Saturday, January 26, 2008
Noon-1:30pm
No Admission Fee
Lunch will be served

Terry Kozlowski, Rich and Rowdy Retirement Guide

Baby boomers are now negotiating work on their own terms, becoming more involved in their community, and finding new uses for leisure time. Come discover the top 3 trends and practical action steps to discover exciting opportunities for your own next time in life.

Rush Generations
Rush University Medical Center
http://www.rush.edu/olderadults

So I tracked down the credit for the actress who played her. It was Eileen Herley. That name was familiar but I was still racking my brain for the connection. Then I remembered and it was a surprising association.

Eileen Herley plays the fascinating, direct, down to earth, former carnival worker and con woman Myrtle Fargate on All My Children.

Now I’ve been watching All My Children on ABC TV ever since I was in high school and they put a tv in the Junior-Senior Lounge (which was actually the basement) at Alvernia High School. So I do remember when the character of Myrtle first arrived. I had no idea that this was the same actress who in her younger days had played mother to Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet!

Not too long ago I saw her on the show, she’s now in her 80’s and her performances are still compelling.

Her journey from Shakespeare to daytime tv is a fascinating reminder that we can reinvent ourselves, put ourselves into brand new situations, and find people willing to pay us for what we do into our 80s and beyond. So baby boomers who are trying to figure out what’s next shouldn’t feel trapped by their past work experiences or image. Instead, they can choose to revisit a childhood dream or profit from an unexpected surprise.

I actually read several. When I’m very busy they stack up around my home until I can get to them. The pleasure I receive going through each daily paper is such a great return on investment on the fifty cents I pay (and more depending on the paper) that for me, they are still one of the great bargains in a joyful life.

Now if you’re kind of bored with your daily routine or you’re just looking ahead to the next chapter of your life and you’re thinking you’d like to find a second career and do something a little more creative or meaningful, the newspaper can be a great source of clues for you.

It’s very simple, just notice what you read first. Where do you linger a long time? What do you skip past?

For me, my life long interest in the arts and entertainment world has had me keeping up with which movies are being started and what’s appearing soon at a theater near me for decades. It’s not a chore and doesn’t feel like work to stay on top of what’s happening in that space because I’m genuinely interested.

Now for you, perhaps it’s the food section with all those creative recipes or perhaps it’s the latest commentary in the world of sports.

In my case, once I focused on where my heart was naturally interested, then I turned my attention to figuring out all the different ways I could leverage that into money making opportunities. So I have a book contract and use my love of movies as vivid examples and illustrations of success principles both with my executive clients and those who are looking for their next career.

And of course, when I sit down to post to this blog you will have noticed how often my focus here includes the movies. So writing this is no longer a chore, but a pleasure to share.

So pull out your favorite paper and notice where your energy naturally settles happily. Then start to consider how you could include that as a part of what you do today in your professional life and what new income possibilities you could explore — even on a part time basis.

As I was talking with Alderman O’Connor last night about a permanent facility for the company in its home base Chicago neighborhood, I was thinking how blessed I have been to be part of making something happen that will continue to benefit the community long after I am gone.

As a Volunteer, I don’t receive any money from the significant time I spend here. But, sometimes the most important benefits in life have more to do with how you feel about yourself and your own sense of making a real contribution and a difference in your little corner of the world.

Do you have a concurrent career in the world of a non-profit? Do you want to start a new career where some of your time is spent where your heart is? Volunteers have been proven to both maintain better health and live longer.

So do something good for others and for yourself. Schedule some time in your calendar and volunteer where you care.

If you’d like to see what my Griffin Theatre Company is performing or preparing now for children or adults or to be added to the theatre’s mailing list, just visit their website
at http://www.griffintheatre.com

First of all, this retirement is coming at the age of 82. He’s been a working actor for over 50 years. Are you doing something today that you would be happy to keep doing into your 80’s?

Secondly, even though he acknowledges that he’s not able to work at the level that he wants to in the realm of movies, he’s not retiring from life. He has other projects that he’s turning his attention to instead. This includes a new organic restaurant in Westport, CT and the camps that he runs for critically ill children. I’m not sure how much of his personal attention he’s still devoting to his food venture with the proceeds to charity and education that puts his spaghetti sauces and salad dressings onto grocery shelves and then into my kitchen.

But the lesson I see as a baby boomer that’s too young to retire is that he started a lot of these ventures first as a side or part time project. They began and were running alongside what he’s known for professionally in the world.

Now that he doesn’t have the stamina for the rigors of a starring role, these other ventures are more matured and ready for him to more fully step into.

What are you doing now or interested in starting up on the side?

Is this a side business to bring in some extra money?

Is this a side business that could become your “retirement” business?

Or do you want to more personally contribute to your local or global community through engagement of your time and energy?

What do you see around you that needs doing?

According to the label on the bottle on my kitchen counter, his Newman’s Own brand has raised more than $175 million for charity since it was founded in 1982. What cause would you like to see benefiting from your own civic engagement?

That unlikely combo was his ticket to stardom and financial success. And acting is his second career!

After he graduated with some sort of degree in mathematics or computer science, he went to work behind the scenes at Industrial Light and Magic and was very successful there. But that didn’t mean that was the only path he could take.

In my work with executives and professionals who are trying to figure out what they want to do next in their career, often it’s the unusual combo of lifelong interests and passions that give us the clue to an unusual and exciting second career that they are uniquely qualified to create.

So what about you? If you were to pull together an unusual combo of 3 of your interests and skills, what does that suggest about a potential new opportunity for a new job or a new business for you?

You can do this if you’re in your twenties and already ready for something different or if you’re close to the time for retirement, but too young to retire and not wanting to stop working completely — and ready for work to be on your own terms.