A criminal district court judge takes up the guitar and never looks back. Carl interviews Jeannine Barr, who says a dream one night "really spoke to her" and she knew she wanted to become a musician. And unlike most people, she left her big career to follow her big dreams and actually took the leap.

Jeannine was born in Baton Rouge, LA as the youngest of three girls. Her father was an electrician and her mother was a nurse. "There were lots of rules in our house," she tells us.

As a student she was very competitive in academics, sports, cheerleading and more.

After college and teaching high school English briefly, she went to LSU law school and eventually became an assistant district attorney for nine years.

Unafraid to take chances, (as you will learn in this episode), Jeannine threw her hat in the political ring in 1994 and was elected as a judge. She moved up to overseeing felony and death penalty cases. She went on to be re-elected five more times, serving 24 years on the bench and retired in 2018.

In 2015, Jeannine said having to run for re-election every four years, plus the uncertainty of it was frustrating. One night she had a vivid dream that she had died creatively and that she was supposed to play the guitar. She announced to her husband the next day that she made a decision to learn to play the guitar at age 54 and he said, "Don't buy anything too expensive!"

After connecting with an encouraging teacher, Jeannine kept learning and challenging herself. She initially thought she'd learn some Christmas songs to play for family. Her teacher suggested she try to write songs and keep on doing it. "Suddenly I was a student and a virtual nobody in the music scene," she adds. She kept playing and writing. In 2018 her teacher introduced to Grammy-winning producer Billy Dorsey. That led to her first recorded song, "The Color Red," and eventually she released a 7-song EP titled, "Late to the Party."

Today Jeannine continues to record new songs and has been featured on the "Women of Substance" podcast. She loves to bowl with a league every week and lives with her husband, cats, (and guitars) in Houston, TX. She says, "At the end of the day, we're going to regret what we didn't try."

Jeannine Barr's (un)retirement tips:

• "Going to my first guitar lesson was incredibly humbling. I found it very difficult. The beauty of it was that I was vulnerable and it would be ok."

• "I went from directing bailiffs to having zero idea of what to do. It was a total role-reversal for me. Yet also---- a whole new gig!"

• "Just try it. Follow the dream. Try not to be too impatient with yourself."

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Jeannine was so inspired by being interviewed that she wrote Carl a song "I Used to be Somebody". Listen here!  

• More about Jeannine Barr 

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not 

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage

• (Un)Retirement Travel with the Pro Allan Wright Zephyr Adventures

• I Used to be Somebody World Tours Tuscany, Portugal, Pickleball Adventure

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.

Tags:    I Used To Be Someboday   (Un)Retirement   Jeannine Barr Interview   Judge   Singer/Songerwriter  

Carl interviews filmmaker Sky Bergman. Sky's directorial debut, "Lives Well Lived" is currently airing on PBS, Amazon, iTunes and Kanopy. The documentary is a collection of fascinating interviews with about a dozen older adults sharing historical perspectives, their advice for future generations ad reflections on living a life well lived. Making documentaries is her second act as she is also an accomplished, award-winning photographer and still teaches photography at Cal Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA.

Sky's parents were divorced so she grew up in Philadelphia, Florida and spent summers in upstate New York. She says she had the good fortune of living in a four-generational household. Her father was a geriatric physician. "He would come home and tell me these amazing stories about his patients. I know that colored my consciousness to want to be part of older people's lives and tell their stories."

In school, she was a bit of an introvert and a band geek. She found her passion for photography at an early age. "I fell in love with the dark room!" she says. After college she traveled the world as a professional photographer. Her artwork is included in permanent collections at the Los Angeles Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Seattle Art Museum, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, among others. Her commercial work has appeared on book covers for Random House and Farrar. She says a highlight of her photography career has been the cover of the Smithsonian Magazine in 2001. "I loved traveling and photography so I could follow both passions at the same time."

After teaching for many years, Sky (un)retired at age 56. "I wanted to make a movie about older generations and share their stories with the world." She put together a list of interesting people and a list of 20 questions for them. Carl asks her how she was able to fund the movie. "I have never let money stand in the way of what I want to do," she tells us. Sky decided the grant submission process was too lengthy for her, so she came up with a revenue-generating plan by renting out rooms in her home. She tells her visitors they are helping to fund her movie and they end up excited supporters as well. "A crazy, wonderful way to fund a film!" she acknowledges.

"Lives Well Lived" debuted to a sold-out audience of 850 with her grandmother and many of the film's subjects in attendance. It was a true highlight for Sky. She is now working on two new projects, "What is Mochitsuki?" a film celebrating family, tradition and mochi, and a documentary about the "Prime Time Band", a band of musicians aged 40 to 90 who are reigniting old passions. Sky says, "The only way to combat ageism is to make generational connections!"

Sky Bergman's (un)retirement advice:

• "Pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone makes for a more interesting life."

• "Develop a new sense of purpose after you retire. Who are you now and what do you still want to do? Whatever it is, you have to plan and think about your future. Remember, finding your sense of purpose is life-long, and can change over time."

• "Have a good support system--not just family but also friends."

• "Attitude and resilience go hand-in-hand. There are so many times in our lives when we cannot control what's happening around us. But we can control our attitude about it."

• More about Sky Bergman

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not 

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage

• (Un)Retirement Travel with the Pro Allan Wright, Zephyr Adventures

• I Used to be Somebody World Tours Tuscany, Portugal, Pickleball Adventure

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.

Tags:    blog   Sky Bergman   Filmmaker   Professor   Interview   World Tour   Pickleball Tour   (Un)Retirement   Carl Landau  

Carl interviews Adam Bryant this week. Adam is an award-winning (Including editing a Pulitzer story) journalist and had a weekly feature in the New York Times called Corner Office, where he interviewed business leaders across the globe. He was also Director of NYT Live, a global conference enterprise. He's had many different roles at the Times, including deputy editor in the Science department, deputy national editor and business editor at Newsweek Magazine. Adam says his 55th birthday gave him pause. "I thought if I wanted to do something else, I better get going." So he turned his side job into a new day job, writing books and coaching C-level execs.

Adam grew up in Montreal and Westchester, NY. He had a middle-class suburban childhood and his father was a journalist. (So of course, at first, Adam didn't want to pursue that course.) Adam was busy as a teen playing lots of sports and always having a part-time jobs. In college he worked as a reporter for small newspapers. He started working for the New York Times and his career took off in the 1990's. He had the Corner Office column for years and never missed a week.

After 30 years as a journalist, he realized he was going to leave the NYT at some point and there would be an "emotional blast zone" (as he calls it) of adjustment and the question was when. "I had to do some internal work to figure out what I wanted to do next." He recommends everyone who is contemplating making a leap to do just that. "Once you get out of the job/industry you're in, widen your lens. There's a big wide world out there. Time to experiment."

Over the course of 500+ interviews, Adam saw patterns and themes emerge in the business world and he started writing books about it. When he and his wife moved to New Orleans to be closer to their grown daughters and families, he says his wife gave him the third floor as his "office." You'll have to listen in to hear about the coolest office ever, which includes table tennis, foosball, and more.

Adam is now the Senior Managing Director at the ExCo Group, a company that mentors senior leaders to accelerate business impact. He is the author of four books, including his most recent ones, "The Leap to Leader" and "The CEO Test."

Adam's tips on making the leap to something new:

• OBOB: Optimal Band of Busyness

People should be aware of their optimal OBOB. How busy were you then and what level do you want now? For example, you can't assume if you're a CEO that all of a sudden you're going to be content playing golf twice a week.

• Common Pattern -- Want, Should, Need

We spend a great deal of our lives focusing on "should" and "need." At this stage of life, pause before you do something you "should." Stare down that difficult question of "What do I really want to do?" Give yourself some time.

• More about Adam Bryant 

• Sponsored by: Capital Advantage

• Sponsored by: How to Retire and Not Die

• I Used to be Somebody World Tour -- #1 Tuscany #2 Portugal

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.

Tags:    Blog   Unretirement   Pickleball   Interview   Adam Bryant   NYT Columnist   C-Suite  

Carl interviews music promoter/serial entrepreneur Dewey Forward this week. Just some of Dewey's accomplishments include organizing and promoting over 4,000 concerts, opening Peabody's Cafe and Peabody's DownUnder in Cleveland Flats and also developing the Sohio/BP RiverFest, (which was Ohio's largest festival in history with over 1,000,000 attendees). He has produced concerts for Spyro Gyra, Pearl Jam, Etta James, Wynton Marsalis, REM, Donovan, Bon Jovi, Bo Diddley and countless others. Dewey is also now the proud owner of an iconic popcorn shop in picturesque Chagrin Falls, OH.

Like Carl, Dewey grew up in Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland. "It was a 'Leave it to Beaver' childhood, " he says. Enterprising even at the age of 9, Dewey started a "canteen" in his basement, selling refreshments and a place to hang out to the neighborhood kids. He also says he was a troublemaker in school and was on a first name-basis with the Principal.

After trying out three colleges, Dewey settled on Hartford where he says he didn't learn much in class but learned a lot about producing successful events. "I learned how to organize and promote concerts and events and how to create a crowd." He founded SAW--a student organization against the Vietnam War, organizing bus trips to Washington D.C. to protest.

Fun Fact: Dewey Forward is a "Jr.", his last name of English descent. "No one forgets my name!"

Carl notes that being a concert and event producer is a high-stress, high-risk career. "Yes, my parents were aghast but I didn't listen to them." In 1977 Dewey opened Peabody's Cafe and Peabody's DownUnder, two successful ventures in the up-and-coming Cleveland Flats neighborhood. His mother gave him the money to start both businesses. "I paid her back and I'll forever be grateful." By the time Dewey moved on, the area had grown from 5 restaurants and bars to 53. "When I look back on it, it was a blast but also so stressful."

Dewey retired for the first(!) time at age 50. Not one to sit still, he started a new business every five years. Now at 74, he's learning not to add more stress into his life. He does a lot of physical activity, including bike riding. "It clears my head and is good for my heart!" He and his girlfriend love to travel and he's building a second home on Lake Erie. His five words for the (un)retirement good life: "Keep moving and no stress!"

Dewey Forward's (un)retirement tips:

• "Get rid of that negative voice in your head that tells you that you can't do things. We are a very capable generation!"

• "Don't be too old to retire. What I mean is, do not keep working until your body is too old to do anything else."

• "I'm not a planner. I just say, 'That looks fun!' and then I put blinders on and go for it!"

• More about: Dewey Forward and Chagrin Falls Popcorn Shop

• Sponsored by: Capital Advantage

• Sponsored by: How to Retire and Not Die

• I Used to be Somebody World Tour: First Stop Tuscany

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.

Tags:    Blog   I Used To Be Somebody   Unretirement   Interview   Dewey Forward   Carl Landau   Night Club   Popcorn Shop   Pickleball Media  

Carl interviews Bob Wolfe this month, just as Bob "The Pinot Guy" embarks on a new career in his 60's. Timing, hard work, patience and the willingness to deep dive are the hallmarks of having a successful second (or third) career and Bob has been doing just that for decades. A wine expert who owns his own wine business, he has written over a thousand articles for magazines like The Wine Spectator, Wine & Spirits, The Northwest Palate and more. He has also been a long-time judge for wine competitions all over the world. Most people know Carl loves Pinot Noir, but Bob's second act as a pickleball instructor has Carl super-psyched!

Bob grew up in a very small rural town in Monroe, Oregon, (pop. 450.) His family lived on 22 acres with cows, chickens and lots of wood for Bob to chop into firewood. Eager to get out into the world after high school, Bob was intrigued by nuclear submarines and international travel and he joined the U.S. Navy.

In the 1980's, Bob started work on two of his interests at the time, natural pesticides and beer, (but not together.) You'll have to tune in to the episode to hear Bob's story about a 4:30am business phone call with Donald Trump way back then. (Some things don't change.) Bob's passions eventually led him to wine and he was one of the first in the U.S. to publish an e-newsletter devoted to wine. He enjoyed the perks of being a wine reviewer. "Wine writing is a wonderful gig!" he tells us.

He took some of the money from his other ventures and in 1991 he started The Oregon Pinot Noir Wine Club out of his garage. That very first day he had orders. In just a couple of years, he grew the club to a $2 million business. He started judging internationally and his wine biz career as a retailer and expert grew steadily.

Fast forward a couple of decades, Bob says he turned 60 and started thinking about what he wanted to do next. " I knew I wanted to wind down my time in the wine biz. I looked for something to belong to, something more social." Bob joined a pickleball club, took some lessons and loved it. "'I'm meeting new people and having fun. I find it satisfying on so many levels."

Now Bob has found someone to run his wine biz and is planning trips to Mazatlan, Mexico and Da Nang, Vietnam where you guessed it...he's planning to play and teach pickleball. He's even training to be a competition judge. Bob says, "I always ask myself, What's driving me and my passion now? I'm jumping in!"

Bob Wolfe's (un)retirement tips:

• "No sitting on the sidelines, just thinking about what you want to do. Do it."

• "Get enough friends to do things with--I'm determined to escape the dreaded senior lonely years."

• "Give up on owning a lot of stuff. You just don't need it. Unburden yourself from taking care of things you don't use. It will free your mind too."

• More about Bob Wolfe

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not Die

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage

• I Used to be Somebody World Tour

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.

Tags:    Blog   Pickleball   Unretirement   Bob Wolfe   Pinot   Wine   Interview   I Used To be Somebody