Grand Vision

Half Dome and Merced River, Yosemite National Park - 2008

How Making a Photographic Masterpiece Relates to the Creation of Your Future Lifestyle 

Grand art born of great, visionary artists often arises from a spontaneous idea, an image in the mind’s eye.  The evolution of an idea that culminates in a tangible work of art, whether a painting or a photograph of a spectacular landscape, requires a blending of grand vision and the execution of exceptional technique.

Similarly, in order to create a masterpiece that will be your new lifestyle, you must imagine a clear vision of your future before you begin to create it. The path to doing so is to prepare yourself by creating and executing a realistic Post Career Lifestyle Plan that will guide you to making your new life an exuberant reality.

I am, by nature a serious person, yet strive to not take myself too seriously.  Certainly, there are some things in life like faith, family, country, etc. that require serious respect a...

Equanimity Reflects Tranquility

Gulf of Mexico, Florida - 2008

To Experience Tranquility and Equanimity As a Way of Life...is to Live

Summary:

When it comes to time, our choices and perceptions, there are three things that differentiates us as individuals:

• How we choose to use the precious time of our lives.
• How those choices affect our value of how we choose to use our time.
• How we perceive the speed at which time passes.

You have the ability to change that perception for your personal benefit.

It is reasonable to conclude that if your perceptions are uniquely yours, then you can change that perception. 

Consider that as you can change your unique perception, you can improve the quality of your life.

It is of great value for you to exercise a personal discipline of deliberately practicing your sense of equanimity and tranquility. It is even more valuable when such deliberate practice is directed toward a particular purpose. Fundamentally, that purpose is to live peacefu...

The Moment - In Rhythm With River and Rainbow Trout

Madison River, Montana - 2007 

Summary:

• It is commonly familiar that it is in those quiet moments when our mind is free to wander, that we are the most creative. This simple discipline can be beneficial as you plan your End of Career. 
• It is then that you will have a window of opportunity prior to embarking on the next great phase of your life. This is the time for you to create plenty of time and space to comfortably design your roadmap. The map that will take you in the direction that you want your life to go…with confidence.
• When the time comes, you will initially find that the time you have at your disposal is seemingly unlimited compared to your previous lifestyle. That can be a fallacy. Like other vacuums, there's a natural tendency for it to be filled. 
• Will you create the a la cart menu of your life? Or will life present you with items that are not so palatable to you?
• To help answer that for yourself, it is useful en
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Flowing Naturally

Madison River, Montana - 2004

Summary: 

• This is the familiar story of Alex, a fictional character like many accomplished individuals from all walks of life. Alex is at that time of his (or her) career when he can see his end of career on the horizon.
• He has had a successful career. The discipline of creating visions, actionable plans executing them is familiar to him. He has done it repeatedly during his career. But a powerful insight in a moment of clarity revealed to him the source of his angst. It is that he is about to enter an unknown phase of his life…that this is all new and he is not prepared. So how do you go about creating your Post Career Lifestyle Plan _TM?
• First, it will serve you well too pause and reflect. Clearly describe your character and your life’s purpose. State the endeavors, activities that fulfilled your purpose. Think about the things that are fun and you enjoy doing. Then consider that a fulfilling lifestyle is characterized by pro
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South Fork, Madison River, Montana - 2004

The Reciprocity of Service and Satisfaction

Summary:

• Our expressions of heartfelt gratitude creates joy for those who have given of themselves for our benefit. It also provides satisfaction to ourselves.
• As we plan our End of Career Transition _TM , there is yet another great opportunity to experience personal fulfillment from actively expressing gratitude in the service of others.
• It is common for individuals to seek an answer to the question: "What am I going to do after I “retire.” 
• A common approach is to think primarily about those long deferred activities that fulfill their desire to have fun. But by focusing narrowly on them the result is often feeling a lack of fulfillment. There is a reason for it
• There is often insufficient attention given to fulfilling their purpose in life. This is a need, a necessity that is deeply ingrained within us. 
• Your career has ended, but it does that mean that your purpose in life has ended as w
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Proud Peony, Nevada - 2020

Honor Mom…from me to mine, from you to yours.

Summary:

• I am confident that each of us has reasons to be grateful. Beyond life itself, there is our world of people that each of us can think of that warm our hearts and cause us to smile.
• Sometimes, we want to thank them personally, in the manner that we were taught when we were growing up. To express our heartfelt gratitude. To do so brings joy to those who have given of themselves for our benefit, as well as satisfaction to ourselves.
• Our expressions of heartfelt gratitude graces those who have given of themselves that we may live a fuller life. It is in saying thank you, without reservation, that we help reaffirm their belief in us.
• To gracefully express genuine gratitude it's one of the core gestures of a wholesome life.
• We benefit others and ourselves by reorienting ourselves from passive awareness to affirmative, grateful expression.
• Be confident that as you express yourself, and experience the
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Stubborn Stability Amidst Roaring Change - Merced River

Yosemite National Park, 2004

Your Transition Is a Stimulus for Personal Development and Fulfillment

Summary:

There are two words that are sometimes used interchangeably when discussing the End of Career as though they have the same meaning: change and transition. However, these two words have different meanings and what they describe have distinctly different purposes.

Lessons Learned in My Journey

My personal experience with change and transition illustrates this point. Years ago, I was diagnosed with colon cancer and then developed other medical problems. Together they created a change that ended my Plastic Surgery career and triggered my End of Career Transition. Thankfully, years later I am cured, renewed and fulfilled in my new career. 

My Transition did not occur spontaneously. It was the result of sustained, focused and deliberate effort over a period of time.  That effort was directed at a particular envisioned outc...

Tranquil Vista - Idaho, 2004

The Personal Impact of Perceiving Your End of Career as “Retirement" or Transition

Summary:

There are many individuals for whom their end of career is an event they look forward to. For many, however, that is not the case. 

My Experience

I have witnessed both attitudes, as well as a blend of both, in the course of consulting and coaching other professionals.

I have learned from them, as well as my own successful Transition.

The Human Experience

The End of Career Transition, that many refer to as “retirement,” is a process that can be shrouded in anxiety as it looms ahead. Here are significant reasons why:

• Highly accomplished individuals from virtually all walks of life have a strong tendency to describe themselves by their vocation or profession. 
• Individuals often do not clearly distinguish the difference between their internal identity and professional, public persona. 
• Extreme focus on career to the detriment of personal development over a l
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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 of it and I resolved to beg...