Hello {!firstname}:

My ability to stay positive took a hit last week, when Richard called me from the road to tell me he’d been laid off from his job. It took me about 37 seconds to see the positive.

Now, don’t get me wrong. On the surface this looks like a huge blow to our financial plans for 2009. We’ve been working a serious plan for building our wealth and were on target for reaching our goals this year. We were in the home stretch of refinancing our house at a wonderfully low rate of 4.5%. And, we were loving the ability to plan around that bi-weekly automatic deposit into our checking account, while enjoying the benefits of watching the 401k grow, and paying a reasonable amount for really good health, dental and vision insurance.

But, one thing that Richard and I know for sure is that no matter what happens in our lives financially or otherwise, we always land on our feet. We’re smart, resourceful, creative, and we can see the opportunity in every situation. (That’s what keeps us positive!)

Just 7 days since that phone call from the road and Richard looks 15 years younger. He’s said goodbye forever to the highly toxic, brutally negative working environment that he’s been involved in over many years in various forms. I hear him laughing every day on various phone calls, a lovely sound that’s been missing from his office across the hall from mine for the past couple of years. I have my partner and my playmate back, we have our health and each other, and we couldn’t be happier.

We also have my income, reserves, unemployment, and a number of potential consulting jobs for Richard. We revised our spending plan, and are making a game out of spending less for the time being. The best part is now he can work full-time on the exciting new software business he’s creating with a fabulous, timely product, an amazing team, and room for the life that he wants to be living. Guess that’s one of the perks of living with a coach! :-))

To your endless possibilities!

Lin Schreiber, Retirement Revolutionary

The Kripalu Yoga & Health Center summer catalog is hot off the presses, and we already have our first participants signed up for Boomer Boot Camp: Design a Remarkable Rest of Your Life!

It’s the weekend of June 19th-21st in Stockbridge, MA, and if you’re ready to clear the way for a remarkable rest of your life, I’d love to have you come play!

Here’s what Suzanne Powers from Baldwinsville, NY, had to say about last year’s Boomer Boot Camp: “Doing something outside my comfort zone was actually good for me, and enlightening. I feel so much more prepared to take the next step!”

Would you like to receive a Kripalu catalog? Order one here.

NOTE: The dates for the Retire Retirement Boot Camp in November have been changed from the weekend of the 13th-15th to the weekend of November 20th-22nd.

Kripalu overscheduled the weekend of the 13th, and asked if we would mind changing. We said “No problem”. This will be our 4th Retire Retirement Boot Camp and now our record of holding each one the weekend before Thanksgiving is still intact.

It’s great for those of you planning to come east for the holiday. You can come in the weekend before, get a serious shot of inspiration, leave with an amazing set of new tools, and head off for a yummy Thanksgiving.

Top Six Encore Career Resolutions for Spring

by Lin Schreiber, Retirement Coach

Spring has definitely sprung in the Northeast: the weather is warming, days are longer, and it’s time for a fresh start. Have your encore career plans been hibernating for too long? Are you ready for a new approach to moving your life forward? Consider these spring resolutions to jump start your encore career:

1. Make Space. Clean the cobwebs out of your mind and your heart by de-cluttering your physical environment first. You’ll be amazed at how much space you’ll create in your life for new things to come in -- ideas, people, opportunities -- when you tackle the “piles of stuff” before anything else.

2. Energize. Of course, eating good food, moving your body, getting enough rest are great energizers. But, have you tried improving your attitude? Don’t discount the power of a positive outlook. When you find yourself worried about the future, or afraid of the change that’s coming, simply shift your perspective to one that feels better. For instance, you can turn “I’m afraid that my money won’t outlast me” into “There are lots of creative ways for me to make money and enjoy life, and I’m going to have fun finding them!” How do each of those statements make you feel? Go for the one that fuels you forward, and leave the one that paralyzes you behind.

3. Try Something New. Go ahead. Just for the fun of it. When my clients want a change, they often try to figure it out in their heads, instead of tapping into their hearts. I recommend they stop thinking about what “it” might be, and make a list of fun, thrilling, exciting things they’ve always wanted to do. When Jane stopped trying to figure it out and made her list, she started by taking a trapeze lesson. Not on my top ten list, but it’s something she’d wanted to do for years. By the time she finished #2 on her list -- parachuting from an airplane -- the idea for her “what’s next” business just came to her fully formed. When Jane shifted her focus to something 180 degrees from work, her creative juices were free to bubble up from deep within.

4. Explore All Options. But, only the ones that feel right. Now is not the time to do what’s expected, or what conventional wisdom says you should do, or take the path of least resistance. Where are all the places you might live? What are the many ways you might make a contribution? What do you love to do that can be incorporated into your new life?

5. Think Big. Let yourself go way out there as you think about the possibilities of what might be next for you. No dinky thinking allowed! Sky’s the limit. You can always bring your ideas down a little closer to earth if you have to. It’s impossible to create an idea worth pursing when it’s scrunched up in a tiny ball on the ground.

6. Pursue That Dream. You know you have one. Uncover it. Dust it off. Breathe some life into it. You’ve got nothing to lose by exploring it. Make sure you understand the essence of the dream, because the original package may no longer fit, but you could have the essence of your dream in a brand new package.

Remember, your encore career can be everything you want it to be. With a little bit of spring cleaning and your resolve to have this transition be different, you’ll be on your way to your ideal encore career -- and life!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you keep it intact and include this blurb with it:  Certified Retirement Coach Lin Schreiber, author of the popular ABC's of Revolutionizing Retirement, helps self-reliant women reinvent themselves in the next stage of life, formerly known as "retirement."  To claim your copy of her free popular Revolutionize Retirement Starter Kit, visit her site at http://www.RevolutionizeRetirement.com.

Lin Schreiber is a Retirement Revolutionary who loves helping self-reliant women reinvent themselves in the next stage of life, formerly known as "retirement."  Like Lin, her clients have a positive vision for the future, and the idea of riding off into the sunset for the next 30-40 years isn't in the picture.

She is a sought after speaker, Professional Certified Coach and Certified Retirement Coach.  Through her business, Revolutionize Retirement^(TM), she delivers her comprehensive coaching programs to individuals over the phone, and to groups at her Boot Camp live events.  Combining her contagious enthusiasm, non-stop energy, and passion for her subject, Lin creates a fun, dynamic learning environment that energizes and inspires her audiences.

Lin is featured on the PBS series Boomers^(TM): Redefining Life After Fifty, and is the author of The ABC's of Revolutionizing Retirement.

Contact her at  www.RevolutionizeRetirement.com.

Talk about role models!

Hazel McCallion is the 88-year-old mayor of Missassauga, Ontario, has served for 31 years, most recently captured 92% of the vote, and is the epitome of vibrant vitality that is the hallmark of positive aging.

You’ve got to see this!

Check out this week’s blog What Do You Value?, and download the Top Values Flash Card set to discover what you value most right now in your life!

Faith is expectancy.

You do not receive what you pray for, nor even what you say you have faith in.

You will always receive exactly what you expect.

~ Eric Butterworth


 

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