The Bonus Round:
Crafting a Meaningful Post-Work Chapter
Is a partial scholarship for you?
We believe in making personal growth and education accessible to everyone, which is why we offer partial scholarships on a needs-aware basis for many of our programs.
These scholarships support individuals facing financial challenges, including — but not limited to — members of underrepresented communities. If financial stress might prevent you from attending a workshop, we encourage you to apply.
Partial scholarships, provided through the Association for Growth and Education, are limited to 2–3 seats per workshop and reviewed in the order received. We recommend applying as soon as possible, as scholarship decisions are typically confirmed 90–120 days before the workshop date.
Pam McLean
Guest Faculty
Joy Leach
Guest Faculty
Tom Pollack
Guest Faculty
What happens when your work is no longer the centerpiece of your life?
For most of your life, work has been the north star – your calendar, your status, your sense of who you are in the world. Now that star is dimming or has already set, and the question that used to be background noise – what the heck comes next? – is getting louder.
You may have technically retired, scaled back, sold a business, or just realized you no longer want to organize your days around performance reviews and quarterly goals. But spreadsheets and savings plans don’t tell you how to wake up feeling useful, lit‑up, and glad to be here.
The retirement industry wants to talk almost exclusively about money. You’re more interested in meaning, contribution, joy, and the kind of legacy that has nothing to do with your LinkedIn profile.
You may be wondering:
Who am I when the job title comes off?
Where will my energy go?
What will give my days shape and purpose now?
If you don’t consciously answer these questions, it’s easy to slide into a vague, restless “in‑between” – too young and too alive to drift, but not yet clear what you’re moving toward.
It doesn’t have to be an endless limbo.
The messy middle after a big transition is normal, but staying stuck there is optional.
This “bonus round” of life can be a time of experimentation, delight, and deep satisfaction – if you’re willing to get curious, reflect honestly, and design it on purpose.
Imagine waking up with a calendar that reflects what matters to you now: meaningful projects, real rest, friendships that nourish you, and ways of contributing that feel aligned with your values rather than your job description.
Picture feeling less attached to your old identity and more at home in the person you’re becoming.
With the right questions, structure, and support, the post‑work years can feel less like a slow winding‑down and more like a thoughtfully crafted second (or third!) launch.
Instead of letting this chapter “happen to you,” treat it as a creative act.
Design your bonus round with guides who live this work.
The Bonus Round is a 5‑day immersive workshop co‑created with Pam McLean, Joy Leach, Tom Pollack, the Hudson Institute of Coaching’s Sage Faculty, hosted at our awe-inspiring beachside campus in Baja. It’s designed for people who are ready to look honestly at the life they’ve built and consciously shape what comes next.
Through guided self‑exploration, experiential exercises, and rich conversations, you’ll look back at your lived experience to discover the patterns, values, and strengths that want to anchor this new season of your life. You’ll explore the many identities you’ve worn, the reality of impermanence, and the liberating question of what you want to carry forward – and what you’re finally ready to lay down.
Pam and the Hudson Sage Faculty have spent decades helping people navigate major life transitions with clarity and courage. Their work sits at the intersection of psychology, coaching, and adult development: practical, grounded, and deeply human.
MEA brings the setting, hospitality, and intimate cohort experience that turn this workshop into a meaningful turning point.
During your 5 days in Baja, you will…
Throughout, you’ll be doing this work in an intimate small‑group setting, with time for reflection, connection with nature and faculty, and conversations that feel more like the real story, not the polished update.
This Workshop
Is For You If…
If you recognize yourself in any of these, you’ll be in very good company.
Meet your faculty
Pam McLean
Co-Founder & Chief Knowledge Officer of The Hudson Institute | Author | Clinical Psychologist | Master Coach
Pamela McLean, PhD, is co-founder of the Hudson Institute, one of the leading coach training organizations in the US for over 35 years. She brings more than four decades of experience as a clinical psychologist, master coach, and author focused on adult development and life transitions.
Pam’s work centers on the natural cycles of change we encounter throughout our lives and how we can “ride the waves” with more awareness and choice. She’s the author of LifeForward: Charting the Journey Ahead, a practical guide to navigating transition and change in adulthood.
She’s served on Harvard’s JFK Women’s Leadership Board, the faculty of Saybrook University, and the editorial board of IJCO, and is a frequent presenter on the concept of “Self as Coach” – using your whole self as the instrument of your best work.
- Life‑stage cartographer: Pam has spent decades mapping the “bonus years” and turning big, abstract questions about aging into grounded, doable next moves.
- Bridge between depth and practicality: She’s as comfortable talking developmental theory as she is helping you decide what actually goes on your calendar next month.
- Champion of the whole self: Pam invites you to bring your history, hopes, and contradictions into the room so your next chapter reflects who you really are, not who you’ve been performing.
“We have only one life. To use it well, we have to get more comfortable taking risks, disrupting ourselves, and experimenting with new ways of being.”
- Pam McLean
Joy Leach
Facilitator | Speaker | Master Certified Coach
Joy Leach, MS, MCC, has over 30 years of experience as an organizational consultant, trainer, coach, and author. She coaches senior leaders and executives to increase both effectiveness and fulfillment, and has trained thousands of professionals to enhance their skills and expand their potential.
Joy has led large‑scale consulting and training initiatives focused on leadership, communication, and organizational transformation. Her coaching spans executive leadership, presentation skills, personal–professional balance, and career transitions.
She serves as faculty in Hudson’s Coach Certification Program and LifeForward Programs, and is a lead facilitator in Hudson’s “Spot Coaching for Managers” program. Joy co‑authored Personal Power: Today’s Guide for the Working Woman and A Practical Guide to Working with Diversity.
Tom Pollack
ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) | Former Partner, Irell & Manella LLP
Tom Pollack has been coaching individuals through significant life transitions for more than a decade, drawing on a 35‑year legal career and deep experience with high‑stakes professional environments. He works with partners in top professional firms and senior executives to develop new leadership capacities and navigate major life and career shifts.
Since 2002, Tom has served as a facilitator in Hudson’s LifeForward, ThirdLaunch, and Bold Living After Work programs, helping participants realign their lives and work with their current values, interests, and sense of purpose.
Tom received his B.A. from Brown University and his J.D. from NYU School of Law, where he served as Articles Editor of the Law Review. Before his retirement in 2008, he was a partner at Irell & Manella LLP, specializing in white‑collar criminal defense and teaching federal criminal trial practice as an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School.
Supported By the MEA Team
Tom Pollack
Guest Faculty
Tom Pollack, PCC, has been coaching individuals through significant life transitions and other issues for over a decade. He has worked with partners in professional organizations and high-level executives at several major corporations on developing new leadership skills, advancin ...
View BioStep into transformation on Baja’s Sun-Soaked Shores
Baja, Mexico
El Pescadero Resort
A stunning oceanfront property offering all of the luxuries and amenities of a luxury hotel with beautiful beaches perfect for swimming or surfing. Located on the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula, just a short drive from Todos Santos, the Pueblo Magico .
PLUS: Gourmet from-scratch meals, snacks, and drinks featuring locally sourced ingredients, made by our in-house chefs
Is It Safe to Travel to Baja?
If recent news about Mexico has you second-guessing a trip, we get it. Here's what you should know.
Our campus is in Baja California Sur, a quiet stretch of the Pacific coast between Todos Santos and Cabo. Think surf breaks, organic farms, and dirt roads that lead to empty beaches. It's about as far from the headlines as you can get.
The U.S. State Department gives Baja California Sur a Level 2 advisory, the same rating as France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. There are no travel restrictions for U.S. citizens or government personnel anywhere in the state, and Baja California Sur is consistently ranked one of Mexico's two safest states. Flights and ground travel throughout the region are running normally with no disruptions.
Our upcoming workshops are booking as expected, and we continue to welcome guests to campus every month. Nothing has changed on the ground here.
Still have questions? We're happy to talk it through. Reach out to us at [email protected].
Step into the part of your life no one taught you how to navigate – and make it your most intentional chapter yet.
When a big role, relationship, or routine drops out of your life, you don’t just “move on.” You land in a strange in‑between where the old story doesn’t fit, and the new one isn’t written yet.
Most of us rush to fill that space so we don’t have to feel grief, restlessness, or uncertainty. The cost is that we never quite reach the breakthrough – the moment when we can finally say, “This is who I am now, and this is how I want to live.”
During your days with Pam, Joy, and Tom in Baja, you’ll slow down enough to hear yourself think, sort through what you’re ready to release, and name what you want this bonus round to stand for.
Leave with a living blueprint for this next stage of life – concrete experiments, commitments, and touchstones to guide you when you get back home.
Book your spot today
Tuition starting at
$3,500
Shared Accommodations
$4,700
Private Accommodations
Plus 7% lodging taxes and service fees.
Financial aid available. Apply during enrollment.
Frequently Asked Questions
I'm not really a "workshop" person. Is this going to be uncomfortable?
Honestly? Parts of it will be. Growth usually is. But this isn’t group therapy or forced vulnerability. It’s designed so you can go at your own speed. The facilitators model everything first. You set your own pace.
I'm not in great shape. Can I still participate?
Absolutely. Everything is designed for all fitness levels. The hikes are conversational, not endurance tests. The surf sessions happen on one of the best beginner beaches in Mexico with gentle waves and patient instructors. We’ve had participants in their 80s paddle out for the first time. There’s no rucking, no cold plunges, no physical competition. The only thing we ask you to stretch is your perspective.
My partner suggested I do this. Is that a red flag?
It’s actually the opposite. The partners who recommend this workshop see something in you: potential that’s ready to come forward. That’s more common than you’d think. She’s probably right.
What if I'm not in a crisis? I'm doing fine.
Most men who come are “doing fine.” That’s exactly the point. This isn’t about crisis intervention. It’s about the gap between fine and actually feeling alive. You know the difference. That’s why you’re still reading.
Is this religious or spiritual?
No. The workshop is grounded in research, not belief. You don’t need to believe in anything. Just be willing to be honest.
What's the age range?
Most participants are 45-70, but we welcome any man who resonates with the questions we’re asking. Midlife is less about your age and more about where you are in the journey.
Can I come with a friend?
Yes, and many men do. But you’ll also leave with 19 new ones.
I'm his partner and I'm reading this for him. What will he actually be like when he comes home?
More present. More willing to have real conversations. More connected to why the life you’ve built together matters. This isn’t about dismantling anything. It’s about bringing more of himself to what’s already there.
Still deciding or have questions?
Connect with our helpful team of Advisors
Our Advisors are all MEA alumni who can offer genuine insights into our programs. They’re passionate about helping you finding the right fit to make your next chapter the best one.
Daniel Booz
Lucas Erie
Leslie Bartlett