Mind Switch

Finding Your Great Groove in Retirement -

Finding a great groove in your retirement

I only fell for this once;)

What five words would you use to describe a retiree? Research from Yale University finds, on average, positive age beliefs add an extra 7.5 years to a lifespan. So if you used positive words as wise, respected, vibrant, etc - congratulations! You are not only helping to change our ageist North American society but bonus years may be waiting for you in your decades down the road.

For more information on this fascinating topic, check out Becca Levy's book Breaking the Age Code.

Who’s in?😀

A playground from the 1970s. 😲

Is your workforce prepared for a confident and inspired retirement? One week today, Bridge and I are collaborating to provide a no cost virtual presentation covering the key financial and lifestyle essentials you and your team need to lead a fulfilling retirement in 2023 and beyond. No selling - just great information and resources. For your complimentary ticket, register here: https://lnkd.in/dPV-dbgN

Five Keys to a Confident and Exciting Retirement Your retirement is a winning lottery ticket you need to cash in. Here are the five key steps to bring the financial confidence and lifestyle

I am hosting a free virtual event on how to prepare for a confident and exciting retirement. Nothing being sold and lots of free resources. Click here to register:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/five-keys-to-a-confident-and-exciting-retirement-tickets-510996994767

Have you let the 'old person' in? This 98 year-old gal certainly hasn't.

98-year-old Edmonton skier an 'inspiration' at local hill Ninety-eight-year-old Muriel Watterworth has skied for more than 60 years and remains part of a seniors group that meets weekly at Snow Valley for coffee and time on the hill.

As you approach or live your work-optional life, we are all reminded life is short. What advice would you give your younger self?

You Are Who You Hang With Great lives are usually found in close proximity to amazing people. It is hard to escape the adage ‘you are who you hang with’, and when you transition to work-optional living, there is a great opportunity to freshen up your posse.

The needs and options of your clients today are significantly different than those of even a generation ago. With average ages pushing beyond 85 and expected to rise further, your clients have a good chance of enjoying two, three or more decades of vibrant living. In many cases, 1/3 or more of their lives could be spent in retirement, or as I prefer to call it, work-optional living.
This opportunity in life deserves more of your focus to help clients escape the life contraction trap over 95% of today’s retirees fall prey to - that is a time marked by less challenge, no compelling goals, little growth and decreasing vitality (Michelle Cederberg - The Success/Energy Equation). Regardless of your client’s age, or even yours for that matter, if we don’t use the potential in our minds and bodies we simply loose it faster than we need to.
So what is the business case? The finances are the fuel and the life-style resources are the engine. When you provide clients tools to build an exciting plan, you will cause them to feel excited – and when we feel good things, we like to share with others. Offering holistic retirement planning resources to your clients will increase your client loyalty and grow referrals from your existing client base. It is great for your clients, and smart business.
Scott speaks across North America on the life-style aspects of incredible retirements. Visit Mind Switch for more information.

Mind Switch is reaching the farming community in Canada. You would be hard pressed to find a more dedicated group of professionals.

How to reinvent your farm life as you age - Grainews Harvest is in full swing on our farm, and I am not there — for a few days. Where is it written you cannot leave the farm during harvest? (Answer: on

Great day to meet two of our partners yesterday - Brian Ramsay, the Executive Director of the CFLPA and Howard Burns, Manager of Corporate Partnership at OSU. I will let you guess who is who;)

Which one of these three challenges is your Everest?

Three Underestimated Challenges Retirement We have been brought up to think if we take care of the finances, our retirement will become what we have dreamt of for decades. But it turns out the adequate finances are not the only thing needed to enjoy a work-optional phase of life.

In a conference focussed on economics and rates of return Mind Switch was able to get some media attention. Thanks to everyone at the CIFP for making the Niagara event such a huge success.

Advisors need to help clients find purpose in retirement | Advisor's Edge Promoting personal interests can persuade clients to commit to a retirement plan, says CEO of career transition organization

A wonderful surprise to see Advisor’s Edge write an article about my Retire and Aspire Keynote at the CIFP conference last week. What a great group of financial advisors!

Advisors need to help clients find purpose in retirement | Investment Executive Promoting personal interests can persuade clients to commit to a retirement plan, says CEO of career transition organization

Lost in the mountains in Oregon. When stepping away from an addiction to busyness, a clearer view of what is truly valued is revealed. It is time to re-wild your inner child!
(PCT Trail near Shelter Cove - 6,000 ft w hash browns;)

A pleasure to be a guest on Joseph Curry's podcast 'Your Retirement Planning Simplified' and why we should retire the word retirement.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-retirement-planning-simplified/id1596570969

‎Your Retirement Planning Simplified on Apple Podcasts ‎Business · 2022

I am glad more mainstream media channels are giving this evolution in retirement the visibility needed.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/15/67-year-old-who-unretired-at-62-shares-the-biggest-retirement-challenge-that-no-one-talks-about.html

A 67-year-old who 'un-retired' shares the biggest retirement challenge 'that no one talks about' Many people think of retirement as a long vacation. But that's often not the case, says retirement expert George Jerjian, who came out of retirement at 62. He shares the biggest downside of his retirement experience, and how a Japanese concept helped him overcome it.

When was the last time you chose to walk the plank into something unknown, something that really challenged you?
My twenty something daughter asked me to join her at a beginner’s hip hop dance class. Focussed on the word ‘beginner’ and wanting to share this experience with her, I said yes. Besides, I was up for some fun and light exercise on a Sunday morning.
I should have sensed the impending challenge when we pulled up not to a rec centre, but a premier downtown dance studio where professionals train. Clue #1 - missed
Still, I had taken a hip hop class for 50+ a few years back so I was still feeling ok. Enter the other thirty class attendees, all who were 25 years or more younger than I am. Clue #2 – comfort level reducing
In walks the instructor, a young guy, with his motorcycle helmet. He proceeds to show us a sequence of moves and then yells, ‘five, six, seven, eight’ as he expects us to mimic his moves, in motion and energy. Yeah, right! (thanks, Wayne) Clue #3 – I could be in the wrong place!
My mind is struggling to keep up memorizing the sequence of moves, and my body is like the Bill Murray movie, Lost in Translation – it further bastardizes my mind’s confused instructions, resulting in a whirl of body motion that has little to do with the sequence I have been shown. I see the instructor looking at me as he then proceeds to tell the class, ‘don’t let your arms be wet noodles, punch to kill.’ Clue #4 – I struggle to not bolt from the floor, not wanting to embarrass myself or my daughter.
Over the next few minutes, another 8 counts of moves are added to our routine, culminating in a triplet squat pelvic thrust. My mind makes a decision -I am done with this nonsense. I can’t keep up - and I am getting angry and embarrassed. Ego protecting brain is taking over from curious brain. I begin to walk out of my class position. But instead of leaving, I grab my water bottle, take a couple of big gulps, wipe the perspiration off my forehead, take a deep breath and, surprisingly, re-join the class.
Why join the class again? Because I remembered this experience was for me, and my daughter, and neither of us really cared about how well or crappy I did the routine. It was meant to be fun. And once I shifted my perspective, I did have more fun and I stopped worrying about the accuracy of my moves. Funny enough, by the end of the class, I would have given myself a passing grade, barely;)
My point? Ego protection keeps us from trying many new things we may not be good at yet, while at the same time robbing us of many incredible future opportunities. When you feel yourself struggling with something new, hang in there and put your discomfort in perspective. Take a break if you want. Frequent learning helps us keep those neural networks we call our brain open and more vital. If we always do things we are already good at then auto-pilot kicks in and we don’t expand the number of connections in our brain – and connections are very, very important to long term mental health.
Will I go back to another hip hop class? Absolutely! I managed to struggle across my ego protective wall and re-defined what success looks like for me at the age of sixty. It is not about winning the game anymore; it is staying in it, and enjoying it.
Scott helps individuals transition to a vital and fulfilling work-optional life.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/preparing-yourself-life-beyond-your-career-scott-armstrong

Preparing yourself for life beyond your career? With this week’s census data showing 1 in 5 workers nearing retirement, the need for individuals to prepare themselves for what may be the largest chasm in their lives, has reached unprecedented heights. The Challenge? When you leave a career behind you also lose much of your identity, purpose, da...

Is Auto-Pilot Stealing Your Retirement? - https://mailchi.mp/mindswitch.ca/is-auto-pilot-stealing-your-retirement

Is Auto-Pilot Stealing Your Retirement? Many individuals wait too long to leave their careers and enjoy their retirement (work-optional years). How about you?  

Many individuals wait too long to leave their careers and enjoy their retirement (work-optional years). How about you?
See if this sounds familiar. You have built a decent financial foundation and the years keep ticking by, faster and faster. Fifty shoots by, then fifty-five and maybe even sixty as you wrestle with society’s default retirement age of sixty-five and figure out if you can make the transition sooner.
What is happening during this time as you delay retirement? Quite simply, a shifting of the scales. At some point the time you are giving up every day at work is now worth more than the money you are earning. Why? Two things are happening.
First, chances are you will never have more energy and desire to truly enjoy your retirement’s biggest dreams than you do today. You are much better equipped to enjoy an adventure trip to explore Indonesia’s remote tribal communities today than you will be 10 or 20 years from now. Yes, you probably can still do it at these ages but chances are your body and mind will perceive it differently and the desire usually reduces as we age. Your 50’s and early 60’s are often referred to as the go-go years of retirement, and you don’t want to let them disappear because you are on auto-pilot with your career.
The second reason you should consider an earlier retirement, is many retirees don’t tap into their financial nest egg early enough to get maximum enjoyment, for either themselves or those that they wish to give money/time to. Counter-intuitively, spending usually shrinks as we age into our 70’s, 80’s and beyond, even when health care is considered. As a result of delaying your spending/giving, all the decades of trading your time for money get a less than optimal return. Would you get greater value of a year-long adventure/photography/cultural journey costing you $40K or have that money spent on your estate probate fees;)? Would your children receive more value from you giving when they are 30 and looking for a first home or when they are in their 60’s and already have their foundation?
Your action step - check your auto-pilot status. Early or temporary retirement may indeed be the best investment you make in your life so that your go-go years are truly worthy of all your desires and all the sacrifices you have made getting to them. Retirement is your winning lottery ticket, so make sure you cash yours in.

Wonderful celebration of the inaugural CFLPA/CFL mentorship program, helping players prepare for careers after football. Good people aspiring

Mind Switch is very proud to be part of the leadership to bring this transition program to life.
https://www.newscanadiens.com/national-sports/lauther-charles-among-players-participating-in-cfl-cflpa-joint-mentorship-program-5088668

Charles, Bolduc amid players accommodating in CFL, CFLPA collective mentorship program TORONTO — Rarely are pro athletes able for the end of their arena days, but Jean-Philippe Bolduc says a collective adventure amid the CFL and CFL Players' Affiliation will accord players in Canada an befalling to attending at activity afterwards football.

Hey there - was a guest on the Moolala podcast last week with Bruce Sellery. How to prepare for your transition to work-optional living. (start at 2:33)

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-8jfxn-11a871c?utm_campaign=embed_player_stop&utm_medium=dlink&utm_source=embed_player

Mind Switch: Navigating Your Post-Work Life | Full Episode Figuring out your identity post-work life. Scott Armstrong, founder of Mind Switch tells us about how his academy can help you navigate this new chapter. And, the various tax credits available to Canadians living with a disability. Josée Cabral from H&R Block is here to tell us how to make the most...

Next time the words 'too old' approach your lips think of Nimble Will:)

https://www.postregister.com/news/nation/nimblewill-nomad-83-is-oldest-to-hike-appalachian-trail/article_0462504b-67fd-5d7e-ab89-861ccd68ba46.html

'Nimblewill Nomad,' 83, is oldest to hike Appalachian Trail PORTLAND, Maine — An 83-year-old from Alabama started walking when he retired more than a quarter-century ago — and never stopped.

Very excited to announce the Mind Switch website is now live and ready to help those who want help planning for and living an inspired retirement. Thanks to the so many of you who help me along the way.

www.mindswitch.ca

Mind Switch – Retire and Aspire Where does a happy, fulfilling and inspired vision of your best retirement come from? Your Mind Switch is the key for both to accessing that which you already intuitively aspire to and discovering new passions that are untapped. Join me and the thousands of Mind Switch renegades who rebel against th...