A Cop Leaves The Force for Corporate America

Posted by Andy Levine on with 1 Comment

For today’s episode, I traveled to Frisco, Texas and met with Steve Paz. Since he was a boy, Steve always wanted to be a police officer and he got his chance initially as a military police officer in the Marines. He then spent twelve years with the Dallas Police Department, one of the finest police forces in the country. He was on the front lines of crack cocaine epidemic of the 1990s and encountered a number of dangerous situations which he describes in the podcast.   

In 2004, a family friend offered him an excellent corporate position – a role that he admits he was completely unqualified for at the time. He took the job which paid more money, dramatically cut his commute and offered his wife and family tremendous piece of mind.

But he also felt a loss of purpose in no longer serving among America’s finest. We talk with Steve (as well as his wife Judy) about his decision.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPTDownload

Special thanks to my friend Dean Barber for suggesting this episode.

Lizzie Leaves Tech And Starts “The Humble Retreat”

Posted by Andy Levine on with 1 Comment

This episode takes us to the United Kingdom for an interview with Lizzie Fouracre, a 33-year-old Brit with a sparking personality. Lizzie was living the dream helping to manage a fast-growing technology company in London started by her brother Tim.

And while the pace of a technology start-up was exhilarating, over time she found herself wanting more from life. So she quit, packed up a tent and sleeping bag and decided take a six-week hike around Great Britain. And in a eureka moment at the top of a mountain in Wales, she decided to create a new venture called The Humble Retreat.

She brought on a partner — her mother Mandy Fouracre — to help manage this (the two are pictured above). Eighteen months later, this mother-daughter team couldn’t be happier working together.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPTDownload

Click here to learn more about The Humble Retreat.

Special thanks to Miriam Christie of Careershifters for connecting me with Lizzie.  

Can One Woman Fix Foster Care? Meet Judy Cockerton

Posted by Andy Levine on with 0 Comment

“A force of nature.” That’s how one person described Judy Cockerton.  

Judy’s life changed dramatically when she became a foster parent at the age of 48. She and her husband Arthur took on the responsibility of raising two sisters aged five months and seventeen months – along with their own two kids who were 12 and 18 at the time. And for the first time she saw how flawed the child welfare system was in her home state of Massachusetts — and in America.

She developed a really simple idea to improve the system. Let’s bring together adoptive families and their children with a group of caring elders. And let’s have them live together in the same neighborhood.

So she created an organization called The Treehouse Foundation. She worked closely with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. She found a developer and helped secure $15 million in government funding. And she focused on building a model community that supports adoptive families.

I traveled to Easthampton, Massachusetts and spent a day with Judy Cockerton and the Treehouse Community of 100+ people there. It’s an amazing story.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Download

Click here to learn more about the Treehouse Foundation.

An Injury Ended His NFL Career: So He Became An Opera Singer

Posted by Andy Levine on with 0 Comment

Ta’u Pupu’a came to the United States from Kingdom of Tonga at the age of five. He grew up in a home of modest means in Salt Lake City, Utah and started playing football at the age of ten.

Legendary football coach Bill Belichick discovered him while he was playing for Weber State University and he joined the Cleveland Browns as a defensive lineman. But in his second season, a nasty injury ended his NFL career.

Despite almost no formal musical training, he decided to follow a new dream to become a professional opera singer. After struggling in New York City for five years, Ta’u met opera superstar Kiri Te Kanawa at a book signing at the gift shop of The Metropolitan Opera. And she helped him earn a scholarship to The Julliard School, America’s most prestigious music conservatory.

In the spirit of the opera world, we’re telling Ta’u’s story in four short acts.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPTDownload

To learn more about Ta’u Pupu’a and listen to some of his recordings, here’s a link to his website.

Tennis Anyone? Leaving Boeing To Become A High School Coach

Posted by Andy Levine on with 0 Comment


Joe Tedino had a long career as a journalist and public relations executive. But tennis was always his passion. So when he finally opted to retire from a senior position with Boeing, he decided to invest the time to get certified as a tennis professional. And that helped him land a position as Assistant Coach at St. Ignatius College Prep, a Jesuit high school in the heart of Chicago.

He’s been working with the boys and girls teams there for the past year and he couldn’t be happier with the change.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

And here’s a link to an article which Joe penned for Kiplinger Magazine about his move from the “Corporate World to Coaching.”

Changing His Tune: Dr. Arnie Rosen Is Now A Band Grandpa

Posted by Andy Levine on with 3 Comments


Today’s episode takes place at the Lincoln Middle School in Rockford, Illinois. I spent the morning here with Arnie Rosen, a retired doctor, and 80+ seventh and eighth graders in the school’s band room.

Dr. Rosen loved his 27-year career as a gastroenterologist in this Midwestern community. But when he finally retired two years ago he had a plan for what he wanted to do. He wanted to become a “band grandpa.”

If you’ve never heard that term “band grandpa” before, don’t feel out of the loop. Dr. Rosen actually created it two years ago.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Special thanks to John Groh, President/CEO of the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, for suggesting this episode.

And here’s the full photo of Dr. Rosen with his beloved tuba (taken by fellow band grandpa Russ Stoneback).

 

The Man Who Sends College Students To Prison: Jim Farrin’s Second Act

Posted by Andy Levine on with 1 Comment


In this episode, we meet an incredible man named Jim Farrin. After a highly successful career as a globe-trotting, corporate executive, Jim helped start an organization called The Petey Greene Program.

In a nutshell, the program brings volunteer students from top colleges like Harvard, Brown, University of Pennsylvania and Columbia into prisons to serve as tutors. They help prisoners get a high school diploma/GED. The program was piloted at Princeton University and has spread to 29 different colleges and universities across the Northeast.

Jim is 82 years old today. Last year, he was one of five individuals awarded the prestigious Purpose Prize by the American Association of Retired Persons. But he is hardly retired. By his own admission he is working harder than he ever has before. And he has never been happier.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Click here to learn more about the amazing work of The Petey Greene Program.

Don’t Retire, REWIRE! 24 Minutes with Author Jeri Sedlar

Posted by Andy Levine on with 0 Comment


Career expert Jeri Sedlar wrote “Don’t Retire, Rewire!” back in 2002 with her business partner and husband Rick Miners. They were largely responsible for blowing the lid off our traditional view of American life — the “education first” – “work career second” – “retirement third” phasing.

In August 2018, they came out with a third edition of “Don’t Retire, Rewire!” based on new research and interviews.

Simply put, I loved this updated book and found it incredibly valuable in my own journey as a fellow that will hit 58 years of age in the year ahead.It definitely goes in the “Best Books About Second Acts” section of this website.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

 

Telephone Repairman Follows A Life-Long Dream: Designing Women’s Shoes

Posted by Andy Levine on with 1 Comment


When I first heard Chris Donovan’s story I thought to myself, I don’t care what it takes. I have to interview this man.

It took several months and a dozen or so email exchanges. But last month, I traveled to Massachusetts with only one thing in mind: interview the telephone repairman who is now focused solely on the one thing he always wanted to do in life: design women’s shoes.

Since his junior year in high school, Chris Donovan has been sketching women’s shoes. It’s been his quiet obsession for the 30+ years. But at the age of 50, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. And he knew it was time to leave his safe job at the phone company to pursue his lifelong dream. “I need to follow this. I need to find out why I have this passion for shoes.”

Based on the recommendation of European shoe designer Aki Choklat, he was accepted to Polimoda, one of the best fashion design institutes in the world. He enrolled in an accelerated masters program and packed his bags for Florence, Italy. And while his first few months were difficult, he ended up graduating at the top of his class.

In January, 2019, he will launch a new line of shoes at Chris Donovan Footwear. Take it from Tim Gunn of Project Runway: it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Check out Chris’ new line of shoes on his website.

Finally, here’s a photo of Chris Donovan and his incredibly-supportive partner Steve Wierzbicki.

Identifying Your Ideal Second Act: Nancy Collamer and the 25 Questions

Posted by Andy Levine on with 0 Comment


Nancy Collamer is the author of Second Act Careers: 50 Ways to Profit From Your Passions During Semi-Retirement. She is a recognized expert on career change and writes a monthly blog for the PBS site NextAvenue.org.

Our interview with Nancy focuses on an especially, powerful resource from her website (www.mylifestylecareer.com). “25 Questions to Help You Identify Your Ideal Second Act” details a series of questions in four major areas: 1) Values, 2) skills, and experience, 3) strengths, gifts and talents, 4) hopes, dreams and impossibilities, It’s a terrific exercise for anyone considering a second act.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

GET THE “25 QUESTIONS” FROM NANCY COLLAMER’S WEBSITE