Save the Date: 3rd September 2025
My goodness, how quickly did 60 arrive? It seems no time since my 21st birthday, my birthing 30’s, exhausted 40’s and liberating 50’s, and now I have entered a new decade marking the 3rd3rd of my life.
My business is 27 years old in September, and my career spans a whopping 47 years!
For some of my friends, this next third is about winding down, retiring and enjoying the simpler pleasures that life has to offer – good on them, enjoy. However, for an increasing number of women (me included), the opposite is true. Our families have grown and become less dependent, the job that provided the ware-with-all to pay the bills may no longer be motivating, nor even exist. Menopause is now under the control of HRT (thank you Davina!), and there is a new drumbeat within, that reverberates its rhythmic march: “It’s my turn!”
Maybe the symptoms of midlife that sought to diminish mind and body, the exhaustion of being overlooked or side-stepped for leadership opportunities, and the promise of a meagre pension fund that may not be enough to fund one decade, never mind the next three, serve to encourage some women to reject the journey towards invisibility and oblivion. Instead, and certainly since the pandemic, many women are making different decisions about career, lifestyle and a light-energising-alternative for flourishing in their 3rd3rd.
My mum and other generations of women before her, used to call this phase ‘the change of life’: the belief that their contribution, value and inner light would be much dimmer than before. Society had less expectation of contribution and value as they approached retirement age; after all, they were no longer attractive, supple or even visible. That was then, and is it different today? If we take a moment to look around, we see that many older women are still dumped on the scrapheap, whilst older men appear to get put in charge. Our country’s governments, religious organisations and social establishments are testament to this despairing situation. We have danced to the tune of the patriarchy for years, trimming, slimming, shaving, shrinking and sexualising our female selves to conform and succeed in a system that favoured young, attractive, sexy, and small. However, in super-aged Britain, where there are not enough bright young things to go around, organisations in their war for talent still show bias towards the young. What they are not noticing in this demographic skew, is that the ‘Gig culture’ is rising, and the last laugh is that it is in both our young people and in women over 55. Imagine if our young and wise got together and worked alongside one another to fix our world? I can’t help thinking that the edifices of traditional organisations may indeed crumble and fall. More women-owned companies were started during and since the pandemic by women over 55, and whilst the UK is one of the best places for entrepreneurs, still only 2% of traditional investment is in women-owned business (Rose Report & The Gender Index). What I am delighted to note is that many of the green shoots aiming to change this statistic come from women investors in their 3rd3rd. The work of Savvitas and their champions like OWIT, and The Gender Index is supporting this focus.
Purpose and Meaning
I remember dreading the tug towards the 3rd3rd. It was not that I wanted to retain my youth and collagen-filled cells, it was more about maintaining a sense of purpose and contribution to our planet, its people and its evolution. To add to this, recent research concludes that ‘Purpose’ trumps other lifestyle changes, in the longevity stakes.
Living without purpose for me is a bit like sitting on a train, looking out of the window and watching life going on ‘out there’, like I am passing life by whilst hurtling towards my final station stop; and when finally arriving, would look back down the track of my life, at the first 60 years of achieving and success, and the final 30 withering at a window. What legacy would I leave my daughters and grandchildren, friends, communities and the world if I did nothing more? It makes me shudder to contemplate such a waste of potential, creativity and intelligence.
Instead, I resolve to a 3rd3rd journey that will be significant. It will be one where I get to drive the train, disembark at a few destinations to experience new things, meet some different people, learn deeply, and contribute to the betterment of our planet and people. I envisage that I will then hop back on my train with souvenir stuffed pockets, and memories made, to scribble postcards of those experiences to share with my 3rd3rd. I want to look out the window of my train and see hundreds of other women alongside; a weft of tracks and travelling companions making a difference to the 3rd3rd of one-another’s journeys, and to our world.
Our final destination is not so far away and however long it may be (one, ten or thirty years), I want this final and liberating 3rd3rd to be significant, make a difference; one that is living not just existing, and helping other women to live, not just give up.
I want women to recognise that during the final 3rd of their life, that we can work together to make a difference, build a community of wisdom, and make a significant difference to each woman and man living in their own thirds, in all environments, and across our world. Now that is a track that I for one would love to look back down at the end of my own final 3rd.
My Vision for the 3rd3rd
My dream is that women from the age of 55, in their 3rd3rd of life have the choice and opportunity to continue to find purpose in work, lead authentically and discover new adventures for themselves that bring learning, contribution to the world, and the joy of living fantastically well. I want to make significant women’s 3rd3rd experience, creating a global sisterhood of wise women that can make a world of difference.
Through the 3rd3rd, it is my vision that we will together build a community of like-minded, wise women who will succeed to leave a legacy and imprint that creates a lineage of hope, peace, togetherness and role models for future generations entering, existing in, and exiting their own thirds. We will aspire to be great in our fields of interest, and together make our mark on creating a better world for mother earth and all of its living beings.
I read recently, that the person has already been born who is likely to live to 150. That person may live in fifths, not thirds. We owe it to them and others born since to create a world of vitality and value at all stages. If we continue down this current path, we will never change the world for future generations and the planet. The patriarchy that dictates how we should be, look, live, work, behave, believe and wither will sustain. In an ageing population, we have an obligation and right to make change happen for the futures that we will not be a part of.
The 3rd3rd is a new rite of passage, a time of wisdom and immense potential. It is a time of choice and change, growth and freedom to be who you were born to become. We must change our minds about who we are, and who we are judged to be. As the wonderful Oprah Winfrey once said, “When you undervalue what you can do, the world will undervalue who you are.”
“I wonder if that’s how we will change the world, not through quotas, dismantling barricades, and driving policies, but through us, the women of wisdom, the 3rd3rd, who quietly and knowing our own purpose, just pick up our skirts and get the job done together, for future generations?”
I am not being scrapped, I am not watching life pass me by; I am wise woman and I deserve to make a difference.
It is our turn. Let’s take a vow (voice of wisdom) into a 3rd3rd of significance, joy and transformation for all. Meet with me on September 3rd to take our VOWs forward!
Warm wishes,
Lynne Copp
A VOW for my 3rd3rd workshop
On September 3rd, 3rd3rd women are invited to attend a one-day workshop at Henley Business School, to discover and define the woman you were born to become in your 3rd3rd.
Facilitated by Lynne Copp, Executive Coach & Writer, and delivered at the beautiful parkland setting of Henley Business School in Oxfordshire. This exciting one-day workshop provides an inspiring thinking and coaching space to discover new possibilities for your 3rd3rd, and will include:
- The 3rd3rd right of passage – insights and discussion about our changing world, and the wise women opportunities.
- Explore ‘Trace’ – based on Lynne’s leadership studies, this session supports you to discover your personal 3rd3rd purpose, character and core values that will define your Trace.
- Uncover your personal desired future for work and life, set goals, and 3rd3rd ambitions, and use the inspiring ‘My Brand, My Career, My Way!’ tools to define your roadmap for a fulfilling 3rd3rd.
- Attend inspiring group discussions about 3rd3rd wellbeing, brand, personal development, relationships, and more.
- Make connections, learn from others, and build a trusted tribe of 3rd3rd wise women.
‘A VOW for my 3rd3rd’ is my signature programme for women in their 3rd3rd and has been designed and built from the studies that I have conducted over 35 years of experience and expertise in developing and coaching people.
Venue
Henley Business School is situated in 30 acres of beautiful parkland on the banks of the River Thames, just two miles from Henley‐on‐Thames, and a short train ride from London. Delegates will enjoy free refreshments and a three-course lunch as part of the workshop. There is free parking on-site, and for those wishing to stay over, there is an onsite hotel that offers favourable rates for bed and breakfast (not included in the workshop fee).
Book Now