{"id":3725,"date":"2014-04-17T13:05:15","date_gmt":"2014-04-17T17:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=3725"},"modified":"2014-04-17T13:05:15","modified_gmt":"2014-04-17T17:05:15","slug":"kerry-takes-a-second-look-at-midlifers-second-acts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=3725","title":{"rendered":"Kerry Takes a Second Look at Midlifers’ Second Acts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"What's<\/a>On Sunday, I stopped by La Cappella, a Pittsburgh restaurant, with my mom, who I was visiting. As I pushed open the door, I was delighted to see Colleen Sheerer, the bustling bistro’s co-owner (with her husband, Tim) and her big smile.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d featured Tim\u2019s second-act story in a 2006 article \u2014 he previously worked in Merrill Lynch\u2019s money market group \u2014 and adapted it for the 2010 hardcover version of\u00a0What’s Next?: Finding Your Passion and Your Dream Job in Your Forties, Fifties and Beyond<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

While revising and updating the book for the\u00a0paperback edition<\/a>which just came out, I re-interviewed Tim and the other boomers in it to see how their second acts had turned out.<\/p>\n

(MORE<\/strong>:\u00a0You Don’t Need to Reinvent Yourself for a Second Act<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Roughly one-third of these folks \u2014who\u2019d all embarked on radical\u00a0midcareer transitions<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 are now on to new ventures. Some retired; others sold their businesses. And many have added revenue streams to bring in more cash while nurturing their dream jobs.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s life, as the saying goes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to tell you about a few of them, because their What-Happened-After-What\u2019s Next?<\/em>\u00a0tales offer some valuable messages.<\/p>\n

\"Brochure<\/a>
Photo of Lisa Eaves, courtesy of Lisa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Eaves\u2019 first career, she held a technical support position at Fannie Mae, earning nearly six figures. While there, she studied acupuncture on the side. In 2004, Eaves opened her Washington, D.C. acupuncture practice,\u00a0Heal From Within<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Today, she\u2019s still gaining steam in the field, specializing in fertility and women\u2019s health issues. In fact, Eaves told me, she\u2019s making a better living than during her corporate days.<\/p>\n

Eaves\u2019 success, I believe, is a direct result of laying the proper groundwork combined with a passion for her new calling. She lived simply, rigorously put money away while at Fannie Mae and built up a healthy 401(k).<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing that I was going to take a pay cut to quit Fannie Mae, I sold my old car and bought one that I knew would last a long time. I refinanced my apartment and got my mortgage payment down,\u201d says Eaves.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
Photo of Jill Angel by Cliff Hackel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jill Angel: A Second Act and a Half<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I first met this single mom, Angel had become a music agent after retiring from spending 22 years as a California Highway Patrol officer.<\/p>\n

These days, she now also works as fitness director at Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento, Calif. The music business can be uncertain, and her fitness-instruction work provides a steadier cash flow.<\/p>\n

Ken Rynne: Show Business\/Slow Business<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rynne is still performing the cabaret act,\u00a0Planet Washington<\/a>\u00a0in Washington D.C., that the former lawyer and lobbyist started six years ago.<\/p>\n

But gigs have come slower than Rynne had expected. He now protects himself financially with contract-lawyering assignments.<\/p>\n

Susan Wolcott: New Love, New Business<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wolcott worked as a Registered Nurse and in healthcare management and then gave it up to open a Funkstown, Md. yarn shop, Y2Knit. She closed the shop in 2012 and now sticks to her knitting at\u00a0Yarnability\/Sewinclined<\/a>, its replacement in Shepherdstown, W. Va.<\/p>\n

\u201cI moved for love,\u201d she says. \u201cI met my partner, Bob, in 2011 and he had just bought a house in Shepherdstown. It made sense to make a fresh start.\u201d<\/p>\n

A bonus: her new town is a bustling weekend getaway for many Washingtonians. \u201cIt\u2019s been a good move,\u201d Wolcott says.<\/p>\n

Trish May: Pouring Her Heart Into Cancer Research\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

May resigned as director of marketing and strategic planning at Microsoft in 1999 to launch Athena Water and the cancer-research charity, Athena Partners, in 2003. (She is a\u00a0breast cancer<\/a>\u00a0survivor; her mother died of ovarian cancer.) All the business\u2019s profits went to cancer research and education. In 2010, DS Waters of America bought the company.<\/p>\n

(MORE<\/strong>:\u00a0Pivot to a Second Act With a Purpose<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Last year, May established the\u00a0Athena Distinguished Professorship of Breast Cancer Research<\/a>to help the University of Washington recruit and retain faculty, funded by her Athena Partners Foundation. The foundation also established the Athena Endowed Award for Excellence in Breast Cancer Research, recognizing researchers making the greatest contribution toward advancing breast cancer research.<\/p>\n

Betsy Werley: Moving Onto a New Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n

Werley spent decades as a corporate lawyer and, in 2005, segued to become Executive Director of\u00a0The Transition Network<\/a>, a nonprofit based in New York City that helps women over 50 explore career options.<\/p>\n

She left that post last year to become an \u201cInnovation Fellow\u201d at\u00a0Encore.org<\/a>, the nonprofit dedicated to helping people over 50 explore \u201csecond acts for the greater good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Messages From Their Stories<\/strong><\/p>\n

The big message from these stories, I think, is that if you plan to follow your passion to find\u00a0your<\/em>dream job, remember this: Nothing is forever.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get hung up by the notion that your Second Act will be your final one. Or that if you don\u2019t hit it out of the ballpark, you are\u00a0less than<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Chances are, you may move onto something different in five or 10 years. You might have to. Who knows?<\/p>\n

Four smaller messages I took from my career switchers:<\/p>\n

1. Be realistic about your expectations.<\/strong>\u00a0Don\u2019t expect to make a massive profit immediately. Be content knowing that the pleasure will come from what you\u2019re doing, not from how much you\u2019re making.<\/p>\n

2. Have your\u00a0support team<\/a>\u00a0in place.<\/strong>\u00a0A spouse, mentor, best friend, sibling or even an adult child to confide in can make a huge difference emotionally, keep you centered and let you move forward one step at a time.<\/p>\n

3. Keep a gratitude list of your newfound intangible income.<\/strong>\u00a0The moments of connection with customers. The freedom to not have to ask anyone for permission to take a day off to spend with your 84-year-old mother on her birthday. The wonder of losing yourself in the zone of your work. This is your special currency and it\u2019s tax-free.<\/p>\n

4. Stay poised for adventure<\/strong>. Don\u2019t let yourself feel trapped by this act. Keep learning new things. Revel in your new career today, but keep a plan for the future and be willing to try new things \u2014 always. It\u2019s what\u2019s next that makes our lives rich.<\/p>\n

Kerry Hannon has spent more than 25 years covering personal finance for Forbes, Money, U.S. News & World Report and USA Today. Her website is\u00a0kerryhannon.com<\/a>. Follow her on Twitter\u00a0@kerryhannon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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