Design Your Best Retirement

Once considered a brief period when people left their jobs and faded into the twilight, retirement today has emerged as an opportunity-filled 3rd Age of Life in which active people can spend two or more decades enjoying the fruits of their labor. With life expectancy on the rise, retirement is often your door into the 3rd Age of Life, and it’s important to have direction as you navigate it.

Design Your Best Retirement™, developed by Dr. Gayles at TransformationWorks®, provides you with a customized plan – your Retirement Roadmap – which defines how you will make the very most of this new chapter.

Design Your Best Retirement™ (DYBR) empowers you to achieve your dreams and goals as you engage in activities and accomplishments that you’ve likely considered for years. Sentences that historically began with, “Someday, I will…” now become, “Today, I will...”.

DYBR is far more than a ‘one size fits all’ book about retirement planning. Nor is it a step-by-step process to tackle at your leisure.

The DYBR program guides you to define and take charge of your retirement years in three core areas: Identity and Purpose, Relationships, and Health and Well-Being.

DYBR includes four coaching sessions with Dr. Gayles. During your participation in the program, Dr. Gayles holds you accountable for what you say you want and what you actually do.

Of the many benefits of retirement coaching,
accountability is one of the most important aspects—
it keeps you motivated and progressing.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Those words rang true as you journeyed through your career, and they hold the same significance in your 3rd Age of Life. You don’t just wake up one morning with bright ideas about what you’ll accomplish in the short-term, let alone for the balance of your life. DYBR supports you as you discover a new sense of identity and purpose outside of your work life and to begin your journey along pathways that are ideal for you.

A key benefit of DYBR is the opportunity to work with a seasoned and insightful coach who helps you to eliminate your barriers of fear and passivity. Rather than being “coached” by your spouse, friends, or co-workers, you’ll have an experienced advocate whose goal is to listen, encourage, advise, challenge, and empower you. Dr. Gayles will help you define the vision you have for yourself, bring clarity to that vision and drive it to fruition. She’ll connect you with important resources that inspire you to maintain forward momentum.

In the end, with your custom DYBR Retirement Roadmap, you’ll be well on your way to the time of your life.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best time to take Design Your Best Retirement?

I’d recommend joining the Design Your Best Retirement program at least two years before you plan to retire and any time after you’ve retired. Just like it takes time to build a new home or remodel one, it takes time to design your retirement roadmap. And though you are months past retirement or even a few years post-retirement, it’s not too late to craft how you’d like to live in this 3rd age of your life.

My spouse is about to retire. How could he benefit from Design Your Best Retirement?

Absolutely!! Design Your Best Retirement will provide your spouse with a step-by-step plan for crafting a retirement that allows him/her to thrive in this new phase of life.

I’m not really retiring – just moving to part-time work. Could this program benefit me?

With part-time work, you’ll have more time and new freedom. DYBR is especially geared to support you to structure your time so that you give the most to it and get the most out of it. Imagine using those extra hours a day to be about what is most important to you. Don’t know what that might be? That’s exactly where DYBR comes in!! It’s the program that guides you find these answers and craft a plan for how to live a fulfilling life on all levels—social, health, identity and purpose—when you’re working less.

The company has a free retirement program.

I would recommend that you consult with your company’s HR department about the particulars of their free retirement program. Many times, company-based retirement programs are focused on the financial preparation for retirement. While that’s necessary and great, it’s only part of a larger picture. DYBR hones in and supports you to prepare yourself for the other parts of the picture…how will I structure my life when I’m no longer working? DYBR provides you with a step-by-step process for crafting a fulfilling life in 3rd age. It gives you a methodology for making the choices that are right for you in terms of identity and purpose, creating positive relationships, and maintaining good health and well-being.

My spouse is the partner who worked, but could I benefit from this program, too

DYBR is a program for individuals entering 3rd age, a powerful time of living your life as an older person. Although 3rd age and retirement from working often occur in tandem, entering 3rd age occurs whether you’re retiring from working or not. DYBR takes you through a stepwise process based in your important dreams and goals and gives you tools for making the right choices and sustaining focus and momentum toward your 3rd age goals. After completing the DYBR program, you will have an individualized Roadmap to follow for your journey into this significant phase of your life.

Top Ten Reasons People Flunk Retirement

Retired for the wrong reasons.
Didn’t realize the emotional side of retiring.
Didn’t know myself as well as I thought I did.
Didn’t have a plan.
Expected retirement to evolve on its own.
Thought rest, leisure, and recreation would be enough.
Didn’t stay connected with society.
Expected my partner to be my social life.
Didn’t know what I was leaving behind.
Was overcome with boredom.

~ Don't Retire, Rewire!
by Jeri Sedlar and Rick Miners

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