Planning for retirement is essential. But what if your retirement planning is upended by events beyond your control? Imagine if one day you lost your job as an executive after almost thirty years at a multibillion-dollar company. How would you react? When it happened to my guest today, he decided to walk - more than twenty miles home. He shares the experience in his book The Long Walk Home: How I Lost My Job as a Corporate Remora Fish and Rediscovered My Life’s Purpose. That day was a catalyst for a more fulfilling life and a return to what he truly wanted to do.

Jim Kerr joins us from Pennsylvania.

________________________

Bio

James Brian Kerr led global communications and public relations for Fortune 500 technology firms before leaving the corporate world in late 2021 to pursue his passion for writing and storytelling. He blogs on financial freedom, fatherhood, men’s health and the pursuit of an authentic life at peaceableman.com. His articles have appeared in HumbleDollar, MarketWatch, Elephant Journal and elsewhere. His fiction and poetry have appeared in the Sewanee Review, Red River Review, The Poet, Short Story Town and other journals. The Long Walk Home (Blydyn Square Books) is his first published book.

__________________________

For More on James Kerr

The Long Walk Home: How I Lost My Job as a Corporate Remora Fish and Rediscovered My Life’s Purpose

Blog: PeaceableMan.com

Website

__________________________

Podcast Episodes You May Like

Navigating An Unexpected Career Change – Maggie Craddock

A Tapas Life – Andy Robin

Are You Ready to Shift Gears?- Richard Haiduck

With the Freedom to Retire, Where Will You Plant Your New Tree? – Don Ezra

____________________________

Wise Quotes

On Having a Challenge List Instead of a Bucket List

"That term bucket list is obviously is tongue in cheek, but it it's kind of dark. So I like a challenge list. I don't look at whatever number of years that I have ahead of me as walking toward the bucket. I'd rather I'll be challenging myself with new things. I think it's important to stay active, to continue to challenge ourselves both physically and mentally after we leave the full-time working  world. We don't want to atrophy - at least we don't want to atrophy early. The things that are important to me are on my list. And I got a long list. I love to write and I want to get some books and articles published. I have a new one out. That's my first one. So I'm excited about that. I've got a bunch of articles published. I want to get more articles out - and it's not about just getting pieces out there, but it's about really trying to inspire and move people. That's my mission in the second part of my life."

On Repassioning Instead of Retiring 

"I resist the word retirement. There are some people who love the word retirement. I don't. Retirement to me means you're stepping away from life in many ways and from work or purpose. And that's not really what I do. Repassion is the word that I use, because it's about really devoting myself to my passions. I've spent a lot of time getting my financial house in order so that I can focus on my passions."

_________________________

About Retirement Wisdom

A 20+ year retirement is a terrible thing to waste. How will you invest your time after you leave the world of full-time work?

Working with an experienced coach and a proven process can help you explore new options, test opportunities and create a portfolio of rewarding activities and interests.

Beware of quick fix solutions.