We must learn from the past to move forward, and Carl's guest this week, Nick Mueller, PhD, has made a huge impact on our world. Nick's "day jobs" as a distinguished teacher, historian, Dean and then Vice Chancellor at the University of New Orleans led him to play a key role in developing learning programs and a University Conference Center in Innsbruck, Austria as well as a UNO Research and Technology Park. But his leading role as the Founding President and CEO of the world-renowned National World War II Museum (and campus) in New Orleans was a remarkable achievement. And he's not done yet.

Nick was born to German immigrant parents in Philadelphia and grew up in Louisville, KY. His father was a Baptist minister and theologian and the family of six traveled the country, often staying with other families. By age 18, Nick says he'd been to 46 U.S. states and 7 countries.

After college, Nick's passion for teaching led to his exemplary career in academia. Everything changed one afternoon in 1990 when Nick and his good friend and colleague, Stephen Ambrose, sat down to discuss creating a National World War II Museum. Stephen was a historian (best selling author and a true celebrity in the day), WWII expert and was finishing a new book. Stephen had located a historical site and had 1,000 oral histories about D-Day. Most importantly, he recognized a huge opportunity to create the museum and knew Nick Mueller could bring the vision to life. Nick adds, "We went broke three times, made a lot of mistakes, we didn't know anything about building a museum, but Steve was so mesmerizing and the board stuck around."

The museum opened in 2000. Thirty-four years and $400 million later, plus steadfast support from Tom Hanks, Tom Brokaw, Steven Spielberg and Congress, the well-regarded museum has seven pavilions and is ranked by TripAdvisor as the #3 American museum and #8 worldwide museum to visit. Nick attributes America's part in WWII to resilience and the classic David and Goliath. "It's a powerful, good story that Americans can be proud of and draw strength from."

In 2017, Nick was going to try to retire again but he's been busy writing books, speaking and leading WWII-themed tours in Europe. At 85, he just launched his latest book, "Preserving the Legacy: Creating the National WWII Museum". Nick looks to the future with enthusiasm. "I'm looking forward to however many years I have ahead of me!"

Nick Mueller's (un)retirement advice:

• "I'm trying to simplify my life. My wife would like me to start with my office."

• "I wasn't running anything anymore and that was a huge change. I have no big deadlines now except the ones I set for myself."

• "Everyone says Follow your passion. Your passions are limited by your age and the time you have left to pursue them. So you have to adjust a little bit."

• More about Nick Mueller​​​​​​​

• Nick's new book Preserving the Legacy: Creating the National WWII Museum

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• Sponsored by: How to Retire and Not Die

• I Used to be Somebody World Tour: Croatia

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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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Tags:    blog   unretirement   WorldWarIIMuseum   author   Nick Mueller   academia   museum