Hello {!firstname}:

Nearly every birthday for the past 25 years I've taken myself to a place of power (always a body of water, often the ocean) to do a special ritual at the moment of my birth (5:46 a.m. ET). I've braved the frigid New England Februarys and navigated the unrelenting darkness of 5-something in the morning on the East Coast, and even weathered the arctic blast that greeted my 40th birthday in Northern California. I skipped the second year, because I made such a clear request the first year to be in a loving, fun, cherishing, empowering relationship, that within months, Richard showed up. Frankly, it scared me, so I decided to take a break and make sure I knew exactly what I wanted to ask before making any wild declarations!

This year I really wanted to be at the ocean. It wasn't possible logistically to spend the weekend -- or even an overnight -- away, and I was putting off deciding what I wanted to do. Then it hit me, in the middle of the night, a couple of nights before the big day. The thrill was gone from getting up at 4-something to bundle up, drag myself to some frozen local lake, and freeze my proverbial you-know-what off, just to be tired for the rest of the day. So, guess what? I decided that at 61 (and after 25 years) it was time to tweak the ritual. And this is what I did instead...

Richard and I took the day off from work and drove to Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, MA. It's one of my favorite places, has an amazing rock quarry, and you can walk through a frozen meadow right out onto huge boulders that jut into the Atlantic Ocean. It took us three hours to get there, I did my ritual a few feet from waves crashing on the rocks, we spent another 15 minutes enjoying the beauty, and then hiked back to the car and began the three hour drive home.

We had dinner at Café Martin, a lovely bistro in Shelburne Falls, MA, and drove home. Here's the best part. We spent the day laughing and talking and just being with one another and it was heaven.

Next year, I'm thinking a thatched hut on a beautiful white sand beach in a warm place where I can stumble out of bed, out to the water, do the process and shazaam back in bed for more shut-eye. Sound like a plan? :-)

To your endless possibilities!

Lin Schreiber, Retirement Revolutionary

These gorgeous images are from the Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel & Spa where we’ll be spending half of the Older, Bolder, Better: Blueprint for a Remarkable Rest of Your Life retreat in Costa Rica. It’s March 21-27, and it promises to be a really extraordinary trip. Retreat organizer, Jo Kosewski of Hibiscus Tours for Women, has really outdone herself by creating a spectacular trip at an excellent price. There are only two spots left. Is your name on one of them?

When Life Throws You a Curveball
by Lin Schreiber, Retirement Coach

Life can throw us a curveball when we least expect it, never more so than in this next stage of life.

Sue is single, and was inspired by Jean Shula's journey in The Coming of Aging mentioned in my last newsletter. Remember how after Jean's divorce, she bought a camper and embarked on a year-long adventure traveling around the country? Well, Jean's story sparked something deep inside Sue, and she decided that when she retires next year, she's giving herself the gift of a year before creating an encore career and going on her own great adventure.

Sue started researching recreational vehicles, rented one, and drove to a women's RV weekend a few hours from her home. She had such a good time, she couldn't wait to get home and put the wheels in motion for the transition to her new life.

But, then the curveball -- a heart attack. It was mild, but a set-back just the same. Sue, though, didn't see it as a set-back; she saw it as a wake-up call. First, to take better care of herself; second, to make sure that she follows her heart to the adventure she envisions. There's not a doubt in my mind -- or Sue's -- that this dream will become a reality.

Mary and her husband, Joe, had their ideal retirement plan in place, were five years away from financial readiness, and were eagerly counting the days until they could take off into this new dream life. Then, Joe died unexpectedly. Devastated to lose her life partner in her 50's, it took Mary two years to go through her grieving process, and start to regain her equilibrium.

While Mary loved her work as a nurse, she was burned out and ready for a change. Without Joe's income feeding their nest egg, the "ideal" retirement they'd plan was no longer a reality. It was clear to Mary that she needed to leave her current career, and move into a new career that would give her the freedom she craved, while earning a good income.

It would have been easy for Mary to feel cheated that she wasn't going to have the life she'd planned with Joe. That would have kept her stuck and angry, and that's NOT the kind of life she wanted for herself. So, Mary's currently exploring ways to take her wealth of nursing knowledge and apply it in new and exciting ways. She's considering writing and speaking, becoming a medical advocate, and consulting.


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:  Encore Career 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," by designing a new encore life that includes a fulfilling encore career. To claim your free Encore Career Starter Kit, visit her site at http://www.EncoreCareerStarterKit.com.

If you don't know Jeanne Robertson, now is your chance!

My friend Jack sent me this just before my birthday and I can't stop laughing. This is honestly one of the funniest things I've ever heard, and Jeanne Robertson is on the top of my wish list for upcoming The WOW Zone! radio show guests.

Oh, and you may want to sit down before you listen, so you don't fall down laughing like I did!

In honor of the 3/3 deadline for Encore.org's 2010 Purpose Prize nominations, you'll be meeting six of the 2008 and 2009 winners on The WOW Zone! the rest of February and into March.

Five $100,000 prizes and five $50,000 prizes are awarded each year to people over 60 who have switched careers, are tackling a social problem and have plans to expand.

Coming up:

February 16: Fighting Illiteracy in Afghanistan One Couple at a Time with Nasrine Gross

February 23: Turning Personal Tragedy Into a Force for Global Good with Liz & Steve Alderman

"The curveball becomes that rude awakening that often derails us from our tried and true plan to go from A to B."

~ Doug Glanville, Former AL Outfielder

Lin Schreiber, PCC, loves helping self-reliant 50- to 60-something women reinvent themselves in ideal encore careers in the next stage of life, formerly known as "retirement".

She is a sought after speaker and through her business, Revolutionize Retirement™, she delivers comprehensive coaching programs to individuals over the phone, and to groups at her Boot Camp live events at Kripalu Yoga & Health Center. 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 and her clients.

Founder of www.RevolutionizeRetirement.com, Lin is featured on the PBS series Boomers: Redefining Life After Fifty™ and is author of The ABC's of Retiring Retirement.

Lin is currently hosting the weekly, one-hour live internet talk radio show, The WOW Zone! on Voice America. www.WowZoneRadioShow.com

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