Retirement
BABY BOOMERS REDEFINE RETIREMENT
The 78 million baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 have been called America's most influential generation. We are redefining middle age. In the United States, more than 10,000 people retire every day. Many of us will spend 30 years or more in retirement. What will you do for the next 30 years?
RETIREMENT LIFE-PLANNING: TRANSITIONS GO SMOOTHER WITH THE HELP OF A TRAINED COACH
What is retirement life-planning? Why in the world would you need someone to tell you how to spend your retirement? There’s a good chance you will be retired for 30 years or longer. Even if you have the money and the partners, how long can you play golf before it is no longer fun?
PLANNING FOR RETIREMENT INVOLVES MORE THAN MONEY
Protecting your health and establishing financial security are key, but leaving the workforce means leaving behind more than a paycheck. When you retire, you face a series of losses. In addition to financial security, you may lose:
- Friends and connections
- A structured schedule and time management
- Ego gratification
- A sense of purpose and identity
How will you replace those critical functions of employment? How will you manage those losses?
Michele Nuzzo is a professional retirement coach. She has been trained and certified by Retirement Options to administer and interpret their Retirement Success Profile (RSP)® and Life Options Profile (LOP)® assessments and to work with all their other proprietary tools including their books, interactive Client Exercises and Powerful Questions®. The RSP and LOP are primary personal growth and change stimulators. These exclusive tools are based upon sound behavioral research and have been field tested with thousands of participants. They are personal, practical and relevant.
HOW RETIREMENT COACHING WORKS
At your convenience and in the privacy of your own home, you will take an easy, confidential online assessment. You will receive a customized report that reflects your level of retirement readiness. Armed with the data from these profiles, we will begin a conversation that is targeted and purposeful. Together we will develop a plan and begin to work. You determine the number of sessions. Most coaching is done over the telephone.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
The assessment and coaching sessions are a total retirement preparation and educational experience that will reflect your current attitudes as well as your planning for the future. You will receive:
- A personalized interpretative report based on your assessment
- A book used exclusively with the online assessment
- Personalized questions and interactive exercises and handouts
- Individual coaching sessions
In your coaching sessions, you will examine your attitudes about retirement and review your readiness in a number of arenas. You will set goals that make sense for your life. Michele will hold you accountable for the results. Together you will:
- Identify your retirement strengths and concerns
- Create a personal mission statement
- Design your personal roadmap to happiness in the second half of life
Are you ready to live with integrity, courage and passion? Do you want to connect to your higher purpose and make a meaningful contribution in your later years? Create a retirement that’s as unique as your fingerprint. Get started by calling (310) 422-8512.
RETIREMENT PLANNING PROGRAMS FOR CORPORATIONS
When your employees feel confident about their future, they are more focused and productive in the present. At Midlife Menu, we are certified to deliver the Retirement Options Life Options Profile®, a retirement readiness assessment specially designed for work with corporations. We can deliver group workshops at your office location. Customized programs and volume discounts are available. Call (310) 422-8512 to bring a program to empower your employees.
WORKING AFTER RETIREMENT CAN BRING MORE THAN A PAYCHECK
Not everyone is interested in retiring at 55 or even 65. More than 1 million people 75 and older are still employed. Some people need to work at least part-time for financial reasons. Many return to work for reasons other than money. They seek structure, connections, and a sense of purpose. Midlife Menu addresses the challenges of making a career change, returning to the workforce, and looking for work in your later years. We offer transition coaching in the following:
- Finding work at 50+
- Reinventing yourself at midlife
- Targeting your job search
- Polishing your profile (resumes, interviews and more)
See our Coaching & Consulting Page for more information.
Receive The 237 Best Things Ever Said About Retirement, an e-book by Ernie J. Zelinski, FREE when you schedule a complimentary coaching session with Michele. This e-book is provided with permission of the author.
To read more about what you can do to make these years your happiest years, check out the articles below.
« Previous EntriesNo Free Lunch
Friday, June 19th, 2009
Any woman who waits for her knight in shining armor will find herself cleaning up after his horse.
This was a poster during the height of the feminist movement. While humorous, it does contain a kernel of truth. There really is no such thing as a free lunch. Today, men and women concerned about their investment portfolios are flocking to so-called free seminars in search of The Holy Grail. Some veterans of the old timeshare courtship rituals are hip to the process and know there’s going to be a pitch. Yet many seniors and other less sophisticated investors are snared by slick marketing and fancy hotel lunches when they can least afford it.
During these hard times, financial predators are coming out of the woodwork. In an effort to stop these cockroaches dead in their tracks, AARP is recruiting people to put an end to misleading "free lunch" investment seminars. Similar to retail mystery shopper programs, AARP created a free lunch monitor checklist. The form tracks numerous issues including the presenter’s credentials, implied endorsements and guarantees of low risk or high rates of return. Seminar attendees take the checklist to events, rate the presentation, and return the form to AARP which then shares it with securities regulators.
Not everyone who offers a free seminar is a scammer. Anyone in sales (and if you’re in business, you’re in sales) knows about the marketing funnel or pipeline. We’ve memorized the mantra that, "People do business with people they know, like and trust." I routinely register for free teleseminars and I do so hoping that I will learn some valuable information. I sign up fully expecting to get a pitch about a product or an upcoming paid workshop. But paying someone $97 for a workshop is a far cry from entrusting someone with my life savings.
There are many honest financial professionals who put the needs of their clients before their own. They offer seminars to educate prospects and to begin to nurture a relationship. But if the person in the front of the room is offering you pie in the sky, remember that there is no such thing as a free lunch. To be a free lunch monitor, visit aarp.org/nofreelunch or call 1-888-OUR-AARP.
Blast from the Past
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
Several years ago, my dearly beloved and I were cruising down a pastoral lane on our fall foliage tour. Suddenly, I started shouting, "Stop the car."
We were not having an emergency. I had just discovered that one of my favorite places really did exist on the physical plane. Yes, Virginia, there really is a Vermont Country Store. For years, I have ordered from their folksy catalog. Stumbling upon the real store was like reaching The Emerald City.
The Vermont Country Store has been lovingly run by the Orton family for four generations. Purveyors of the practical and the hard-to-find, they carry everything from clothing, linens and housewares to health and beauty aids. Along with manual typewriters, cassette recorders, hand-held slide viewers and record players, there’s a Tried and True section of "long-time favorite products that just plain work." Treat your taste buds to jams and jellies in flavors like beach plum, elderberry and quince. Savor the taste of Vermont maple syrup or rum cake. You can also find homeopathic formulas for health and beauty and old-time fragrances like Wind Song, Jungle Gardenia or Heaven Sent.
The Vermont Country Store prints a Customer Bill of Rights in their catalog. In Aging Well: Conversations with Our Customers, they explore the culture of aging. The current issue celebrates the joys of grandparenthood.
The Vermont Country Store opened its doors in 1946, the year the first baby boomer was born. If like me, you’re on the brink of 60, why not throw a party with a 60s theme? You can serve party favors like Walnettos, Necco Wafers or rainbow candies. Send your guests home with goodie bags filled with 60s swag like Chicklets, Beemans, Black Jack or Clove gum. Now you know where to find them. You can order from the catalog, shop online at vermontcountrystore.com or, if you’re really lucky, wander through the brick and mortar stores in Weston and Rockingham, VT.
Reading the Vermont Country Store catalog is my tranquil time-out from the Internet and social networking whirl. It’s like a blast from the past, a past that was warm and comforting like mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese. How do you invoke feelings of warmth, security and comfort in the midst of life’s frenetic pace?
Parting Gifts
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
I admit it. I cry during Hallmark commercials. I also cry every year when the CBS Sunday Morning show airs its heartfelt Hail and Farewell segment. The artfully crafted memorial should receive its own award for painting such a soulful portrait of the luminaries who have left us during the previous year. Three of my heroes, Studs Terkel, George Carlin, and Tim Russert, were among last year’s dearly departed. So was Dr. Randy Pausch, Professor, Carnegie Mellon.
When Hail and Farewell ran at year-end, I had just finished reading The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow. When I read the book, I went into denial. I did the math and figured that Randy’s number had probably been called, but I wasn’t sure until I saw his face on the screen. Begun as an academic tradition, Pausch capitalized on the opportunity to turn a pedagogic moment into a personal one as he offered priceless life lessons to his three young children before he left them in his mother’s care.
In The Last Lecture, Pausch shares lessons he learned from his coach about the importance of fundamentals over fancy stuff. From organized sports, he learned teamwork, perseverance, sportsmanship, the value of hard work and the ability to deal with adversity. In his words, "Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted."
Pausch’s last lecture was about really achieving your childhood dreams. By his example, he invites you to find your own path to fulfillment and to travel with enthusiasm and passion. What do you alone truly have to offer? How do you spend your very limited time? Pausch lived out his dream because of what he learned from extraordinary people along the way. Who were your mentors and what lessons did they share? How did they help shape your life?
I recommend that you spend some of your very limited time reading The Last Lecture. Then watch the video with someone you love. Be sure to bring along some tissue.
Watch the video at http://www.thelastlecture.com.
Another One Bites the Dust
Friday, December 26th, 2008
Many of my fellow flower children grew up listening to the music of The Lovin’ Spoonful. We did believe in magic. And, thanks to Grace Slick, we learned that, "One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small."
Unfortunately, one pill apparently does not make you any less prone to dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease, at least if that one pill is ginkgo biloba. In an article in the Nov. 19 issue of the Los Angeles Times, Karen Kaplan reported on the results of a clinical trial involving thousands of volunteers between the ages of 75 and 96. Despite high hopes, the subjects who had ingested ginkgo biloba for more than six years were slightly more likely to be diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s than participants in the control group who had been taking a placebo. Research seems to suggest that the herbal extract does not prevent nor delay the onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s. Bummer!
For boomers and other younger subjects, the jury is still out. According to the article, smaller studies showed mixed results and there was some speculation that ginkgo biloba might be effective if people start taking it in their 40s or 50s.
I stopped taking vitamin E after I read the results of a study that indicated it may actually increase the chance of a heart attack, but regardless of mixed reviews, I continue to take Co-Q 10 and vitamin C. And I keep echinacea on hand, just in case.
Do you read studies? Have you changed your behavior based on any of the reported results? Given the state of the economy, do you still take expensive supplements?
Strong Silent Types
Friday, December 19th, 2008
It’s a guy thing. Women have summer moments, and as it turns out, so do men. Midlife men experience a range of physical, mental, social and spiritual changes that can be as debilitating as menopause. There’s an ongoing debate over the use of the term andropause, but whatever you call it, middle-aged men are suffering just the same.
We’ve all seen those commercials, but midlife male misery goes beyond performance issues, whether they occur in the bedroom or in the boardroom. Many people poke fun at the stereotype of the middle-aged man buzzing around in a red convertible with a trophy wife at his side. In reality, men are more likely than women to have self-destructive midlife crises. Sadly, they are less likely to share their pain. Midlife men often feel isolated, disconnected and confused. Identity issues can be especially challenging for men who are entering retirement.
Do you know the top three reasons men dread getting older? I know someone who does. He has created a series of programs to help midlife men face their future with confidence.
H. Les Brown, MA, CFCC is dedicated to exposing The Truth About Aging: How Midlife Destroys Men’s Lives. He has created the Midlife Mastery program that redefines what it means to be a successful man. Brown is a certified Franklin Covey coach and a certified Marshall Goldsmith Leadership Effectiveness coach. He has master’s degrees in philosophy and theology, and his bootcamp, basecamp and summit programs equip men to navigate the rocky landscape and troubled waters that can characterize male midlife transition.
Despite the similarity in our names, H. Les Brown’s Midlife Mastery is not affiliated with my retirement coaching company, Midlife Menu, but our missions complement each other. I’m honored to introduce Brown and I invite you to explore his website, online community and Internet radio show.
If you are a midlife man or you happen to love one, realize that you are not alone. Get support and join a community of like-minded people at:
Midlife Mastery website www.MidlifeMaster.com
Midlife Mastery Community (Social Network) www.MidlifeMaster.org
Midlife Mastery Journal (Daily Blog) www.MidlifeMaster.net
Midlife Matters Internet Radio Program www.BlogTalkRadio.com/Midlife
From a Distance
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 
It’s been some time since I read or saw The Joy Luck Club, but I remember a scene with a floating white feather. The feather symbolized a bond between a daughter and her deceased mother, between the material world and the spirit world.
Last Christmas, my sweetheart and his daughter worked for days assembling a magnificent puzzle of African wildlife. They got to the very end, only to discover one piece missing. We scoured the house and eventually gave up, resigned to a gaping hole in the middle of our African portrait.
Soon the hole in the puzzle was forgotten, dwarfed by the hole in our hearts when my mother-in-law passed away. Several months later, as we were sorting through her condo 40 miles from our house, there in the middle of her living floor sat the missing puzzle piece. Like the floating white feather, I believe it was a sign from Carolyn letting us know that she was watching over us.
Carolyn and I shared a birthday and a love for her son. I was dreading my first birthday without her. I had a quiet celebration then went into the garage to sort through some of her old books. Among them was a book by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. I believe that Gift from the Sea was a gift from Carolyn to me on our mutual birthday. I had read the book in my 30s, but now that I’m approaching 60, it touched me on a much deeper level.
In Gift from the Sea, Lindbergh explores an island and invokes the symbolism of sea shells, silence, and the ebb and flow of the tides as metaphors for the phases in a woman’s life. Against the canvass of a solitary beach, she paints the portrait of a woman with a multifaceted life rich with husband, children and creative work.
When LIndberg wrote about the changes that happen in a middle-age marriage, I was barely in elementary school. It was a world before email, before cell phones and before social networks. The world has changed dramatically since then, but 50-plus years later, Lindbergh’s midlife experiences still ring true for me.
Have you ever had the experience of revisiting a book that you read earlier in life and discovering it anew? What was the book and how did it impact you the second time around?
What I Learned from Robert Redford
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 
For the record, I know that Robert Redford is an actor, a director and an environmentalist. On most days, I know the difference between movies and real life. I also know the value of a catchy headline.
In the past, I’ve blogged about films that seem relevant to baby boomers and members of the sandwich generation. You can search this blog to read my musings about The Savages, Resurrecting the Champ or The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. In future posts, I’ll be discussing other films that focus on midlife themes.
Classics like The Miracle Worker, Hotel Rwanda and To Kill a Mockingbird inspire us and make us see the world with new eyes. Films with military or sports themes like Patton, Rudy or Remember the Titans present profiles in courage in the face of adversity, long odds or racial discrimination. We watch these films knowing that there’s probably some lesson to be learned. But what about serendipity? Sometimes, when we least expect it, a film we’re watching purely for escapist entertainment contains a golden nugget that can trigger a personal epiphany. Has that ever happened to you? What was the film and what was the lesson?
There’s a scene in Out of Africa where Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) is attempting to make Denys Fitch-Hatton (Robert Redford) feel guilty about needing some space. I may get a word or two wrong, but I’ll never forget the essence of his response, "I don’t want to wake up some day and find that I’m at the end of someone else’s life."
That line smacked me straight in my solar plexus. It continues to drive decisions about my own midlife transformation. Many life planners and retirement coaches are fond of asking the end of the road question. Some have you lying on your deathbed. Others have you imagine that today is the last day of your life. For many people at the end of the line, the regrets are not about the things they wished they had not done. They are not about the embarrassing spot that shows up on YouTube. The deepest regrets are often about the things we did not do, about the road not taken.
What have you left undone? What are you going to do about it?
Brave New World
Thursday, November 6th, 2008 
I’m a prophet! Who knew? Well, not exactly, but I’m on the right track.
Watching everyone walking around with a wireless cell phone clipped to their ears and cords connecting them to their mp3 players, I joked that it was only a matter of time before evolution caught up. I predicted that in the future, people would be born with a USB port attached to their heads.
As it turns out, the human body is already adapting to the impact of technology. There’s a new book with the title iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alternation of the Modern Mind. The author is Dr. Gary Small, one of the world’s leading neuroscientists and experts on brain function and behavior. Dr. Small’s book explores the ways in which technology has altered the way that young minds develop, function and interpret information. Some of the changes are good. Others, like increased attention deficit disorder, addiction to the Internet and social isolation, are not so good.
For baby boomers and their parents, it can be challenging to keep up with all the changing technology. When I was younger, I used to make fun of those hokey messages that people passed around at the time of their 50th high school reunion. Now that I’ve passed my 40th reunion, I’m not laughing as much. I remember my hands turning purple after making copies on the mimeograph machine. I remember standing there watching the sheets crank out of the Telex machine. I even remember dialing numbers on my telephone before they added area codes and turning the dial on my black and white television.
What other "old-fashioned" devices do you remember?
Young@Heart
Saturday, November 1st, 2008 
A charter bus crashed killing several people and injuring more. The driver was impaired by alcohol or drugs. This is not the first time that we’ve heard this kind of bulletin. This particular news impacted me more than most because I heard that the bus was on the way to a casino. Images of grandparents flashed into my mind because so many senior centers charter buses for their casino field trips.
When I heard the news bulletin, I had just finished watching the film Young@Heart with my 80-something mother. The people in the film were not involved in the crash. I don’t know the ages of the deceased, but having just seen the film made me wonder whether many of the bus passengers were elderly.
Young@Heart is the story of a group of spunky seniors who meet, practice and tour the country singing rock songs to astounded audiences. These James Brown wannabes teeter onto the stage and then belt out I Feel Good. They rap out the verses of Schizophrenia. Back from chemotherapy and dragging their oxygen tanks, these survivors are still Stayin’ Alive. The grim reaper does make his appearance, but I won’t spoil the story. Just be sure to have some tissue ready when they perform their concert at the prison.
Retirement can be isolating. Our golden years may not glitter as we lose our jobs, our spouses and our friends. Our bodies betray us in unkind ways. Much is written about making meaning and finding our passion and purpose in life. We can’t all be Bishop Tutu or Jimmy Carter. Still, we need a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Our cause does not need to be grandiose. Joining a club, pursuing a hobby or making new friends may not necessarily add years to our life, but it can add life to the years we have left.
Young@Heart is a fun, uplifting inspiring film for all generations. It would make a good choice for a family gathering or something that grandparents could watch with their grandchildren. You might even pull out the karaoke machine and belt out a few songs of your own. In the words of Bob Dylan, "May you stay forever young."
So many of the films that deal with our demographic are so darn depressing. Besides The Bucket List and Cocoon, can you suggest some fun films for the 50-plus crowd?
Wise Women Speak
Friday, September 12th, 2008
Remember that acceptance speech by Sally Field? No, not the one where she gushed that we really liked her–the one where she said that if mothers ruled the world, there would be no war. There are plenty of examples from history that refute this statement, but the essence of Sally’s message rings true. In many cultures, women have been the guardians of the physical and spiritual survival of the tribe. They still are.
"When the grandmothers from the four directions speak, a new time is coming." So says an ancient prophecy known by many of the world’s indigenous tribes. In October 2004, The International Council of the Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers representing tribes from the Arctic Circle; North, South and Central America; Africa; Tibet; and Nepal met to share their wisdom and visions for the future.
In her breathtaking book, Grandmothers Counsel the World: Women Elders Offer Their Vision for Our Planet, Carol Schaefer has crafted a special family album for the family of man. Native voices of natural beauty and strength peer out from the photos in this powerful book.
In 2004, the Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers joined in a chorus to celebrate the virtues of the female energy principle. They shared their ancient wisdom and their visions for a future where humans would live in harmony with nature and with each other. These sacred elders spun stories rich with rituals, prayers and ceremonies. They imparted knowledge about sacred plants and their powers to heal the body and the spirt.
The Grandmothers offer guidance for our times on topics such as sacred relations and oppression. They mourn the destruction of the Amazon Rain Forest and warn about the grand catastrophe in store if humankind does not stop abusing Mother Earth. Grandmothers Counsel the World also blends the voices of western women elders including Gloria Steinem and Carol Moseley Braun.
September 7 was National Grandparents Day. To honor grandmothers everywhere, I’m thrilled to introduce you to this treasured collection. For your convenience, you can find a copy of Grandmothers Counsel the World in our Amazon Associates store. To learn more about events and activities of The International Council of the Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, see grandmothers.com or forthenext7generations.com
« Previous Entries