You are readingthis because you are post retirement career curious. Maybe you are done with the work you’ve been doing for the past several years, or decades. Perhaps you want to be sure you have supplemental income after you retire, or you simply want a change that is sustainable.
I decided to pursue a post retirement career when I was fifty years old. That was eight years ago. My decision was based on my realization that I would not be able to support myself later in life if I didn’t earn. My spouse and I decided to take time out of work in order to travel the world. I’m grateful I was able to do this while I was still healthy and able to get around easily. Eight years later and I’m not as fit as I was in my early fifties. Ahh ageing.
Knowing that travel is a priority in my life I was considering how my life would change once I spent a significant amount of my savings to see the world coupled with the loss of wages for what was originally a year that morphed into several years. I knew that if I took time out to travel and if I spent a lot of my savings in order to travel, my retirement would be put off for a period beyond the typical retirement age. It was a calculated risk. Most of us work hard until we retire with the hope that we have planned our finances to cover our expenses. I stopped working for three years, went back to work to bolster my savings account and stopped working again about two years ago.
When I was working I understood that the work I was doing was not sustainable for me. As a sales manager I was expected to attend trade shows, conferences and conduct in person sales calls. Often sales managers host events to showcase their products and these events require grueling days of preparation as well as extremely long hours the day of the event. I could see that physically I was no longer as able or willing to put my body through the rigors of a full time sales job. I thought about what I love and how to convert what I love into a career that I can perform over time. Even when I’m sixty-five or seventy-five I believe I will be able to write. That offers sustainability.
But the path to writing and self publishing wasn’t straight. I had to first learn how to self publish. The process was challenging, but over time by publishing low content books I was able to learn the ins and outs of publishing a basic product.
Once I learned the basics it was time to explore concepts that I love. My first workbook was “Your Future Self Workbook: A Time Travelers Manifestation Workbook for Intentional Well Being”. I wrote this book because I read “Playing Big” by Tara Mohr. In her fantastic book she offers a future self meditation that impacted me to my core. The experience of meeting my future self was the first step on my path. I loved her meditation but when listening to the meditation offered in her audio book of the same title I had difficulty because the pace wasn’t right for me. I realized I had a need to conduct future self meditations on a variety of subjects and that if I created my own visualization at the pace that works for me I would have even more success. So I wrote and self published a workbook that I could use to record my journey, I created a podcast and YouTube channel so I could access guided visualizations that fit with my goal.
Once I was comfortable with the process of self publishing I wrote my second book, “Never Worry About Money Again: Gain Financial Freedom By Becoming Better At Managing The Money You Have” because I knew that I would not be able to stop working if I hadn’t adopted frugal living habits years back when my first marriage ended. Writing about frugal living helped me dissect the steps I took and helped me better understand how I can carry on moving forward without the worry many older people have when finishing their careers.
Now I’ve self published my third book, “Your Golden Ticket Years: Find Your Passion on a Post Career Entrepreneurial Ride” because I want to share the ideas I’ve formulated over the years.
Ultimately my aim is to create an intentional life. I don’t adopt what is popular. I take risks. I’m creating a career that is sustainable for me over time.
What steps are you taking to create your intentional life? You don’t have to live frugally, although I believe we all would be happier if we were more mindful of how we spend our hard earned money. You don’t have to engage in mediation or visualizations to understand what you want or how to get it, but I do think the exercise of speaking with your future self in a visualization exercise can lead to insights that you may never have considered. I suspect you are reading this because you are considering a post retirement career that is guided by your passion and values. Being open to an alternate way of existing as a mature person is an excellent idea, as I have posted previously retirement comes with risks of its own, including lack of financial stability, loneliness, lack of mental engagement and boredom.
You can see by my example the path wasn’t straight. I had to learn first. The learning process has been frustrating at times, but has been gratifying more often than frustrating.
How will you proceed? Can you take a baby step towards your final goal? Will you give yourself enough time to succeed? Being an entrepreneur takes work and time. No one has instant success. Do you have time to develop?
Take time this week to jot down five or ten ideas of what you love to do and how you can share that love with others who have a similar interest. We are fortunate to live in a time when outreach to our global communities is available, and there is no time like now to begin exploring what’s possible for your post retirement journey.
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