Weekly Insights on Thriving in Our Third Act
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[084] Beyond the Bucket List: The Calling List
- Max J Miller
Twenty-seven years after my father’s death, a 7 a.m. phone call brought him back to mind, along with a week we spent together in Irvine, California. That’s where he first told me about his retirement dream, “The American Samaritan Foundation.” Weeks later, he was diagnosed with terminal melanoma. In his last two years he did the things that end up on bucket lists, but at the end, he wanted to talk about his dream. This week I ask whether we’ve been keeping the wrong list. I also share what my father taught me: a calling isn’t measured by whether we finish it.
[083] The Meaning of 83: Why Meaning Happens Between Us
- Max J Miller
This is Field Note 83, and I got curious about the number. It’s a prime, a Sophie Germain prime, and the atomic number of bismuth, an element we thought would last forever until we learned it’s decaying, just very slowly. If meaning is that easy to make, why do so many Boomers and Joneses confess a quiet hunger for it? This week I look at what happened when the ready-made sources of meaning (work, faith, community) fell away. I also look at the irony of the self-actualization generation discovering that personal fulfillment isn’t enough. And I suggest where meaning was hiding all along: between us.
[082] 17 sparks of wonder from Nashville
- Max J Miller
Last week I promised more from Story 26 in Nashville. Here they are: field notes on wonder, gathered from speakers who treat uncertainty as the fertile ground of creativity. Seventeen lines that piqued my sense of wonder. I’d love to know which one stops you.
[081] Meeting My Tribe at STORY 26
- Max J Miller
When my friend MaxPaul sent me a link to STORY 26, he suggested we go next year. I asked, “Why not this year?” At 81, fresh from a museum opening in Los Angeles, he rebooked his flight on the spot. What followed was two days in Nashville that ranked among the most impactful conferences I’ve attended. I learned from Ariel about imperfection and from a Lion King performer about the hidden work behind every performance. And I found a room full of people I can only call my tribe.
[080] The Quiet Ones
- Max J Miller
This week I turned the lens away from myself and toward someone you might know — the friend who used to run the room and now sits near the edge of it, the father who waits, a little too patiently, to be asked something real. I don’t have a tidy action item. Just a question worth sitting with, and a quieter observation about why writing this one came easier than last week’s.
[079] Doubt as My Climbing Companion
- Max J Miller
Two weeks after I publicly declared my role in the eldership movement, the doubts arrived: about the project, about myself, and about whether my age and health would let me finish what I started. This week I share how a Churchill book, a Disney memo, and a sketch pad helped me see doubt differently, and why I now treat it as a compass needle rather than a verdict.
[078] The Difference Between a Conviction and a Command
- Max J Miller
I’ve spent the past several weeks reexamining my own role — not the programs, not the format, but what I’m actually for underneath all of it. What follows are the field notes from that investigation: eight propositions about aging, wisdom, ethics, and transmission that I’ve found sturdy enough to build on. Not conclusions. Not a finished philosophy. Just where the search stands right now — and an invitation to wrestle with it alongside me.
[077] Field notes on what a life is for
- Max J Miller
I’ve spent the past several weeks reexamining my own role — not the programs, not the format, but what I’m actually for underneath all of it. What follows are the field notes from that investigation: eight propositions about aging, wisdom, ethics, and transmission that I’ve found sturdy enough to build on. Not conclusions. Not a finished philosophy. Just where the search stands right now — and an invitation to wrestle with it alongside me.
[076] Is “soul” too much? (You tell me.)
- Max J Miller
When I shared the title of my new podcast — UnRetire Your Soul: Conversations with Men about Meaning after Success — the feedback split fast. Some loved it. Others questioned nearly every word. This week I walk through why “meaning” is the front door (not the whole house), why “soul” does more work than it first appears to, and the one listener question that’s still keeping me honest about what kind of show this needs to be.
[075] The Question That Wouldn’t Stay Answered
- Max J Miller
Ten weeks into an open inquiry on the nature of wisdom, a retrospective look back at where this all started — and an announcement of where it’s going next.
About Author
MAX J MILLER
From 9-year-old ventriloquist to Walt Disney Imagineer to ghostwriter, Max J. Miller’s career has been a journey of hiding in plain sight. Today he’s helping retirees do the opposite—embracing their wisdom, telling their stories, and living with renewed purpose.
Through The Wisdom Wayfinder, Max calls elders to become cultural heroes and leave a legacy of meaning that extends far beyond money or bucket lists.
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