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.

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