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One of the mistakes I made transitioning into my own Victory Lap was that I didn’t take any time off to regroup and refresh. I was suffering from “Sudden Retirement Shock.”
I wasn’t thinking clearly and I did what I always do when things are going off side: I roll up my sleeves and worked harder. I decided to go into full new business mode, spending the better part of three years in a cave writing a book and trying to figure things out.
Sure, things worked out well in the end but it took a lot of time, researching, and learning what I needed to know. Looking back now I realize it didn’t have to be as hard as it was.
I also have a bad habit of always going it alone, something I developed while working at the Corp., a John Wayne thing. I believed asking for help was a weakness and made me look vulnerable. I always took the hard way and would try and figure it all out by myself. That kind of thinking resulted in me not creating and benefitting from mentors. This was a major mistake I made in my career. Life could have been so much easier if only I had been more open minded and willing to ask for help and advice.
Retirement planning is one of the most important processes you will go through in your life. Making a plan will improve the quality of your life now and in the future by providing a plan and goals. Most of us are goal oriented and achieving success in your working years, like paying off your mortgage, saving for your child’s education, etc. provides great motivation as you work towards your Victory Lap.
Don’t DIY your retirement planning
Since time, not money is the important asset you have, don’t DIY [Do It Yourself] retirement planning.
Develop and benefit from a strong support network; it’s hard to figure this stuff out on your own and, guess what, you don’t have to. Research, interview and make sure you find people with whom you can work: Retirement planning is not a sprint but a marathon, so find people who understand what you are going through.
You can create the life that you want and get there a lot faster than I did. If you’re struggling consider the assistance of a coach, to help keep things on track and avoid a lot of stress long the way. I only wish I had the benefit of one when I first started out. Stop being a hero and get yourself some good coaching. You will be better off for it I promise you!
A New Approach To Retirement Coaching
We are in the midst of creating a VLR transition (training) program to help people successfully cross over into Victory Lap. It’s a four month program and we started testing it out early in May. I am serving as the guinea pig during the test period, recording my experiences on the blog as we go along. I’m excited because following the program means I finally get to do it the right way and an added benefit is that I will get healthy during the process: something I’ve been struggling with for awhile now.
Mike & G
erry’s Excellent Adventure
I would like to introduce Gerry O’Toole: my new partner. Gerry and I have similar backgrounds. We both worked together at the same bank and followed a similar path into Victory Lap but unlike me he was smart enough to take some time off before starting his own VL.
I reached out to him to see if he wanted to join in the fun and luckily for me he agreed. The benefit of us working together is that we compliment each other. He can speak computer and can handle all that tech stuff that I’m neither good at nor interested in. Teaming up allows me to play to my strengths and brings me the most joy, conducting presentations and writing. I look forward to less stress, more fun and helping a lot of people. Isn’t that what Victory Lap is all about?
I think about it this way. 100% of nothing is nothing but 50% of something is something if you do it right and joining up with Gerry was a smart thing to do just like co-authoring a book with Jonathan was a smart thing to do. No more going it alone for this guy when there is a better, easier way. Maybe I’m getting smarter as I get older?
Mike Drak is an author, blogger and speaker based in Toronto. He can be reached at michael.drak@yahoo.ca. Victory Lap Retirement, co-authored with Hub CFO Jonathan Chevreau, is available online and on Kindle and Kobo ebooks, where it is a bestseller. The paperback edition is available in Chapters Indigo and many independent bookstores, as well as Costco, and the book has been on the Globe & Mail bestseller list. This blog originally ran on Mike’s site on April 27th, and, with slight edits, is reprinted here with permission.
