Books Archive

The Big 100: The New World of Super-Aging

Retirement Wisdom · Nov 6, 2023 ·

By William J. Kole

People strive for meticulous precision in planing for retirement. But there’s something that makes that impossible. You really don’t know how long you’ll live.

In The Big 100, Bill Kole delves into the trends creating the longevity revolution that’s unfolding in many parts of the world. He shares valuable life lessons from a number of centenarians and useful practices from longevity experts that can increase your odds of not a only a longer lifespan, but also a longer healthspan. Their stories are interesting and inspiring and can serve as a catalyst. It’s a compelling call to action to make some changes we may be putting off. And one of those things is planning for the possibility of a triple digit life, and what that means financially and non-financially.

The book also goes beyond the individual level to explore the implications of an older population where many support systems are designed around the age of 65, which now will be woefully inadequate to support the increasing number of 30, 40 and even 50 year retirement spans. The powerful demographic trends are creating enormous consequences for health care, retirement policies and housing and elder care.

If you’re planning for retirement, you’ll want to read this book. You’ll benefit from learning more about the bigger picture trends that William J. Kole illuminates. These trends are providing the context for your retirement years, and Kole calls out specific behavioral and lifestyle changes you can make now to help you get there.

The Big 100: The New World of Super-Aging by William J. Kole is the latest addition to our Best Books on Retirement series to help you retire smarter. Tap into these recommended books to balance your planning for retirement.

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Buy The Big 100: The New World of Super-Aging

Listen to my podcast conversation with Willam J. Kole here

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Retirement Wisdom · Oct 31, 2023 ·

By Kristin Neff, PhD and Christopher Gerner, PhD

As I’m writing this, in the corporate world the season of performance reviews is getting underway. Each year, I hear from some of my executive coaching clients how common is it that people are harder on themselves than their bosses are.

But you may be wondering: what does this book have to do with retirement? Ask anyone who’s been through the transition to retirement. It’s a big change and cultivating the skill of being kinder to yourself can be very valuable. Maybe it’s time to let go of being harder on yourself.

What makes the transition to retirement challenging? In addition to the joys of retirement that you’ve dreamed about, like having the freedom to do what you want when you want to, there are a number of shocks to the system. Many of them are psychological in nature, including a loss of identity tied to your former profession. Some people experience doubts wondering if they made the right decision to retire. And for many people, there’s a loss of social connection that comes when they move away from the workplace. And often people face a loss of purpose and meaning that came from their work – that can take years to replace.

Co-author Kristin Neff, PhD is a leading researcher on self-compassion. In The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive she and Christopher Gerner share practical strategies and tips to tap into the benefits of self-compassion. Many people find it easier to be kinder to others than to themselves. Learning self-compassion can turn your inner critic into an inner ally at a time when you may feel especially vulnerable moving from the world of work to the promising, but uncertain, territory of retirement and later life.

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You can listen to my podcast conversation with Dr. Kristin Neff here.

In it, she shares her own experience in recently moving into semi-retirement.

Buy The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive

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Retirement Wisdom · Oct 27, 2023 ·

Best Books on Retirement series:

You’ll be bringing your portfolio to your retirement, but what mindset will you be bringing?

The work of Stephen R. Covey has had a tremendous impact on my life personally and professionally. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that his eldest child Cynthia Covey Haller had collaborated with him, and then completed his final book, Live Life in Crescendo: Your Most Important Work Is Always Ahead of You.

The book is about a critical choice we face in the second half of life. Will you live in Crescendo – or it’s opposite Diminuendo? I notice that many people approach retirement with a sense that their best years are behind them. The Coveys challenge that way of of thinking. This quote is a powerful to ponder as you approach retirement and later life:

“Living life in crescendo to me means that my most important work is always ahead of me, never behind me. Start living your life in crescendo–and remember your most important work is ahead of you, not behind you! There is so much more to do, to learn and contribute.”

Over the course of your life and full-time working years, you’ve accumulated valuable skills, experience and wisdom that can be redirected in retirement to have a positive impact on the lives of others. This book provides a blueprint for continued learning, service, contribution, meaning and purpose throughout your life.

Purpose is often clear during those working years and is cloudy, at best, early in retirement. The Coveys offer useful questions, exercises and examples to help you hone in on your Why and discover a new sense of purpose for the years ahead.

Notable, Cynthia Covey Haller also shares in the book painful adversities the family faced that poignantly underscore some of the major themes in Live Life in Crescendo.

Listen to my conversation with Cynthia Covey Haller here

Buy Live Life in Crescendo here

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Retirement Wisdom · Oct 24, 2023 ·

Best Books on Retirement series:

“Mind over matter.”

“It’s all in your head.”

The older I get, the more I notice how wise my grandparents were. And I now know some of the sayings they related to much younger me are now backed by research.

On a Saturday morning in September 1975, as a freshman Psychology major, I was browsing in a bookstore in Massachusetts. My attention was drawn to a book co-authored by two young academics, Carol Dweck and Ellen Langer, both who went on to become giants in the field of Psychology. It happens to be the only book I still have from those years. And I’ve followed the work of both closely since that day.

Ellen Langer notes that her new book, The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health, began as an “idea memoir.” That makes it an ideal way to learn from her extensive and provocative research over decades. The first woman tenured Psychology professor at Harvard, Ellen Langer is known as the “mother of mindfulness.” The practice of actively noticing is the foundation of this new book and it’s clear how challenging and important it can be in the times we’re living in today.

The Mindful Body makes the case for “mind-body unity” It highlights the power our thoughts and perspectives have on our health and conversely the negative impact of mindless and unexamined thoughts, beliefs and assumptions. Using her research and colorful stories from her life and others, Langer makes a compelling argument for pivoting our attention from what ails us to what can enhance our well-being. Her notable sand fascinating study, featured in her 2009 book Counterclockwise, on the impact of environmental cues on thinking and health is discussed. (If you’d like a non-academic short course on the study it was covered in this episode in The Simpsons.)

I highly recommend The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health. As you plan for retirement nothing is as important as your health and well-being. Mindfulness and appreciation of mind-body unity can be key building blocks for the life you want to create in retirement.

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Listen to my podcast conversation with Ellen Langer

Buy The Mindful Body here

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Retirement Wisdom · Oct 31, 2022 ·

by Steve Lopez

One of the most vexing questions in retirement planning is a simple one. When should I retire?

A lot hinges on the answer. But as you ponder it, related questions spring up and your mind is suddenly a popcorn machine. When can I afford to retire? When do I want to retire? Do I really want to retire? What’s for lunch? What will I do in retirement? Should I just keep working? And on it goes.

Veteran LA Times columnist Steve Lopez, who’s been a finalist for the Pulitzer four times, turned his attention to this question in his new book Independence Day:What I Learned About Retirement from Some Who’ve Done It and Some Who Never Will.

As you’d expect an experienced journalist to do, he gave himself a deadline. One year- from one Fourth of the July to the next. He chronicles his experience of wrestling with the question of his own retirement and takes you inside the twists and turns that led to his decision.

Lopez uses his experience to interview people from different walks of life to explore what their experiences with retirement. Some of his conversations highlighted the joys of the freedom and flexibility retirement offers. But his interviews also revealed the pitfalls many people grapple with after leaving the world of full-time work, including loneliness, a loss of purpose, direction and structure. And he spoke with a number of people, including Mel Brooks and Norman Lear, about the path of continuing to work and never retiring.

Independence Day is an enlightening book that illuminates the multidimensional aspects of what at first appears to be primarily a financial decision. Lopez, through his own process of reflection, and his conversations with people on all sides of the retirement spectrum, offers a valuable window into several often overlooked dimensions of retirement, such as identity, spirituality, relationships, and creativity.

The book is a valuable resource for anyone who’s considering retirement. It demonstrates the power of self-reflection, the value of taking time to think things through, and how setting a deadline can help you come to a decision. Above all, it lays out a compelling case that there is no “right answer” on when – or how – to retire. So give yourself time to reflect on what your priorities are now. And take the initiative to reach out and talk to a range of people. It will help you get smarter about the various options and the joys and challenges people are experiencing in their version of retirement. It’s a matter of discovering the path that’s best for you – and it just might turn out to be a version you’re not considering – yet.

Highly recommend.

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Listen to my conversation with Steve Lopez on The Retirement Wisdom Podcast here.

Buy Independence Day:What I Learned About Retirement from Some Who’ve Done It and Some Who Never Will

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