My Whale of a Tale About Second 50 Life Design

When I look back, I’m struck by how many life-changing opportunities — and also things I feel proud to have co-created — were never part of a plan. They began with an unexpected connection or curiosity, and a willingness to follow it, without knowing where it might lead.

Second 50 Life Design began exactly that way, and the catalyst was a whale tail sculpture crafted by life design expert, coach, author (and now my good friend) Gill McLaren.

In October 2024, Second 50 looked very different. I had soft-launched the community at the beginning of that year with a co-founder, who suddenly needed to step back just a few months later.

But I couldn't walk away. Because I was already seeing so much evidence of what became possible when thoughtful midlife women had a trusted place to share their wisdom, see new possibilities and support one another to make positive change happen.

But I was tired. Our community had been built on a costly and very complex technology platform, I was carrying too much alone, and I couldn't honestly see a way forward.

What I didn't realise was that the woman who would help me find it was already inside the community.

Gill had joined Second 50 through our mutual friend . We had met on Zoom, I had read and reviewed her fantastic book, Think.Plan.Live., and we had held our first inspiring Sage Advice Live conversation about Life Design.

I greatly admired Gill’s methodology and authenticity, and she had even gently (and very generously) offered me a one-to-one coaching session to explore Second 50. But (like many midlife women) I was too stuck and busy doing everything else, to make time to pause for me.

And then I saw Gill’s whale tail!

The sculptures that got me to Holgate

Alongside Gill’s work as a life design expert and coach, she is a sculptor. When she casually sent me an email about a pop-up weekend gallery she was part of in Glebe, her whale tail sculpture on the flyer caught my eye.

I have always loved whales, and sculpture too. So that weekend, I made time to meet Gill in person, with a hope that I might bring one of her smaller ceramic pieces home. By the time we arrived at the gallery, every tail had a sold sticker on it.

Gill and I quickly discovered several shared passions, including the ocean and whale watching. She said she had more sculptures at her Central Coast home, and once again kindly offered to do a some life design exploration and check out her sculpture garden.

What a difference a day makes!

I came home from Holgate captivated by her garden, with a beautiful sculpture, and with fresh clarity about both myself and Second 50.

My first big ‘aha’ moments

That time together helped me understand so clearly how I work best, and ways I could harness my natural strengths, stay true to my values and better manage my energy. It also helped me see Second 50 differently. It wasn’t stuck or failing; it was still at the beginning.

I didn’t need to force it into a conventional business model or know exactly what it was becoming. In fact, what energised me was the organic growth: attracting the right women, listening to and amplifying their diverse wisdom, learning what they needed and enabling them to contribute at the pace of trust.

I also saw a glaring contradiction: Collaboration is one of my greatest strengths and Togetherness one of my most important values. Yet here I was, trying to do almost everything alone.

From that moment, I lightened up about Second 50’s future. I also took steps to reduce the technology burden (and cost), dropped many energy-sapping activities, and let go of some of my self-invented “shoulds”.

That made more room to collaborate with inspiring women, and do more of the work that played to my strengths, energised me and gave me joy.

That day didn’t just change how I saw myself. It sparked my clarity and confidence to change how I approached Second 50.

A boatload of women and whales

A few days later, Gill joined a group of my girlfriends (who were S50 women too), for a day of whale watching on our boat. I had organised it as a fun girls’ day out, and was excited to include Gill as a thank you for her garden coaching (and introduce her to some wonderful women).

What an extraordinary day! The whales came so close, we even saw one moving right below the boat, while others leapt for hours from the water all around us. For a while, we were just a boat full of women, sharing an experience of sublime awe and joy.

Somewhere amidst the oohs and aahs, I shared some of what I had discovered in Gill's garden. The women were intrigued, and a couple of them half-joked that they wished they could gain the same experience (and clarity).

Gill generously offered to host a workshop at her home, and stepped forward to organise it. There was no launch plan or product roadmap; just a group of women curious to explore what really matters (and see Gill’s garden).

And that was the real beginning of Second 50 Life Design.

What grew from that day

The first workshop took place a few weeks later around Gill's kitchen table, followed by another gathering on my balcony in the new year.

There were pot luck lunches, laughter, honest reflection and some life-changing self-discoveries and choices. Not only about what truly mattered now to each individual, and how it was changing in midlife, but also, ways they identified to integrate more of that into their lives.

Those early S50 Life Design workshops also helped Gill and me to see the value her methodology could bring to all Second 50 women through a program, and how powerful and joyful it could be if they were able to experience it together.

That led to two multi-week Second 50 Life Design journey programs in 2025 and 2026. Everything we learned from those women has helped us shape a new eight-week experience, which is more flexible and self-paced, but still connected and supported.

At its heart is Gill’s new 5-step online course. For Gill, part of this has always been about making her proven methodology more accessible. So it is exciting that our collaboration has helped her translate her book and more than a decade of coaching into a fabulous ‘evergreen’ course that can reach people within and beyond our community.

My own Life Design continues to evolve, and I now know it will never be finished. I have loved seeing Second 50 women learn these tools together, and so many of us now return to them, both on our own and alongside one another.

They give us a practical way to pause as life changes, reflect on what matters now and make more conscious choices about where we place our time and energy.

The same is true of this community’s own design. It is not a business or a marketplace, but an intentional ecosystem of wise women, being consciously shaped and evolved by the women who lean into it.

Almost two years later…

I am excited to share that our next supported Life Design journey begins next month, almost exactly two years after I first sat with Gill in her garden.

What began with a shared love of whales (and whale tails) has grown through the generosity, curiosity and collective wisdom of dozens of Second 50 women.

Second 50 Life Design wasn’t created and then delivered to women.

It has come alive through the women who explored it with us, shared their insights and helped us shape what it could become.

Gill’s whale tail still sits in my living room, and I love it. It’s a beautiful work of art, but it’s also a daily reminder of what began when I finally took the invitation to pause, and turn some thoughtful attention towards myself. It was such a gift to me.

I haven’t shared all the changes Life Design has inspired in my life here. There have been so many, and they continue to unfold.

If there is one thing I believe might be true for us all it is this: if we never step out of the churn, we tend to keep moving in the same direction.

Pausing gives us the space to reflect on what matters now, and to make more conscious choices about how we want to live, love and contribute in the precious years ahead.

My own life design journey already feels like a whale of a tale, and I think it is still just beginning. 🐳

If this story has made you curious, you can discover what Second 50 Life Design has become here: https://second-50.co/life-design-journey-october