Contemporary Retirement Coaching Blog

Thought Provokers (that were too late to make it into the book)

How much of your current spending is related to your work?  (Travel expenses, shirt/blouse laundering, retail therapy to counteract work-related stress, take-out food because you'e too tired to cook, etc.)

How much does it cost you to go to work?

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For over 500 questions designed to help you get the happy, healthy, vital, productive, energetic, prosperous and fulfilling retirement you deserve, buy my new, immediately downloadable book: Thought Provokers: Questions You Need To Ask Yourself BEFORE You Retire.

10 reasons to hire a Baby Boomer

This post, from azcentral.com, has received some flak for not being p.c. (via the comments section at the end of the article) but, if you're a boomer looking for a new job and feeling a bit battered by the process, read it.  It might help you feel a little better about yourself, your skills, your attitude and, yes, even your advancing years! :) 

Release your inner entrepreneur!

It wasn't until I left my job, seven years ago, that I realised that I had a hitherto hidden entrepreneurial streak that now makes me wonder how I could have ever been comfortable working for someone else.  If retirement (or the gloom and doom surrounding the economy) is making you feel like you'd like to have a go at running your own business, check out 163 Ways To Become An Entrepreneur.

‘Caretaker’ sought for tropical paradise

Could this be the best retirement job in the world?

Tourism Queensland is advertising for a caretaker for Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef.  The lucky successful candidate will be paid AUD$150,000 (around £70,000) to soak up the sun, explore the beaches and spend the workday sailing, kayaking and snorkelling. Included in the renumeration package are free flights and accommodation in a three-bedroom villa with stunning sea views. 

In what is, essentially, a PR role, the caretaker will be expected to tell the world about the trip through blogs and photos and by giving interviews to the press. Candidates need no formal qualifications, just a passion for the outdoors and the ability to describe the adventure to the world. The ability to swim is also essential so that the caretaker can explore (and, presumably report back on) the incredible dive sites.

Want to know more?  Click here to find out how to apply. 

New business ideas from Springwise.com

If you'd love to start a new retirement business in the New Year but are stuck for inspiration, have a look at this week's Springwise newsletter which lists 15 new business ideas gathered from different parts of the world. 

With ideas including gourmet popcorn, an online farmers' market for small wine producers and a service that connects people with a suitably-sized piece of land with those looking for a place to pitch their tent, there's surely something there to get the entrepreneurial juices flowing...

Springwise

Springwise.com, which is based in Amsterdam, has a global network of 8,000 spotters in 70 countries who scan the globe for smart new business ideas. It's a fun site that will really get you thinking and, who knows, might spark that million dollar idea that will banish all your money worries...

The Cut-Off Age for Getting Into a New Career or Business by Bob Bly

Bob Bly is the author of more than 70 books including The Complete Idiot's Guide To Direct Marketing and The Copywriter's Handbook.  Here he shares his thoughts on getting into a new career or business... at any age! 

At what age are you too old to start a new career or business?

I have thought at various times in my life (I am now 51) that the cut-off age was 50... 60... or even 70.

There were two reasons I believed you'd reach a point where starting over just wasn't practical anymore.

The first, and lesser, was sheer age and lifespan: the idea that when there are many more years behind you than ahead of you, your time to enjoy the fruits of whatever labors you pursue is too limited.

The second reason I believed there was a cut-off date for starting a new career, learning a new trade, or launching a new small business was lack of experience.

For instance, one of the many careers I considered in my youth was the law. But I decided pursuing that in my later years was impractical.

Reason: Say, hypothetically, you were to graduate law school at age 45. You compete against two groups.

The first group is other 45-year-old lawyers who are the same age as you - but have 20 years of law experience vs. your zero years.

The other group you compete against is your classmates. Like you, they are new to the law. But being in their 20s and single, instead of 45 and having a mortgage and three kids in college, they can afford to work for starting salaries too small to meet your needs.

However, actor Abe Vigoda has changed my mind about all this. And my opinion today is that it is NEVER too late to learn new things, start a new business, switch careers, or go into a different industry. (Abe Vigoda, if the name does not ring a bell, is the dour-faced actor famous for playing the character Fish on the TV sitcom "Barney Miller.")

On the Internet recently, I read a short interview with Vigoda, who is still a working actor at age 87. It reminded me that his big break was his first movie, "The Godfather," in which he played Sal Tessio.

Well, "The Godfather" was released in 1972. So if you do the math, Vigoda didn't begin his movie career until he was over 50. More impressive is that, at age 87, Vigoda - who, pardon me, has a slightly cadaverous appearance that makes him look ready for the Old Folks Home - is still a competitive handball player.

If Abe Vigoda could get his first movie role at over 50 - beating out actors his age who had decades more credentials and experience - then I am convinced that you and I can start a new career or business at any age.

As an older entrepreneur or career changer, you will likely have some advantages over your younger colleagues, peers, and competitors - such as greater life experience and wisdom to draw upon when making decisions.

You may have some disadvantages, too - including (possibly) less energy, less flexibility, and less adaptability to new technologies and methods. Then again, maybe not. It depends on your personality - and your circumstances. If you are a retired empty-nester, you may actually have more time, freedom, and flexibility, not less.

If you are still working for a paycheck because you have to and not because you want to, it may take a greater degree of courage and fortitude to make any major business, career, or life change. But I know from firsthand experience that 50 is not too old to make a major change. And from that, I am guessing that your age won't stop you, either.

I started a small online information marketing business as I was closing in on my fiftieth birthday. I kept my day job as a freelance copywriter, while putting in long hours to get the new business started. But today, I earn a six-figure passive income from that business, selling information products on the Internet and "working" only an hour or two a day. Meanwhile, entering a new field has energized and renewed me in a way I never thought possible.

If your gut tells you that you are ready for a change, you probably are.

I close with this piece of wisdom from Milton Hershey, founder of Hershey Chocolate:

"I have often been asked - What is the best age for producing? I know only one answer, the age you are now."

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This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Artist enjoys a successful career late in life

Here's a heartwarming story to get the weekend off to a good start...

There's some debate about whether artist Frank Calloway is 112 years old or a mere 93 years old (available records indicate that he's 93), but whatever his age, he's still pretty remarkable. 

Frank of Tuscaloosa, Alabama has lived approximately half his life in state mental health centres since he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1952.  Every day, he spends seven to nine hours using ballpoint pens, markers and crayons to create murals showing rural agricultural scenes containing buildings, trains and vehicles straight out of the early 20th century.  The murals, which are all drawn on butcher paper and can stretch up to 30 feet long, are about to form part of an exhibit at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.  Read Frank's story here.

Generation whatever...

A UK study of more than 300,000 workers in more than 50 organisations has reported that workers over the age of 60 are top of the pile when it comes to job satisfaction, pride and motivation.  The report adds that these older workers' advantage over Generation Y is 'their willingness to go the extra mile' and suggests that, particularly in hard times, companies wanting to get the most of out of every employee might prefer older workers over younger ones.  Read more here.

From banking executive to head chef at 64

Are you considering an 'encore' career?  Here's some inspiration for you...

When Joel Orner was offered a buyout from his job as vice president of a California bank at age 64, he jumped at the opportunity.  A keen cook, he enrolled in classes at the School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena and, despite having to study longer for exams (because of struggles with his short-term memory) and the fact that he was having to work harder than he had ever worked at any job, he loved every minute of it.

Four years later, Orner is an executive chef with the Los Angeles Yacht Club.  He earns 70% less than he did in banking and often works longer hours, but says he'll be a chef 'until he drops'.  Read his story here.