Chapter X with Michael Kay

In today’s world, it’s never too late to start a new career. 

Many people are choosing to start the next chapter of life with a second, or an “encore,” career in retirement. But it’s not always about earning money. Increasingly, an encore career is about the pursuit of passion, meaning and purpose.

Today’s guest had a decades-long career on the stage before it was time for a change. Rod Francis is a former classically trained dancer, studying at a national academy in Australia and then onwards to an international career as performer, choreographer and teacher. 

Following a second career as an entrepreneur in London, Rod’s interest and training in human optimization and leadership development drove a transition into coaching. 

Here’s his story. We discussed:

• The story of launching a business after ending his career as a performer
• Why quitting his business venture of 7+ years was the right thing to do
• How Rod listened to his inner voice before launching a third career in midlife
• One practice that helped him explore the larger questions about life’s purpose
• Balancing internal and external feedback — and why they both matter
• Why passion is really about a sense of meaning and purpose

www.rodfranciscoaching.com www.interactualizer.comwww.thestoryofchange.net  www.thegrowyoungproject.com

Have you ever thought about how much your emotions influence your health?

Dealing with life transitions is stressful for everyone, even when they’re positive changes. But when emotions are buried, they often resurface in the form of sadness, worry or physical discomfort, according to today’s guest.

In this episode, I’m joined by veteran holistic physician Dr. Bradley Nelson, one of the world’s foremost experts on natural methods of achieving wellness. He is also the CEO of Discover Healing and author of the bestselling book, "The Emotion Code.” It explains how to identify and release trapped emotions that block us from wellness. 

Listen to our conversation to hear:

• The singular experience that taught him a lesson about healing at age 10
• How your emotional baggage can affect your body and overall health
• Why emotional energies sometimes get wrapped around the heart

• Exploring the power of unconditional love and our purpose in life
• How to start the process of removing your emotional baggage 

www.discoverhealing.com

www.drbradleynelson.com  

What’s not often discussed is how vulnerable it feels to enter this pivotal time of our life. With retirement, there’s also a deep sense of loss. We grieve a loss of structure, relationships, and even one’s identity. 

Today’s guest joins us to talk about the stressors that play out as part of the retirement process. 

Dr. John M. O’Brien is an executive wellness coach. He provides coaching, consultation and presentations on topics related to leadership, stress management and wellness. 

John is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maine at Augusta, teaching courses on topics related to psychology and addictions. In this episode, he shares insights into life transitions and some of the common challenges we face along the way. You’ll learn:

• The biggest difference between working as a psychologist vs. a life coach
• 3 things men should consider when piloting the transition into retirement
• How to recognize the danger signs of struggling to cope with leaving work
• Why learning about ourselves is one of the major purposes in life
• What being present to the moment really means (and why it matters)
• Why spirituality is an important variable in defining the meaning of life

Website: www.activatesuccess.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-o-brien-806270bb/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/ActivateJohn

Tony Hixon is not your ordinary financial planner. 

In March of 2011, Tony’s life changed forever when his mother ended her life after falling into a deep depression during the first six months of her retirement. Today he finds hope from the tragedy by using his mother’s story to help others. 

As the cofounder and chief operating officer of Hixon Zuercher Capital Management, he has provided financial advice to his firm’s clients since 2003. After having tragically lost his mom, he approaches financial advice in a different way. 

Over the last decade, Tony has chosen to honor her legacy by helping his clients look at retirement from a non-financial standpoint and continue a life of meaning beyond retirement. He recently authored the book Retirement Stepping Stones: Find Meaning, Live with Purpose, and Leave a Legacy.

In this episode, Tony shares his incredibly moving story and how we can find a newfound hope and purpose after transitioning from a career into retirement. 

We discussed:

• How Tony honors the legacy of his mom by helping others find their purpose
• Why retirement can trigger an existential crisis in some people
• Two ways he helps clients plan for the emotional side of retirement
• The reason why we all need a “Plan B” that brings us joy
• Taking the stumbling blocks and turning them into stepping stones
• Why conversations with your family is one of the most important steps
• Mental health in retirement

Retirement Stepping Stones: Find Meaning, Live with Purpose, and Leave a Legacy

https://tonyhixon.com/book/

In the summer of 2009, Fred Rutman started experiencing a series of events where he would lose consciousness. He was misdiagnosed by his medical team as suffering from multiple heart attacks.

It turned out he wasn’t simply passing out. Fred had a rare condition called a complete heart block, which meant his heart was stopping. He was clinically dead dozens of times. Now he is chronicling the entire ordeal in his upcoming medical trauma memoir, The Summer I Died Twenty Times. 

Then in 2018, Fred learned about intermittent fasting and it changed his life. Today he has reversed his Type 2 diabetes and is no longer dealing with health issues such as asthma and sleep apnea. He attributes a large majority of his recovery to the power of intermittent fasting.

Today I’m joined by Fred, as he shares the incredible challenge of fighting to get his life back over the last 12 years. We discussed:

• A series of medical adventures that forced Fred into a post-work transition
• Two of the biggest lessons he learned from his experiences in medical care
• What things we should be thinking about before a health problem occurs
• How dealing with health challenges impacts your ability to bounce back
• What it really felt like emotionally to have 20 near-death experiences 
• Why Fred is doing intermittent fasting—and how it changed his life

Fast. Feast. Repeat. by Gin Stephens

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

It’s easy to go through life on autopilot. But as we enter this next chapter, it’s important to be more intentional about how we approach the rest of our lives. 

Being intentional is about living with purpose by figuring out what matters to you and taking action on it. In retirement, intentional living can help you build a clear structure for your day because your actions are based on your bigger purpose. 

In this episode, you’ll meet Dr. David Bernstein, MD, a highly respected physician, board certified in both Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, with 40 years of experience in his field. Today he’s an author and speaker focused on doing what he loves best—educating people about how to live their best life.

Tune in to today’s show to hear:

• How the cover of one National Geographic magazine inspired a career path
• What it means to provide a level of care patients aren’t able to find elsewhere
• Why our healthcare system helped make early retirement easier for David
• GRACE: 5 things David learned from his patients about life, death, and dying
• Two important traits that we often forget about during our working lives
• The 5 ingredients to living a longer, happier, healthier life

www.davidbernsteinmd.com

http://powerof5life.com/

Connect with David on social media

linkedin.com/in/davidbernstein2200

https://www.facebook.com/Powerof5Life/

https://twitter.com/Powerof5Life

Publications 

The Power of 5 The Ultimate Formula for Longevity & Remaining Youthful

I’ve Got Some Good News and Some Bad News YOU’RE OLD: Tales of a Geriatrician What to expect in your 60”, 70”s 80” and Beyond.

Senior Driving Dilemmas Life saving Strategies

Social connection is something we crave. But building meaningful friendships with other men can be tough, especially when we are no longer in the workplace. 

Dr. Mel Schneiderman and Rick Lehrer saw a need for bringing a group of men together for the sole purpose of supporting each other through the transition to their next stage of life—their journey into the unknown of aging. 

Some members of the support group are fully retired, while others are still working. Their focus isn’t just on retirement, but also on facing the realities and adversities of getting older. Today I’m joined by the founders of the support group.

Dr. Mel Schneiderman is Senior Vice President and co-founder of New York Foundling’s Vincent Fontana Center for Child Protection, a national child protection center focusing on the primary prevention of child maltreatment. 

Rick Lehrer is the founding Partner of the Cambridge Organization. Under his direction, he led the firm to serve over 2,500 clients in developing insurance plans and strategies before retiring at the start of 2019.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why Mel’s switch from working six days to four days was life-changing
• Rick’s personal struggle to satisfy his creative spark in retirement
• The connection between vulnerability and trust in a group setting
• How to keep egos in check and prevent competition among peers
• Rick and Mel’s advice for creating your own social support group

I’m thrilled to welcome Richard Eisenberg back to Chapter X. 

In January 2022, Richard left his full-time role as Managing Editor behind to shift into a new life stage that he has coined “unretirement.” Today he joins me to reflect on his experiences over the last three months and share the steps he is taking to ensure a retirement that is both happy and rewarding.

In this episode, we dig into adjusting to retirement in a new world, the financial planning industry, and the recent stories he has penned for the unretired. 

Listen in to hear more on:

• How Richard defines his “unretirement” after leaving full-time work behind
• What he’s learned in the first three months of a new stage of life
• Richard’s advice on how to avoid being bored in retirement
• Why we should give up on the idea that one has to master something
• The consequences of comparing yourself to friends and family

• Retired and bored or — worse yet — boring? Try this by Richard Eisenberg
• Can we close the retirement security gaps in America? by Richard Eisenberg
• ‘Where should I live and what am I going to do?’ Retirement advice we’re not getting from financial advisers by Richard Eisenberg
• The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
• The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman

“Toughen up. Be a man. Don’t be so sensitive.”   As a young boy, these are some of the messages you might have heard. Society tells us that men are supposed to be strong, successful and never show emotion. 

It’s time to challenge the stigma that men can’t be sensitive. If you have a tendency to pick up on nuances or think deeply about ideas, it may be because you’re a highly sensitive person (HSP). 

Highly sensitive people are believed to make up 20% of our population. It’s a trait that’s equally common among both men and women, yet often misunderstood. My guest today is an author of two important books: Confessions of a Sensitive Man and On Being a Sensitive Man.

On today’s episode, William Allen joins me to shed more light on highly sensitive males and how they play a much-needed role in our society. He shares how we can learn to embrace this gift and live in the world as sensitive men.

We discussed:

• 4 science-based traits that define a highly sensitive personality
• Why highly sensitive people often need more alone time than others
• Redefining masculinity within the scope of being a sensitive man
• The evolutionary reason why highly sensitive people are here
• How William overcame perfectionism to embrace his natural talent

www.thesensitiveman.com

www.brainpilots.com

The Highly Sensitive Person quiz

Connect with William on social:

https://www.facebook.com/thesensitiveman

https://www.linkedin.com/in/wrallen/

https://twitter.com/TheSensitiveMa1

www.instagram.com/zallenw

Play isn’t just for children, it’s also an important part of adulthood.

On this week’s show, I’m joined by a man who has built a truly one-of-a-kind community for adults to rediscover their natural inner child’s playfulness, creativity, and need for social connection. 

Mike Montague is the speaker, writer and fellow podcaster behind Playful Humans. He defines play as something you do just because you enjoy it. It makes you feel like the best version of yourself—and takes full focus to bring you into that present moment. 

The challenge that high achievers often face with hobbies and passion projects is being driven by the need to achieve. Listen in to hear Mike share how we can reorient our thinking to have more fun. 

We covered:

• Striking the right balance between a successful life vs. an enjoyable life
• Why we lose our sense of play with age and how we can get it back
• How to find more time and satisfaction by creating a “reverse bucket list”
• The magic of making connections with peers who share your hobbies 
• Breaking down the 5 P’s (play, pause, ponder, practice and perform)
• How to reduce the guilt of saying “no” to things you don’t want to do

https://playfulhumans.com/