Anthony Napolitano retired two years ago, at age 52. He and Carl sat down to talk about the highs, lows and great insights into creating your own personalized Life Retirement Plan. As a former VP of Product/Service Strategy for HP and GoPro, Anthony has fully embraced his new role as Chief Enjoyment Officer. He is a man of many talents, including as a prolific blogger, wine educator and a coach for high school girls' volleyball teams.

Born in Hoboken, NJ, Anthony's parents were Italian immigrants in search of the American Dream. His father was an artist and his mother stayed home with Anthony and his brother. When he was still in grade school, his family moved to California to realize that dream. Anthony played four years of college baseball for Loyola-Marymount College. "My baseball career ended when I graduated," he tells us. "Somehow I got a job at a really big company." (Hewlett-Packard)

Over the course of 24 years, Anthony held many positions within the corporation's divisions, including as VP & General Manager for consumer subscriptions, retail photo solutions and more. "I was always wanting to learn and gain new skills and there was so much opportunity in that corporate world." He talks about having a great career there and then at 47, he began thinking about not only the financial part of retirement, but also what his non-financial life was going to look like. He began to study retirement in earnest. Two years later, his company downsized and it took him a year to find new employment. That's when he got really serious about crafting an early retirement.

Anthony worked for GoPro and soon was part of another downsizing. "In a way they made the decision (to retire) for me. I'm really grateful. I was so relieved and joyful." He lived his Retirement Life Plan in that first year. He bases his plan on the four pillars of Health, Mindset, Purpose and Relationships. At the end of each year, Anthony holds himself accountable and actually grades himself on how he's doing in each of the four pillars. He is now as busy as he wants to be. "It's (retirement) isn't just a project to finish. I'm going to keep evolving," he says. "There is not one day, one hour that I wish I kept working!"

Anthony Napolitano's (Un)Retirement Insights:

• "Start making a list of the things you want to do in retirement and then hold yourself accountable."

• "Say 'No' more. It is really important to be intentional about your commitments. Try not to over-commit too soon."

• "Have time that is structured and also un-structured. It's a balance I'm trying to strike now."

• "Every week I make a point to reach out to an old friend or people who've been important in my life, to reconnect. It's so rewarding."

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• More about Anthony Napolitano

• Anthony's Blog For The Napo's

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not Die

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Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the "I Used to be Somebody" blog.

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