The Retirement Wisdom Podcast

Tom Marks, a veteran advertising executive and author, discusses redefining retirement away from conventional imagery. He shares his personal journey from a high-pressure career to discovering happiness post-retirement. Marks highlights the importance of individuality in retirement, the concept of 'mulligans' for mistakes, and stepping off the 'hedonic treadmill.' He emphasizes the power of new passions, daily gratitude practices, and repurposing skills for a fulfilling life beyond work.

Two New Designing Your Life groups kicking off in January 2026 is coming soon. Is It Time to Design What’s Next?. Learn more and sign up today Early registration discount ends 12/15 “Now I know what I’m retiring to.” _________________________ What if everything you’ve been chasing in your full-time working years—the promotion, the bigger paycheck—hasn’t been leading you toward the life you really want? Today’s guest, Jon Rosemberg, knows this tension firsthand. After 25 years of climbing the corporate ladder and finally “making it”, he found himself in a heated Zoom call, heart racing, feeling trapped—until a moment with his kids playing Legos changed everything. Within two weeks, he left his job, went back to school, and wrote A Guide to Thriving: The Science Behind Breaking Old Patterns, Reclaiming Your Agency, and Finding Meaning, a roadmap for moving from survival mode to genuine fulfillment. In this conversation, Jon reveals the crucial difference between success and thriving, why thriving is both a choice and a skill set, why discomfort is essential for growth, and how the beliefs we carry shape every choice we make—especially as we approach retirement. If you feel stuck on the hamster wheel or are wondering what comes next, this episode offers a fresh lens on what it means to truly thrive. Are you in Survival Mode? Take Jon’s quiz Jon Rosemberg joins us from Toronto. ___________________________ Bio Jon Rosemberg empowers leaders and organizations to shift from survival mode into thriving. With 20+ years of expertise in leadership development, coaching, organizational transformation, and workplace culture, Jon combines real-world business insight with cutting-edge research to help people reclaim their agency and find meaning. Jon has successfully led high-impact initiatives at Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Indigo, and GoBolt. He holds an MBA from Cornell University, a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and advanced certifications in leadership, coaching, and complex negotiations. As CEO of Strongpoint Group and co-founder of Anther, Jon guides individuals through powerful personal transformation with clarity and confidence. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Jon’s journey to thriving has taken him from New York and Montreal to Toronto, where he lives with his wife, Adriana, and their two sons. _____________________________ For More on Jon Rosemberg A Guide to Thriving: The Science Behind Breaking Old Patterns, Reclaiming Your Agency, and Finding Meaning Website LinkedIn ______________________________ I’m Just Asking for a Friend Retirement brings so many tough questions. Share your question to be answered in an upcoming retirement podcast episode. Click here to leave a voice message or send me an email at joec@retirementwisdom.com ______________________________ Podcast Episodes You May Like The New Happy – Stephanie Harrison Living Like You Mean It – Jodi Wellman Everyday Vitality – Dr. Samantha Boardman ________________________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. ______________________________ Wise Quotes On Surviving versus Thriving “You feel like you’re putting out fires, like you’re just moving from one thing to the next. And it’s very hard to see a lot of options. So that’s a really good way to define survival mode.  Now let’s try and define what thriving is not. And I think what thriving is not is success. And we’ve often confused thriving with success. I would say success is often measured by money, status, and power. These are three things that we’re all very familiar with, especially because we live in a system that it’s meant to help us be successful. I’m sure many of your listeners experience most of their lives trying to accomplish these extrinsic motivators that are the success motivators, money, power, and status. Thriving on the other hand is a little bit different. Thriving is about agency, meaning, and connection. And when I mean connection, I mean human connection, connecting with other people. Those are kind of like the three big intrinsic motivators of thriving.” On Agency “Agency is a skill. It’s not an innate thing that we’re born with. It’s something that we develop. It’s like going to the gym, like doing strength training to get more muscles. Agency is also a developed skill. And as I went deep into the research, I found three things that kept coming up and I synthesized them in an acronym, which is AIR, A-I-R, which stands for Awareness, Inquiry, and Reframing.” On Negativity – and Hope “We find ourselves today, because we’re surrounded by so much negative information and constantly bombarded by negative information, we tend to our negativity bias, which is this kind of survival mechanism. And by the way, every second we’re exposed to about 10 million, between 10 million and a hundred million stimuli. Every second we’re exposed, and only about 10 to 50 of those make it into our conscious awareness. And of those 10 to 50, not 10 or 10 to 50,000, just 10 to 50 of those bits of information actually make it into our conscious awareness. And of those, the ratio is about, by some estimates, nine to one of negative to positive. So what I’m suggesting with this idea of positive prospection is hope, really. It’s this idea that if we can be hopeful about the future, then we can create that future. If we give up and there’s no hope, then it’s very difficult. If we’re in that hopeless state, which is very much correlated to survival mode, then it’s much harder to do that.”

Two New Designing Your Life groups kicking off in January Retirement by Design: Create a meaningful roadmap for what’s next. Early registration discount ends 12/15 Limited to 10 spots per group Learn more and sign up today  __________________________ Should you hire a Financial Advisor or do-it-yourself ? Glenn Frank rejoins us with some food for thought. __________________________ Just Asking for a Friend… Retirement brings so many tough questions. Share your question (for a friend, of course…) to be answered in an upcoming retirement podcast episode. Click here to leave a voice message or email me at joec@retirementwisdom.com _____________________ Bio Glenn Frank is the author of Your Encore: Retirement Planning Guide – How to Balance Time, Money and Joy. He was named 2019 Financial Planner of the Year in Massachusetts and one of the top financial advisors in the country for 10 straight years by Worth.   Professor Glenn Frank is a partner at https://www.frankandflanagan.com . Glenn’s college teaching experience is extensive. Since 1985 he has taught a large variety of courses in investments, taxes and financial planning. Glenn was the Founding Director of the Master of Personal Financial Planning program at Bentley University. He has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, Financial Planning, The Boston Globe,  and various other media outlets. _________________________ For More on Glenn Frank Current monthly workshops: “DIY or Advisor”, “How to Build a Lifetime Portfolio” and “Finding a Balance between Time, Money and Joy”. Links can be found at Time, Money and Joy.com (no registration required, extensive slides and resources provided). _________________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like How to Prepare Mentally for Life After Work – Joseph Maugeri The Purpose Code – Dr. Jordan Grumet The Good Life – Marc Schulz, PhD ________________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. _________________________ The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Retirement Wisdom Podcast are solely those of the guests and do not reflect the opinion of the host or Retirement Wisdom, LLC. The Retirement Wisdom Podcast primarily covers the non-financial aspects of retirement. From time to time we may invite guests who discuss other aspects of retirement planning, solely for educational purposes. Listeners are advised to consult qualified financial and/or medical professionals on those matters. ________________________

Two New Designing Your Life groups kicking off in January Your Future, Designed: Turn curiosity into action with design thinking.  Early registration discount ends 12/15 Learn more and sign up today   Limited to 10 spots per group ________________________ What does it mean to age with agility? Dr. Michelle Pannor Silver, University of Toronto professor and author of Aging with Agility: How Elite Athletes and Ordinary Folks Embrace Exercise with Age , rejoins us and shares what she discovered after studying everyone from retired Olympians to octogenarians in their best shape ever. Her core messages may flip your assumptions about aging, exercise, and body image. You’ll hear how elite athletes taught her about the power—and pitfalls—of lifelong discipline; why negative role models can be surprisingly motivating; and how small, practical habits like brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand can strengthen both your body and your brain. If you want to thrive as you age, her insights will inform and inspire you. Michelle Pannor Silver joins us from Toronto. ________________________ Bio Michelle Pannor Silver is a Professor at the University of Toronto and author of numerous studies on aging. Her first book, Retirement and Its Discontents, draws from in-depth interviews she conducted with people whose departure from their life’s work meant losing a core and fundamental component of their personal identity. Her second book, Aging with Agility examines how our perceptions of aging shape the way we take care of our bodies. Her work calls attention to ageism and societal loss while highlighting the personal struggles that can be arise when there is a mismatch between personal identity and social expectations about age. Michelle received her PhD from the University of Chicago and completed undergraduate degrees at the University of California Berkeley. ________________________ For More on Michelle Pannor Silver Aging with Agility: How Elite Athletes and Ordinary Folks Embrace Exercise with Age Website __________________ Michelle Pannor Silver’s Previous Visits If You Love Your Work, What Challenges Will You Face in Retirement? – Michelle Pannor Silver The Retirement Roundtable III __________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like The Stress Paradox – Sharon Bergquist, MD The Benefits of a New Challenge – Joe Simonetta The Joy of Movement – Kelly McGonigal _________________________ I’m Just Asking for a Friend Retirement brings so many tough questions. Share your question (for a friend, of course…) to be answered in an upcoming retirement podcast episode. Click here to leave a voice message or email me at joec@retirementwisdom.com _______________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. ________________________ Wise Quotes On Aging with Agility “Aging with agility means understanding, accepting, embracing, and taking care of the body that you have. And by understanding, I mean understanding that that body will change and that your job is to keep up with that body and to understand that you’re probably going to live longer than you think. And the goal is to carve out ways to live and to thrive. That’s aging with agility.” On the Value of Negative Role Models “…learn to adapt to your body, that that was another real takeaway, was just that it’s a journey. It’s a process to find that acceptance and then to use it to help yourself thrive. So, we all have different perceptions about aging. And I think that’s really important to acknowledge, not just gender differences, but, women have different perceptions about aging from men. There’s a ton of heterogeneity in the way that people perceive aging and the ways that that impacts them. And one really interesting takeaway, I think, is this idea that negative role models can be really strong.” On Learning to Anticipate “…learning how to anticipate that there are things that we all inevitably will do. We will all fall if we’re able-bodied enough to be walking. Those of us who are not able-bodied enough to walk, there’s other ways that we need to think about things, but we will all fall. And to think about how to, how to do that in ways that we’re not going to like hurt ourselves before we need to unnecessarily. But I think that was another practical lesson is thinking about, not fearing what’s going to come next, but finding ways to anticipate that changes are coming. And there are practical ways that we can mentally, compartmentalize and mentally prepare ourselves in ways that are optimal that are going to help us embrace those changes better. And then there’s also physical things that we can do, depending on what our abilities are.” On the 80/20 Rule “So we’re talking Pareto principle, so the idea is that like 20% of the peapods generated 80% of the peas. So the idea is identify what is most important to you. Is it not falling? Is it looking a certain way? Is it being able to move with more capacity? And I think the idea is you want to, so like, most our outcomes, they come from a small number of causes, and a small number of actions. So to be efficient, I think part of that is filtering out all the extra noise, all the ideas from society that at X age, you need to look a certain way.” _________________________ The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Retirement Wisdom Podcast are solely those of the guests and do not reflect the opinion of the host or Retirement Wisdom, LLC. The Retirement Wisdom Podcast primarily covers the non-financial aspects of retirement. From time to time we may invite guests who discuss other aspects of retirement planning, solely for educational purposes. Listeners are advised to consult qualified financial and/or medical professionals on those matters.

Joseph V. Maugeri, a CFP® pro and former CFP Board executive who recently retired, reflects on the emotional side of leaving work. He talks about surprises in identity and time, building routines and shared retirements, the SHELF framework (Socialization, Health, Experience, Learning, Finance), and using fuel versus friction to start new habits.

What if your brain’s health in retirement depended as much on who you see as on what you eat or how you move? Neuroscientist Dr. Ben Rein, author of  the new book Why Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection, joins us to reveal how social connection shapes your brain. He explains why isolation is as toxic as chronic stress, how friendship fuels brain resilience, and why your dog might be one of your best wellness allies. In this e, ye-opening conversation, you’ll learn how staying socially engaged literally protects your brain from decline, the science behind “nature’s medicine” — oxytocin — and practical ways to rewire your social habits for longevity, joy, and emotional well-being. If you’ve ever wondered why friendships matter more than ever in retirement, this episode will change the way you think about your brain — and your calendar. You’ll learn: Why social interaction is a fundamental pillar of brain health, as critical as sleep and nutrition – and what happens when we don’t get enough of it The invisible pattern of retirement isolation: how time spent alone steadily increases while connections with coworkers, friends, and family decline simultaneously Why text-based communication doesn’t satisfy your brain’s need for connection (and what to do instead to restore the social cues your brain craves) The surprising neuroscience behind why dogs are so good for us—and how they activate the same brain reward systems as human connection Two scientifically-proven exercises you can start today to train your empathy and strengthen the brain regions associated with compassion and social connection Ben Rein joins us from Buffalo, New York. ____________________________ Bio Ben Rein, PhD, is an award-winning neuroscientist, chief science officer of the Mind Science Foundation, adjunct lecturer at Stanford University, clinical assistant professor at SUNY Buffalo, and a renowned science educator. Dr. Rein’s research focuses on the neuroscience of social interactions, and outside of the lab he teaches neuroscience to an audience of more than one million social media followers. Dr. Rein and his research have been featured on major media outlets including Entertainment Tonight and Good Morning America, and he has received awards from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the Society for Neuroscience; and elsewhere. _____________________________ For More on Ben Rein Why Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection Website You Tube Channel ______________________________ Mentioned in this Podcast Loving Kindness Meditation Affect Dyad excercise ______________________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like Our New Social Life – Natalie Kerr & Jaime Kurtz The Laws of Connection – David Robson The Self-Healing Mind – Gregory Scott Brown, M.D _______________________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. ___________________________ Wise Quotes On Why Social Interaction is Essential “As a social neuroscientist, so I have spent a decade studying the biology of our interactions and not just in my own studies, but in reading a ton of literature, there is so much science out there on this. Basically, interacting is really, I consider it a fundamental pillar of wellbeing. And that goes for throughout the entire lifespan. But I think there are especially sensitive periods where we really need interaction. And that is early life. And that is also late life. In early life, it really shapes the development of our brains. And in late life, it sustains the health of our brains.” On the Hidden Crisis of Retirement Isolation “The data show that as we get older, the number of hours we spend alone continues to rise. And similarly, imagine if the amount of fast food you ate went up steadily as you got older, or the amount of hours you slept went down steadily as you got older. We would be pointing at this and saying, oh gosh, this is really not bad. 75 year old people are not sleeping. They are eating fast food. This is super bad for their health, but we are not really looking at the social component of it. And that is why I really point to it and say this is something that actually I think has to be a need-to-have because it is really significant for the brain and body.” On the Nightmare That Changed His Life “That was the first time where I realized I am interested in the organ behind the behavior. I mean, what incredible computational power to be able to do that, that same computational power is behind all those behaviors that I am interested in from a psychology viewpoint. I cannot ignore this anymore. I need to change my major. And I did. And what is funny is the reason I shared the story of The Nightmare is because I actually think it reflects my brain playing out an undesirable future where I do not listen to that inner voice. And I end up in a career that controls me and does not let me do what I want. And I feel distorted. My identity is distorted. And I think that was sort of my subconscious trying to tell me, wake up. It is the brain. Study neuroscience.”

In this captivating discussion, Dr. Susan Reid, an award-winning vision expert and retired university professor, explores the transformative journey of re-visioning retirement. After an unexpected realization of feeling adrift post-retirement, she delves into crafting a meaningful life ahead. Susan highlights the importance of ongoing purpose, the dangers of loss aversion, and shares essential components of an effective vision. She also discusses the benefits of maintaining work in retirement and the societal impact of re-visioning this phase of life.

I’m Just Asking for a Friend Retirement brings so many questions! Share yours (for a friend….) Click here to leave a voice message or email me at joec@retirementwisdom.com ____________________________ What does it mean to live life fully — without any unfinished business? Today’s guest, Diane Button, knows the answer. As a compassionate end-of-life doula and author of What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living, she’s spent years walking beside people at the end of life — and she’s learned lessons that help all of us live more fully right now. In this podcast conversation, Diane shares what she’s learned about forgiveness, gratitude and legacy — and how each of us can create peace long before the final chapter. You’ll hear touching stories of regret, reconciliation, and joy — including how one man’s “joy counter” became a simple but profound reminder to notice beauty in everyday moments. If you’ve ever wondered how to live more intentionally, strengthen your relationships, and make sure nothing important is left unsaid — this episode will move you, inspire you, and change how you think about how you want to use your time. Diane Button joins us from California. ________________________ Bio Diane Button is a founding partner of the Bay Area End-of-Life Doula Alliance in Northern California, a frequent podcast guest, and best-selling author of several books related to end-of-life, meaningful living, and the growing impact of death doulas worldwide. She is an instructor at the University of Vermont’s End-of-Life Doula Certificate Program and was a former board member of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance (NEDA). She holds a master’s in counseling psychology from Goddard College in Vermont. Her master’s thesis, The Components of a Meaningful Life, became the genesis for her life’s work of supporting people to find meaning, comfort, joy, and peace in life and in death. Diane’s best-selling books have been featured on numerous programs and podcasts, inspiring others to leave a meaningful legacy. Her other books include the best-selling titles Dear Death: Finding Meaning in Life, Peace in Death, and Joy in an Ordinary Day which combines the insights gained from her research on “The Four Pillars of a Meaningful Life,” with over a decade working with hospice and doula clients in their final days and The Doula Tool Kit: The Complete Practical Guide for End-of-Life Doulas & Caregivers, which was co-authored by Angela Shook and Gabby Jimenez. In October of 2022, during the pandemic, Diane wrote an article that went viral article for Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper that remains widely-read and one of their most popular articles. What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living is her latest book, written at the invitation of Maria Shriver and published by Penguin Random House. Diane is also a breast cancer survivor. Immediately following her diagnosis of breast cancer at 48, Diane and her young children established the nonprofit Dream of a Better World. Through grassroots fundraisers and local events, they have supported underserved children and families around the world. Their motto is: “You’re never too young or too old to make a difference!” _________________________ For More on Diane Button Website What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living __________________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like The Well-Lived Life – Dr. Gladys McGarey Live Life in Crescendo – Cynthia Covey Haller The Inspired Retirement – Nathalie Martin __________________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. __________________________ Wise Quotes On What Matters Most “Death is just one day. All the other days are for living fully.” On Unfinished Business “Just being in the moment, which means pausing which means looking people in the eye, which means having deep conversations…not being afraid to say how I feel to have to live my life with a clean slate – so that I don’t walk around carrying unfinished business with people. More than anything, I say I’m sorry. I say I love you. I say thank you. I show up for my friends and people in my life so that if this were my last day everybody knows that I love them and everybody knows that I’m sorry for the things that I’ve done. I think it’s really important because if we don’t say the words now they build up and at the end of life it can be just so excruciating to watch somebody who hasn’t healed something from their past scrambling to get it done at the end of life. So I think I’ve learned that lesson and I really try to stay on top of that.” On Joy “The real beauty of life lies in the simplicity of an ordinary day — the coffee on the porch, the laughter, the quiet moments. That’s where joy lives.”

What if doing less could actually give you more? Author and minimalist Christine Platt, known as The Afrominimalist, joins us to explore how letting go of clutter—physical and emotional—can lead to a life of greater intention, peace, and purpose. Her new book, Less Is Liberating, challenges the myth that our worth is tied to our busyness or possessions. In this conversation, Christine opens up about her own transformation—from attorney, federal government leader, to writer and minimalist—and shares how living with less helped her rediscover herself after parenting, career, and overwhelm. If you’ve ever struggled with the question “Who am I now?” or felt burdened by the weight of “shoulds,” you’ll want to listen closely. This episode is about redefining freedom—not just freedom from, but freedom for—the life you truly want in retirement. Christine Platt joins us from Washington, DC. In This Conversation, You’ll Learn: – How Christine’s minimalist journey began—and what she discovered about consumerism and identity. – Why overwhelm became her “baseline” and how she learned to listen to her body’s warning signs. – What the “five wells” of wellness reveal about balance and self-care. – How limiting beliefs form—and how they shape our behavior long after we leave work. – The powerful distinction between freedom from and freedom for in retirement. – How to reclaim your time, your energy, and your sense of self. _______________________ Bio Christine Platt is the author of Less Is Liberation: Finding Freedom from a Life of Overwhelm. a multi-hyphenate, multi-genre author whose work centers the journey of personal liberation—inviting readers to examine, release, and reimagine the narratives that shape their lives. From adult fiction and lifestyle to children’s literature and cultural commentary, Christine’s expansive body of work defies genre limitations by centering an empowering throughline: understanding and achieving personal liberation. With each book, Christine affirms what she knows to be true: liberation is not a destination—it is a way of being. And through the power of storytelling, she helps others find their way. Christine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies, Master of Arts in African and African-American Studies, and a Juris Doctorate from Stetson University College of Law. _______________________ For More on Christine Platt Less Is Liberation: Finding Freedom from a Life of Overwhelm Website _______________________ Podcast Episodes You May Like Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff – Matt Paxton The Joy of Saying No – Natalie Lue Stop People Pleasing – Hailey Magee ________________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. ________________________ Wise Quotes On Overwhelm “When overwhelm is your baseline, you’ve stopped listening to your body. The work is learning to pause and ask: which of my wells needs care right now?” On Becoming an Empty Nester “I realized I’d spent the majority of my adulthood mothering.It was like all I knew how to do. And so when our daughter went off to college,there were times that the the silence and the space felt very unsettling, right? When, as a writer, you have a project you’re always head down, it’s kind of siloed anyway. But when you don’t have a project, it’s even more quiet. And I just found myself like, filling, filling, trying to just fill that space. And coming to ultimately realize that overwhelm was kind of my baseline, like my body didn’t know, it felt unfamiliar to not be overwhelmed. And like, Man, I should be doing something, I should be doing something. And then I was doing too much. On Less I feel like [less] is a word that unfortunately has gotten a bad rap. I hope this book Less is Liberation: Finding Freedom from a Life of Overwhelm will give it a rebrand. But I feel like we tend to associate that word with scarcity, with loss, with lack – it has like a negative connotation. And almost because we never really fill in what comes after that, which is, it does leave you room for so much more of what you want and enjoy.” On the Five Wells of Wellness “She explained to me the five foundations of wellness. And she said, we look at your physical health – how are you? How’s your body? How’s your movement? How are you resting? How are you eating? We look at your mental health. Are you problem solving? Are you processing new information? Are you reading a book? Are you listening to an amazing podcast, and learning something new each day? We look at your emotional health, are you able to emote? Do you feel your feelings or do you suppress them, escape them, or try to outrun them? And she said, we look also at your social health. What’s your friendship circle like? What are your interpersonal relationships like? And then we look at your spiritual health, which is less about religion and more about how are you feeling? What contributions are you making to the world? Are you doing meaningful work? Have you done meaningful work before you retired? What do you want to do now in terms of volunteering? And she said,  this is not, you know, alternative medicine. This is traditional medicine, I am a licensed medical doctor. And this is the diagnostic tool that we use. And she said, if any one of those areas of health is deemed in need of care, it can be anything from you’re not getting enough rest. If you’re just your physical health is deemed off.” On Identity and Freedom “…as opposed to just, how can I just fill up my calendar? Do I need to be saying yes to everything? I love that you asked about those two facets of freedom, because I think it goes so well with the debt identity. For so long, our careers are a big part of our identity. For so long, mothering was a big part of my identity. And so I didn’t really have the freedom of identity to just be Christine. I didn’t even know what that looked like. There were some people that didn’t even know my name, I was just Mala’s mom. And so, it really becomes a big part of your identity. And then all of a sudden, you’re retired, you have this time. You don’t have the sort of tethering to some of the titles and responsibilities that came with the work that we did. And you just find yourself almost kind of floating, like, who am I? And so that identity really allows us to think about this life that we’re seeking freedom for. And I feel like this is the first time probably since I was a young woman, that I belong to myself. A lot of the beliefs, behaviors, and identities that we know aren’t serving us anymore.” On Overcoming Fear “There’s, there’s fear that is there.Usually like what’s at the crux of it is fear, you know, and I talked to folks that are decluttering their homes for the first time and letting go of things for the first time. There’s a very real fear of: What if I still need this? What if I let this go and it’s a mistake? When it comes to our identities and beliefs, it’s a very real fear. How are people going to perceive me when I’m no longer the person who is so helpful? And it was a very painful experience to see how many of the relationships in my life were transactional…and which are genuine connections.”

What happens when a sleepless baby, a Victorian fixer-upper, and a vineyard come together? For Richard Moran, it sparked a multi-year journey of transformation—from corporate boardrooms to wine country. Along the way, he discovered lessons about serendipity, risk-taking, family, and building a place that lasts for generations. In today’s conversation, Richard shares his story of balancing a high-flying consulting career with the slower rhythms of grapevines, why creating a family gathering place matters in retirement, and the life lessons he lives by. _______________________ Bio Richard Moran is the author of The Accidental Vineyard: An Old House, New Vines, and a Changed Life in Wine Country. Besides being a winemaker and a preservationist, Richard Moran’s background includes serving as a CEO, a college president, a venture capitalist and an author he is an authority on workplace issues and hosts a weekly radio program on KCBS, “In the Workplace” and has written ten books about management. Rich has also served as a director on public and private corporate boards. He lives in California’s Wine Country. Moran has served as a CEO, a college president, a venture capitalist, and a top-level consultant. He is a set of one. He has worked for or with some of the world’s leading organizations including Accenture, Apple, News Corp, American Airlines, PG&E and many others. He prides himself on his matter-of-fact manner of consulting and believes that many parts of the business world are needlessly complicated. Moran holds a Ph.D. in organization behavior but his work is not academic. Research is important but he believes what is just as critical are the observations one can make by being in the “trenches” _______________________ For More on Richard Moran The Accidental Vineyard: An Old House, New Vines, and a Changed Life in Wine Country _______________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like Take the Detour – A Second Act Story – Melissa Davey The Portfolio Life – Christina Wallace Edit Your Life – Elisabeth Sharp McKetta _______________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. ____________________________ Wise Quotes On Transitioning to a New Life “I was on a conference call with a big time CEO and I was trying to do two things at once. I was clipping grapevines at the same time. And the CEO said, what’s that noise? What’s that noise? And I knew right then that I had switched, I had gone to the country where life is a little simpler than it is trying to meet flights and put together a PowerPoint presentation.” On Creating a Place People Want to Visit “What we wanted to create was a place and we created it. This place is still alive. We didn’t make it into a museum. We live here. And I think finding a place for you and your family at any time in your life, but especially as you grow older where you want people to come visit, you want people in retirement to come and say, Hey, I want to visit. We don’t want to—I don’t want you to drag your ass here just because you’re my grandpa. I want people to come visit and they do.” On Intentions “Actions follow intent. If you know what your intentions are, then you know what your actions are that might lead to that intention.”