Sedona Sentinels - Arizona, 2010

 The Relationship Between Feeling Relevant and Your Purpose in Life.

The personal feeling of relevance is closely intertwined with the actualization of your potential and more specifically, the fulfillment of your purpose in life.

Perhaps, it is most commonly thought of as a sense of pride in oneself, in part as a result of a lifetime of accomplishments, both personal and professional. This is particularly the case when such accomplishments were attained in the service of others.

The need to feel relevant is an integral element of the human experience. It is a desire that knows no boundaries: age, sex, race, language, geography, occupation or vocation.

It is widely experienced and yet it is ultimately quite personal.

The Companions on My Journey: Purpose and Relevance

My career as a Plastic Surgeon unexpectedly came to an end due to colon cancer and other medical problems. Happily, some years later, I am now cured, healthy and well.

At that time...

Exuberant Transition - Nevada, 2017

Create Certain, Sequential Steps on Your Path

The end of your career.  For you it may be near at hand; for others it may be beyond their visible horizon. For virtually all of us, it is something that we think about.

Early in our careers, we tend to think about it in vague terms that become more specific as the years go by.

Later, when our horizon becomes more clear, two things happen:

• Our dreams about how we will live our lives become uplifted by increasing excitement.
• Then, as time wears on, more and more questions surface. They are typically represented by “W" questions: when and how, among others.

As the dreams become more clear and questions about how to achieve them increase, we realize that there is really a lot to this “retirement” thing.  

It becomes very evident that planning in a timely manner is essential to create reality from our dreams.

My story…

When my time was approaching, I became very aware...

Enlightened Visions - Florida; 2010

How to Take Solid Steps Along Your Path

The end of our careers is one of the most significant events of our lifetime that marks the beginning of the next phase of our lives.

Whether you are looking forward to it or not, the process of creating plans and executing them is marked with challenges and preoccupations.

It’s all worth it, as you envision and create realities that are the core of the new phase of your life.

Challenges and Opportunities

My personal experience, as well as guiding others as a consultant/coach, has reaffirmed certain challenges that must be recognized and managed effectively in a logical, sequential manner. This goes a long way to banish the stress of the unknown and help make the process a more positive experience.

So, what are these challenges and related questions?

First Things Should Not Always Be First

The first thing that most individuals naturally think about is their projected end date.

Then, there follows the...

Sunset or Sunrise? - Florida Splendor, 2008

© Enrique Fernandez, M. D.

How the Unnatural Origin of Words Render Them Meaningless

The purpose of language is to communicate ideas effectively. The use of words best serves that goal when their meaning accurately describes reality. Throughout millennia, mankind has strived to deal with the successes and failures of communication.

One example of the inexact use of words is the term “retirement.”

My Encounter With “Retirement”

For many years I used that term as commonly used in the United States. That is, until the time came that I faced the unexpected end of my career as a Plastic Surgeon.

The diagnosis of cancer, its treatment and aftermath had a way of broadening my perspective about life. This was a vivid example. The good news, is that am cured, healthy and well!

Questions as Teachers

Questions and answers have a way of broadening one’s perspective. Questions like Why and What?

You ask yourself...

Transition Details - Sierra Nevada, 2017

There May Be Obstacles That Are Not Financial

There are several, major matters that are important to consider as you think about and plan your  End of Career Transition _{TM  .}

One is whether or not you are financially prepared.

There can be many reasons for not being financially prepared. Sometimes, it is for reasons beyond your control. This is a clear barrier to supporting the lifestyle you dream of. 

Two common, practical solutions are adjusting your financial, lifestyle plans, or perhaps both.

When it becomes evident that you are not financially ready, your attention can be very focused on solving that particular problem.

Whether finances may or may not be a concern for you, there are other matters that are important to think about and work through.

In the course of consulting and coaching professionals, I find that the impediment to taking action to plan and end their career is often not due to a lack of financial...

Towering Cornerstone

Mt. Moran, Grand Teton N. P. , 2010

The Role of Leader: the Beginning and the End

It is natural and therefore common to ascribe exceptional leadership skills to a visionary leader who has visibly manifested those attributes in the course of actively leading. Usually, the role of leader has occurred over a prolonged period of time and those qualities have been witnessed repeatedly.

 Usually, such a leader has had a significant positive impact on the organization and its members.

 In particular, he probably  has had a respectable influence on the development of younger, emerging leaders.

 To Do or Not To Do

I believe that in matters of leadership, as in so many areas of life, what we determine we should not do can be as important and sometimes more impactful, than what we choose to do.

The key to achieving a constructive outcome, is the rationale and the implementation of such decisions.

That rationale, in turn, most nobly originates when it is...

Expressions of Evolving Water

Midway Geyser Basin & Firehole River, Yellowstone N. P., 2004

Change and Its Challenges Are a Perpetual Constant of Life.

When the topic of human resilience comes up in writing or conversation, it is natural to think about strength, toughness, adaptability, flexibility, etc. These attributes are commonly associated with the character of an individual and their characteristic responses to significant challenges. Perhaps throughout their lifetime.

I find that major trials, trauma and perhaps tragedies certainly elicit human resilience born of urgency and at times, the need to survive.

Resilience and Endurance

I believe there is a subtle human quality that is the companion to resilience. The kind that is not necessarily evident in a person’s response to occasional crises. That attribute is endurance.

While resilience is a manifestation of flexibility, the ability to “bounce back,” endurance is the will to persist toward a goal. In a...

Orca Whales Cruising in Tandem, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska; 2012.

Their Realization Throughout Your Life: Key Elements  to Achieve Personal Fulfillment

It is the case that at times in life, it may be necessary to forgo satisfying a desire to enable the commitment of time, effort and perhaps financial resources to accomplish an essential need.

 This is a hallmark primarily of those earlier years when life’s responsibilities required such choices. Those choices often meant that wants or desires that were considered non-essential were put off. Perhaps they were never fulfilled and hopefully, simply deferred and remembered in the well of your memory.

I know that fulfilling those myriad responsibilities cheerfully, whether at home, work or community, springs forth from the nature of your character. Indeed, your cumulative experience and satisfaction derived from meeting your responsibilities further strengthens and develops  your character. So much so, that...

The Natural Path of Your Nature - Sierra Nevada, NV

One fine morning with coffee in hand, you still savor that last sip of your custom brew.  You feel peaceful. Then a fleeting thought stirs up an awareness that you are thinking more and more about your future end of career and your new life. You smile and feel warmer inside…and then you feel a twinge of angst.

These are mixed emotions: joy and apprehension. They swirl around your mind stirred up much like the sweetener you blended into your coffee.

You wonder whether this is a common experience, how successful people deal with it and perhaps when you should begin to resolve this emerging dilemma.

You sense that you must do something.

A Fictional Character that Reflects a Real Person

The following is the gist of the common story of Alex, a fictional character like other accomplished individuals from all walks of life that I am familiar with.

Alex is at that time of his (or her) career when he sees his end of career...

Wisps of Vagueness, Light of Truth That Shines on Thee - Sierra Nevada Range, NV

To Question Diligently is the Foundation of Discovery

A critical necessity for the survival of man is knowledge of the truth and how to make use of it. This was true throughout the march of history: pre-historic times, the Agricultural, Industrial and Information Revolutions.

One such observable truth is the Summer Solstice. We have celebrated it since ancient times as we do today!

For pre-historic man there were relatively few, but critical facts that he needed to know with certainty in order to survive. Among them were when, where and how to find shelter, water and food. The source of that knowledge, those truths, were largely based on his own ability to question. He had to seek his own answers, learn and apply them that he may survive.

It was up to him to seek the facts; to be disciplined in the deliberate and purposeful search of the truth. His experience of repeatedly achieving the results he...