Carl interviewed author, speaker, radio & TV commentator Kerry Hannon this week. In addition to writing 14 best-selling books, Kerry is a nationally recognized expert, spokesperson and strategist on career transitions, personal finance and retirement. She has covered all aspects of careers, business and personal finance as a columnist, editor and writer for The New York Times, Forbes, Money, U.S. News & World Report and USA today, as well as appearances on Dr. Phil, all the major networks, including CNBC, NPR and PBS. Kerry’s latest book is “Great Pajama Jobs.” We think the best way to describe Kerry is probably “prolific dynamo.”

Kerry grew up in Pittsburgh with her parents and three siblings. Her father had an entrepreneurial spirit as a consultant to large corporations to work on efficiency and management training. Dinner conversations were engaging, as her father was always taking on new clients in various businesses with new kinds of challenges. Her mother eventually worked with her father after the kids were raised. This love of meeting new people and taking on new challenges inspired Kerry. She knew at a very young age she wanted to be a writer and wrote her first book at age 12.

Kerry started writing for Duke University while a student there, as well as Pittsburgh Magazine and various horse-related magazines. “I’m a horse freak!” she says. After graduating she wrote for Business Times, Business Week, Advertising Age, even a column about alternative dance. Kerry has always loved diving into new subjects. Her dream job at the time was to write for Forbes, because her father was a devoted subscriber. At 24, she asked for an interview, eventually the job, moved to NYC. “I never looked back,” Kerry adds.

Not just a writer but a passionate spokesperson for people over 50, Kerry has testified before Congress about the importance of older workers. Before she takes on each job, she asks, “Is this something that is going to make a difference in someone’s life? I want to help people!” Kerry currently lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, a documentary producer and her Labrador Retriever, Zena. She is still horse-crazy.

Kerry’s Tips for Preparing for UnRetirement

Soul search: “Take a couple of years to plan and think about it. I call it an inner MRI,” Kerry says. “Think about what you really want to do. Take baby steps. It (your path) is not necessarily linear, it’s more like a patchwork quilt, with different areas of interest.”

Get lean and mean: “The other piece of this (your unretirement plan) is you might want to work on getting financially fit. Pay down your debt, get control of your spending and credit cards, maybe downsize. Debt is the biggest dream-killer!”

Consider your options: “Then, when you are financially fit, you can do lots of things that are not so dependent on that paycheck. You can take a job that is enjoyable to you, or even start your own business. Working from home is great for older people, because there is little ageism, the focus is on performance.”

Embrace being a beginner: “Let your ego go. You’ve already accomplished a lot. It’s okay to be the person in the corner, not knowing how to do something, asking lots of questions. It’s good for you psyche. Be curious!”

• More information about Kerry Hannon and her books: https://kerryhannon.com/

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” weekly blog.

Tags:    blog   interview   Kerry Hannon   unretirement   writer   finance   retirement plan   horses   ageism   challenges  

My wife and I just watched two thought-provoking movies, back to back.

The first one was Nomadland. After losing everything in the Great Recession, a woman embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad. She travels the country and still works occasionally, meeting all kinds of people on her journey.

The second movie was Some Kind of Heaven, a documentary. It follows the lives (and challenges) of four people who live in The Villages, a mega-senior, Disney-esque community in Florida, home to approximately 140,000 people—seniors only!

These two movies were strangely similar in the fact that there are some people of (un)retirement age who just want to escape. To me personally, that doesn’t sound so great. But both movies stayed with me and made me think.

Nomadland showed (un)retired people who were often triggered by something in their lives, usually a trauma, to move on while shunning mainstream life. Some Kind of Heaven is just that—a place where seniors from all over the country come to live out their dream retirement. But is it?

My first reaction was to be judgmental. But if something terrible or unexpected thing happened to me, who knows what choices I would make? If I lived somewhere I didn't like or had few relatives or friends, maybe I would want to live out the stage of my life in an entirely different way. Who knows?

What I've learned from talking with our podcast guests is that you can’t look down on others who don't make the same choices you do. As Episode #21’s guest Ed Casey says, “(Un)retirement is like a fingerprint. Everyone is different.” I can’t think of a better way to make the case that we all need to enjoy life right where are, right now.

Tags:    the carl diary   retirement   film   movie   choices   unretirement  

Carl’s guest this week is Mike Drak, author of a new book, Retirement Heaven or Hell: 9 Principles for Designing Your Ideal Post-Career Lifestyle. Mike writes from personal experience, including an abrupt retirement, his struggle and adjustment, and then how he went on to design the (un)retirement of his dreams. His book is honest, funny and heartfelt. The book also details steps YOU can take to determine your next steps. Each chapter asks reflective questions and encourages you to dive deeper into knowing what you want in this stage of life. Most of all, he encourages everyone with helpful advice on how to live your 55+ best life.

Mike grew up in Toronto and still lives there today. He had been working in commercial banking for 36 years, starting right out of college. What he found rewarding about his career was working with start-up businesses. Many were small family businesses (and multi-generational). He truly enjoyed helping people and still does.

SO after 30+ years as a banker, Mike began to think about doing something else. But nothing could have prepared him for the way he found out he was leaving. He was called upstairs to go over projections, yet a young woman from HR was there with severance papers. Adding insult to injury, the bank asked him to say he was “retiring,” and then to save money, actually combined going-away parties with other employees. “I felt like I was going to my own funeral,” Mike said.

He struggled, not knowing what to do at first. “I decided to write the book because I knew a lot of people were going to struggle like I did when transitioning to retirement. I knew a lot of people didn't have a handle on what real retirement is and what it feels like.” Waking up at 4:30am every day to write, he grew very excited about the project. (And he also happened to develop daily writing practice.) His editor noted that he started out to write a retirement book and ended up writing a book about (un)retirement! 

Today Mike is a 38-eight-year veteran of the financial services industry, working with his wife and still living in Toronto. He is also the bestselling author of Victory Lap Retirement, an award-winning blogger, public speaker and retirement lifestyle designer. His personal goals include training for a 2024 Iron Man triathlon and visiting his son in Australia, where they plan to face their fears and get in a cage with a Great White shark!

Mike’s “9 Principles” from his book offer great (un)retirement advice, but here’s  the key: “You need something to retire to—don’t waste valuable (un)retirement time planning what to do. Do it now!”

For more information about Mike Drak: https://boomingencore.com/en/article/announcing-our-book-retirement-heaven-or-hell

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” weekly blog.

Tags:    mike drak   interview   unretirement   author   writing   banking   retirement   bestseller  

I didn't consciously do this, but some sort of "light switch" in my (un)retirement life went off recently. When I put together my Google calendar for this week, I automatically put in my 3 pickleball times/days first. This is an interesting shift. Previously, I would always put in all my work related priorities first and then fill in the rest.

This probably seems like a small change. But as I think about it, I realize that it's somewhat significant. Why? Because my last day of "a real job" was March 2020 and I've been in transition for almost a year into what we like to call (un)retirement. I'm not 100% sure why this calendar transition took place. Could it be the influence of listening to great life advice from the 20+ guests I've had on "I Used to be Somebody"? Or maybe I am finding a better balance between work and play. Either way, it feels great!

Tags:    the carl diary   retirement   working   priorities   unretirement  

I know in (un)retirement you have a lot of freedom and you can probably do whatever the hell you want to do. But taking the freewheeling approach to a retirement "non-plan" usually means  getting zero done and you don't feel particularly fulfilled. 

We came up with 20 UnRetirement Strategies. Some may seem obvious. And some are just silly. But #1, "Developing a Routine" has come up in almost every guest interview on the podcast. The key is that your (un)retirement plan doesn't have to be crazy ambitious to be successful. You are also allowed to build some fun into your plan!

In reflecting over the past, as well as the last super-weird year we have all experienced, I have come up with some new additions to my own (un)retirement plan. Here are three things that I've learned to do and have stuck with successfully:

1) Pivot: My wife and I, along with probably a lot of you, were planning to take some really cool trips to other countries. So Diana and I decided that every 6 weeks, we'd take a mini-trip. And we've had an absolute blast renting various VRBO's and exploring small towns in our region. We've hiked up a storm. These little getaways give us some travel to look forward to, even during the pandemic. So if your original plan doesn't fly, pivot!

2) Stretch: I know it sounds basic but stretching your body and mind is really important. Over a year ago, I suffered a severe hamstring injury (yes, playing pickleball) and did physical rehab. I learned a simple, daily 15-minute stretching routine. And I've incorporated meditating at the same time. For those who know me, this doesn't sound very "Carl-like", but I love it and never miss a day of my stretching routine.

3) Challenge:  I learned how to put together a weekly podcast and Diana and I write a weekly newsletter. This isn't easy to do. As deadline looms each week, it can be a little stressful. But I've learned there is positive stress and it's a really healthy thing to challenge yourself, especially in (un)retirement. In the last year, I've learned probably 100+ new things about technology, the creative process and the retirement industry. I've talked with new people that I would of never talked with in a million years, plus I'm making a connection with an audience of about 1,000 people a week. And hopefully we are helping our listeners figure out their (un)retirement. Find ways to keep challenging yourself!

See?  Making an (un)retirement plan can be sexy. Try it!!!

Tags:    the carl diary   retirement   unretirement   pivot   strategies