Thinking About an Encore Career After 50? Check Out What These People Did
AARP spent six months finding 18 ordinary individuals and couples across America who've done extraordinary things with their second careers.
AARP spent six months finding 18 ordinary individuals and couples across America who've done extraordinary things with their second careers.
I love hearing about folks who shift gears and pursue their passion later in life as an Encore Career or as a Second Half Entrepreneur™. Especially when you get the whole story of their dreams and aspirations, then slogging through the inevitable setbacks, and finally emerging on the other side in victory as their idea succeeds. Randall "Randy" Wyn Fullmer is such a guy. He already had a successful career as an animator, including work for Sesame Street and 18 years at Disney. But in his mid 50s, Randy launched Wyn Guitars and as a solo luthier has been handcrafting high-end bass guitars for some of the best bassists around the world. (And now you know the other reason I like this story so much!)
A key part of your retirement plan is a discussion of the benefits of working, regardless of age. Retirement is no longer an event...it's a segue into a new approach to life as you know it. One definition of “work” is that it consists of actions that bring value to others and meaning to you. While you may feel that you’ve had enough work, it’s probably the underlying issues (i.e. meetings, corporate politics, commuting) that have left you drained and exhausted. Think about this: many people who go back to work after retirement are motivated by more than money––they are also motivated by the health, psychological, and friendship payoffs.
Did you know that Americans today can expect to live about 30 years longer than our 20th century ancestors? That’s according to findings published in The Gift of Time, a survey conducted by the Allianz Longevity Project in collaboration with the Stanford Center on Longevity. So what will you do with all your extra time?
You may have heard me say that none of us are meant for a 25-30 year continuous vacation. We still need engagement and to feel we are relevant and have purpose. With the morphing of traditional retirement, one development along these lines is "retirees" transitioning back and forth between work and leisure. Sometimes the work is paid, sometimes not, sometimes there's a bit of both. Dane Peters calls it "consulteering."