Start with what you love
Look at moments, at work and outside it, when you were fully engaged, and name what you enjoyed about them.
Changing careers in your 40s and 50s
A career change at 50 starts with what you want your work to be about.
If you’re considering a career change at 50, or anywhere in your 40s and 50s, start with what you want your work to be about, then choose the role. Your experience already holds the clues: the work you’ve enjoyed most and what you enjoyed about it. PurposeLife’s eight-step purpose discovery program helps you find those clues and turn them into a long-term goal.
You’ve built skills, experience and a reputation. Now you want your work to mean more, or you’re curious what else it could be. That’s a good question to have, and you have a lot to work with.
Is it too late for a career change at 50?
No. At 50 you bring decades of experience and a clear sense of the kind of days you enjoy. The practical questions are real: income, training, timing and the people who depend on you. Knowing what you want your work to be about gives you a way to weigh each of them. A change might mean a new field, a different role in the same one, or a new way of doing the job you have.
“I want my work to mean more to me.”
“I’m good at what I do. Is this what I want for the next fifteen years?”
“I have more to give than my job asks of me.”
Illustrative questions for reflection.
Why ask “what do I want my work to be about?” before “which job?”
Job boards and career tests start from roles: which titles match your skills. That tells you what you could do. Choosing between those options is easier when you’ve worked out what motivates you and the contribution you want to make. Then you can judge each option against it, including options you hadn’t considered.
Do I have to leave my job to find meaningful work?
No. Meaningful work can come from a new career, and it can also come from changing how you do your current job, what you take on, or what you add alongside it. The program helps you work out what you want your work to contribute. Where that leads is your choice, and you can explore it while you’re still employed.
The eight-step purpose discovery program
How do the eight steps apply to a career change?
The same eight steps, from reflection to action, in four stages.
Understand yourself
See how you like to approach things and recognize your top five character strengths in your own examples.
Explore and try
Find directions that fit what drives you, then test one: talk to people who do the work and ask what it’s really like.
Give your purpose a plan
Set a long-term purposeful goal and a road map with dates, next steps and people who can help.
89
adults aged 50 to 85 in a randomized controlled study
The research behind the method
What does the research show?
In a randomized controlled study of 89 adults aged 50 to 85 (Brackman, 2017, Australian Catholic University), adults who received the program developed a stronger sense of purpose than those who did not receive it during the study. The benefits were still present three months after the program ended.
Participants were assigned by chance: 46 received the program and 43 were offered it after the study. Gains showed on all five questionnaires about purpose, and on three of them, people who started with the least sense of purpose gained the most.
The study measured sense of purpose, which is what the program is designed to build. Where that purpose takes your career is up to you.
Not ready to start? Get the short guide.
Get a short guide: the 8-step method, the research in plain English, and a first exercise you can do today.
How it differs from a general AI assistant
A purpose discovery program, with a coach to guide you.
ChatGPT and Claude can help you explore ideas. PurposeLife guides you through a complete, research-tested method for discovering your purpose.
Its coach draws on guidance developed from the research and experience with people who used earlier versions of the program. It helps you explore what motivates you, work through the exercises and turn what you discover into a long-term purposeful goal.
What will you have at the end?
A long-term purposeful goal you chose yourself and a plan to work toward it. Everything you write is saved, so you can return to it. Along the way you’ll build:
- A record of the activities you love and what you enjoy about them
- Your top five character strengths, with examples from your own life
- A shortlist of possibilities, and what you learned from trying one
- A road map with next steps, dates and people who can help
- Your purpose statement, in your own words, if you choose to write one
Who created PurposeLife
Who is behind the method?
Dr. Levi Brackman created PurposeLife. He started his working life as a rabbi and later became an entrepreneur in finance and technology, thinking carefully about his next purposeful step at each transition. He developed the method through a program to help young people discover their purpose. It became the subject of his doctoral research at Australian Catholic University, which also studied purpose in adults.
About Dr. Levi BrackmanWhere can you read more?
Articles
Common questions
How much time does the program take?
You work at your own pace. Some steps are reflection in the app; others ask you to talk to people or try something in everyday life. Your work is saved between visits, and you have 12 months of access.
What does it cost?
$149, paid once. That includes all eight steps, the AI coach and 12 months of access. There is no subscription, and you can cancel for a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Can I do this while I’m still employed?
Yes. PurposeLife is online and self-paced, so you can use it in the evenings or at weekends. Step 6, Trying things out, starts with conversations: who to talk to and what to ask them. You can learn about a possible change before you make one.
Will it tell me which career to choose?
No. The coach asks about your own answers rather than telling you what your purpose is. You come away with a long-term purposeful goal and a road map. The decisions along the way are yours.
Is it only for people in their 40s and 50s?
No. PurposeLife is for adults at any stage who want to discover their purpose and decide how to live it out. The study behind the method involved adults aged 50 to 85.
See pricing and refund details or email levi@purposelife.ai.
Want the short guide first?
Get a short guide: the 8-step method, the research in plain English, and a first exercise you can do today.
Your purpose starts with you
Discover what you want your life to be about.
Eight guided steps, based on a method tested in a randomized controlled study, with coaching from the start. Explore your motivations and turn what you discover into a purposeful goal.
From discovery to action
Complete program
$149 paid once
12 months of access, including your AI coach. No subscription.
Your saved work stays readable after access ends.
$149 USD total, including applicable tax.
- All eight steps, from reflection to a purposeful goal
- An AI coach built for purpose discovery, in every step
- Explore what drives the activities you love
- Your strengths, and a library of directions to explore
- Real-world exploration, your road map and purpose statement
- 12 months of access, with coaching included
14-day money-back guarantee. Cancel and refund from your account. How refunds work.
Your own experiences are the starting point
Give your purpose the attention it deserves.
Work through the program in your own time, with a specialist AI coach to help you explore what matters to you.
Look across the activities you love, recognize what motivates you, and choose a long-term purposeful goal. Then build a road map toward it.
Your work is saved between visits. You can start today and take the time you need to reflect.
Curious about where you are now? Our free six-question purpose check gives you a snapshot of your current sense of purpose.
Take the free purpose check