Squeezing All The Juice Out Of Retirement

It was nice to be on the other side of the conversation about squeezing all the juice out of retirement. This is part 2 of my conversation with TMFG.

It was nice to be on the other side of the conversation about squeezing all the juice out of retirement.

Jan doesn’t miss a beat! She serves as a volunteer on the executive of not one but two community organizations, she plays in not one but two community concert bands, she works part-time, she drives an all-electric vehicle and she travels. She says the days just aren’t long enough for her to accomplish all she wants to!

After 30 years in the oil and gas industry, Jim stepped back briefly before redirecting his energies and diving in to help seniors who needed help. Often, he says, they won’t ask; so he just does it. He now advocates for them both politically and socially, and receives great satisfaction from doing so.

Jonathan is a veteran financial columnist, blogger and author based in Toronto. He was the Financial Post’s long-time personal finance columnist and editor-in-chief for MoneySense Magazine. Unlike many of my interviewees who have made radical changes in their post-career initiatives, Jon continues with many of his former activities, but at a more relaxed pace, scaling back, he says, from a former 4-hour work day to a current 3-hour one!

Bill is the inspirational founder and the driving force behind the creation of an exciting life-long learning initiative called iLife. The program is currently operating in several communities across South West Florida, providing learning opportunities for thousands of retirees. Learn how it originated, and how its success is based on trust.

A life-long coach and team player, Don is devoted and committed to youth development. Hear how in his post-professional career, he’s working to create a pre-college summer Boot Camp, designed to assist students make values-based decisions as they head off to college.

A retired lawyer, Jim uses all his negotiating, mediation, research, debating and collaborative skills to bring about improvements to his winter community in Florida.

After five different careers in business, Brenda discovered PROBUS. She created one PROBUS Club and served as its President for several years. Then she became a District Director, and is helping to develop this fast-growing organization. Listen to this interview to learn more about PROBUS Clubs, and why they’re so popular with retirees and semi-retirees in Canada and internationally.

This lady is a dynamo!

Gary emphasizes the importance of participating, volunteering, “congregating”, and “signing up” as a means of socializing and meeting interesting new people in your post-work career.

A “Renaissance man”, Dennis is equally comfortable designing heavy lifting equipment for a Cirque de Soleil show in Las Vegas, rebuilding a Vespa scooter, leading a discussion on world affairs or on a wildlife photography expedition in the jungles of Brazil. He loves to encourage youth development, is committed to life-long learning, and says he’ll never retire; he’ll just “change jobs”.

An engineer by training and experience, learn how Jeff is “squeezing all the juice out of retirement” in his role as Field Director of Water Ambassadors of Canada, and is using his experience to change lives by providing clean drinking water.

A long-time Air Canada pilot, Allan was forced to retire at age 60. Hear how he’s turned that experience into two new careers, one in real estate and one in politics.

Nancy continues to work part time as an HR Consultant, and is also committed to projects that “stretch” her in retirement. Volunteering is in her DNA, and she sees retirement as a blank page to be filled with initiatives that engage her, be they scary or exciting.

A retired family doctor, Ken speaks widely on the topic of “humour in medicine”. In fact, he asserts that “there’s little humour in medicine, but there’s LOTS of medicine in humour”. Listen to this fascinating story teller.

A former businessman, Vern has transformed personal tragedy into a life of renewed meaning, giving back and community enhancement.

A former human relations (HR) professional, Peter now uses hypnotism as a means of unleashing human potential and at the same time, to facilitate communications with extra-terrestrials!

Tim is a passionate spokesman for the growth of the electric vehicle (EV) movement in Canada. He has owned two EVs, speaks widely about the surging trend, the practicalities of EV ownership, and why we’re at a tipping point in EV development.

Marj is passionate about “connecting communities”. Listen to her multi-pronged approach to bringing people together to create better communities.

Jim continues to “rewire” himself in retirement as the “Quit Coach”, as a spinning instructor for seniors, as the “Bearstick Guy”, and as the author of a book entitled Live To 126.

Robin is legally blind and yet regularly conducts historical tours in the Hamilton cemetery, and has recently mounted a photography exhibition at the Hamilton Public Library. How does that happen?

Barry shares his journey from a teaching career to becoming a passionate “water guy”, and how he’s changing lives by providing clean water.