It’s never too early to start thinking about what you’ll do after you finish your primary career. The Retirement Symposium, which is free for a limited time, helps you sort it out.
The symposium has already taken place since this post was originally published, but the helpful resources described below still exist. Check it out.
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Boomer, it’s never too early to start thinking about what you’ll do after you finish your primary career. Maybe you’re still in the throes of your primary career. Maybe you’ve already finished your primary career and are asking yourself, “now what?” Either way, it never hurts to start thinking about how you’ll transition into retirement. After all, the world is waiting for your encore.
Yep. Waiting…. (Just how long do we have to keep clapping?)
Not sure what that encore might be? Excellent!
Whether your encore is volunteering, adventuring, kicking back, or something unique just to you, the answer is here. Certified Retirement Coach Marianne Oehser is presenting her, free, third annual virtual symposium. She calls it Transitioning into Retirement and it’s designed to help you identify your encore.
She brings together experts, activists, and reinvention warriors who discuss such encore topics as:
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- retirement challenges and opportunities,
- discovering what’s next,
- rediscovering your purpose,
- career reinvention,
- volunteering insights and barriers,
- creating thriving relationships,
- meaningful grandparenting,
- and vibrant aging that overcomes age-bias.
The free online symposium runs for three days, February 13, 14, and 15. (But you can listen later for a fee.)
The previous two symposiums I attended were life-changing. I loved the speakers. I subsequently read many of the writings of the speakers, which I also loved. (Your mileage may vary.)
Here’s the line-up.
Marianne Oehser – What To Expect in the Symposium and in Retirement
- What to expect in this new chapter in your life
- How today’s retirement is different from yesterday’s
- What to expect from the symposium
(Marianne will be interviewed by George Schofield, Ph.D, who is the author of After 50 it’s Up to Us: Developing the Skills and Agility We’ll Need as well as How Do I Get There from Here? Planning for Retirement When the Old Rules No Longer Apply)
Robert Laura – Retirement Challenges and Opportunities
- Why your vision of retirement may not be turning out as you expected it to
- Some of the challenges in adjusting to retirement
- Tips for staying relevant
- How to avoid the “dark side” of retirement
- Conversation you should have with loved ones
Author: Naked Retirement: Living a Happy, Healthy, and Connected Retirement
Dan Tomasulo, Ph.D. – How to Find Happiness and Well-Being in This New Phase of Your Life
- What happiness really is and how it’s related to well-being
- The not so obvious benefits of being happy
- Some myths about happiness and why they’re not true
- Things you can do to improve your level of happiness
- What you can do to deal with disappointments so they don’t derail your happiness
Author: Learned Hopefulness: The Power of Positivity to Overcome Depression
Pam D. McLean, Ph.D. – Finding What’s Next
- Insights into dealing with change as you move through this new chapter
- How passion plays into building your new life
- Things you can do to “recast” yourself
- The important role of life-long-learning
Author: LifeForward: Charting the Journey Ahead.
Anne Colby, Ph.D. – The Importance of Being Purposeful—Especially Now!
- What it means to be purposeful beyond the self
- Differences between people who are and are not purposeful
- Benefits of being purposeful
- The 7 Goods – key sources of well-being
Author: Power of Ideals: The Real Story of Moral Choice
John Tarnoff – What Do You Want Your Encore Career to Look Like
- The realities of today’s workplace for Boomers
- What career reinvention means and how to do it
- Examples of people who did it
- What it takes to make it happen
- How to overcome obstacles like ageism
Author: Boomer Reinvention: How to Create Your Dream Career after 50
Kathy Black, Ph.D. – How to Find the Volunteer Opportunity that is Right for You
- The volunteering plans among those of us in our “third act.”
- The personal benefits of volunteering
- Insights about volunteering
- Barriers to volunteering
- Steps you can take to find the right opportunity for you
Douglas A. Kleiber, Ph.D. – Redeeming Leisure in Your Third Act
- Positive and negative types of leisure activities
- How leisure can impact your well-being
- The difference between serious leisure and purely recreational leisure
- How to approach leisure when you never allowed much time for it before retirement
Author: Leisure Experience and Human Development as well as A Social Psychology of Leisure.
Leslie W. Braksick, Ph.D., MPH – Moving from an Intense Career into Your Next Chapter.
- Why the move into your next season is especially challenging for executives
- The importance of pausing
- Things you need to let go of and things you need to build on
- Insights about executives who have done it successfully
Author: Transitioning from Intense Careers to Fulfilling Next Seasons
Ron Pevny – The Benefits of Aging Consciously
- What it means to age consciously
- The difference between elder and older
- How our beliefs and society’s stereotypes about aging impact us
Author: Conscious Living, Conscious Aging: Embrace and Savor Your Next Chapter
Sara Yogev, Ph.D. – Having a Thriving Relationship in Retirement
- Why retirement is difficult for individuals and couples
- Differences between how men and women respond to retirement and aging
- Challenges and opportunities couples face as they age and have more time together
- Challenges of retiring at different times
- Things to consider about retiring and as people age
Author: A Couple’s Guide to Happy Retirement and Aging
Lori K. Bitter – Boomer Grandparents
- How the role of grandparent is different today
- Pros and cons of multi-generational living
- Tips for handling divorce – your child’s or your own
- Your changing role as your grandchildren grow up
Author: The Grandparent Economy: How Baby Boomers are Bridging the Generation Gap
It’s free for 48 hours.
You can listen to each speaker for a continuous 48 hours after their initial presentation. After those 48 hours, there’s a fee. (Reading this after those dates? Bummer. You can pay for the symposium by logging into Transitioning into Retirement website.)
I typically buy the symposium anyway so I can re-listen to points I might have missed. I also typically tune in three or four hours after the symposium has begun so that any technical difficulties have been worked out.
I hope the symposium is as meaningful for you as it has been for me.
Enjoy. (And get that encore ready!)
P.S. I received no compensation of any sort for this post.
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