The name What's Next came from a choice I made about three years ago. I chose to quit my job at the age of 50. It was a big job at a world-class company with plenty of status and perks. But it had ceased, for me, to be a fun job, so I decided to go in search of something else. The question was what. Or, to be precise, "What's next?"

The idea for this web site, and for the magazine that will follow, came from my friends, colleagues and peers. When I told them about my decision to quit, they invariably reacted with intense curiosity, support and even envy. I was doing what many of them wanted to do. As I talked to them, I came to realize that, for lots of men, "What's next?" is more than a question: It's a call to action. It's about taking control. It's a belief that a man's life can be -- should be -- bigger. Not necessarily bigger in terms of a paycheck, or status, or stress, but bigger in terms of variety, adventure, meaning.

To oversimplify, one could say the conventional wisdom used to say that life after 50 was about less. Today, many of us feel the second half of life is about more. Our mission at What's Next is to encourage our readers to live bigger. To take risks and pursue their dreams. To both expand and break down the boundaries of their lives. To get closer to -- and farther away from -- home.

We intend to make What's Next a resource for men whose priorities are shifting: from traditional careers toward work that is personally fulfilling, from getting rich to giving back, from staying late at the office to seeing the world. Beyond issues of work and career, we will deal with a wide range of topics that are of consuming interest to men at this stage of life -- from financial planning to travel and adventure, from health and fitness to relationships and spirituality. What's Next will be for grown-ups (be they 35 or 65 or somewhere in between) -- which is to say it will revere wisdom before youth, experience over fantasy. We intend to speak plainly, with an attitude and a sense of humor that are rooted in the authenticity of real lives.

The men in our lead story, Getting Fired: Chance of a Lifetime, lost or left their jobs and chose to turn their hardship into opportunity. They faced plenty of doubts along the way. But a few years later, it’s clear to them that they made the most of their chances.

Kent Doyle, the skydiving author you'll meet in The Fall Guy, chose to go up 11,000 feet and jump from an airplane. For an acrophobe, that felt like a big risk. With only seconds to go before he jumped, Kent was certain he'd made a mistake. But he made the jump and lived to tell us about it. Did he conquer his fear? Read Kent's article to find that out. What I'll tell you is that jumping out of that airplane was for Kent a step toward a bigger life.

What's next for you?

Jeremy Koch is the founder of What's Next Media. He spent 23 years at Time Inc., working on magazines including Time, Fortune and People. Email him at .