The Retirement Wisdom Podcast

Susan Hartzler, author of The Peace Puppy: A Memoir of Caregiving and Canine Solace, joins us to discuss her lessons learned in caregiving and volunteering with Therapy Dogs. Susan Hartzler joins us from California. ________________________ Bio Susan Hartzler is a lifelong dog lover and an award-winning writer who has figured out a way to live her life to the fullest as a single woman, not conforming to the social norms of marriage and children. Winner of the Angel on a leash Award from the Dog Writer’s Association of America and the Pawlitzer Prize from America’s most dog friendly city Carmel, CA, Susan has created a life filled with joy that revolves around her dogs and wrote about it in her first memoir, I’m Not Single, I Have a Dog — Dating Tales From The Bark Side. Susan also works as a blogger for hire and writes public relations and marketing materials for a variety of industries. Her current pack consists of two talented Australian Shepherds, Seven and Paige Turner, who Susan has trained to act in commercials and bring their special kind of love to children in the hospital as therapy dogs. ________________________ For More on Susan Hartzler The Peace Puppy: A Memoir of Caregiving and Canine Solace (Dogs in Our World) Website ________________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like The Best Day of My Life So Far – Benita Cooper An Artful Life – John P. Weiss Detach: Ditch Your Baggage – Dr. Bob Rosen _________________________ Mentioned in This Podcast Conversation Therapy Dogs International 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 also 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 twenty-six-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Today, in addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, which thanks to his guests and loyal listeners, ranks in the top 1 % globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider has 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. Connect on LinkedIn _____________________________ Wise Quotes On Caregiving “Suddenly here I was single, just coming and going as I pleased, except for my dog. And suddenly I had someone that was counting on me. And my dad was a very dynamic man. So he needed some outlets for socialization and for his creativity. And all these things I had to figure out along the way. So there are things that I would tell a caregiver. It’s not just feeding and doing the physical things that are needed. It’s a lot of emotional support too. So you have to be ready. On Baldwin “I got a therapist who helped me a lot. And my dog, Baldwin, he was a rescue dog that my mom bought for me before she died, so I always looked at him as a sign of her love to me. And you know, it’s just, if things got really intense, if my dad was angry about something, I could just say, I’m going to take Baldwin on a walk and leave and breathe and be in nature and be with my dog and come back and things will have changed. So he really helped me a lot in my emotional journey as a caregiver. And my dad loved him too. He was amusing. We got to watch him do funny things. I taught him all sorts of tricks. He sneezed on command. So my dad liked to watch the tricks. And one time he went to the hospital and he came out and he said to me, ‘You know, it was the best thing about coming home.’ I said, ‘What? ‘He said, ‘Baldwin.’ I would have said that, but that was touching that he felt that way too.” On Volunteering  “I’m a big advocate for volunteering, especially when it comes to dogs. So my mom was a school teacher. And after she died and I moved home to take care of my dad, Baldwin was so smart and he needed a job. So he had the agility going, but a woman that I met in agility, she was an evaluator for Therapy Dogs International. So I said, ‘do you think Baldwin would be a good therapy dog?’ She said, yes. So she helped me train him. It’s not only the temperament of the dog. There are certain training things. Like for instance, let’s say you’re at a hospital and you’re visiting someone and the food tray comes in. You don’t want a dog that’s going to jump up on the bed and start eating the food. Although my dog Bliss did eat the Play-Doh once, but that’s a whole other story. She didn’t pass the test the first time because she had to have a hot dog. So there’s reasons for the training because you don’t want to put a dog in a situation where they’re not going to succeed.” On Therapy Dogs “Baldwin opened up so many worlds for me. He opened up the world of therapy dogs.  I went once a month to County USC with him. And it gave perspective on what was going on in my life. We visited these kids that were going through cancer treatments and they had smiles on their faces, you know? And the thing is you can’t get emotional while you’re there because you’re watching the child, you’re watching the dog, you’re making sure,  if there’s an IV, you don’t want your dog to jump up and hit the IV or you don’t want your dog to eat the Play-Doh. So it’s a lot. You have to really watch what’s going on. But afterwards, I would realize what I had just witnessed. And I call it grace in motion because Baldwin… he just had such grace. He knew, I never planned what he was going to do.” __________________________

It’s time for a recap of our best retirement podcast conversations from earlier this year. As you listen, ask yourself: What if I put this into action? Ready to learn more? Here are links to the full conversations: Stephanie Harrison Jordan Grumet Anne Laure Le Cunff Ethan Kross Bob Rosen Judith Nadratowski Alison Wood Brooks ______________________ Podcast Episodes You May Like The Very Best of 2024 Best of 2023 – Part Three The Very Best of 2022 _______________________ 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 also 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 twenty-six-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Today, in addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, which thanks to his guests and loyal listeners, ranks in the top 1 % globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider has 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. Connect on LinkedIn _____________________________

Marc Cooper thinks you have an important choice to make.  Will you become a wise elder or just someone who’s getting older? Marc Cooper joins us from Portland, Oregon. ___________________ Bio Dr. Marc Cooper is a former healthcare consultant, for almost 30 years – at the practice, corporate and organizational levels. Prior to his consulting career, Dr. Cooper was an academician, basic science researcher and practicing periodontist. He felt a shift later in life, leading him to create and lead an organization called the Contemporary Elder Institute. This is a movement to raise awareness around the transformation we all experience as we age – turning knowledge into wisdom – and how it impacts the remainder of our life experience.  On the road to becoming an elder, there are no clear road signs, no GPS to guide the way, and no reliable maps to follow. Navigating this path demands acquiring and cultivating higher wisdom—insights that transcend mere knowledge and shallow appearances. Marc explores a transformative approach to aging in his book Older to Elder: The Thinking and Being of a Contemporary Elder. He rejects our culture’s predetermined and often detrimental path to late age. Marc champions a new path: a path of strength, contribution, and deep self-worth, the path of a contemporary elder. _________________________ For More on Marc Cooper Older to Elder: The Thinking and Being of a Contemporary Elder The Contemporary Elder Institute _________________________ Podcast Episodes You May Like The Well-Lived Life – Dr. Gladys McGarey The Pursuit of Wisdom – Ben Lytle The Measure of Our Age – MT Connolly ___________________________ 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 also 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 twenty-six-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Today, in addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, which thanks to his guests and loyal listeners, ranks in the top 1 % globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider has 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. Connect on LinkedIn _________________________ Wise Quotes On Olders and Elders “Older is objective and elder is subjective. Older is defined by the culture. This is what happens when you get old. These are the problems that occur….So there’s a certain element of conventional knowledge that people can expand their lives through their health span, their lifespan… That’s distinct from a cultural viewpoint… You would observe it in their language, and you would observe it in their listening. So another is a listener, and another knows certain principles that are practiced that older does not, and one would be that listening is more powerful than speaking, that you listen in a way that allows for the other person to have safety…. So an elder earns the light on a different area. So if you watch them speaking over the fence, the elder is nodding his head or her head and smiling and being warming and bracing in a certain way of this of this individual, bringing a level of humanity that he or she has accomplished, and that is welcome, refreshing, and longed for in the older person.” On Switchbacks on Your Path “One of my teachers once said, if you see your steps clearly on the path. it’s the wrong path. If you’ve ever done some hiking, there’s things called switchbacks. And then you keep on climbing and then there’s a switchback and you keep on climbing and there’s a switchback. But I’ve had a lot of switchbacks. And my switchbacks have taken me places that were unexpected. So although having a professional health care career, I also was enmeshed in the Native American Aboriginal world for a while, where elders were present. And so I was able to generate relationships inside of that context, as well as to develop my professional relationships and success in here. And what I saw was missing here was available here. And what was available here wasn’t available there. There was something that was was not linked. So I spent time with elders. And then I trained with a shaman, and his older to elder, when I was not older yet, was in my 50s.Now I think that’s really young. It’s just a spring puppy. In my own consulting arena, I brought that particular set of distinctions there. And then I saw it in myself. I began to see the impact that it had when you’re engaged in different sets of inquiry and questions and understandings.” On Discovery versus Protection “Elders are in discovery. I think holders are in protection. How do I protect my assets? How do I protect my health? How do I sit there? There’s a certain shell that older has, that elder has taken off.  People don’t listen as an open element. They already have surmised much and know much….And part of the elders’ beauty is to live in a world where you don’t know. So you’re in wonderment. You take walks and you go in nature and your mind stops and the beauty grabs you and there’s stream water and all of that. And all there knows how to get there in the daily life to be in that arena in that moment where they don’t know. And life’s a mystery. But they’re smart, because they’re learners too. They’re going for deeper understanding, not to protect themselves, but to understand themselves and the world better.”    

Laverne McKinnon, a career coach and grief recovery specialist, shares insights from her dynamic career in film and television. She discusses the emotional challenges that accompany retirement, emphasizing the need to reconnect with personal aspirations. Laverne highlights the often-overlooked grief tied to job loss and encourages redefining self-worth. She draws from her experiences, showcasing how modern shows like 'The Offer' and 'Shrinking' reflect themes of resilience and transformation. Her compassionate approach offers listeners a roadmap for navigating identity beyond their job titles.

Retirement is what you make of it. Do you have a second-act story as an entrepreneur in you?  Connie Inukai, author of  Retirement: Dream Big, Take Action, Make Money: 10 Amazing Second Act Entrepreneurs Tell Their Story, shares her experience in her second act as an inventor and “Grandmapreneur.” Connie Inukai joins us from Maryland. _______________________ Bio As a serial “Grandmapreneur®”, Connie Inukai speaks to retirees or soon-to-be retirees on the benefits of pursuing entrepreneurship in retirement. Retired from teaching Technical Writing at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University for four decades, Connie Inukai became an award-winning inventor at the age of 68.  Featured in Entrepreneur magazine, “6 Reasons to Pursue Entrepreneurship in Retirement,” Connie encourages Baby Boomers to have an active retirement through business or social entrepreneurship. She is the creator of Write Your Selfie®, where she inspires people to write their life stories in a fun and easy-to-read format so grandchildren and future generations will enjoy turning the pages to learn about their ancestry and life lessons. She is passionate about working with dementia sufferers and their families to preserve the memoirs of this “invisible” population. _______________________ For More on Connie Inukai Retirement: Dream Big, Take Action, Make Money: 10 Amazing Second Act Entrepreneurs Tell Their Story Website –  Grandmapreneur: Inspiring Invention, Ideas, and Impact  _______________________ Mentioned in this Podcast Conversation SCORE Mentoring Program _______________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like The Heart of Grandfatherhood – Ted Page Is Semi-Retirement the Best of Both Worlds? – Liz Weston Unretired – Mark S. Walton ________________________ 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 also 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 twenty-six-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Today, in addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, which thanks to his guests and loyal listeners, ranks in the top 1 % globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider has 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. Connect on LinkedIn ________________________ Wise Quotes On Being a Second Act Entrepreneur “SCORE is very helpful because when I started, when I retired, I was 68 years old and then I was fumbling around with my invention. I knew nothing about anything, but I did learn how to invent a product and I went to SCORE because I had no idea what to do and they’re very good with newbies and I think they didn’t expect a newbie to be my age, but I think I’m older than my SCORE mentor, but he was wonderful and the first thing he did was he told me to write a business plan. Most people who write business plans just use a template and copy it and do nothing with it, but he inspired me, so I wrote a business plan that would actually lead me on my path to my business. I actually have two businesses and now a third business. I have one that I want to be a speaker because I gave a TEDx talk, another for Tip and Split, which is my invention. And the business plan shows how I’m going to develop it.And my third one is for, my third business plan is how I’m going to develop my third product, which is called Write Your Selfie. So I actually used my SCORE mentor to help me write my business plans…If you hire a mentor, they’re very expensive. SCORE is free. So, they’re not doing it for money. They’re doing it because they want to help you.” The Benefits of Second Act Entrepreneurship “The main reasons are, first of all, it keeps you mentally active to have a business. And it keeps you physically active. And it keeps you socially active. There are six things, six reasons why it’s good to start a business. The main thing is it keeps you young.” On Shark Tank – and Why It’s Never Too Late “So I took an Amtrak to audition for Shark Tank. Now, if that isn’t dreaming big, I don’t know what is. The reason I went there is because I thought this is my time. Because Shark Tank is more than the product, it’s about the person’s story behind the product, and I’m going to compete. There were about 1,000 people pitching, and I assumed I was the oldest one there. I thought, Yay me!, and why not? All I can do is have a good time, meet a lot of people, and have the time of my life. I’ll tell you the hardest thing about the pitch was, I had to stand in line for two hours waiting for a wristband, and I can’t stand up that long. So I bought a folding stool, and I thought, what does every great inventor do? They solve a problem. If I can’t stand up, I was afraid to sit down on the ground because I knew I wouldn’t be able to get back up. So I thought, okay, let me find a solution. So I went on Amazon and I found this great folding stool. And it was actually a great idea. It wasn’t my invention. A lot of people thought that was my invention. No, that’s just something I used. So people think small, no, think big. Because at this age, we’ve been through so much. We’ve had successes, we’ve had failures, we’ve had everything in between. We have nothing to lose. So why not go for it?  I’m 77 and I’m still planning my next invention. I have two more in my head that I’m going to do and they’re going to be great. Is it ever too late? I think that’s old-fashioned. That’s the way people used to look at retirement, that you’re too old and we we can put ourselves on a shelf. Nobody’s putting me on a shelf. Okay, so I think that if you think you’re too old to do something, well don’t talk to me about that. I would encourage you to talk to anybody except me about that.”  

Is stress bad for you? Yes, but so is too little stress. Sharon Bergquist, MD, author of The Stress Paradox: Why You Need Stress to Live Longer, Healthier, and Happier, shares her research on how good stress, in the right amount and at the right time, can enhance your well-being and longevity. Dr. Sharon Bergquist joins us from Atlanta. _________________________ Bio Sharon Horesh Bergquist, MD, is the author of The Stress Paradox: Why You Need Stress to Live Longer, Healthier, and Happier. She is an award-winning physician, innovative healthcare leader, and visionary researcher renowned for spearheading a science-based approach to applying lifestyle as medicine. She has helped lead numerous clinical trials, including the Emory Healthy Aging Study and the NIH-funded Emory Healthy Brain Study. Dr. Bergquist is widely published in peer-reviewed journals and has contributed to over 200 news segments, including Good Morning America, CNN, ABC News, The Wall Street Journal, and NPR. She hosts The Whole Health Cure podcast and her popular Ted-Ed video on how stress affects the body has been viewed over six million times. She received her degrees from Yale College and Harvard Medical School. _________________________ For More on Sharon Bergquist, MD The Stress Paradox: Why You Need Stress to Live Longer, Healthier, and Happier Website _________________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like Tiny Experiments – Anne-Laure Le Cunff Shift – Ethan Kross From Cravings to Control – Revamp Your Habits – Dr. Jud Brewer ________________________ 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 also 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 twenty-six-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Today, in addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, which thanks to his guests and loyal listeners, ranks in the top 1 % globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider has 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. Connect on LinkedIn __________________________ On Good Stress and Bad Stress “You can tell a lot about the difference between good stress and bad stress by looking at studies on retirement because there’s such a discrepancy between the studies, some showing that some people live longer and live better when they retire and some people actually do better if they work past retirement age. And when you look at the difference, it really comes down to the nature of their job. If people are working in jobs that are joyful, purposeful, very reward driven, they tend to do better working past retirement age. And people who feel chronically stressed, overwhelmed by their work, there’s no joy, low reward, they tend to do better to retire. And that begins to tell you a lot about good stress and bad stress.” On Stress “So essentially, good stressors are stressors that are mild to moderate. In terms of intensity, they are generally brief or intermittent, where you are exposed to the stress and then there’s a period of recovery. And their nature is that they’re aligned with your belief system, they’re meaningful, they contribute to a greater good. And the bad stressors that are harmful, in nature, they’re more intense. They can be very overwhelming. Their duration is usually chronic, it goes on continuously. And generally, they’re the ones that drain you, there’s not as much of a sense of purpose or reward. And they leave you feeling exhausted and burnt out.” On the Benefits of Good Stress “We have this natural ability to heal our bodies, to regenerate. And good stress is the mechanism that signals our body to activate these healing systems. The benefits of good stress I think are really having come to light in mainstream because we focus a lot on how we need to reduce our exposure to things that are harming our health. So in our Western environment we know that processed foods, sedentary, loneliness, chronic stress are all factors that are chipping away at our health and there’s tremendous focus on reducing these exposures. What we don’t talk enough about is that we have the ability build health to counter the effects of these harmful stressors in our lives. And that’s what good stressors are trying to do. So I think of it as building a bank account. So these harmful stressors are withdrawing money out of your bank account. And the good stressors are making deposits because they’re repairing the damage. They’re helping you build reserve and resilience.And that in turn helps reduce your risk of disease. It also slows your aging process. So those are the fundamental benefits. And so much of disease and the aging process is rooted in decline in our repair and regenerative systems. And that results in cellular damage. So we have this ability to kind of slow that process with aging to slow what happens to these repair mechanisms from the exposure that are occurring from our daily life and live such a happier and longer life.” The Five Good Stressors “The five key stressors that we know that can activate our repair and regenerative systems and help us live longer and disease-free are plant chemicals that mildly stress our cells, exposure to brief intervals of high intensity activity, thermal stress from heat and cold, fasting stress, reducing incoming nutrients in a pattern that aligns with our circadian biology and good mental and emotional challenges that help us thrive.”

Ted Page, founder of the blog Good Grampa, has a new book Good Grandpa: Stories from the Heart of Grandfatherhood coming out on Grandparent’s Day. We catch up on what he’s learned from others about grandfatherhood today and his own experiences as a grandfather. Ted Page rejoins us from Vermont. _____________________ Bio Ted Page is a storyteller and performer. His nonfiction stories have appeared in Boston Magazine and the Boston Globe Magazine, and his comedy screen credits include work with John Cleese and Florence Henderson. His blog for grandfathers –GoodGrandpa.com—has been featured in The New York Times. Ted’s book of true family stories, The Willoughby Chronicles, was published in 2017. Ted is a founding partner of Captains of Industry, a leading boutique marketing consultancy, and a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He lives in New England and has a bunch of grandchildren. ___________________________ For More on Ted Page Pre-order Good Grandpa: Stories from the Heart of Grandfatherhood Blog: GoodGrandpa.com – Nurturing the Next Generation __________________________ Missed Ted Page’s first visit? Listen here __________________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like The Long Distance Grandparent – Kerry Byrne PhD The Mindful Grandparent – Dr. Shirley Showalter TALK: The Science of Conversation – Alison Wood Brooks __________________________ 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 also 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 twenty-six-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Today, in addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, which thanks to his guests and loyal listeners, ranks in the top 1 % globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider has 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. Connect on LinkedIn ________________________ Wise Quotes On the Evolution of Grandfathers “That story begins about 30,000 years ago, and it was when early Paleolithic humans were on the rise, and scientists believe that a shift started to take place where the very earliest grandparents started peering on the scene. Now these were grandparents in their over the late 20s, but life at the time has been described as, you know, brutish and short. People just didn’t live very long. And all of a sudden, there was the grandparents gradually appearing on the scene. And they were able to teach, for example, you know, how do you plant seeds? So to have the better chance of a successful crop. As one example, I’m sure there was all kinds of things like hunting and so forth. And they were the first ones who were being there for their grandkids and instilling the wisdom required to help lead a successful life. So that was the genesis of this. And this is all that was from an article in Scientific American. But that got me thinking about my own grandfather, and I was fortunate to have one grandfather who had this huge influence on me, called him Gramp. And I knew him in the 1970s when I helped him and my grandmother clean the rental cottages on the family’s farm in Vermont, and the number of lessons I learned from him just through being there.” On Today’s Grandfathers “That sense of distance from being a grandparent is changing. You know what, I think if you were an involved parent, as I was, like a really involved dad, you’re more likely to be an involved grandfather as hopefully I am. But I think the biggest difference was, and again, I can’t say this is universal. My wife points out that her dad was different with our grandkids. My grandmother would never miss a family gathering without saying how much she loved her grandkids, loved, loved, loved her grandkids and how much it meant to her. My grandpa, well, we’re not doing that. Never once did I hear him say, Teddy, I love you. But my grandpa, as well as my father and a lot of the dads, the grandfathers that I spoke with, showing your love was by working.” On Forever Letters “A guy reached out to me. His name is Bob Halperin. He was a former director of the MIT School of Executive Education, very bright guy. And he reached out after reading the story in the blog. And he said he was doing something that these days is called a forever letter. In ancient Jewish traditions, going back to the time of the Bible, it was called the ethical will. So it was the practice of writing a letter that would only be read by future generations. And he had a letter written to him by his grandfather, a grandfather that he never met. But this grandfather had big influence on him because of what he wrote.” He took an ancient tradition and he updated it to the time of email. And he’s writing dozens of emails, and he gave the email address to his kids, and he says, I want you to give these to the grandkids at certain ages.”

Join Dr. Bob Rosen, a renowned psychologist and author, as he explores the transformative power of detaching from unhealthy attachments. He delves into how retirement can spark personal growth and the significance of embracing uncertainty in our ever-changing world. Bob shares insights on confronting emotional baggage and redefining fulfillment through love and gratitude. With compelling stories and practical strategies, listeners are encouraged to embrace change and create a joyful retirement experience.

What retirement regrets lie ahead? You can learn a lot from other people’s experiences and avoid some retirement regrets that have derailed others. Our guest, Noah Sheidlower of Business Insider, joins us to discuss what he learned from a recent series on retirement regrets he and his colleagues reported. Noah Sheidlower joins us from New York. ______________________ Bio Noah Sheidlower is an economy reporter with Business Insider. He joined in June 2023 and covers retirement, immigration, and employment trends. Noah led a 17-story retirement series on regrets older Americans have about their lives and worked on a video about what six older Americans would tell their younger selves. He led an eight-month story about how eight families benefited from basic income initiatives. He has also reported extensively on how Americans have navigated unemployment, what compels Americans to move, and how mass deportations could impact the economy. He has appeared on SiriusXM Business Radio and CBS News to discuss his reporting. Before joining Business Insider, Noah received his Bachelor’s in Sociology and English from Columbia University. Noah has covered the restaurant industry, transportation, retail, and markets for CNBC, NBC News, CNN, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ____________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like The Good Life – Marc Schulz Retiring: Creating a Life That Works for You – Teresa Amabile The New Happy – Stephanie Harrison _____________________ 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 also 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 twenty-six-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Today, in addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, which thanks to his guests and loyal listeners, ranks in the top 1 % globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider has 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. Connect on LinkedIn ______________________ Wise Quotes On Meaning & Purpose “…we heard from a lot of people who kept mentioning meaning and purpose. This is something that we have heard many, many times from people saying, even though I retired, even though I stopped my 9 to 5 job, I still have found purpose, whether it was volunteering, whether it was going back to work part time, whether it was finding some kind of project in the home. We heard from a lot of people who said that they have worked on interior decorating projects or have built homes completely anew. And then we heard from a lot of people who said that focusing on health was a big one. You don’t even want to know how many 80 and 90 year olds I talked to who said I go to the gym every day. They make the trek to go to the gym, run a mile around the track every day. So definitely there were plenty of silver linings.” On Professional Regrets “We heard a lot of professional regrets. We heard from people who said, I did not maintain my professional connections enough. So I had a layoff when I was 60. I couldn’t quite retire. And well, my resume is not updated. My skill sets aren’t up to date. What do I do? And that’s another thing that I heavily report on it is older Americans in the workforce. And we’ve noticed from a lot of people saying I’ve applied to 500, a thousand jobs.” On Happiness in Retirement “…people who said that they worked very low paying jobs throughout their career and have not a lot of money in their retirement and are actually very content, probably a lot happier than most people in retirement. And that was just shocking for me to hear at least seeing that my grandparents, my grandparents had very successful careers and they said, well, my friends who weren’t as successful during their careers are nowhere near as happy as I am.” On Purpose in Retirement “…purpose seemed to be a guiding principle for a lot of these people. Obviously not everyone was equipped to retire, but for the people who were lucky enough to have the financial resources to have successful retirements, one of the main things that they preached was I discovered my purpose. I found meaning, and it wasn’t in ways that you would potentially expect. It was a lot of people saying, Well, I’m poor and I’m relying on Social Security, but my purpose is caring for my dog or seeing my grandchildren. We talked to people who said my purpose was going back to work. We talked to a woman who worked and ran a winery for much of her career and then was like Well, I can’t do this anymore. It’s too taxing on me. So, I’m going to be my village’s trustee. And so, people taking more of those types of civic positions. We heard from people who said, Well, I’m not going to retire. I’m just going to keep working and working and working. We talked to somebody who’s 87 and is still going to business meetings in Boston and is still putting on suits and ties to go talk to people and have coffee chats. And he was saying, Well, my brain’s a muscle. I don’t need my brain to atrophy. I don’t need to be sitting and withering away.”    

Lane Martinsen, a Certified Financial Fiduciary® and author of the 5W Retirement Blueprint, discusses the often-overlooked non-financial aspects of retirement planning. He emphasizes a holistic approach that includes personal fulfillment alongside financial well-being. Alongside navigating retirement risks like inflation and tax implications, Lane shares heartwarming stories about the joys of grandparenting and highlights strategies for aligning couples' retirement goals. It's an insightful blend of practical advice and personal anecdotes for anyone approaching retirement.