Tapas Life: A Rich and Rewarding Life After Your Long Career – by Andrew Robin
Retirement isn’t what it used to be. So, what’s your next move after being immersed in a decades-long demanding career? I often see people search for the next ‘big thing’ to replace the primary role that work occupied in their life. Some struggle to find it and drift longer than they expected in the years after their career comes to an end. But most of the clients I work with design a new ”portfolio” life with multiple areas of focus and they retire happy.
Andy Robin has created a clever way to describe this new way of post-career living. He likens it to the series of small meals you’ll eat Spain – a bit of this and a then bit of that. It’s an interesting way to think about retirement.
Robin stresses the importance of building a structure for your days and weeks in your post-career life. It’s one of the fundamental challenges of the transition to retirement. He offers sound advice on how to create this new structure gradually (one Tapa at a time) based on what you really want to do. It transforms the challenge of forging a new structure into an opportunity to thoughtfully craft your new existence.
Tapas Life describes various types of Tapas, ranging from ones focused on Meaning and Giving Back to Business, Health, and Flow. The author shares his experiences discovering each one and lessons learned along the way, as well as examples of the Tapas that other people are pursuing in their retirement.
The book notes the counterintuitive role of failure in this phase of life. In contrast to failing at something in your full-time working years, where there are consequences, it’s now usually something to embrace. Failing becomes reframed as a genuine learning experience that allows you to move on to your next adventure.
Robin shares useful advice on developing new social connections on re-contracting with a spouse or significant other as you embark on this transition. Tapas Life is a short book (133 pages), but it’s packed with entertaining anecdotes and practical advice on how to invent a new life in retirement.
Listen to our retirement podcast conversation with the author here.
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Other Podcast Conversations You May Like
Design Your Life and Get Unstuck – Dave Evans
The Future You – Brian David Johnson
Your Retirement Won’t Come with a Road Map – Carol Hymowitz
Why Retirement is About Much More Than Money – Ted Kaufman & Bruce Hiland
