Act Three

Dena Grushkin


Listen Later

Summary:

  •  Dena was a special education teacher for 36 years in New Jersey public schools. She retired in 2018 at age 60. 

  •  In 2004, Dena visited Nigeria and was inspired to start the Dream School Foundation, providing educational resources and infrastructure to schools there. This became her passion project in retirement. 

  •  When funding ran out for Dream School, Dena pivoted to pursuing work she is passionate about that can also support her financially. 

  •  She got certified to teach yoga and now teaches yoga for women over 50, prenatal yoga, yoga for addiction recovery, and yoga for the elderly. 

  •  Dena also recently got a job as an educational consultant with the New Jersey Education Association, coaching teachers in underperforming school districts. 

  • Key Takeaways:

    •  It's important to have a purpose and passion project lined up for retirement. Dena was prepared with her nonprofit work when she left teaching. 

    •  Be open to pivoting when circumstances change. Dena creatively pieced together yoga teaching and educational consulting to continue doing meaningful work. 

    •  Look for opportunities to be of service, even if they are small. Helping others gives life meaning. 

    • Links:

      The Dream School Foundation website: http://www.dreamschoolfoundation.org

      This podcast is sponsored by Good Morning Freedom, my retirement coaching firm. I help executives and professionals plan the non-financial part of their retirement, like how to discover new purpose and how you want to spend your time. I offer a 1:1 coaching retirement blueprint package where we work together to discover some new avenues of exploration for your Act Three. This coaching is completely custom and will provide you with a ton of resources and support as you transition to this new stage of life. For all the details, please go to goodmorningfreedom.com/services.

      Connect with Cara on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caraliveslife/ or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caraliveslife/ or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cara.a.gray/

       

       

       

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store

      Act ThreeBy Cara Gray