Beyond Retirement

Kim Costa, a top 5% Realtor with Atlanta Fine Homes & Sotheby’s International Realty and creator of the Wheel House Method, shares how to use a Wheel-of-Life approach to decide whether to stay, go, or renovate in retirement. You’ll hear why “home” is more than square footage, how life changes create a “void” your current space may no longer fill, and how to make choices that support enjoyment and personal growth in your next chapter.

What we cover

1. Why retirement is a “third life,” not an ending
2. The Wheelhouse Method: using eight life areas to clarify what’s working and what isn’t
3. How life changes (empty nest, health shifts, career ending, family moving) can make a once-perfect home stop fitting
4. Downsizing options: lock-and-leave living, reducing maintenance, and freeing up equity
5. Practical ways to stay put: “shut down” unused floors, adjust thermostats, and reduce cleaning/expenses
6. Repurposing rooms for who you are now (hobbies, writing, yoga, podcasting)
7. The most neglected area on the wheel: spirituality (connection to nature, grounding, sunlight)
8. Avoiding “should” decisions (e.g., moving somewhere because it’s what people do)
9. Try-it-first strategies: house-sitting, seasonal stays, and inviting family to test a destination home
10. Biggest regret drivers: moving too fast, not thinking it through, and market pressure

Key takeaways

1. Your home should match your current life stage. What worked at 25 may not work at 60.
2. Fix the pain point—but don’t create a new problem. Consider health care access, finances, and connection before you leap.
3. Enjoyment is allowed. Retirement is a season to reclaim what you loved—and design your space to support it.
4. Small changes count. You can often improve fit by repurposing rooms and reducing unused space.

Connect with Kim:

1. Website: lifestylefoundations.com
2. Socials: KimECosta

Her new book, Live in Your Wheel House, available now for preorder; ships March 24th! https://amazon.com/dp/B0GKTB5Z7C

In this solo episode of Beyond Retirement, Jacquie digs a bit deeper into the idea Sairan Aqrawi brought up in her interview: that we all have "hidden gems" within us, and that as we hit midlife, we have the opportunity to uncover them.

Recommended Actions

1. Allow yourself time for reflection
2. Experiment and explore
3. Build a supportive community
4. Reframe your mindset about aging
5. Give back or mentor others
6. Take care of your body and mind

If you're struggling to figure out your next step, reach out! Talk to me at [email protected]

READY TO RAMP UP YOUR RETIREMENT JOURNEY?

Start here: https://beyondretirement.ca/start-here/

Book a FREE call with Jacquie: https://calendly.com/jacquiedoucette/discovery

Check out the Beyond Retirement Library: https://placeforbooks.com

In this inspiring episode of Beyond Retirement, Jacquie sits down with Sairan Aqrawi, a civil engineer, certified coach, and founder of the Gem Thrive Academy. From STEM to soul-searching, Sairan shares how she helps women over 50 rediscover their “hidden gem” — a unique passion, gift, or calling buried under years of work, family, and obligation.

Whether it’s painting, public speaking, or building furniture in your garage, your gem doesn’t need to make money to be meaningful. Sairan’s bold, no-nonsense approach helps women reclaim midlife.

To find out more about Sairan and the GemThrive Academy, visit sairanaqrawi.com

What happens when your carefully planned retirement takes an unexpected turn? On this week’s solo episode of Beyond Retirement, Jacquie reflected on this question.

Here are 3 key takeaways for anyone planning their next chapter:

1. Build Your Lifeline Early: Relationships with family, friends, and community are just as crucial as financial planning. The support Susie and Tony received made all the difference during their toughest days.
2. Nurture Your Anchors: Whether it’s faith, creativity, volunteering, or something else—identify what keeps you grounded. Start strengthening those anchors now, so you’re ready when challenges arise.
3. Embrace Flexibility: Plans are important, but adaptability is essential. The most meaningful moments often come from the unexpected detours and from helping others, even while facing your own trials.

Retirement is a new beginning—sometimes bumpy, but always full of opportunities for growth, connection, and purpose.

READY TO RAMP UP YOUR RETIREMENT JOURNEY?

Start here: https://beyondretirement.ca/start-here/

Book a FREE call with Jacquie: https://calendly.com/jacquiedoucette/discovery

Check out the Beyond Retirement Library: https://placeforbooks.com

On this episode of Beyond Retirement, host Jacquie Doucette welcomes Soozie and Tony Cisneros, a couple whose retirement dreams took an unexpected turn. Just as they prepared to embark on new adventures together, both received life-changing cancer diagnoses—on the very same day. In this candid conversation, Soozie and Tony share the shock and uncertainty of facing treatment, the ways their family and community rallied around them, and the powerful role faith played in their journey. From setbacks to milestones, and finally reclaiming their freedom, their story is one of resilience, hope, and finding new meaning in life after the unimaginable. Whether you’re approaching retirement or already there, this episode offers inspiration and wisdom on facing the unexpected and supporting one another along the way.

· Retirement Expectations vs Reality

o Planning a life of travel and freedom

o Receiving simultaneous cancer diagnoses

· Navigating Treatment as a Couple

o Different journeys: radiation vs non-surgical care

o Emotional and logistical challenges of supporting each other

· The Role of Family and Faith

o Support from kids, including shaving their heads

o How spiritual grounding helped them persevere

· Redefining Retirement After Illness

o Embracing each day with intention

o Reframing 'lost time' as a second chance

· Lessons in Resilience

o What they’ve learned about strength and partnership

o Advice for others facing unexpected setbacks

Retirement doesn’t need a master plan. In this solo episode of Beyond Retirement, Jacquie Doucette reflects on Lynn Katz’s journey from school principal to author and community leader, showing how freedom, curiosity, and small daily goals can guide a deeply fulfilling retirement. Whether you’re newly retired or still figuring it out, this episode offers practical insight into designing a path that fits you—not someone else’s vision.

Key Topics Covered

1. Intentional Retirement Choices: No burnout, just clarity
2. Passion Rediscovery: Childhood dreams reignited in retirement
3. Goal Setting Over Scheduling: Daily writing targets instead of rigid routines; flexibility fuels sustained engagement
4. New Experiences in Later Life: Saying yes to unexpected roles and hobbies
5. The Power of Openness: Embracing “flailing” and slow starts; staying curious and adaptable
6. Community and Learning: Lifelong learners never retire: connection as a pillar of post-work life

READY TO RAMP UP YOUR RETIREMENT JOURNEY?

Start here: https://beyondretirement.ca/start-here/

Book a FREE call with Jacquie: https://calendly.com/jacquiedoucette/discovery

Check out the Beyond Retirement Library: https://placeforbooks.com

In this episode of Beyond Retirement, Jacquie Docette talks with Lynn Katz about how sometimes retirement isn't what you expected.

Lynn Katz is a retired school principal, curriculum writer, and educator who has reinvented herself as a fiction author in retirement. With a deep passion for storytelling, Lynn now writes both adult and middle-grade fiction, bringing her years of experience working with children and school systems into the heart of her stories.

She lives in Connecticut with her husband and enjoys kayaking, hiking, and spending time with her grandchildren. Her writing touches on themes of family, emotional resilience, school systems, personal transformation, and the challenges and magic of growing up.

Key Topics:

• Transitioning from leadership in education to creative writing
• The role of personal growth after retirement
• Navigating identity shifts when leaving a high-responsibility role
• Staying engaged with purpose and community through writing
• The unexpected parallels between running a school and writing a novel
• Giving yourself permission to try and fail at things

What if happiness wasn’t something that happened to you, but something you chose—even in retirement?

In this solo episode of Beyond Retirement, Jacquie reflects on a powerful message from her recent conversation with musician Ron Sowell: “It’s all up to you.” Drawing on stories from Ron’s life and the profound example of Viktor Frankl, she explores the idea that happiness isn’t about perfect circumstances, it’s about how we choose to engage with the season we’re in.

If you’re navigating the years beyond your career, wondering how to find meaning, joy, or direction, this episode invites you to reclaim your agency. Because growing old may be inevitable, but growing disengaged is not.

Key Topics Covered:

1. The difference between aging and growing old - Why vitality is a daily choice, not a number
2. What it means to “choose happiness” - The difference between agency and toxic positivity
3. Ron Sowell’s example of a life built on alignment - Choosing passion over security, and never looking back
4. Viktor Frankl’s lesson from the Holocaust - How mindset becomes a final freedom, even in suffering
5. Reframing retirement as a meaningful phase - Finding joy, purpose, and connection regardless of circumstances

MUSIC CREDIT: Ron Sowell - It's All Up to You (used with permission)

READY TO RAMP UP YOUR RETIREMENT JOURNEY?

Start here: https://beyondretirement.ca/start-here/

Book a FREE call with Jacquie: https://calendly.com/jacquiedoucette/discovery

Check out the Beyond Retirement Library: https://placeforbooks.com

In this episode of Beyond Retirement, Jacquie Doucette talks with Ron Sowell, lifelong musician and NPR musical director, about living with passion beyond traditional retirement. Ron shares the pivotal moment he stepped off the law-school track and committed to music for life, the joy and meaning he finds in performing and mentoring, and the simple daily practices that keep him grounded and strong as the years add up.

We talk Mountain Stage, creative purpose beyond “traditional retirement,” and why gratitude, meditation, and consistent movement are non-negotiables for staying vibrant. You’ll learn how to follow your intuition, why creativity never retires, and how to choose happiness daily.

• Following intuition over expectations — Ron’s decision to choose music over law school
• Creativity as a lifelong path — why artists don’t “retire” from what they love
• Designing a fulfilling life — building days around passion, relationships, and purpose
• Aging vs. growing old — why mindset determines how we experience later life
• The power of gratitude — how starting the day intentionally shapes everything
• Happiness as a choice — how perspective creates your lived experience

About the Guest:

Ron Sowell is a lifelong musician, singer-songwriter, and performer who has spent decades exploring the transformative power of music. From live performances to songwriting and teaching, Ron’s career reflects a deep commitment to creativity and personal expression. He is also the musical director for NPR’s Mountain Stage, where he collaborates with world-class artists and continues to evolve his craft

Key takeaways:

• Purpose isn’t a job title. Ron never planned to “retire” from the thing that gives him energy—music.
• Daily anchors matter: meditation, gratitude, and some form of strength/mobility work are simple but compounding.
• Creative contribution evolves with age: performing, producing, and coaching other artists are natural extensions of a lifetime in music.
• Community keeps you sharp: bandleading at Mountain Stage means constant learning and collaboration with top-tier musicians.​

• Website: https://ronsowell.com

@RonSowellMusic

• Facebook: Ron Sowell Music

• Album: Dance Till the Music Stops (available on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube)

Beyond Retirement themes discussed:

• Purpose & Meaning in Retirement
• Identity After Work
• Personal Growth & Lifelong Learning
• Resilience & Emotional Strength
• Community & Connection
• Health, Fitness & Aging Well
• Creating a Fulfilling Routine
• Courage, Confidence & Taking Action
• Life Transitions & Reinvention

Topics:

life after retirement, purpose after retirement, creativity in later life, aging mindset, happiness as a choice, living intentionally, retirement identity, passion after retirement

Retirement is supposed to be relaxing… so why does it sometimes feel louder than ever?

In this solo episode of Beyond Retirement, Jacquie reflects on a conversation with her friend Lynda Camire — and explores what happens when retirement doesn’t deliver the peace we expected. Lynda retired with a plan. But within days, she found herself checking the clock, wandering into her old office, and feeling overwhelmed by a surprising emotion: boredom.

This episode is about the hidden noise that surfaces after the structure of work disappears — and why that noise isn’t a sign of failure, but a signal worth listening to.

What You’ll Learn:

1. Why boredom in retirement feels more like pressure than peace
2. How unstructured time can trigger unexpected emotions
3. The link between boredom and mental clutter
4. Why retirement doesn’t quiet your mind — it confronts it
5. How to reframe boredom as an invitation to experiment, reflect, and grow

Key Takeaways:

1. Structure disappears faster than purpose appears.
2. Mental clutter loves a vacuum.
3. Boredom can be a bridge, not a wall.
4. You don’t need a five-point plan. You need a small spark.

Questions for Reflection:

1. Is this boredom… or is this mental clutter in disguise?
2. Am I judging myself for not being productive?
3. What have I stopped doing that I used to enjoy?
4. What am I trying not to feel right now?

If you’ve recently retired and find yourself feeling restless or “off,” this episode is for you. You’re not broken — you’re human. And you’re not alone.

Tune in to learn how boredom might just be pointing you toward your next chapter.

READY TO RAMP UP YOUR RETIREMENT JOURNEY?

Start here: https://beyondretirement.ca/start-here/

Book a FREE call with Jacquie: https://calendly.com/jacquiedoucette/discovery

Check out the Beyond Retirement Library: https://placeforbooks.com