Last Wednesday we celebrated America’s independence, that most fireworks-worthy of attributes. Right? Well yes, in the sense that we’re not beholden to a sovereign power. And yes, in that the opportunity to make something of ourselves is more possible in our country than in most places on earth. Yet there is an amorphous shadow side to personal freedom.

I don’t remember many of my dreams, but the ones I do recall are about just this. I dream that my Do List is empty, my calendar blank, and I’m floating in dark space, unanchored by responsibilities and tasks, absolutely free. Do I even exist if I am consuming without contributing? Do I matter if no one is relying on me to bring home some bacon and fry it up in a pan? I awake with a shudder from these dreams,  steam up a latte, and tear into the work of the day. I keep my plate spilling over…And then complain frequently that there’s too much on it….And then bristle whenever someone asks when I plan to retire and let it all go. The fear that fuels this perverse pattern cuts deep—and is a major reason why I became an expert in helping successful leaders navigate the emptiness of “not knowing” as they move toward their next chapter of marvelous independence (cue the William Tell Overture now).

The message of my dreams is that freedom and living death are pretty much the same thing. This is ridiculous, of course, yet I still struggle with it, which helps me better understand the challenges that major life transitions pose. And what I know for sure is that there is another path, a middle ground of structured and meaningful independence unfettered by the circumstantial constraints that have created guardrails—or prison bars?—around life so far.

Caroline Hall addressing alumni at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business

Human beings crave structure. But there’s a big difference between the structure that holds us captive in the busy-ness of life and structure that frames our next expression of purpose and pleasure. Most of us find it challenging to get over the former and get behind the latter. My commitment, then, is to help others go for it and to put my own nightmares to rest once and for all.

I’m not the only Baby Boomer kicking and screaming my way toward retirement. I know that because I ask my peers the question that makes me bristle and they frequently bristle, too. I want all of us to get better at addressing the fear behind the bristling and how we can learn together to embrace independence in life-affirming ways and discover what wants to emerge when busy-ness loses its hold over us.

Join us in charting a next chapter affirmed and lived beyond busy-ness. Check out our programs at Life Reinspired.

Caroline MacNeill Hall is Co-Founder of Life Reinspired, a reset lab for successful Baby Boomers contemplating a meaningful next chapter of life. She is President of MAC Advisors, an executive coaching and leadership development company. She’s also senior faculty for the Coaches Training Institute.

It’s never too early to dream about how to reinspire your life.

Last month, Sabrina Roblin and I gave a Life Reinspired presentation at Georgetown University Business School to a conference of MBA Career Management Professionals. Our focus, as usual, was the importance of thinking, dreaming, planning, and designing well in advance of making the leap into retirement. And our mission was to promote retirement-oriented programming for MBA alumni at least 25 years out.

Some of the conference participants were Baby Boomers and ripe for the “what’s next” conversation. Many of them were much younger—and all of them were enthusiastic about the exploration. We were reminded yet again that you don’t have to be of a certain age to find enormous value in taking stock of your life and what matters most. The conversations about values, purpose, passion, vision, Bucket List, and key relationships are as essential for those facing mid-career transitions as they are for their elders. And even fresh-minted young MBAs would do well to fold those ingredients into their career design mix.

I remember the day I graduated from college—completing the linear track through school—only to face a staggering array of possibilities and the terror that I’d make the wrong choices. I wish I had known then what I know now. Endings are challenging—even if it’s clearly time to move on. And the state of not knowing what’s next is so unsettling that many people rush into a huge commitment or renewed “busy-ness” without leaving ample time to dream, explore, and brainstorm their way to truly life-affirming choices. Part of what makes the waiting (for revelation) game more tolerable is to play it with others through conversations with peers that are as delightful as they are deep.

Imagine that an as-yet unwritten chapter of life lies dead ahead. Imagine trying to think your way through it all by yourself. Dreary. Or, imagine landing in your new life without a plan or structure around what’s next. Kind of a nightmare, eh?

Here’s another approach: imagine coming together with a group of peers who are facing the same challenges. Imagine learning from them and inspiring them in equal measure as you talk together about what matters most in this next stage of life. Imagine having this cadre of powerful thought partners continue to keep you company as you approach and begin your next chapter.

That last paragraph is actually what inspired Sabrina and me to launch the Life Reinspired process of discovery. We’re loving bringing this exploration to smart and seasoned MBA alumni—for what we get to learn as well as what we get to teach. And we believe that everyone benefits equally from the focus on what matters most in their lives. After all, there’s plenty of time left…but no time to spare.

Join us in this process of dreaming your life with Life Reinspired programs and workshops.

Caroline MacNeill Hall is Co-Founder of Life Reinspired, a reset lab for successful Baby Boomers contemplating a meaningful next chapter of life. She is President of MAC Advisors, an executive coaching and leadership development company. She’s also senior faculty for the Coaches Training Institute.

Purpose lives in our hearts and is the guiding reason for which we exist.  It gives our lives vitality and direction and is essential to our well-being, especially in the second half of life when meaning becomes more important than achievement and ambition.  Without a purpose life can feel empty and it can be hard to find a reason to get out of bed in the morning.  Our health and well being suffers as a result.  This is why purpose is one of the three foundational pieces to the Life Reinspired work we do with our clients.

Purpose is not something you think your way to with your head.  It’s a direction you find by following your heart – by taking actions that are fulfilling, meaningful and bring you joy.  For some, identifying a life purpose can feel hard and unattainable, like excavating an archaeological dig.  It can be a lot simpler than we sometimes make it, if we focus on our hearts rather than our heads.  It is threaded through our lives if we take the time to look.

Jack Canfield, an inspirational author and speaker, has some helpful tips to uncovering and connecting to your purpose.  Set aside some uninterrupted time for reflection and journaling with the following:

1. Explore the things you love to do and what comes easily to you.
2. Ask yourself what qualities you enjoy expressing the most in the world.
3. Follow your inner guidance (what is your heart telling you?)
4. Ask yourself the question, “My life is ideal when…..”
5. Explore the times you have experienced the greatest joy in your life, then look for the pattern among all these things.

Your purpose can be expressed in simple terms like, lighting the way, inspiring joy, inspiring transformation, or creating connection.  Once you have some insights about your purpose from the exercise above, take action on what you’ve discovered.  Then follow the joy and meaning you find.  For example, if you’re happiest when you are entertaining friends, plan a party.  If you love to invent, get busy in your workshop.  If you try something that doesn’t light up your heart, let it go and try something else that does.  If what you do gives you energy, joy and fulfillment you are on purpose.  If what you do is draining you, you are off purpose.  Let your heart be your guide, and create the purposeful life you were meant to live.

Get support in this process with Life Reinspired programs and workshops.

Sabrina Roblin is Co-Founder of Life Reinspired, a reset lab for successful Baby Boomers contemplating a meaningful next chapter in life. Sabrina is an experienced executive, mentor, trainer, and coach. She has worked for organizations that include Wells Fargo Bank, Broderbund Software, and The Coaches Training Institute.

Life Reinspired works with the Center for Career Management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business to offer alumni 25+ years out an opportunity to come together and dream out loud about what constitutes a fulfilling next frontier of life.

“Who am I if I’m not doing something MBA-ish?” is a question that frequently comes up among people who have enjoyed long, distinguished careers. At heart, this is really two questions:

1. “What will I do with myself after my career ends?” After decades of highly structured time, retiring can feel like tumbling into a void. Conversely, so many possibilities can present themselves that you can be paralyzed by indecision. (There’s even a diagnostic name for this in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM-5], a book I used to tote around in grad school diagnosing all my family and friends, which they did not enjoy…but I digress).
2. “Will I still matter?” How will retired executives define themselves after so many years being identified by their big jobs, responsibilities, achievements, and respect from employees, colleagues, shareholders and the community?

Addressing these questions by creating a satisfying new structure and finding a way to shift from external to internal perceptions of identity is a good start for the next chapter. Fulfillment, though, also hinges on the “3 Ps”:

1) Purpose—finding something meaningful to do

2) People—finding your web of family, friends, and other relationships that give you opportunities to love and serve.

3) Pleasure—finding something to look forward to—and then something else. (Hello, Bucket List!)

Creating a plan for all of this doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s very helpful to find thought partners who are in the same boat to talk, dream, brainstorm, and create new visions together. That’s the beauty of the Life Reinspired programs, which convene successful Baby Boomers to have important conversations about what matters most in the next chapter.

Universities routinely offer alumni experiences—lectures, trips, and so on. It just makes sense that offering life-changing programs around retirement planning are the next frontier of Alumni Service organizations. This makes for great reunion conversations, too.

Check out how Life Reinspired can help you transition to the next chapter of your life!

Caroline MacNeill Hall is Co-Founder of Life Reinspired, a reset lab for successful Baby Boomers contemplating a meaningful next chapter of life. She is President of MAC Advisors, an executive coaching and leadership development company. She’s also senior faculty for the Coaches Training Institute.

I live in one of the most beautiful parts of the country and as I was driving down the road the other day, I realized I was rushing from one thing to the next, not seeing the incredible beauty of the mountains around me.  I expanded my vision beyond the black top in front of the car and drank in the white snow capped mountains, the blue sky, and the magical light reflecting off the snow.  I drew a deep breath and immediately felt my heart open to the beauty and the feeling of gratitude.  I felt so much better.  Now that I’m in the second half of life, I feel that every day is a bonus that deserves to be cherished, and yet I still at times forget.  I had a surprising reminder recently.  I received news about a girlfriend in her mid-sixties who I hadn’t talked to in a while.  She was perfectly healthy and engaged in a life she enjoyed.  She had dinner with a friend, went home to bed and passed away in her sleep. She was found the next day and her death was a shock to all who knew her both because of the loss and the realization that it could have been me.

Death is a topic we avoid in our culture and in the second half of life, it’s certainly closer than it used to be.  Why am I bringing up the topic of death?  None of us like to be reminded of it.  But if we acknowledge it, it sharpens our focus, brings us present, calls us to cherish life, and inspires us to act on a dream rather than wait in our comfort zone.  It reminds us to tell our loved ones how we feel about them, to resolve conflicts and extend forgiveness.

So wake up each day and savor it through the joy of the senses – the vision of a beautiful landscape, the sound of birdsong, the smile and touch of a loved one, the laughter of children, the taste of a good meal, the smell of a rose, the physicality of exercise.  Don’t wait to create a life you love.  It’s never too late to start and time is precious.

Everything starts with a dream.  May you dream up a next chapter in your life that is meaningful, fulfilling and fun. Find out about our programs to support you in living your dream!

Sabrina Roblin is Co-Founder of Life Reinspired, a reset lab for successful Baby Boomers contemplating a meaningful next chapter in life. Sabrina is an experienced executive, mentor, trainer, and coach. She has worked for organizations that include Wells Fargo Bank, Broderbund Software, and The Coaches Training Institute.

As I was looking for a topic for today’s blog, on the board above my desk I saw the motto we adopted during our first Life Reinspired program development meeting – Dream Big! I’ve kept it on my board for continued inspiration.  It made me smile and I realized it was my topic for today.

We hear more about the importance of having a vision than we do about dreaming, as the word and concept of vision is more accepted in the corporate mainstream.  Dreamers have more of a bad rap in our culture for being unrealistic, having their head in the clouds, etc.   If you’re more comfortable with the concept of visioning, swap out the word dream for vision as you read on.

Einstein, who we can all agree was a genius, said:

“Imagination is everything.  It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.  Imagination is more important than knowledge.  Never give up on what you really want to do.  The person with the big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts.”

We’ve seen this proven time and again.  For example, many thought building the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco was impossible due to its design and the rushing currents that sweep in and out through the gate of the San Francisco Bay.  But the lead architects held to their big dream.  It was built and continues to stand as an icon throughout the modern world.  Also, we just had the Winter Olympics and watched athletes live out dreams they’ve had since they were very young.

Photo by Rodrigo Soares on Unsplash

We need our big dreams more than ever when we’re transitioning to a new chapter in our lives.  If your internal dreamer has gotten rusty from lack of use, play and time for reflection are the best ways to reawaken it.  Play with children, be creative in any way that is meaningful to you.  Lie in the grass, watch the clouds float by and pay attention to what comes up for you.  Write in a journal.  Allow yourself to dream big about what could be next in your life without thinking about the ‘how’ of creating it.  Have fun with it.  As your big dream starts to take shape, be as specific as you can about what it looks like, how it feels, what a day in your life would be like.  Then keep it in front of you as you start to take steps to make it real.

Everything starts with a dream.  May you dream up a next chapter in your life that is meaningful, fulfilling and fun. Find out about our programs to support you in living your dream!

Sabrina Roblin is Co-Founder of Life Reinspired, a reset lab for successful Baby Boomers contemplating a meaningful next chapter in life. Sabrina is an experienced executive, mentor, trainer, and coach. She has worked for organizations that include Wells Fargo Bank, Broderbund Software, and The Coaches Training Institute.

By Sabrina Roblin

When the leaves fall from the deciduous trees in Autumn, the tiny buds of the new leaves already exist on the tree branches, just waiting to break open in the Spring.  We are like the trees.  As we leave a long held career and all that it represents, we can feel as vulnerable and exposed as a tree without it’s leaves in Winter, and yet inside us are the buds of our next chapter, just waiting to open up.  The time in between the last chapter ending and  the next chapter beginning, can feel at times like a cold, bare Winter.  We can feel loss, grief, anxiety, and vulnerability.  It’s a natural part of the transition process, and the more we can stay present to and trust the process with all its feelings, the more fertile we will make the ground for what’s to come.

This can take courage, support, and good self-care.  You are going on a journey from your old life to a new one, and just like you pack well for traveling, it’s important that you gather your resources and companions for this journey as well.  What are the self-care practices that work best for you?  Who are your most trusted life companions and confidants?  Who in your life will champion you and your dreams? What do you reach for when you are in fear or doubt to help you get back on track? What are the personal skills, qualities and experiences you have to draw on?  These are important questions to answer as you prepare for and begin your journey into the next chapter of your life.

Another key piece to keep with you is a vision of who you want to become in your next chapter.   It has been well-researched, that where you put your focus and what you visualize is what you create in your life, so it’s important to focus on what you want rather than worry about what you don’t want. You may already have this vision of what you want your life to look like and it may take you some time to get clear on what it is.  Take that time.  The more specific you make your vision and the more present you keep it in your heart and mind, the more clear your steps will be to creating it.

Enjoy and stay present to the process. It can be a very rich time of personal growth and new beginnings.  Trust yourself. You have come this far, been successful, gained a lot of experience and wisdom, and navigated other life transitions.  You are prepared for what’s next and have everything you need to make it happen.

Find out about the programs Life Reinspired offers to support you in that jump to your next chapter of life.

Sabrina Roblin is Co-Founder of Life Reinspired, a reset lab for successful Baby Boomers contemplating a meaningful next chapter in life. Sabrina is an experienced executive, mentor, trainer, and coach. She has worked for organizations that include Wells Fargo Bank, Broderbund Software, and The Coaches Training Institute.

As infants we expected—and usually received–immediate gratification. Hungry? We wailed and got fed. Since then, though, we’ve had to learn the self-control and strategies necessary for delayed gratification, because we can’t melt down and howl whenever we want something. Because it is painful and frustrating to sit with a want that is not satisfied, self-control usually involves moving the “want” out of our consciousness, often by distracting ourselves with less nourishing pleasures (hello Hagen Daaz!). And before long, we get so busy with the distractions that the pilot light goes out under the back-burnered desired and we forget what it is we wanted in the first place.

And decades pass.

Hunger—for food or for fulfillment–is painful but essential. If we didn’t notice we were hungry for food, we’d wither away to nothing. And if we don’t allow ourselves to hunger for what’s truly fulfilling, the same thing happens to the soul. Allowing ourselves to “awaken the wanter” and sit with it, however uncomfortable it may feel, helps us navigate a path toward what matters most in our lives.

This is incredibly important for successful Baby Boomers whose lives have been characterized by decades of productive busy-ness. What with the big jobs and demanding children, who has had time to dream new dreams? Anyway, most dreams aren’t “realistic,” so why set yourself up for disappointment? That’s how the thinking goes…but now it’s time for that thinking to stop.

Consider, you are successful and accomplished. You have dispatched most of your responsibilities for taking care of others and building empires. As you move toward what used to be known as “retirement,” you’ll have more time on your hands and adequate resources to underwrite new learning opportunities, adventures, and ways to make a difference. Many of your limiting contingencies have diminished or disappeared and you still have most of your health and marbles. If now isn’t the time to dream big, when is?

So slow down, breathe, and crank up the volume on your atrophied internal “wanter.” Let it rip and let it sting. Allow yourself to yearn. And keep “HOW” out of the equation for now. When you want something badly enough, you’ll find a way.

And given that your wanter may be a little rusty from disuse, it’s a big help to have yearning conversations with family, friends, and other allies. Inspire and reinspire one another with dreams that may not have been possible before, but they are now. These conversations are part of the mix in every Life Reinspired program. We humans are relationship-based beings; we’re not meant to yearn alone.

Join LifeReinspired to reconnect with your dreams and get the support to make them real in your next chapter of life!

Caroline MacNeill Hall is Co-Founder of Life Reinspired, a reset lab for successful Baby Boomers contemplating a meaningful next chapter of life. She is President of MAC Advisors, an executive coaching and leadership development company. She’s also senior faculty for the Coaches Training Institute.

Our dreams can get buried under years of responsibility and the many twists and turns that our lives often take. One of the advantages of moving into the second half of life is the time and resources that become available for creative pursuits, and the opportunity to manifest long held dreams. It’s the process of making these real that we refer to as living a Life Reinspired. I’ve been fortunate enough in the last few weeks to make one of those long held dreams real and I want to share the story in the hope that I will inspire you and show you what is possible in the next chapter of your life.

I started downhill skiing when I was about 6 years old and by the time I got to high school I was racing.  I loved going to the mountains every weekend in the Winter to free ski and race as it was a wonderful combination of personal challenge, social interaction, natural beauty, and physical exertion.  All things I valued.  As my high school years came to a close, I dreamed of living in the mountains and being a ski instructor, but the dream took a back seat to the demands of going to college, then building a career, then getting married and raising a child.  As time went by, the dream faded and I actually forgot about it.

Fast forward about 35 years…..circumstances inspired my move to Sun Valley, Idaho, one of the top ski areas in North America, and I started skiing again.  As I was skiing with a friend last Winter he asked me, “Have you ever considered being a ski instructor?” At the time I actually answered no, not really, but the question didn’t leave me.  It started working through my memory banks and about 6 weeks later, that long forgotten dream resurfaced.  I then called the Sun Valley Snow Sports school to ask about the timing and process to apply and got things in motion.  I attended a hiring clinic and about a week ago, I was hired as a part-time ski instructor.  Now that the dream is manifesting and I’m going through the training process I can see why it was a long held dream.  It blends my love of coaching, mentoring, the outdoors,  skiing, making a difference in a person’s life and being part of a team.  All my career experience to date as well as my gifts and talents are all applicable to ski instructing.  I’m loving it!

It has been 2 1/2 years since I retired from my long-held career and began the process of reinspiring my life.  So it has taken time, effort and intention to reflect, rediscover my core values, reconnect with my dreams, try different things, and find my way.  Through this process I have developed three main ways I am using my skills, experience, gifts and talents in meaningful and fulfilling ways – music (singing, songwriting, and playing with other musicians); a private practice of coaching, mentoring and training professionally; and now ski instructing.

So what does this mean for you?  That it is possible for you to create a life you love after you leave that long-held career and make your next chapter the best chapter yet.  Your reinspired life won’t look exactly like mine, but it will be meaningful and fulfilling.  What long held dreams do you have?  What are new ways you can apply your skills, experience, gifts and talents that are fulfilling and meaningful?  What’s one action you can take today to make it real?  It’s never too late to start the process.  Wherever you are is the right time to begin!

Join LifeReinspired to reconnect with your dreams and get the support to make them real, in your next chapter.

Sabrina Roblin is Co-Founder of Life Reinspired, a reset lab for successful Baby Boomers contemplating a meaningful next chapter in life. Sabrina is an experienced executive, mentor, trainer, and coach. She has worked for organizations that include Wells Fargo Bank, Broderbund Software, and The Coaches Training Institute.

Once we’ve attained mastery in our work–usually in our 40s or so–we can either settle for doing what we’re already good at or choose to take some risks, try something different. In her recent article on the eight keys to happiness, Barb Bradley Hagerty interviewed Howard Stevenson, a professor emeritus at Harvard Business School, who posited that the greatest source of unhappiness in work is risk aversion—which leads to stagnation, resentment, and regret.

Our continuing evolution as human beings hinges on our ability to lean into fear—or at least unfamiliarity—rather than into boredom. The key here is awareness. When does your life feel same old/same old—in a rut? And when does something feel challenging but worthwhile? Says Stevenson: “You need to ask yourself regularly ‘How will I use these glorious days left to me for the best purpose?’”

As Baby Boomers leave the world of work as we’ve known it, the next expression of our purpose likely will call for a redeployment of our skills or the acquisition of some new ones. What difference does it make if we’re no longer in the comfort zone of total mastery? A big difference, actually—and one for the better. Who cares if we’re not good at the new thing; being a beginner at something and then getting better at it—in service of something we care about a lot–is one of the best things we can do for our spirits, our brains, and our world.

In other words, fear is infinitely more interesting and engaging than boredom. Going forward, look for opportunities to scare yourself, thereby blasting out of familiar comfort zones. This process will light you up—and possibly set you on fire!

We’ll be exploring the value of scaring yourself, the joy of beginners’ mind, and so much more in Life Reinspired, a life reset lab for successful Baby Boomers contemplating a meaningful next chapter.

Find out more about our programs and upcoming retreats.

Contact Us for more information.