Retirement Ahead - Now What?

By Galen Metz

You've been dreaming of retirement your whole life, but have you ever stopped to think what you will do when every day feels like Saturday? Retirement can be scary with the loss of purpose, but it can be a great opportunity to pursue passions you have never had time for. Fill your days with activities that truly bring you joy! Here retiree, author, speaker, consultant, and magician, Galen Metz, shares some savvy strategies on how to make the most of this next phase. You deserve to be happy. The magic of this next phase starts here.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Galen Metz
• Release date: Mar 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393538387

Book preview

Introduction

THIS BOOK CONTAINS the secrets of creating a comprehensive and fulfilling life in retirement.

Research shows that the secrets in this book will help you

Improve Your Chances of Success by 50%

Reduce risk of Premature Death up to 30%

Reduce risk of Cardiovascular Events by 19%

Reduce risk of Cognitive Decline by 70%

Improve Satisfaction with Life for up to 87% of participants

Details on this research will be covered in Chapter 2, Assessment.

If these stats interest you, please read on.

RETIREMENT READINESS QUIZ

Let’s begin with a quick readiness assessment quiz, on the next page. How ready are you for the retirement of your dreams?

Retirement Readiness Quiz

1= Not thought about it yet

2= Thought about it a little

3= Thought about it a lot, but no firm plans

4= Thought about it and have written plans

___  Purpose in Life? 

___  Hobbies / Fun?

___  Connection with Family? 

___  Connection with Friends/Colleagues? 

___  Health and Wellness?   

___  Personal Growth and Development?  

___  Spiritual and Charitable Activity? 

___  Financial Readiness?  

___ TOTAL SCORE 

Retirement Readiness Quiz

Scoring

A total of 32 (8 questions x 4) is unbelievable! You should be writing a book on retirement.

A total of 24 – 31 demonstrates a lot of thought has gone into retirement. The book will help translate those thoughts into a written plan for you.

A total of 16 – 23 suggests some thought has been given. The book provides examples and resources to help develop those thoughts, and then assemble a written plan.

A total below 16 is an opportunity to really leverage the book to create ideas for retirement, and then develop those ideas into a comprehensive written plan.

Retirement is Scary!

IT WAS FOR ME. IT MAY be scary for you as well.

Pre-retirement, I had

Meaningful work in healthcare technology

Personal growth through reading about changes in technology and in healthcare

A well-defined schedule keeping me busy

Success via recognition for technology leadership and innovation

Interaction with colleagues, both in the office and after-hours.

But then along comes retirement....

This is probably not a unique situation. It applies to both males and females. It applies to fields like healthcare, government, education, and many others.

What are you going to do when every day is Saturday?

I’ve worked my whole life and feel like my job is my identity.  I’m hoping to feel retired and not unemployed.   

Craig

MY RETIREMENT QUEST

I began my quest for a happy retirement by talking to retired colleagues. Certainly their advice would steer me in the right direction.

TALKING TO RETIREES

You can only play golf so many times. Richard had not planned his retirement and ended up going back to work!

I'm not really going toward anything; I'm just going away from work. James retired and was home all day. His wife, Jane, ended up going back to work!

I had 60 employees who listened to what I said. Now I have two dogs, and they don’t listen to anything I say. Nick did not network with others in retirement and eventually sought help from a psychologist.

Here were retirements that were not well planned, not comprehensive, and not fulfilling.

My colleagues did not have the answers.

RETIREMENT BOOKS

Certainly someone had written a book on how to have a well-planned, comprehensive, and fulfilling retirement? I researched books on retirement and found

Almost all books on retirement planning deal with financial readiness. Few addressed preparing for the loss of social interaction with colleagues at work, the feeling of no longer being an expert, the loss of a prestigious title,