I was talking recently with a friend who has moved into her third 30 years of life. Her kids are launched, her career as an exhibit fabricator (she’s made more than five replicas of the White House for various museums and exibit centers) is changing because of the economy, and she and her husband are looking at what they want to do with their lives at this stage.

Her husband has fulfilled a lifelong dream of buying a sailboat. Many of their discussions center on sailing around the Caribbean and adventuring in open waters off North Carolina. It’s a thrilling prospect, but my friend says that it is a completely different conversation from the first and second “30 year” segments of her life.

She laid it out like this:

First 30 – Focus is on Self - You are developing and educating yourself, establishing your career, finding your mate, and getting ready to or having your family.

Second 30 – Focus is on Others - You are working in your career and learning to balance work and family.

Third 30 – Focus is on Self – You are looking at where and how you want to live, what adventures you want to have, what work you want to do, and what dreams you still have the desire and energy to fulfill.

I call this third phase of life Self 2.0. You have the experience and hopefully wisdom gleaned from life’s lessons so far. Most women I know in midlife stop suffering fools gladly and pretty often say what’s on their mind. They are concerned about their income now and savings for the future. They want to fulfill their potential and make their difference. They want to enjoy life now and stay healthy as they age.

Although some important decisions can’t be made until you are in your third 30, your 50s are a great time to begin thinking about how to transition into your "third 30".

Knowing that there are big and exciting decisions to be made in your 60s can make it easier to acknowledge and allow the changes that inevitably come in your 50s.

What changes are you experiencing in your 50s? How do you see yourself shifting into your Self 2.0 stage of life?