What happens when a sleepless baby, a Victorian fixer-upper, and a vineyard come together? For Richard Moran, it sparked a multi-year journey of transformation—from corporate boardrooms to wine country. Along the way, he discovered lessons about serendipity, risk-taking, family, and building a place that lasts for generations. In today’s conversation, Richard shares his story of balancing a high-flying consulting career with the slower rhythms of grapevines, why creating a family gathering place matters in retirement, and the life lessons he lives by.

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Bio

Richard Moran is the author of The Accidental Vineyard: An Old House, New Vines, and a Changed Life in Wine Country.

Besides being a winemaker and a preservationist, Richard Moran’s background includes serving as a CEO, a college president, a venture capitalist and an author he is an authority on workplace issues and hosts a weekly radio program on KCBS, “In the Workplace” and has written ten books about management. Rich has also served as a director on public and private corporate boards.

He lives in California’s Wine Country.

Moran has served as a CEO, a college president, a venture capitalist, and a top-level consultant. He is a set of one. He has worked for or with some of the world’s leading organizations including Accenture, Apple, News Corp, American Airlines, PG&E and many others. He prides himself on his matter-of-fact manner of consulting and believes that many parts of the business world are needlessly complicated.

Moran holds a Ph.D. in organization behavior but his work is not academic. Research is important but he believes what is just as critical are the observations one can make by being in the “trenches”

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For More on Richard Moran

The Accidental Vineyard: An Old House, New Vines, and a Changed Life in Wine Country

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There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time.

About Retirement Wisdom

I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident.

Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms.

About Your Podcast Host

Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking.

Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University.

In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy.

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Wise Quotes

On Transitioning to a New Life

“I was on a conference call with a big time CEO and I was trying to do two things at once. I was clipping grapevines at the same time. And the CEO said, what’s that noise? What’s that noise? And I knew right then that I had switched, I had gone to the country where life is a little simpler than it is trying to meet flights and put together a PowerPoint presentation.”

On Creating a Place People Want to Visit

“What we wanted to create was a place and we created it. This place is still alive. We didn’t make it into a museum. We live here. And I think finding a place for you and your family at any time in your life, but especially as you grow older where you want people to come visit, you want people in retirement to come and say, Hey, I want to visit. We don’t want to—I don’t want you to drag your ass here just because you’re my grandpa. I want people to come visit and they do.”

On Intentions

“Actions follow intent. If you know what your intentions are, then you know what your actions are that might lead to that intention.”