Midlife Circus
The Podcast (and Community) About Your Next Great Act
Why Midlife Circus?
Because midlife isn’t an ending — it’s a turning point.
For many Gen Xers, this chapter arrives quietly at first. A career that no longer fits. A sense that success needs redefining. Kids growing up. Parents aging. Questions about purpose, identity, health, money, and what comes next.
That’s the conversation that led us here — and one that’s resonating more broadly than we expected. Midlife Circus was recently featured globally as New & Noteworthy by Apple Podcasts, a signal that these questions aren’t just personal — they’re shared.
Midlife Circus exists because too many of us were taught we should “have it figured out” by now — and yet, here we are. Curious. Restless. Grateful. Uncertain. Ready for something more honest.
What This Is
Midlife Circus is a podcast and growing community for Gen Xers rewriting the script in midlife.
Through real conversations, stories, reflections, and occasional writings, we explore the unpredictable, messy, and meaningful middle of life — without pretending there’s a single right path or tidy answers.
Like any good circus, midlife is part chaos, part wonder. A place to learn new acts. Try something different. Laugh at what didn’t work. And step back into the center ring with a little more courage.
Who We Are
We’re Rob Espenel and Brent Drever — longtime friends, business partners, and fellow travelers in midlife, shaped by family, work, and the relationships that matter most.
Between us, we’ve built companies, served on boards, chased big goals, burned out, reset, taken risks, and asked ourselves the same questions many of you are asking now:
What does success mean now?
Who am I becoming?
What do I want the next chapter to stand for?
Midlife Circus started as a way to have those conversations out loud — not as experts or gurus, but as two people figuring it out in real time.
Why We’re Doing This
We believe midlife deserves better stories.
Not decline. Not crisis. Not “reinvent yourself in 30 days.”
Instead:
Honest conversations
Shared curiosity
Permission to change
And the belief that your best chapters may still be ahead
This isn’t about chasing youth. It’s about reclaiming agency.
What You’ll Find Here
🎪 The Midlife Circus podcast — weekly conversations about reinvention, work, relationships, purpose, and adventure
✍️ A monthly newsletter — deeper reflections, stories, and context
🧭 Occasional writings and community moments — exploring what comes next
No hype. No hacks. Just thoughtful exploration and real connection.
An Invitation
If you’re in the middle of a transition — or standing on the edge of one — consider this your invitation to pull up a seat under the tent.
Midlife isn’t the end of the show.
It’s the moment you step into Your Next Great Act.
Further get to know Brent and Rob: https://midlifecircus.fm/about
