Portfolio Life: The New Path to Work, Purpose, and Passion After 50

208 Pages·2007·0.95 MB·English

by  Corbett D.

More Praise for Portfolio Life
“Portfolio Life is a timely book yet with a timeless message. As one
who has benefited from Dave Corbett’s common sense and sage
advice, I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in liv-
ing a life that is enriching for oneself, family, friends, and com-
munity. It’s a terrific tool to help make the choices needed to
achieve prolonged satisfaction over a prolonged lifetime.”
—John D. Hamilton, Jr., former chairman of law firm Hale
& Dorr (now WilmerHale)
“We are so conditioned to ‘bop till you drop’ that a life of rich bal-
ance, of giving, earning, striving, learning, and loving, is alien to
many healthy and talented people. When by chance I read about
New Directions when I was around 50, the idea of a ‘life portfolio’
struck a chord with me. I flew to Boston, became a client, and have
been learning about possibility since then! Portfolio Life is a won-
derful resource to tap this new paradigm.”
—Fred Reid, CEO, Virgin America
“Portfolio Lifeis on target in stressing lifelong learning and contin-
ual self-discovery. As our students know, these habits help people
succeed in all aspects of life. This book offers an excellent way to
invest in yourself.”
—Dipak C. Jain, dean, Northwestern University’s Kellogg
Schoolof Management
“Most retirees don’t plan how to use their time and end up wor-
rying about where to have dinner or play golf. Women seem to
handle change better than men, who tend to need more help
preparing for post-career life. Given what ‘non-retirees’ could do
for America, we’re wasting a lot of talent. Dave Corbett shows us
how to stop this.”
—Frank V. Cahouet, former chairman and CEO,
Mellon Bank
“Most senior executives have small life portfolios when nearing
retirement age. The life reinvention process should start much ear-
lier and Portfolio Life is an excellent hands-on guide to take you
there.”
—Windle B. Priem, former president and CEO,
Korn/Ferry International
“This book is important because there’s little in professional and
popular literature about the dynamic and dramatic changes that
occur in the basic patterns of people’s lives—changes they make
by choice or as result of our 24/7 economy. The individual and his-
toric examples Dave gives invite his readers to try out new possi-
bilities in their own lives.”
—Marshall Carter, former chairman and CEO,
State Street Bank
“I think that Portfolio Life is a great idea and most helpful to those
who want their later years to be fulfilling. I wish I had this book
when I retired after 30 years as dean of the Washington Cathedral.”
—Francis Sayre, former dean,
Washington Cathedral, 30years;
age 91; walks a mile a day
Portfolio Life
The New Path to Work,
Purpose, and Passion
After 50
David Corbett
with Richard Higgins
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by Jossey-Bass
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Corbett, David D.
Portfolio life : the new path to work, purpose, and passion after 50 / David D. Corbett,
with Richard Higgins.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7879-8356-7 (cloth)
ISBN-10: 0-7879-8356-X (cloth)
1. Life span, Productive. 2. Self-evaluation. 3. Post-retirement employment. 4. Success.
5. Retirement—Planning. I. Higgins, Richard. II. Title.
HB2583.C67 2007
332.024'014—dc22 2006019148
Printed in the United States of America
FIRSTEDITION
HB Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Foreword vii
Preface ix
1 Trailblazing 1
2 A New Beginning 14
3 New Realities 25
4 Portfolio Life 43
5 Steps Toward Portfolio 56
6 Time to Give Back 67
7 Closing the Gap 77
8 Listen to Your Life 91
9 Steps and Tools in Assessment 105
10 The Portfolio Frame of Mind 114
11 Five Paths to a New Mind-Set 123
12 Anchors in a Sea of Change 130
13 Planning for Success 141
14 Moving into Portfolio 157
15 Pockets of Turbulence 164
16 The Goal Beyond 174
Recommended Books 181
Recommended Organizations and Web Sites 185
Works Cited 187
Acknowledgments 189
The Authors 191
v
To all those who have a book stirring in them,
To all those who may have a book in them,
To all those who have a message they want to share,
Go for it!
Foreword
The pioneer feminist Betty Friedan often called the cultural con-
straints and limited options that confronted American women in
the 1960s “the problem that had no name.” Today, as the first of
tens of millions of aging Baby Boomers reach their sixties and
enter a new stage of life, one that could last for decades, they face
what might be called an “opportunity with no name.”
Neither old nor young, neither in midlife nor retired in any
traditional sense, they face a crisis of identity that begins with a fail-
ure of words. Call them “senior citizens” or “elderly,” for example,
and they will refer you to their parents. The uncertainty they face
extends to the very meaning of success. What, they must ask, might
a person rightly aspire to during this space opening up in the lifes-
pan?
Just as a problem that lacks a name is hard to solve, an oppor-
tunity without a name is hard to seize. We have not had a com-
pelling vocabulary with which to capture the essence of this stage
of contribution and renewal taking shape in front of our eyes. That
has made it harder to convey the extraordinary opportunities now
within reach of these Americans.
In Portfolio Life, David Corbett gives us more than a compelling
new vocabulary. He transforms the old view of retirement—
leisure time and family—into a new perspective that includes the
familiar but adds the new: work, meaning, and purpose. Even
better, he provides a step-by-step guide to get us there, a means of
navigating both the inner terrain and questions of meaning as well
as the outer questions of setting and accomplishing goals.
Friedan opened doors of opportunity for millions of women
by pointing to the “problem that had no name.” By focusing on
the “opportunity with no name,” Corbett may open similar doors
vii
viii
FOREWORD
for millions of people in the second half of life. When these gates
have been flung open, people over 50 will rush through, thrilled
to be in the thick of it, eager to dispel outdated notions of decline,
and impatient to get started redefining their lives and changing
the world.
It’s only a matter of time.
MARCFREEDMAN
Marc Freedman is the founder and president of Civic Ventures, co-founder
of the Experience Corps, and author of Prime Time: How Baby Boomers
Will Revolutionize Retirement and Transform America (PublicAffairs,
1999).
Preface
For many years, I have worked with senior executives from corpo-
rations, professional services, education, and government in career
transition. Often they would set their sights on “one more job” or
career to set them up for a comfortable retirement—but had little
to say about what might happen when that goal was met. People
did not use to pay attention to their longevity track.
Now we do. The much-heralded gift of living longer in good
health has opened up a whole new arena, a new adventure that
could last for three or four decades after initial careers are done.
Younger generations are also adding into the mix new ideas about
work and how to balance it against other important things in life.
We can learn from them.
This new stage of life is made more meaningful when people
create a balance of work, learning, leisure, family time (ask me
about my grandson), giving back, and whatever else has been sim-
mering on the back burner of their hearts and souls during their
careers. The balance can be tailored to one’s personality and situ-
ation. I call this a life portfolio,because it holds an intentional com-
bination of passions and pursuits. Those who do best at it step back
early on, question whatever they may have learned about “retire-
ment,” envision new possibilities, and plan ahead.
That is my challenge to you. I want this book to encourage you
to visualize such a life. I also want to provide practical help to read-
ers who are willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work.
My own career in part reflects the emergence of this new view-
point. I joined Johnson & Johnson (sales and marketing) after the
Navy and business school in the 1960s and then moved into exec-
utive search to recruit senior people for client companies. In 1986,
I founded New Directions to help executives and professionals leav-
ing one job find the ideal next one. We still help clients land jobs,
ix