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Greetings! I love being retired! To me, retirement equals freedom--that wondrous concept that allows me to do whatever I want to do, when I want, and with whom I want. How great is that!! The downside of freedom could be boredom or eventually the feeling of lack of self worth. Who cares what I did-type feeling. Those two complaints are the ones we hear the most. Not to worry! We will share with you ideas each month on how to do what you love to do. Our ideas will come from one of the many interviews we've had this past year and from the extensive research we've done on this topic. We will also recommend to you other retirement sites you may be interested in. Each month we will review one of the dozens of books we have on retirement, so you can decide whether or not that is something you would like to have in your library. Each month we will have a free teleclass for those who want to call in with questions and/or ideas of what others could do in retirement. A wealth of material resides in those who have been retired for a while. To determine what your passion is, click here to take our FREE preliminary passion test, the test we give those who sign up for Discover Your Passion coaching with us. You may find your answers right there. If you want to go further, sign up for the 30-day Explore Your Passion course, which will be available next month. Have fun, Gail and Ed Check out our website, Retired-NextPhase.com. |
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INTERVIEW - KATHY | | |  One year after retirement, Kathy is having a ball, meeting new friends and having more time for her children and grandchildren who live in the area. She isn't totally clear about how she wants to devote her time, and she found she couldn't focus on any one thing after having left a wonderful, yet stressful, job. She needed this year to detox and establish some guidelines which will enable her to utilize her skills, socialize, stay in shape, make a difference in some area, perhaps earn some money, and maintain her flexibility/freedom.
Kathy's job included heading up the negotiations team for her professional association, where she learned she had a "voice" which she still wants to use, but in a different arena. Her church scooped her up to fill various volunteer roles that are of importance to the church and rewarding for her. This fulfills her need to make a difference and be valued.
Interestingly, when we approached Kathy about the interview, her comment laughingly was, "Now that I'm a nobody?" Isn't that the greatest "come-down" for many retirees?
Kathy faithfully goes to the gym five days a week with a definite exercise routine. She found that she is particularly interested in one aspect of the training, which, if she can master, she would like to develop into a course for seniors.
Money with most retirees is a consideration, even with pensions and social security, primarily because interest rates have gone down and losses have already been incurred. She would like to earn just enough to enable her to have a cushion.
She used the magic word, "Lottery." "If I won the lottery, I would ....." This is a good question to ask anyone wondering about what they would truly like to do. Were Kathy to win the lottery, she'd help in natural disaster situations, address starving children's needs, e.g. help the world in some way.
We talked about the lottery and her desire to help in the world, and then we uncovered another layer, writing children's books--something she has already done. Because of the demise of printed books, e-books might be an avenue for her to pursue, especially since illustrators can so easily be found at elance.com as well as other places.
Flexibility and freedom are very important to Kathy, as they are to anyone who has had a job that confined them to one location year after year. Part of our mission at Retired-Next Phase is to change the focus of retirees. Rather than "retiring from a job," we help you "retire to something that excites you."
It appears that Kathy is well on her way. She has a strong network of friends, close family ties in the area, an involvement with her church, a daily exercise routine, a fantastic up-beat spirit, and an optimistic attitude. What more could you ask for?
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BOOK REVIEW - See more at our site
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In the clever book, Cool Careers for Dummies by Marty Nemko and Paul and Sarah Edwards (2001), the authors focus on careers and how to find the best one for you. Specialized training is needed for some of the categories listed below, but, if you like this category, you may want to look into it further. Training is a life-long pursuit.
Chapter 3 includes 25 questions that help tease out career musts: the things people really want and need in a career.
While you are probably not looking for a CAREER per se, you may find something in the listings that will pique your interest and motivate you to google for more information.
In chapter 2, the authors divide the careers into different categories, divided according to working with people, data, words, and/or things. Skim through the list and take a look to see if any category jumps out at you. If so, again, google it and see what you can find. Remember, in this Next Phase you want to do something that excites you and gives you great satisfaction. In this huge listing something just may catch your eye.
To read about the interesting and varied opportunities presented in this book, go to to our website.
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Ed & Gail's Retirement Passions
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Each week we will share with you some of the exciting things we have done since our retirements. One thing we both do is develop and deliver programs on Kids Mentoring Kids and Anti-Bullying Programs in schools. More about that later.
Ed does work with the student government at a local university. He also takes some of that material and teaches school administrators in Lithuania in the summer, a volunteer "giving back" opportunity to honor his Lithuanian grandparents. I was able to teach with him for two summers. How much fun is that!
A favorite activity of Gail's is her bi-weekly Legacy Workshops in a local senior citizen apartment complex. Using her iPod, she records their stories and burns a CD for each class member every session.
Both Ed and Gail have held programs in local high schools for seniors on Ethics and Leadership Skills--very rewarding experiences.
Ed's hobbies include raising pine trees, fixing up properties in NJ and AZ, old cars, fitness, tennis, in addition to enjoying his family which includes numerous grandchildren.
Gail could talk for hours about her grandson, her children and her husband.
The point is this is the time to do what you love and perhaps earn some additional money and enjoy life!
To find out more about us, go to our website and click on "About Us."
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RETIREMENT WISHES
| Source: http://www.retirementwishes4u.com/
|  As much as we all look forward to escaping the cage of employment, when it finally arrives, we have been in such a routine that it may seem scary not to know what is going to happen tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, the retiree is excited, but that "unknown" can be intimidating. Just keep this in mind when sending your retirement wishes.
Send wishes that are positive about starting a new chapter in their lives--how exciting is that! We want to encourage them that this is a great time in their lives! Here is some examples of retirement wishes that you may use when sending wishes to the special retirees.
· May your retirement allow you to live your life and pursue all the things that you never had the time to do when you were working.
· May you now have the time to indulge in interesting and satisfying activities that will allow you to spend your days happy.
· May you live your retirement in good health, great company and happy days.
· May your retirement allow you to have the strength and freedom to become more than you are so you can conquer your dreams.
· May your retirement allow you the time to do the things you love to do and avoid the things you don't like to do!
· May you realize that your retirement will be the experience of a lifetime if you live it to the fullest and enjoy each day.
· May you follow your dreams into retirement and take this chance to discover new and interesting things.
Retirement is an amazing time in one's life and should be treated as such. It is important for us to remind those retiring around us of that and to encourage them to get out there and live their lives to the fullest. But just as important as that, we need to be happy for them. And the best way to share this with a retiring person is to send wonderful retirement wishes in the way of a:
Card or letter
Have a party for them
Toast to them at a party or supper
Send them flowers and write your wish for them on the card
Find the perfect retirement gift that is unique and personalized
Take them out for coffee to personally tell them how happy you are for them
Most importantly, welcome your retiree friends to this new, best segment of their lives!! Enjoy!!
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AWHERE WERE YOU WHEN......?rticle Headline
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1962 - John Glenn orbits the Earth
1963 - JFK assassinated
1963 - First time you heard the Beatles
1964 - First Clay-Liston fight
1967 - Apollo I disaster: Grissom, White, Chaffee die
1968 - RFK assassinated
SOURCE: http://www.slate.com
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Profit From Your Passion - a thirty-day E-course
|  Treat yourself to a thorough review of all of your likes, dislikes, successes, challenges, and everything that has made you who you are today. Find not only your passion but also your purpose in life. In thirty days you will unlock the secrets of who you really are. Introductory Price: $97 - Six weekly teleseminars plus five sessions a week via e-mail. AVAILABLE NEXT MONTH. |
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Gail Cassidy, gail@coachability.com; (908) 654-5216
http://www.Coachability.com
Ed Topar, edtopar@gmail.com |  |
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