrier, he burned out and decided to traverse the world in search of experts in the lost art of letting go.
A spiritual seeker since his youth, he retains a sense of the sacred interconnectedness of all things, committed to both soulful exploration and evidence-based learning. Passionate about the power of deep listening, which is the basis of coaching, he has also trained in a wide variety of integrative practices including process-orientated psychology, rites of passage and menswork, bodywork, meditation and shamanic practice.
He was educated at Oxford University (BA English Lit), City University (Dipl Newspaper Journalism) and Animas Centre for Coaching (Dipl Transformative Coaching and Supervision).
Fascinated by navigation both actual and existential, he lives by the sea in Edinburgh, where he likes to kayak.
For more information, check out the following:
Author Website: www.nickthorpe.co.uk
Coaching portal: bookings.nickthorpe.co.uk
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nickthorpewriter/
Substack: https://intentionaldrift.substack.com
