The Second Fire: 1:1 Mentorship for the Midlife Passage

The Second Fire: 1:1 Mentorship for the Midlife Passage

From The Mythic Masculine by Ian MacKenzie

June 1, 2026 · 7 min

About this episode

Ian MacKenzie reflects on his journey of self-discovery and the importance of mentorship during the midlife passage.

Two decades ago, I graduated university. I took a job writing copy for a small online business that rented holiday properties, and my role was to add content for the search engines to bring in traffic. It was a 9-to-5 kind of thing. I liked my employer and coworkers. And the job itself, I voraciously learned as much as I could and pumped out all the work that was assigned to me. Pretty soon, I was able to finish my output by lunchtime. And when I asked for more, my employer offered it. And this went on for a few months. Eventually, there came a time when my employer told me, “we don’t have more to assign today.” My response was, “Okay… well can I go home?” which seemed reasonable enough. I wasn’t even asking to be paid for the hours. Her response: “No, you can’t go home. You have to remain at your desk.” I couldn’t believe it. A part of me rebelled. I couldn’t imagine sitting at a desk for hours every afternoon, needing to ‘make up work’ that was unncessary, rather than having the freedom to do my own thing. A quiet voice spoke to me. This isn’t for you. You are meant for more. I tried to stuff it down, reminding myself of the practical, real-world responsibilities I had at the…

People in this episode

Host: Ian MacKenzie

Topics covered

  • mentorship
  • midlife passage
  • personal growth
  • career transition
  • self-discovery

Keywords

  • mentorship
  • midlife
  • career
  • self-discovery
  • personal growth
  • freedom
  • work-life balance

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