Hello {!firstname}:

I love fall in the Berkshires. The leaves are turning, the days are crisp and clean, and there's something special in the air. This year was made extra special because my best friend in High School, Mary Ann, and her husband Greg spent four delicious days with us last weekend.

We saw the Edward Steichen exhibit at the Williams College Museum of Art (another glorious Berkshire gem), drove the Mohawk Trail (in heavy fog!), walked the Bridge of Flowers (and rode a pump car at the Trolley Museum) in Shelburne Falls, and spent an entire day in Hyde Park, NY touring the FDR home, library and museum. Great fun!

It was a lovely break from Revolutionize Retirement, since things have really been heating up here in the past month. The WOW Zone! Radio Show launched on September 29th (that's me above during this week's show looking MUCH more relaxed!) We're designing an exciting new program and planning a mega-event for early 2010, and we're busy strengthening our infrastructure so we can take the business to a whole other level next year. Costa Rica is a go in March, and the Retire Retirement Boot Camp is just around the corner in November.

Hope your fall is crackling with new possibilities!

Lin Schreiber, Retirement Revolutionary

Two of Revolutionize Retirement's clients -- and our Boot Camps -- are featured in WhatsNext.com's Career Change & Life Balance Guide. Download your free report and check out their terrific How-To Guides while you're there.

Hard to believe, but the annual Retire Retirement Boot Camp is just six weeks away. If you've been considering Boot Camp for awhile, now's the time to take the leap. In 2010, we'll be doing only one Boot Camp -- in November again. So, if not now, you'll have to wait a whole year!

For Wise Outrageous Women AND Powerfully Outrageous Wisemen, the Retire Retirement Boot Camp is the weekend of November 20th at beautiful Kripalu Yoga and Health Center in Stockbridge, MA.

It's going to be a fantastic weekend, so feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

What's Your Expertise?

by Lin Schreiber, Retirement Coach

In the last issue of Living with the Brakes Off!, I stressed the importance of establishing your core values as a tool for discovering your encore career. The next step is to determine what skills or expertise you have that align with what you define as your personal values.

In order to do this, you must look back over your experiences to find those things that you're not only good at, but you really enjoy doing. Face it. There are lots of things you're good at that you dread doing. But, what's the sense of creating an encore career that has you doing anything but what you most enjoy?

Uncovering those things that you most enjoy that you're good at is a great next step on your internal journey of discovery for your ideal encore career. Take some quiet reflection time, and ask yourself these seven must-ask questions:

1. What do/did I enjoy most about my current career? This is a terrific place to start. Write down every thing you like about your work, that puts a smile on your face. If the challenge (and enjoyment) are long gone from the work you do, think back to the beginning. What excited you about the work? What pulled you out of bed in the morning that you couldn't wait to do?

2. What do I most enjoy learning? Over the years, you've most likely invested a lot of time and energy in learning. Only include what you learned for the simple joy of it. Please leave out what you either "had to" learn for your work, or what you learned for the people you love, but didn't light you up.

3. What do other people always come to me for? This is a great one. I'll bet there are a number of things that the people in your life consistently ask you for. It might be for your ability to see the big picture, help solving a problem, or just to be heard. These are great clues as to what you're good at. Again, only write down the ones you really enjoy doing.

4. What do I discount as valuable because I do it so effortlessly? For years it never occurred to me that my energetic, enthusiastic cheerleading would be something that I could earn a living at, because it's just part of who I am, and I've been doing it since I was a little girl. But, my coaching, writing and presenting make good use of this gift, and that I get paid for it is a wonderful bonus.

5. What do I love so much that I would pay someone to let me do? Okay, so now you're sworn to secrecy. I love my work as a coach and workshop leader so much that I would gladly pay my clients to let me coach them, and my Boot Camp participants to let me inspire them. Of course, one needs to make a living, but it's a great way to feel about the work that you do. Your ideal encore career should feel like this.

6. What am I doing when I lose all track of time? They say time flies when you're having fun, and that's true for me when I'm designing a new keynote, workshop or Boot Camp. Hours pass and it feels like minutes; my creative juices are flowing and I'm having a blast. When does time fly for you?

7. What do I love to do just for the sake of doing it? I love presenting. Being up in front of people, sharing my passion, knowledge and expertise thrills me. It never gets dull, I never get bored, and it gives me the opportunity to meet interesting new people all the time. What do you love to do this much?

Once you have the answers to these questions, you'll have a valuable piece to add to your "What's My Ideal Encore Career" puzzle. Your answers should begin to reveal some of the essence of your ideal encore career picture.

Remember, in order to find your ideal encore career, it's imperative that you determine what it is you want first, then get down to the nuts and bolts of how to get it.
 

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.

My wonderful client, Joanne, sent me this after a lively coaching session that focused on trust. It's a quick read, and an instant shot of inspiration on trust and belief. Enjoy!
 

We're officially launched with two wonderful radio shows in the can. If you missed them live, you can listen here…

The WOW Guide to Successfully Navigating What’s Next with Jean Shula

From Boardroom to Bedroom: The Truth About Owning a B&B with Jan Preus

All shows air LIVE on VoiceAmerica.com's Variety Channel every Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The next week's show is posted on The Wow Zone! Radio Show Page every Wednesday morning. Coming up next:

S.O.F.T.E.N. the Superwoman Within with Pat Mathews on Tuesday, October 13

A Man is NOT a Financial Plan with Gillian Leithman on Tuesday, October 20

Join us for your weekly inspiration cocktail!

“The only source of knowledge is experience." 

~ Albert Einstein

Contact her at  www.RevolutionizeRetirement.com.

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