Don’t Retire, REWIRE! 24 Minutes with Author Jeri Sedlar

Posted by Andy Levine on with 0 Comment


Career expert Jeri Sedlar wrote “Don’t Retire, Rewire!” back in 2002 with her business partner and husband Rick Miners. They were largely responsible for blowing the lid off our traditional view of American life — the “education first” – “work career second” – “retirement third” phasing.

In August 2018, they came out with a third edition of “Don’t Retire, Rewire!” based on new research and interviews.

Simply put, I loved this updated book and found it incredibly valuable in my own journey as a fellow that will hit 58 years of age in the year ahead.It definitely goes in the “Best Books About Second Acts” section of this website.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

 

Telephone Repairman Follows A Life-Long Dream: Designing Women’s Shoes

Posted by Andy Levine on with 1 Comment


When I first heard Chris Donovan’s story I thought to myself, I don’t care what it takes. I have to interview this man.

It took several months and a dozen or so email exchanges. But last month, I traveled to Massachusetts with only one thing in mind: interview the telephone repairman who is now focused solely on the one thing he always wanted to do in life: design women’s shoes.

Since his junior year in high school, Chris Donovan has been sketching women’s shoes. It’s been his quiet obsession for the 30+ years. But at the age of 50, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. And he knew it was time to leave his safe job at the phone company to pursue his lifelong dream. “I need to follow this. I need to find out why I have this passion for shoes.”

Based on the recommendation of European shoe designer Aki Choklat, he was accepted to Polimoda, one of the best fashion design institutes in the world. He enrolled in an accelerated masters program and packed his bags for Florence, Italy. And while his first few months were difficult, he ended up graduating at the top of his class.

In January, 2019, he will launch a new line of shoes at Chris Donovan Footwear. Take it from Tim Gunn of Project Runway: it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Check out Chris’ new line of shoes on his website.

Finally, here’s a photo of Chris Donovan and his incredibly-supportive partner Steve Wierzbicki.

Identifying Your Ideal Second Act: Nancy Collamer and the 25 Questions

Posted by Andy Levine on with 0 Comment


Nancy Collamer is the author of Second Act Careers: 50 Ways to Profit From Your Passions During Semi-Retirement. She is a recognized expert on career change and writes a monthly blog for the PBS site NextAvenue.org.

Our interview with Nancy focuses on an especially, powerful resource from her website (www.mylifestylecareer.com). “25 Questions to Help You Identify Your Ideal Second Act” details a series of questions in four major areas: 1) Values, 2) skills, and experience, 3) strengths, gifts and talents, 4) hopes, dreams and impossibilities, It’s a terrific exercise for anyone considering a second act.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

GET THE “25 QUESTIONS” FROM NANCY COLLAMER’S WEBSITE