Second Acts: Creating the Life You Really Want, Building the Career You Truly Desire – A Step-by-Step Guide with Exercises and Action Plan to Change Careers and Start a Business

Second Acts is a guide to reinventing your life.

Whether you wish to change careers, move to a more desirable part of the country, start a business, write a novel, or drop everything to pursue a life dream, Stephen Pollan offers a powerful message ofhope and guidance that has benefited his own clients.

Drawing on his decades as an attorney and life coach, Pollan identifies the twelve barriers that stall personal change, from financial panic to the fear of failure.

He illustrates each obstacle with case studies of clients who rebuilt their lives, offering concrete strategies to replace rigid credentials and secure family consent.

Alongside these real-world examples, practical worksheets help calculate true living expenses, build a transition reserve, and uncover the needs beneath your ambitions. Through a series of exercises, you will develop a comprehensive "script" for your second act—a step-by-step action plan that will lead you to the life you've always wanted.

• Career Guidance: Proven methods to bypass age bias during hiring, from scrubbing dates off resumés to mastering body language in the critical first three minutes of an interview.
• Actionable Strategies: Nine foundational principles for managing risk without reckless leaps, including casting multiple irons in the fire and maintaining bifocal vision between present security and future goals.
• Personal Growth: Structured exercises to distill your genuine passions, unmask deep-seated needs, and write a focused mission statement before taking center stage.
• Also by This Author: Turning No Into Yes.

Stephen M Pollan is a New York City-based attorney, financial advisor, and life coach.

Mark Levine has been Stephen Pollan's collaborator for more than eighteen years. Together they have authored numerous books, including the national bestsellers Lifescripts, Live Rich, and Die Broke, and most recently, Second Acts. They have been nominated for three National Magazine Awards.