Take a mini-retirement during your career? Take a retirement during your retirement? What? These are crazy ideas. But are they?

Author Jillian Johnsrud explains this concept and why it's so good for you. Host Carl is a believer and has personally taken 3 long breaks during his career. It helps you avoid burnout and gives you time and space to really think about what you want to do next in your career and life.

Jillian has personally taken a dozen mini-retirements in 20 years. She explains how to create your own sabbatical, including how to talk with your employer about it, how to financially afford the sabbatical and even how to to plan for it. For entrepreneurs, she talks about how you can take a break without hurting your business, too.

Jillian goes on to talk about the many benefits of taking a mini-retirement during your retirement. What? You'll need to listen in.

• More about Jillian Johnsrud: https://pickleballmediahq.com/blog/Jillian-Johnsrud-Interview-Learn-How-To-Take-Mini-Retirements

• Jillian's book Retire Often: https://retireoften.com/book/

• Episode Content: https://pickleballmediahq.com/blog/Jillian-Johnsrud-Interview-Learn-How-To-Take-Mini-Retirements

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage: https://capitaladvantage.com/promotion/retirement-planning-guide/

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not Die: https://garysirak.com/how-to-retire-and-not-die/

• I Used to be Somebody World Tour: https://pickleballmediahq.com/tour/all-tours

• Subscribe to the the I Used to be Somebody Newsletter: https://pickleballmediahq.com/contact/subscribe

Carl gets to talk about "magic" for the first time ever on the show. Kevin Blake made a 180-degree change in his working life. He moved from a promising career in digital marketing, working with big time clients (JanSport Backpacks, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Duraflame, Intel and more), to working as a professional Illusionist / Entertainer.

He always had a passion for performing magic and took the big leap, turning his fun side gig into a lucrative and totally rewarding career. His AHA moment came during the pandemic, when he performed online magic shows multiple times a day for companies. He made an insane amount of money in just one month -- December of 2020 (you'll need to listen to believe).

Kevin has competed and performed on a national level -- America's Got Talent and Penn & Teller: Fool us. He is the star 3-4 nights a week as The Illusionist at The Palace Theater. And he's absolutely living his dream!

• More about Kevin Blake: https://kevinblakemagic.com
• Kevin's Show, The Illusionist at The Palace Theater: https://sanfranciscomagicshow.com
• Episode Content: Thttps://pickleballmediahq.com/blog/kevin-blake-interview-mystifying-second-act-as-an-illusionist
• Sponsor by Capital Advantage: https://capitaladvantage.com/promotion/retirement-planning-guide
• Sponsor by How to Retire and Not Die: https://garysirak.com/how-to-retire-and-not-die
• I Used to be Somebody World Tour: https://pickleballmediahq.com/tour/all-tours
• Subscribe to the I Used to be Somebody Newsletter: https://pickleballmediahq.com/contact/subscribe

This month we tackle a topic we haven't talked much about...Forced Retirements. Anthony Napolitano had a very successful career in the high-tech world. Then he was laid off not once, but twice by two big corporations right around when he was 50 years old. That was two years ago, and since then he has plunged into the world of early retirement with great enthusiasm, (which is an understatement.) His friends joke that he doesn't have a "Type A personality," he has a "Type-Anthony personality".

Anthony has an analytical mind and devised a personalized Life Retirement Plan. He bases his plan on the four pillars of Health, Mindset, Purpose and Relationships. He even grades himself every year.

He was a star baseball player in high school and then went on to play four years of college division 1 baseball at Loyola-Marymount College. So in (un)retirement, Anthony is a natural as a high school coach. He loves being the assistant coach for the girls volleyball team.

He also works as a wine educator at a local winery in his tiny mountain town of Julian, CA, just outside of San Diego. He does a little bit of everything at the winery, from picking grapes to hosting wine tasting events.

You will love Anthony. He's full of wonder and personality. Although Carl points out that he is the star of the podcast, Anthony clearly steals this month's show.

• More about Anthony Napolitano: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonynapolitano

• Anthony's Blog "For the Napos": https://forthenapos.com

• Episode Content: https://pickleballmediahq.com/blog/anthony-napolitano-interview-rorced-into-early-retirement-and-now-a-renaissance-man

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not Die: https://garysirak.com/how-to-retire-and-not-die

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage: https://capitaladvantage.com/promotion/retirement-planning-guide

• I Used to be Somebody World Tours: https://pickleballmediahq.com/tour/all-tours

• Subscribe to I Used to be Somebody newsletter: https://pickleballmediahq.com/contact/subscribe

It takes a long time to hit 100 episodes when you're a monthly podcast. So we're pretty excited. Carl wanted to get the perfect guest. He chose Fritz Gilbert the OG, who is the top voice in the modern retirement movement. Fritz is a retirement expert/book author/speaker/do-gooder and the author of award winning "The Retirement Manifesto". He's written 400+ articles and 1 million words about retirement and how to live your very best life in this next phase of life.

Fritz totally delivers! He's high-energy, funny and gives incredible insights into helping you plan a smooth transition to and once you're in that retirement how you can make it even better.

• More about Fritz Gilbert: https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/about/

• Fritz's Fritz's Retirement Manifesto "Ten Commandments of Retirement: https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-ten-commandments-of-retirement/

• Episode Content: https://pickleballmediahq.com/blog/Fritz-gilbert-interview-mr-retirement-author-of-the-retirement-manifesto

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage: https://capitaladvantage.com/promotion/retirement-planning-guide/

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not Die: https://garysirak.com/how-to-retire-and-not-die/

• I Used to be Somebody World Tour: https://pickleballmediahq.com/tour/all-tours

• Subscribe to I Used to be Somebody newsletter: https://pickleballmediahq.com/contact/subscribe

Who doesn't like to go out to eat? Carin Stutz gives you a behind the scenes look into the restaurant business. She is a true icon in the industry spending 40+ years as a C-level Exec. She started as a manager trainee at Wendy's International and she worked her way up to Division Vice President.

She shares stories of working with the celebrity Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's, as well as her brush with fame by meeting movie star George Clooney. The rest of her career was in the hot trend of "fast casual" dining, with C-Level positions at Applebee's, Chili's and another half dozen other successful chains.

Carin shares what the restaurant business is really like, as in the long hard hours, the missed vacations and family events. Yet she truly loves the industry and the people. She is making up for lost time now with lots of international travel and attending concerts every week. She is also giving back to her industry. She helped start a wildly successful non-profit and serves on lots of very worthwhile boards. She has dedicated her (un)retirement to giving back!

• More about Carin Stutz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carin-stutz-832b766
• Episode Content: https://pickleballmediahq.com/blog/Carin-Stutz-Interview-Restaurant-Industry-Icon-Pays-It-Forward
• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not Die: https://garysirak.com/how-to-retire-and-not-die
• Sponsored by Capital Advantage: https://capitaladvantage.com/promotion/retirement-planning-guide
• "I Used to be Somebody World Tour" -- SOLD OUT! https://pickleballmediahq.com/tour
• Subscribe to the "I Used to be Somebody" newsletter: https://pickleballmediahq.com/contact/subscribe

It's BONUS day in the Landau Tiki Bar this week. We're featuring The Best of "Pickleball Chronicles with Traver". Even if you're not a pickleball enthusiast, you'll really enjoy this episode. Six fun-filled and heartfelt stories.

Traver West joined me on the show about 2 years ago. He works at Pickleball Central, the world's largest pickleball company in the world. We have fun every month just talking about the sport we both love...PICKLEBALL.

Enjoy our 6 favorite segments of "Pickleball Chronicles with Traver"!

• Valentine's day, sweet customer anecdotes
• Playing in adverse conditions
• How my DJ career has helped in pickleball
• Being a good pickleball partner
• Turning a bad run around
• The growth of Pickleball

Carl finally got a chance to interview one of the leaders of the modern day pickleball industry -- David Johnson. What a wild ride! He takes us from the early days of computer programming, website design to even the first online funeral business site. But it's the launch of Pickleball Central in 2006 that gets everyone's attention.

David and his wife Anna started by literally talking to one new pickleball player / customer at a time from their kitchen table. They ultimately built the largest pickleball company in the world with revenues of $40 million dollars a year.

It's a super fun journey through the evolution of pickleball to the sale of his company that grew along with the sport's wild popularity. Now David's second act is giving back to the industry with his International Association of Pickleball Facilities (IAPF).

You don't need to be a pickleball enthusiast to enjoy the episode. David gives great advice for someone that wants to take their career experience and build it into a meaningful second act.

• More about David Johnson: https://www.pickleballconsultinggroup.com/about

• More about Association of Pickleball Facilities (IAPF): https://pickleballfacilities.org

• Episode Content: https://pickleballmediahq.com/blog/david-johnson-interview-the-king-of-pickleball-industry-begins-his-second-act

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage: https://capitaladvantage.com/promotion/retirement-planning-guide

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not Die: https://garysirak.com/how-to-retire-and-not-die

• "I Used to be Somebody World Tour" -- SOLD OUT! https://pickleballmediahq.com/tour

• Subscribe to the "I Used to be Somebody" newsletter: https://pickleballmediahq.com/contact/subscribe

We've got a special "two for the price of one" today! This is our annual "Ask the Experts" episode. It's an interesting pairing. The first expert is Joe Casey who is considered the GOAT of retirement podcasters. He's been the host of Retirement Wisdom for 10 years and has produced over 350 episodes. He's a true pioneer in the Retirement Industry. He was one of the first Executive Coaches and Retirement Coaches before it was actually a thing! He's seen every misstep and shares his own personal challenges. Despite Joe being a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, we still loved hanging out with Joe. And so will you!

Joe's Interview: [03:20]

Judi Nadratowski is a rookie (Un)Retirement Expert. But she's coming in strong with incredible practical advice, as a writer and blogger who shares her journey through 6 years of retirement. She had an executive position at an International Law Firm for 40+ years. Yes, she worked at the same company for her entire career and had done zero planning about what she was going to do post-career. Anyone who is nearing the end of their professional career is going to learn so much from Judi's advice about what the future can hold for you! She's simply a delight!

Judi Nadratowski Interview: [29:50]

• More about Joe Casey: https://www.retirementwisdom.com/joe-casey/

• More about Judi Nadratowski: https://www.retirementcommentaries.com/about-me/

• Episode Content: https://pickleballmediahq.com/blog/Meet-the-UnRetirement-Experts-Interviews-with-Joe-Casey-and-Judi-Nadratowski

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not Die: https://garysirak.com/how-to-retire-and-not-die/

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage: https://capitaladvantage.com/promotion/retirement-planning-guide/

• "I Used to be Somebody World Tour" -- SOLD OUT! https://pickleballmediahq.com/tour/

• Subscribe to the "I Used to be Somebody" newsletter: https://pickleballmediahq.com/contact/subscribe

Carl visited one of his favorite cities in the world -- New Orleans and had the privilege to interview the amazing Nick Mueller, co-founder of the World War II Museum. You do not need to be a history buff to love this episode.

Nick was contemplating his first (un)retirement in 1990, when he and Stephen Ambrose (best-selling author and celebrity historian) met over a bottle of sherry and discussed the idea of starting a World War II Museum on a historic site right there in New Orleans. The original idea was to raise one million dollars and have a modest warehouse museum by the water. Thirty-four years later, they have raised $400 million and now operate one of the world's best museums, right in the middle of New Orleans.

Nick was the founding CEO of the museum (after his first career) and just retired again last year at age 84. He's a remarkable person and the museum is an incredibly moving experience. Along the way he's made friends and has garnered significant contributions from celebrities Tom Hanks, Tom Brokaw and Steven Spielberg.

Please make sure to listen to the last 6 minutes of the interview. As Nick talks about the lessons learned from WWII, Carl asks him where he thinks our country is headed now. His thoughtful insights are so inspirational and he gives us some needed hope for the future.

• More about Nick Mueller: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/about-us/our-team/museum-founders/gordon-h-nick-mueller

• Nick's new book Preserving the Legacy: Creating the National WWII Museum: https://lsupress.org/9780807184493/preserving-the-legacy

• Episode Content: https://pickleballmediahq.com/blog/Nick-Mueller-Interview-Mr-World-War-II-Museum-Co-Founder-and-Former-CEO

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage: https://capitaladvantage.com/promotion/retirement-planning-guide

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not Die: https://garysirak.com/how-to-retire-and-not-die

• Join the "I Used to be Somebody World Tour": https://pickleballmediahq.com/tour

• Subscribe to the "I Used to be Somebody" newsletter: https://pickleballmediahq.com/contact/subscribe

Probably anyone who loves to travel has thought at one point about what it would be like to travel the entire world. Everyone has that thought but who would actually do it?

This month's guest Wayne Schmidt and his wife Sally quit their jobs in Australia -- sold their house, cars and all their worldly possessions and started their journey in 2017 and have never stopped. Yes, 92 countries later they are living the (un)retirement dream life.

Wayne says he's made every mistake possible but has no regrets. They eventually figured out a lifestyle that works for them. They are "Digital Nomads" that work 2.5 days a week offering a unique business model by providing marketing consulting for ten accounting firms. And the rest is adventure time. It's been one crazy eight years of adventure!

Wayne has some very helpful travel and life advice for us all. It's a super fun and thought-provoking conversation.

• More about Wayne and Sally Schmidt: https://www.traveldinestay.com/blog

• Forbes Article about The Schmidts: https://www.forbes.com/sites/garystoller/2025/02/17/digital-nomads-improve-marriage-by-traveling-to-92-countries

• Episode Content: https://pickleballmediahq.com/blog/Wayne-Schmidt-Interview-A-Traveling-UnRetirement-Adventure-92-Countries-and-Counting

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not Die: https://garysirak.com/how-to-retire-and-not-die

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage: https://capitaladvantage.com/promotion/retirement-planning-guide

• Join the "I Used to be Somebody World Tour" to Croatia in 2026: https://pickleballmediahq.com/tour/croatia

• Subscribe to the "I Used to be Somebody" newsletter: https://pickleballmediahq.com/contact/subscribe