Second Act Stories

Arthur and Phil have been together for 20 years as a committed couple. Both had long careers as lawyers. Phil worked for 30 years as an in-house corporate lawyer for a large insurance company. Arthur concluded his legal career as the Dean of Students at New York University Law School. They retired in their mid-50s and have followed a wide range of passions: art, music and travel. But at the top of...

Today's story goes back 181 years to 1838. That's when 272 men, women, and children were sold by an order of Jesuit priests and the proceeds of the sale was used to pay the debts of Georgetown College, now Georgetown University. The slaves had lived on plantations belonging to the Jesuits in Maryland. They were put on a boat and moved to their new owners in Louisiana. Melisande Short-Columbe is a...

Michael Lowe was a corporate lawyer in Washington DC. When he left Verizon's legal department at the age of 59, he started doing yoga five days a week and reading like a fiend. But his wife was still working. And he was getting bored puttering around the house. So what did he do? Michael launched Washington's first distillery in 100 years and started making "Green Hat Gin" with his son-in-law John...

Venetia Clark loved her job as a Walgreens' pharmacist for 30 years. But as she approached 55 years of age, she had the opportunity to take advantage of an early retirement program with some significant financial benefits. And she also spent quality time with her 91-year-old father who was in the final year of his life. It caused her to conclude it was time for a change. A love of travel and the e...

Marc Miller has changed career paths a total of seven times. But after suffering a near fatal bike accident, he switched gears – no pun intended – and focused his talents on counseling friends and associates on their career journeys. And he realized that he had found his true calling. From there, he wrote a powerful book called "Repurpose Your Career" that is now in its third edition…He launched t...

Shila Desai's life has an intriguing and international timeline. She is of Indian descent – with her grandparents coming from the country's Gujarat province. But she was born in Kenya and grew up there. She got her professional degree in the United Kingdom. And at the age of 24, Shila relocated to Canada where she spent most of her adult life. She arrived in Canada and didn't know a soul. She met...

Ruth Lavigne grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father was a doctor (a radiologist) and she used to fill-in the date on patient sheets when her dad reviewed their films at home. As Ruth followed her father around his hospital, she always thought "that will be me someday." She ended up studying French in college and then business in graduate school. After marrying, starting a family and relocating to...

Jim Owen is 78 years old and he is in awesome shape. He works out regularly and part of his routine is doing three sets of 50 push-ups. That's pretty amazing for a man of his age. But for most of his life he was a self-described, "certified couch potato." On his 70th birthday, his life changed when he watched a video of himself going on stage to give a speech. "My shoulders were hunched over. My k...

Russell Abbott spent most of his career on Wall Street working in the management of hedge funds. About two years ago, he transitioned to working for a non-profit based in Brooklyn, New York called Extreme Kids and Crew . The organization is a community center where children with disabilities and their families can socialize, create and play. He's a whole lot happier in the new job. Russell was fir...

Kerry Hannon is an absolute rock star in the world of career transitions and personal finance. She has written 12 books in this area as well as literally hundreds of articles for The New York Times, Forbes, Money, USA Today, US News and World Report and AARP. She is a sought- after speaker and expert who has appeared on everything from ABC News to NPR to The Dr. Phil Show. Her latest book is "Neve...

  Most of America already knows Kyle Merker. The Ancestry.com commercial where he "trades in his lederhosen for a kilt" has aired 22,000 times on broadcast television. Kyle filmed the Ancestry commercial at the age of 53. And the experience sparked an old passion that encouraged him to pursue acting after 25+ years in the world of accounting and finance. In just three short years, he's been remark...

Jane Canapini was a 20-year-veteran of the advertising world in Toronto, Canada. She worked as a creative director for both large and small advertising agencies. But in 2012, her last agency downsized and she was laid off at the age of 51. Rather than landing another job in advertising, she decided it was time to make a major career change. She pursued her life-long passion by launching a travel b...

Today's episode is different. Rather than focusing on an individual's "second act," we're going to look at a region of the United States that has emerged as the leading example of a "second act" or "turnaround" community. I'm talking about Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I traveled to Pittsburgh at the invitation of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development , a group that has been focused on adv...

For the past 15 years, Time magazine has selected it's list of the "100 Most Influential People in the World." The 2019 issue includes Lady Gaga, Donald Trump, Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Mark Zuckerberg and Dwayne Johnson. It also includes Desmond Meade, a name you've probably never heard before. In 2005, Desmond Meade had three strikes against him. He was homeless. He was a drug addict. And he...

Tom Forst was 57 years old. He was a regional vice president with Cox Media, a huge communications company. He was jetting around the country on private planes. He had an army of people reporting to him. He was making a hefty salary. That was 10 years ago. He decided to quit his corporate gig to pursue a life-long passion – music. He put out his first blues-rock album as Tom "The Suit" Forst. He d...

Ken Coleman is a highly-successful ,broadcast personality and career coach who hosts a daily radio show, aptly called "The Ken Coleman Show." Every day, he counsels thousands of listeners on how to best find their dream job. He also hosts the highly-successful EntreLeadership podcast which consistently ranks among the top five business podcasts on the iTunes charts. Ken is a genuine "Second Act" s...

This episode is a bit different (and we love "different" here at Second Act Stories). Today, we'll introduce you to Amy Yontef-McGrath. She lives in Montgomery County, Maryland and is the proud mother of three. Amy found herself in a bit of a funk as she approached her 49 th birthday. She loved her job as a stay-at-home mom. But as her children were getting older and starting to leave the nest, it...

I first learned about Luke Mickelson and Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a non-profit that he founded in 2012, via the CNN Heroes Program. I immediately thought to myself "I have to interview this man." Then I found out he lives in Twin Falls, Idaho – a mere 2,369 miles from my home in New Jersey. But as luck would have it, I was traveling to Salt Lake City for a business conference. So I rented a car an...

You don't have to freeze your body. No need for bionic limbs. And you can hold off on eating mountains of kale (thank goodness). If you want to live forever, then focus on building a legacy via meaningful work with younger generations. Last month, I sat down for an hour with the man who is essentially the creator of the encore career movement. His name is Marc Freedman and he appropriately heads u...

Warren Schueller (on the left in the purple t-shirt) worked for 28 years as a chemistry teacher in Staten Island, New York. But at the age of 57 he began working with a group called Careers Through Culinary Arts (CCAP) and transitioned to being a culinary instructor. He trained a wide range of schools including the French Culinary Institute (New York City), Culinary Institute of America, Johnson a...

Today's episode focuses on someone I've known for a long time. Don Hessemer and I were part of a Saturday morning running group when I lived in Central New Jersey. He had a 38-year career as an environmental consultant in New York and New Jersey. But in 2018, Don decided it was time for a change. So at the age of 61, a time when many people are counting the days to retirement, Don decided to switc...

In the hospitality industry, Chip Conley is a legend. Back in 1987, he created Joie de Vivre, that grew to 52 hotels in California and set off a boutique hotel craze. But after 24 years of managing the company, he decided to retire and pursue other ventures. Writing. Speaking. He was on the board of the Burning Man Festival. He created a new website called Fest 300 which celebrated the best festiv...

After a twenty-year career in hospitality sales and management at Marriott, Amani Roberts decided to turn his weekend passion as a disc jockey playing music at clubs and special events into a full-time career. Today, he has made it as a sought-after DJ, teacher of aspiring DJs, writer and podcast creator.    A combination of dedication and education fueled his success over the past sevens years. H...

We're going to mix things up a bit with today's episode. Instead of focusing on an individual's story, we're going to ask the question, "Can a city have a second act?" And that brought me to Irving, Texas – a city of about 240,000 people. Irving has a lot going for it. It is in the center of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. It is contiguous to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, the 4 th busiest airport in...

This episode takes us to Richmond, Virginia for an interview with Lynne Tickle. Lynne spent most of her adult life in the banking industry working up to a position as a senior vice president. But in December of 2015, she learned that her neighbor was dying. And that friend shared a final wish. " Please help take care of my husband Larry after I'm gone." That request turned out to be a considerable...