Adventures in Midlife

Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life!

What story are you telling others about yourself?  Is this what you want to manifest in your life?

You’ve probably heard the saying that you create your reality.  It’s true!  

Your thoughts about the events that happen in your life determine your emotions and the results you're getting. You have the power to shift your thoughts to bring more joy and happiness into your life.  

In this five-week teleclass, you will learn:

• How to observe your thoughts and become the ‘watcher.’      

• How to shift a negative thought that causes you to suffer to a better feeling thought that leads to a more positive result in your daily life. 

• How to set daily intentions and focus your ‘attention’ on your ‘intentions’ to become a more actualized person.

• Learn about current brain research to help you create a happier life no matter what your situation! 
  

My work draws on the work of Byron Katie, Eckhart Tolle, Esther and Jerry Hicks, and fellow master life coach Brooke Castillo.  

Join me to learn how to change your thoughts and radically change your life! 

Group participation includes a private online forum so you can access resources, discuss your progress, ask questions and find community with other like-minded people who want to make a powerful shift in their life.  

Nov. 17, 24, Dec. 1, 8 & 15 

5:30 pm PT / 6:30 pm MT, 7:30 pm CT / 8:30 pm ET

All calls are 75 minutes.

Class Cost: $89.00
  

 

How to Use Technology to Communicate with Gen X and Millennials

Communication has moved to sound bites: so be bright, be brief and be gone.

•    Is your son or daughter screening your calls?

•    Are you still leaving long voice messages on your son or daughter’s phone?

•    Do you feel like a virtual mom or dad?

My 25-year-old son screens my calls.  Like the rest of his generation, I’m sure he deletes all the long-winded messages I leave on his cell phone.   It’s not that he doesn’t want to hear from me (or so I hope), it just shows the difference in our communication styles.  I grew up talking on the phone; his generation doesn’t like to talk on the phone. They prefer instant and short text messages.

My son is a Generation Y (aka Millennials or Echo Boomers).  His generation is between 18 to 25 years old and grew up in the digital age with computers and cell phones. We raised them to be the most tolerant of all the generations on social issues such as immigration, homosexuality and race.

How they communicate:

• Our kids grew up in the digital age.  They use technology to connect with friends in new ways; they text message to communicate and stay in touch with friends. They make friends using technology tools and say it makes it easier to stay in touch with friends and family.

• Millennials have the reputation for being peer-focused and for seeking instant gratification.  The good news for us is that they frequently in touch with their parents and use technology at higher rates than people from other generations.

• The rise of instant communication technologies made possible through the Internet, have brought us email, texting, and IM and new media used through websites YouTube and social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter.

• Twitter is the most popular of all social media. Twitter allows users to send messages called “tweets” from a computer or mobile device.  You have 140 characters to say what you want to say and those message are delivered to others who have signed up to receive them such as family, friend and colleagues. Sign up at http://twitter.com

How Not To Communicate with the Younger Generation

1. Don't leave a phone message - most young people do not use or listen to voice messages.   Count how many calls you make to your son or daughter and ask yourself, what are the percentages of actually getting them on the phone versus the messages you leave.  If you need to reach your offspring fast, send them a text message or instead of leaving a message, hang up and see how fast they call you back.

2. Stop using email to communicate with your kids - if you are on Facebook, you’ve begun to notice that you’re receiving more and more messages through Facebook’s message system.  The younger generations are communicating through Facebook, Twitter and text messaging.  How many of your emails are being answered by your kids?

3.  Less is more: learn to communicate with fewer words - get a Twitter account at http://twitter.com.  Twitter is a social network that is based on the principal of having followers. When you post a message, it's called a "tweet." You have 140 characters maximum to say what you want to say. Your tweet goes out to all of those who are following you on Twitter. And learn the lingo: retweeting or hash tagging is not something you smoke.

A report from Forrester Research showed that 60 percent of actively consume socially created content like blogs, videos, podcasts, and forums.  And the percentage of those participating is on the rise. “Social media adoption is going up for all generations,” said said Jeremiah K. Owyang, author of the report and a senior analyst with Forrester Research. The fact that boomers are increasingly using these tools is a clear indication that it’s not just a fad, he said.   So if you want to be cool, communicate with the younger generations in ways they communicate to their peers.

Fact: your kids and your grandkids don’t use phones for talking these days, so start text messaging. “Text messaging is no longer just a young person’s activity. The fastest growing demo is 45-64,” says Jeff Hasen, CMO at HipCricket.  “


Resources:

How Not to Act Old on Twitter– More Magazine http://tiny.cc/8vhEE

How Not To Act Old: 185 Ways to Pass for Phat, Sick, Hot, Dope, Awesome, or at Lest Not Totally Lame by Pamela Redmond Satran.

Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation, William Strauss and Neil Howe

How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live, June 5,2009  issue of Time, by
Steven Johnson

Pew Internet & American Life Project -- http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP%20Twitter%20Memo%20FINAL.pdf

Steering by Starlight: Find Your Right Life, No Matter What! Teleclass

 

Do you know what you’re meant to do—and are you doing it?

Are you leading the rich, rewarding life you’ve always imagined?

This delightful and magical book by Martha Beck PhD, life coach columnist for O (Oprah Magazine), is our study guide for nine weeks of this course. You will reconnect with your true destiny by going through the process of dissolving negative thoughts and beliefs, and reconnect to your authentic hopes, dreams and desires.

• Tuesdays / June 30, July 7, 14, 21, 28, August 4, 11, 18, 25, 2009

• Nine 75-minute weekly sessions           

• 5:30 pm PT / 6:30 pm MT / 7:30 pm CT / 8:30 pm ET

In this course you will learn how to:

• Dissolve negative thoughts that block your path to your North Star.

• Learn how to access the “Stargazer” to stay on the path to your destiny.

• Learn how to assess your current situation and create a life plan for the future.

• Learn how to follow your purpose even when the path becomes challenging with social resistance and logistics.

Class fee is $99!  What a deal!

*Worried about missing a class?  All classes will be recorded, and I will send you an mp3 recording of each session in case you are out of town or have to miss a class.

Sign up here using PayPal: http://extraordinarylifedesign.com/workshops.html

If you have any questions, just email me sherold@extraordinarylifedesign.com

 

Life Lessons We Learn From Our Pets

My friends tell me they want to come back as one of my animals in their next lifetime.   They know I have a huge heart for animals and the amount of love I give and get from my pets is a big part of my life. 

Buddy the cat was only two at the time he moved in with us, and Catman was 12.  Both cats are sleek oriental short hair Siamese although Buddy was bred as an exotic, with a long, Egyptian stylized body, gray striped coat, brown feet and nose, and tall and wide airplane ears. 

Four years ago, John and I were vacationing in Spain when we received the email from my family asking us what we wanted to do with my youngest brother’s two cats.    Byron’s apartment was cordoned off with yellow police tape and off limits to everyone.   Only my niece Tara and her husband were allowed in with police escort to get the cats. Tara boarded them with a vet until we flew back from Spain to pick them up.

Not only were we devastated by Byron’s homicide case, but we now had the task of bringing his two cats into our home with our two dogs -- Dodger, a yellow lab, and Pearl, a Bichon Frise.  Byron had asked me 12 years ago if I would take his cats should anything happen to him.  I said yes.

Buddy was the wildest cat I’ve ever met.  He stalked Pearl and swatted her out of his kitchen.  We couldn’t sit down at the dining room table without having him sail onto the table and grab our food.  Once I watched as Buddy leap off the floor to grab food right out of John’s hand as he was about to put in it his mouth.  Buddy learned to drag large pizza boxes off the counter, and knock over the dog’s cookie jar to help the dogs help themselves.

John was patient with the situation but one night about three months into it, asked if it would become a marital issue if he did not want to keep the cats.   All I could answer was the truth, “I can’t answer that question right now.” 

I said in the beginning of our journey with the cats that in one year Buddy would become a wonderful member of our family.  Buddy slowly allowed us in and accepted our love. 

At the end of that first year, I said. “Give me one more year, and he will be a remarkable cat.”  At the two-year mark, Buddy had learned that getting love and attention from us was so much better then walking on our kitchen counters and jumping on our dining room table.  

Although people say you can’t train a cat, I told my friends I was the pack leader of our animals and he was in the pack.  I was on a love mission and in the end we all won.  He won over John’s heart, and he won a place in the family with all of our animals.

Our housekeepers affectionately called the cats – Jerry Lewis and Sidney Poitier.   Buddy charmed every person who came into our home. He was a character.  He would open any door in our house so nothing in our home became off  limits.  He would let Catman out anytime I put them in a room together.  Each of our vets and their technicians feel in love with Buddy.   The vet techs would cheer when I brought the cats in for check ups.

I am a life coach and my local clients come into my home for coaching.  I noticed that Buddy would come in and sit with a client who was distraught.  It was only when someone needed to be comforted or were in emotional pain that Buddy would come in and sit on their lap.  He was like a sponge and was so sensitive to feelings. 

In the four years that Buddy and Catman have lived with us, they have helped me heal from the tragedy of my brother’s murder.   Both cats learned to trust and love us and they learned that we love them deeply.

I think that there are huge numbers of people out there who also experience special relationships with their pets.  This year annual spending on pets is expected to hit $52 billion according to Packaged Facts, a consumer research company based in Rockville, Md.

Eckhart Tolle believes we are experiencing a much closer connection with our pets because we live in a fear-based society. We (humans) are afraid to show our authentic selves to others for fear of rejection.   Tolle says animals help us focus on the present moment and show us what we have lost. 

I believe the more technologically advanced our society becomes, the more alienated we are from nature, animals, each other and our souls.  I see a huge trend in people wanting a connection to the land, animals, each other and to reconnect to their soul.

Our pets give us the opportunity to open our hearts with unconditional love.  They don’t judge us, and our love is always reciprocated.

John says he learned acceptance from Buddy. I called Buddy my love bug. When I think of Buddy I will always remember how hilariously funny he was, his charisma in charming every person who ever walked into our home, his keen intelligence, his insatiable curiosity and most of all his nose kisses.  He would reach his head out to touch nose to nose with me many times each day.   I will miss those nose kisses.

Resources
Last week I read that earlier this month, Martha Beck lost her famous and beloved beagle Cookie and Christine Kane lost her beloved Atticus the cat.  Both posts are enjoyable reads on the love of a pet.

Eckhart Tolle’s new book, Guardians of Our Beings is expected to be available in October 2009.

Find Your Tribe and Connect to Live Longer

Research shows bonding with your friends helps you live a long and healthy life. 

Pearle Sise just celebrated her 101st birthday and her mind is still sharp as a tack. Her friends and family gave her three birthday parties, and hundreds of cards. 

Pearle (Nana) is my grandmother, and is a member of her church and the church’s women’s circle group, the senior center, and is a tribe leader. Recently I asked Nana what enabled her to live such a long and healthy life and she said, “I’ve made friends wherever I’ve gone, I’ve been an active member of the Senior Center, a lifelong member of my church, I sang in the church choir for 80 years until I decided it was time to retire, I always tried to do the right thing, and I have a strong faith in the Lord.” 

These traits mirror what Dan Buettner, world-renowned explorer and National Geographic writer, and his team of researchers, found in their research on Blue Zones – the hotspots around the world where people are living longer and healthier lives. In his book The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest, he describes the traits and behaviors people in these Blue Zones share: 

1. Move naturally and focus on the passions and activities you love such as walking, gardening, reading and spending time with your family. 
2. Articulate your sense of purpose, have the right outlook and make sure each day has periods of quiet time. 
3. Eat healthy foods, avoid meat and processed foods and drink a couple of glasses of wine (red wine contains resveratrol) each day. 
4. Belong to a tribe (a church, social group, book club, cooking group or any group that gathers around a belief or idea), socialize and make the effort to connect with friends, your loved ones, and stay involved in your church or spiritual practice. 

Buettner says the average American can add 14 more ‘good’ years to their life by putting these habits to work. A key to psychological well-being among people in midlife and in their elder years is meaningful connection, which can reduce the effects of stress, and promote physical and mental health as we age. 

Cornell University researchers write about the importance of connection and relationship as a key ingredient to a long, healthy and happy life in their book Social Integration in the Second Half of Life (Johns Hopkins University Press). Their book explores how meaningful and long-term social connections can serve as a cushion against stress and promote physical and mental health as people age. 

Nana has always been a role model to me because she expanded her comfort zone as she aged and never let herself become defined by her age. After the loss of her first husband of 50 plus years in 1975, she joined the Senior Center at age 70. Although she didn’t like hanging around ‘old people,’ she met 65-year-old Ed Sise there at a square dance. Within six months, they married and reinvented their lives around their passions. They took a road trip across the country, joined a bowling league, went to Bingo (Ed called Bingo) every Wednesday night, and became regulars at the Senior Center where they became six-time Putt-Putt Champions, and won trophies in miniature golf and pool tournaments. 

In the early years of their marriage, Nana formed a senior band and became their band (tribe) leader. The band performed regularly at senior centers and nursing homes. As the band’s tribe leader, Nana took on the role of Minnie Pearl and Ed became Grandpa as part of their routine. 

Last week, her church’s Ladies Circle Group threw her the first of three birthday parties. Pearle’s son picked her up from the nursing home where she has resided the last six months and drove her to the church for the party. 

Are you a tribe leader? What tribes do you belong to? 

How to find your Tribe: 

1. Nourish and nurture friendships and spend time-sharing what’s happening in your life. Even though we lead busy lives, friendships and meaningful connection are important no matter what your age. 
2. Know your passions and make it a priority to get involved in groups or activities you love whether it’s a book club, your church or spiritual group, or a hiking club. 
3. Do the things that resonate with your deepest inner values and live your truth and be your most authentic self every step of the way. 

Resources: 

1. To read more of Dan Buettner’s research on Blue Zones. 
2. Check out the Blue Zones on Oprah’s site.  
3. Read more about Tribes by Seth Godin and see how you can become a tribe leader.

Redefine Your Relationship with Money

Listen to Stacey Shanks of Yoga & Life interview Sherold Barr, master certified life coach, about How to Redefine Your Relationship with Money.  

Live Your Unlived Life

 

Twenty years ago I had two low back surgeries and was told I wouldn’t be able to backpack, ride horses, raft, play golf, downhill ski, or run again if I wanted to keep my back healthy. 

However in the last few years, I’ve decided to play with my comfort zone to discover what works for my body by finding my edge and moving it out slightly.   

How many years do you think you have left to live?  What’s your lifeline?

This is a question I often ask my midlife clients.  As a life coach, I help people wake up and live intentional lives by considering what they want to do with the rest of their lives.  It's a question that is on my mind a lot these days because I want to lead my life instead of wake up and find that another 10 years has gone by.

I’ll share my story of how I began to live my unlived life in the second half of 2008.   First of all, it would have been my unlived life if I never took a digital photography workshop in Santa Fe, or if I had not backpacked this summer with my husband and our two dogs. Both were things I have yearned to do for a long time.

It’s possible that I have another 35 years to be active.  This assumes that I won’t have any major health problems.   My mother continues to lead an active life and her mother (my Nana) turns 101 on March 20!  It’s only been in the last six months that Nana has had to move into a nursing home.

Backpacking was one of my beloved activities.  It’s something I’ve longed to do for many years.  Last spring I noticed REI had a sale on backpacks.  I asked my husband to go with me to look at the women’s lightweight backpacks.  I was like a kid in a candy store trying on backpacks and walking around the store. 

We ordered a small, lightweight pack with an inner frame.  Then we decided to take a small step toward my dream of backpacking again with an overnight camping trip.  Last August, we took our two dogs and backpacked one-half mile into a beautiful mountain lake in the Oregon Cascades.   This was a far cry from the miles and backpack trips I used to do but it was a small step (we call them turtle steps in coaching) toward my goal of backpacking again.

We had such a wonderful time making our dinner that evening and sleeping in our tent.  

My next small step is to research our second backpack trip in the Cascades where we can backpack a mile or two and stay overnight this summer.  This step is my way of moving out the edge of my comfort zone a little further and live out something I’ve longed and dreamed to do again.  While it’s not the five to seven mile hikes I used to do, it feels the same because I am so energized and happy being in nature and camping. 

How to Live Your Unlived Life

So right now, spend a few minutes and put your attention on what you want to do to fully enjoy the next year, five years or twenty years of your life. These things don’t have to cost a lot of money.

Before you stop reading this post, get a pen and paper and answer these questions:

• What do you yearn to do?
• What energizes you and what are you passionate about? 
• What dreams have you put on a shelf? 
• What do you want more of in your life?
• How much time do you think you have left in your life? 

Once you have your list of the things you want to do or have in your life, then write down the feelings you’ll get when you get to do or have each thing on your list.

Now pick one thing you want and close your eyes and feel the feelings in your body of doing the thing you yearn to do.

Bring all of your senses into this exercise and fully feel the sensations in your body.  Notice your energy 

levels as you feel the feelings and physical sensations of doing what you want to do.  This is your 

shortcut to getting the feeling now.

Note: It’s not the thing we want but the feeling this thing brings us.

If you can practice this for five minutes every day, you will accelerate the process of bringing this experience in your life faster.  

Now get out there and do the things on your list and live your unlived life!

“A vivid imagination compels the whole body to obey it.

Aristotle (384 – 322 B.C.) Greek philosopher, teacher of Alexander the Great

How to Find the Partner of Your Dreams

Good-looking divorced, white female looking for a partner in adventure and travel, likes to dine out, go to cultural events, ski, raft, backpack, hike, and camp. Looking for the same in a partner.

This was my one and only personal ad that I placed in 1991 before the age of the Internet brought us online dating sites.  Sixteen men sent me their photo and a letter responding to my ad.  I still have the letter and photo that John (now my husband) sent me.  Two nights ago I looked for it and found it in the back of my dresser drawer.   I shared it with John, and we had a hoot reading it again and taking a trip down memory lane.

Why did my ad work?  Because when I created my ad, I came from my core of peace.   I knew exactly what I wanted in a partner and my ad listed my beloved activities.  

Two months ago, I was reminded about my old habit of making lists by my former neighbor Bill, an Emergency Department RN, who had come to dinner with Cathy another ER nurse friend of ours.  Bill said he told Cathy about my lists.

“Remember the list you had on your refrigerator with an ER doctor on it?”  I was shocked and immediately thought he must have made that up.  I couldn’t believe that I had been that clear.  Then I remembered back to when I lived across the street from Bill and his former wife, and remembered how much I admired their outdoor pursuits.  I got a vicarious thrill learning about how adventurous and fearless ER nurses and doctors were and how involved they were in outdoor activities.  Then it clicked! 

Here’s what I remember having on the list on my refrigerator in 1989:

1.    An ER doctor
2.    A four-wheel drive vehicle (Jeep Cherokee)
3.    Canoe
4.    Downhill skis and rack for my car
5.    A tent
6.    A bicycle

Guess what?  My list worked because I wrote down came right into my life!  John answered the personal ad that I wrote in 1991 and was the ER doctor on the list, and he came with a four-wheel drive truck, and a tent.  Two years before I placed that ad, and after I wrote the list on my refrigerator, I saved money and purchased downhill skis and a rack for my car and bought a bicycle for me and my son Max.  around 1995, John bought me an Old Town canoe without knowing that was on my list I wanted!

The most amazing part is that I had forgotten about this list until Bill came to visit.  I had asked for an ER doctor and got one!  John is my true partner in adventure and travel, he likes to dine out but he is a great cook at home, and we ski, hike, camp and go to cultural events.  I couldn’t ask for a better partner to share my life with.

I often work with clients who want to meet their soul mate or their perfect partner.  I tell them my personal story and suggest that they write a list of qualities they want in their partner.  This process helps you put your ‘attention’ on your ‘intentions.’

How to meet the partner of your dreams:

1.    Write a list of your beloved activities.   To prepare to write your list, sit down in a comfortable             place, close your eyes and go to that quiet place where there is no mind chatter.  From this                 soulful place, think about things you love to do in your life.   What activities do you yearn to have         a partner do with you? 

2.    To get more clarity about your potential partner, write down 100 qualities of your ideal mate.

3.    Once you have your top 10 qualities of your ideal mate, write down the feelings you’ll have when         you find your ideal partner.   Don’t go into the thinking mind, but stay in the feeling place.   Think         about the feeling you will have when you get this partner in your life.

4.    Feel the feelings right now that you will have when you get your partner.  Do this for five minutes         every day and this will accelerate the process.

5.    Each morning before you get out of bed, spend a few minutes being grateful for all that you have         in your life. 

6.    A good resource about lists is Martha Beck’s article in O Magazine called The Truth About Magic             Lists.

I am truly grateful for having Bill remind me just how clear I was back in 1989.  Now get started!

Do you have a magic list story you would like to share?

2009 and the Art of Inquiry

I am a huge fan of inquiry.  Everyone who knows me knows that I ask a lot of questions.  OK, maybe I ask too many questions.  

I love questions because I am naturally curious and open to learning more about what people and life experiences can teach me. 

Oprah's Dr. Martha Beck has called me a "Quester." The definition of a quester is a seeker: someone making a search or inquiry; "they are seekers after truth."  In addition, the root word of question is "quest."  As a verb the word "inquire" means to ask questions or to search, explore or investigate.  

In my life coaching practice, I use "The Work" of Byron Katie to help client’s question their thoughts.  Katie has developed a powerful process of inquiry to help people question thoughts that cause them suffering.  Katie says that suffering is an option.  Once you learn how to question your thoughts and turn them around, you realize that most of your thoughts are not true. This work is truly life changing!

Prior to becoming a master certified life coach with Martha Beck, I studied Appreciative Inquiry (AI) with The Corporation for Positive Change.  Appreciative Inquiry is a learning process for both individuals and organizations to create an opening for new possibilities or to learn something new.   Appreciative Inquiry appreciates and values the best and most positive attributes of people and organizations and then moves that forward. 

Last week, my husband John and I had a small gathering of friends over for dinner.  After dinner we sat around the fire, and I pulled out my box of Table Topics.  Several questions we selected to ask each other included "Do you have any regrets about your life so far,” and "Which historical figure would you most like to meet.”  We had a wonderful time listening to everyone's answers and deepening the conversation that evening. 

I was so inspired by the evening that I decided to write blog posts in 2009 around topics that bring more meaning and purpose in our lives.

As 2008 comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about what I want to create in my life in 2009.  Because inquiry is a real part of my life,  I’ve decided to write blog posts around questions that cause us to think deeply about our life in order for us all to live more consciously. 

P.S. In addition to exploring inquiry with people and organizations, I love to explore to the world.  So I’ve used one of my favorite words "adventure" and attached it to this time of my life – midlife.  My goal is to inspire you to question your thoughts and perceptions about this time of your life and live your life as if it were a grand adventure.  I hope to encourage you to expand the outer edges of your comfort zone rather then to shrink them as you grow older.

I wish you peace and happiness in 2009.

Rethinking Retirement and Reinventing Your Career in Midlife

I recently read a fascinating survey conducted this summer by Age Wave in collaboration with Charles Schwab.  Age Wage surveyed four generations to explore the future of retirement, emerging new ambitions, lifestyles in later life, dreams about retirement and asked what help was needed from our institutions. 

The four generations surveyed were:  the Silent Generation (ages 63 to 83), the Baby Boomers (ages 44 to 62), Generation X (ages 32 to 43) and Generation Y (ages 21 to 31).  

Cross generationally the results were both exciting and sobering:

• Survey respondents were almost twice as likely to say retirement is an opportunity for a new, exciting chapter in life as to say it is a time to rest and relax. Some 60 percent say they would like to work in an entirely different field in retirement.

• Many today realize they may need to support family members on all sides: parents, children and even siblings. Four in 10 anticipate they will need to financially support their parents. One in four worry they will have to financially support their siblings.

• Overall, the generations are clearly divided on whether this new life stage is about “me” or “we.” Fifty-five percent say they want to focus on their own needs and interests in retirement, while 45 percent view it as a time to give back to family and community.

• With each succeeding generation, a pronounced mind shift from dependence on entitlements toward financial self-reliance is emerging. Generation Y anticipates 61percent of their retirement funds will come from their personal savings and investments – twice as much as for the Silent Generation.

• The biggest concern about retirement security is having adequate funds to pay for big healthcare bills and 76 percent of adults surveyed feel the sheer size of the baby-boom generation poses a major looming problem for the nation’s retirement system.

• When asked if they plan to work in retirement, the largest percentage of adults (71 percent) said they plan to work in some fashion in later life.  Forty percent of those said they would prefer to cycle back and forth between periods of work and leisure, which is a new style of work not currently aligned with corporate America.

•  Surveyed workers said that, after retiring from a first or primary career, they would prefer to alternate between periods of work and leisure and the  second highest percentages said they would work part time (26 percent) or never want to work again (29 percent).

*To learn more about the landmark results from the Charles Schwab Rethinking Retirement Study, please visit rethinkingretirement.schwab.com.

To learn how to reinvent your job or career and discover how to integrate work into your lifestyle, join me for an eight-week tele-course based on the life coach tools of Oprah’s Dr. Martha Beck and from ‘The Work’ of Byron Katie to discover, dream, and design your best life yet.

Re-imagine, Reinvent and Redefine the Second Half of Your Life!

8-week tele-course(January 15, 22, 29, Feb. 5, 12, 19, 26, March 5)

11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. PT / 2 to 3:15 pm ET

Early bird registration by Dec. 12 is $200; after Dec. 12 is $225.

Sign up at http://www.extraordinarylifedesign.com/workshops.html