Posted on January 29, 2019 By Judy Tan Editor's Pick, Purpose

Retirement doesn’t mean an end. In fact, for many people, retirement is the beginning of a great new adventure some call the Second Act. When you retire, you’re suddenly left with open days you can fill with almost anything. That amount of possibility can be overwhelming. Instead of sitting back, take the advice of 4 retirees who dared to find their second acts.

Susan Emmerson, Doug Cale, Carol Thomas, and Anna Nessa are 4 retirees that breathed new life into their retirement with hobbies turned jobs. From sculpting and photography to chocolate shops and knitting, these 4 people reinvigorated their creative sides to not only find fulfillment in retirement, but also to find great success.

Whether you’re interested in trying something totally new or want to revisit a passion from your past, you can learn a lot about daring to find your second act from these 4 inspiring people.

• The Time Is Worth It – Susan Emmerson was an ear, nose and throat surgeon in Illinois who took an early retirement, earned two new art degrees, and now has a blooming artist business in Boston. Emmerson always loved art, but she knew she didn’t have time to work in medicine and pursue drawing, painting and sculpting. When asked if the time and work required to earn two new degrees was worth it, Emmerson couldn’t stress enough that it was. Since time is going to go by anyway, you might as well spend that time working towards something you love.
• Relax Into Creativity – Doug Cale, a jack-of-all-trades turned chocolatier, spent the majority of his life working hard. From flipping houses to shining as an astronautics and aeronautics engineer, Cale’s life was full. When he retired, Cale turned his business eye to opening a successful chocolate shop that’s been open for 10 years. Though his days are full with developing marketing strategies, exploring new partnerships, and plenty of chocolate Cale has never been more relaxed. He says his engagement, fulfillment and creativity is more relaxing than any beach vacation.
• Live Your Dream – Carol Thomas had always loved photography, but since her retirement it has become her life. She worked as CEO of a busy education foundation, but decided to focus on photography in retirement. She’s never looked back. Thomas has even combined her love of photography with her pre-retirement philanthropy through the Pro Bono Photo She’s finding pride in the fact that she’s living her lifelong photography dreams to their fullest.
• Find Joy – Anna Nessa has always been a big knitter, but was only able to make knitting her life in retirement. Now she’s made hundreds of amazingly unique shawls she calls “neck art.". Why? Knitting brings her joy. She’s joined and founded many knitting clubs wherever she’s lived, and loves makes connections with other knitters.

Dare to find a fulfilling, creative, and joy-filled second act just like Emmerson, Cale, Thomas and Nessa.

How will you take the advice from these 4 retirees to find your second act? Tell us in the comment section.

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