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  • Finding Your Ikigai - Your Reason for Being

    Finding Your Ikigai - Your Reason for Being
    2026/01/19
    You've retired. You can fill every hour with activities—golf, volunteering, travel—and still feel empty. You're busier than when you worked, but something fundamental is missing. This episode introduces the Japanese concept of ikigai (your reason for being) and explores how to discover genuine purpose beyond staying busy.Ikigai isn't found in a lightning-bolt moment on a mountaintop. It's cultivated through experimentation, reflection, and small daily adjustments. In this episode, we explore why the Okinawans—who live longer than almost anyone on Earth—never even had a word for retirement: because they never stopped having a reason to wake up.In This EpisodeWhy staying busy doesn't equal purposeful living (and the Sunday night feeling that never goes away)The four circles of ikigai, adapted specifically for retirementThree retirement ikigai archetypes: The Mentor, The Creator, and The ConnectorThe Three-Month Ikigai Experiment framework for discoveryHow to weave purpose into daily life through small, consistent alignmentWhy your ikigai at 55 will look different from your ikigai at 75 (and why that's not failure)Key Insight: Your job was never your ikigai. Your job provided structure around your ikigai. Now that the structure's gone, we need to find what was underneath it all along.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Casual Mondays Podcast00:27 Discovering Ikigai: The Secret to Longevity01:30 Welcome and Community Engagement03:08 The Activity Trap in Retirement04:50 Understanding Ikigai and Its Importance15:45 The Four Circles of Ikigai28:10 Practical Steps to Find Your Ikigai42:27 Conclusion and Next StepsJoin the ConversationWebsite: www.casualmondayspodcast.comInstagram: @casualmondayspodcastYouTube: Casual Mondays PodcastCasual Mondays Club: https://www.casualmondayspodcast.com/newsletter/Stress-Test Your Retirement Plan with the Retirement Success Graph AppPowerful. Secure. Free.Stress test your retirement plan against 100+ years of market data with the Retirement Success Graph app. See hundreds of possible futures for your portfolio. Test different scenarios—what if you spend more? Travel more? Live to 100?Click to DownloadPrimary Research CitationsDan Buettner's Blue Zones Research – Okinawa longevity studies and ikigai correlation dataStanford Center on Longevity – Purpose and aging correlation research; growth mindset application to purpose discoveryOkinawa Centenarian Study – Ikigai and longevity data; cardiovascular and cognitive health benefitsHarvard Study of Adult Development – 85+ year longitudinal study on happiness; purpose matters more than wealth findingsJapanese Ministry of Health – Ikigai research and public health data; life satisfaction regardless of income levelUniversity of Michigan Health and Retirement Study – Purpose in retirement transitions; noticing vs. grand planningMIT AgeLab – Daily routine and purpose integration; satisfaction from consistent vs. occasional alignmentAmerican Psychological Association – Intrinsic motivation in aging; retirement transition researchNational Institute on Aging – Successful aging and adaptable sense of purposeAdditional ResourcesBook: Retire Retirement by Tamara Erickson (Harvard Business Review)Study: "Positive Retirement" Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2023AARP Foundation – Research on social identity in later lifeDr. Nancy Schlossberg, University of Maryland – Transition theory researchEpisode LinksCasual Mondays Podcast: casualmondayspodcast.comRetirement Success App: retirementsuccessapp.comYour AssignmentCreate your four-circle ikigai diagram:What do you LOVE?What are you GOOD AT?What do others NEED?What gives you JOY?Then identify one small experiment to try this week. Not a life overhaul. A single test to see how one intersection feels.GREAT BIG DISCLAIMERThe Casual Mondays Podcast is presented only for entertainment and/or educational purposes. Moreover, no listener/user should assume that any such discussion serves as the receipt of, or a substitute for, personalized advice from a registered investment professional. We do not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information presented on the podcast, this website, or other affiliated properties. Any third-party content or links are provided solely for convenience. Neither Kevin Donahue nor the Casual Mondays Podcast is a registered investment advisory firm, a law firm, or a tax advisory service, and neither is representing any spoken, written, or transmitted content as financial planning, tax, legal, or investment advice. All users are strongly advised to consult qualified professionals regarding any financial planning, tax, legal, or investment decisions.
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    44 分
  • Who Am I Without A Business Card? The Identity Shift

    Who Am I Without A Business Card? The Identity Shift
    2025/12/25
    Who Am I Without My Business Card? Navigating the Retirement Identity CrisisFor years, your professional role provided:Instant social recognition ("Oh, you're a surgeon? Impressive!")Clear measures of success (promotions, bonuses, titles)Structured identity ("I'm a teacher," "I'm an engineer")Built-in purpose (projects, deadlines, deliverables)When that scaffolding disappears, even the most self-assured people feel unmoored.Traditional retirement at 65 comes with social scripts. People understand it. Expect it. Celebrate it.Early retirement at 50? Society doesn't quite know what to do with you yet. You're too young for "retired" to feel comfortable. Too established to pivot to something entirely new. And the typical response—"Must be nice!" or "What do you DO all day?"—can feel more like interrogation than celebration.Stanford Center on Longevity researchers found that people who retire before 60 face unique psychological challenges as they navigate uncharted social terrain. There's no roadmap. No cultural consensus. No clear answer to "What comes next?" Join the ConversationWebsite: www.casualmondayspodcast.comInstagram: @casualmondayspodcastYouTube: Casual Mondays PodcastCasual Mondays Club: https://www.casualmondayspodcast.com/newsletter/Stress-Test Your Retirement Plan with the Retirement Success Graph AppPowerful. Secure. Free. Stress test your retirement plan against 100+ years of market data with the Retirement Success Graph app.Click to DownloadPrimary Research Citations:American Psychological Association – Retirement transition and identity researchHarvard Business School – Executive identity post-retirement studiesStanford Center on Longevity – "Phoenix Career" methodology and generativity researchUniversity of Michigan Health and Retirement Study – Psychological adjustment dataDr. Nancy Schlossberg, University of Maryland – Transition theory researchAdditional Resources:Book: Retire Retirement by Tamara Erickson (Harvard Business Review)Study: "Positive Retirement" Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2023AARP Foundation research on social identity in later lifeEpisode Links:Casual Mondays Podcast: casualmondayspodcast.comRetirement Success App: retirementsuccessapp.comStream This Episode on YouTube Click here to view the episode transcript. GREAT BIG DISCLAIMER:The Casual Mondays Podcast is presented only for entertainment and/or educational purposes. Moreover, no listener/user should assume that any such discussion serves as the receipt of, or a substitute for, personalized advice from a registered investment professional. We do not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information presented on the podcast, this website, or other affiliated properties. Any third-party content or links are provided solely for convenience. Neither Kevin Donahue nor the Casual Mondays Podcast is a registered investment advisory firm, a law firm, or a tax advisory service, and neither is representing any spoken, written, or transmitted content as financial planning, tax, legal, or investment advice. All users are strongly advised to consult qualified professionals regarding any financial planning, tax, legal, or investment decisions.
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    23 分
  • Welcome to Casual Mondays

    Welcome to Casual Mondays
    2025/12/09

    Welcome to Casual Mondays, the retirement podcast for those who’ve closed the office planner and opened the door to tomorrow. Whether you're planning for retirement or already made the transition, join us for conversations about what happens after you step away from the 9-to-5: from day one plans to shaping a second act that’s as fulfilling as it is flexible.

    Expect expert advice, inspiring stories, and actionable tips for designing a life that’s rich in experiences, purpose, and joy. Trade your desk for a deck chair. This is the retirement podcast for living your best life - every single day.

    Please help others find the show by rating it in your podcast app and sharing it on social media.

    __________________________________________________
    SHOW NOTES:

    SEND YOUR VOICE MESSAGES:
    Record your retirement story or feedback on the podcast at www.casualmondayspodcast.com

    CONNECT WITH US:
    HOME: www.CasualMondaysPodcasts.com
    INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/CasualMondaysPodcast
    YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/@CasualMondaysPodcast
    FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/CasualMondaysPodcast

    EPISODE THEMES:
    FOUNDATION: Identity, Purpose, Structure, and Goals
    DAILY LIVING: Community, Health, and Experiences
    WORK & RELATIONSHIPS: Encore Careers and Partnership Dynamics
    MANAGING YOUR RESOURCES: Time, Wealth, and the Money Mindset
    GROWTH & EXPLORATION:     Learning, Geographic Freedom
    LEGACY & VISION:     Impact and Long-Term Planning
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    8 分