I’ve had the awesome privilege to work with many of my financial planning clients for much of their working careers and to guide them through a myriad of opportunities and challenges. As clients approach retirement, or what I often refer to as “financial independence day," it’s vital they go beyond their financial plan and develop a life plan.
"Purposeful Retirement: How to Bring Happiness and Meaning to Your Retirement" by Hyrum Smith is a highly relevant tool to help individuals and couples answer as Smith asks, “What’s Next?.”
The books tag line suggests that we believe our greatest contribution is always ahead, which in my opinion, seems like a life lesson we can learn at any age. But it remains essential that as much as one can, that they should embrace this approach to bring out the best of the opportunities they might encounter in the years ahead after retirement.
There are quite a number of resources out there to help individuals transition from work to other pursuits. What I really appreciated about what Smith does here is the parallel approaches he offers to take people through the many different questions they may encounter as they consider retirement and how to attempt to answer them. Smith does this by offering a companion publication, "Purposeful Retirement Workbook & Planner," this resource serves to provide more structure in this process for those who prefer it or need it. Meanwhile, the main book covers the narrative of why this kind of life planning is essential to set people up for the best chance at success. Smith suggests that “a successful retiree is willing to do those things unsuccessful retirees are not willing to do,” and then through each book he proceeds to reveal many of those actionable steps so that “the rest of your life can be the best of your life!”