The Retirement Wisdom Podcast

Time for an Upgrade?

The honeymoon period doesn’t last forever in retirement.

The free Retirement Drift assessment takes five minutes. It’s not a report card. No right answers.

If you want to get started on working on the new Future You, that’s exactly what the Designing Your New Life in Retirement program is built for.

Six group sessions with 6 to 10 people doing the same, and a structured way to move from putting it off to designing.

The September cohort is enrolling now with two scheduling options.

Learn more here | Sign up here

_____________________________

What would persuade a successful professional to trade seniority and compensation for beginner status, and six months of Police Academy training at 70? For John Fisher, the answer was not reinvention for its own sake. It was the chance to keep growing, serving, solving problems, and feeling fully engaged.

Before becoming a Ranger, John spent more than 20 years at Sony Pictures Television, including as supervising producer of The Young and the Restless, where he won six Emmy Awards. His earlier career included work with HBO and key roles in launching MTV, VH-1, MTV Europe, and The Comedy Channel.

His next chapter didn’t pop up overnight. It grew from volunteering. One opportunity led to another: EMT certification, a seasonal Ranger-Assistant role, ranger training, and eventually the Río Hondo Basic Police Academy. There, surrounded by much younger recruits, John became California’s oldest graduate of a basic Police Academy, class president and was voted Most Inspirational.

In this conversation, John explains how he handled the demands of the academy, why age brought advantages as well as limitations, and how three simple criteria (learning something new, helping people, and having fun) guided his choices. His story is dramatic, but his approach is accessible. Becoming a Ranger may not be your thing, but what small experiment might open your own unexpected next chapter?

John Fisher joins us from California.

_________________________

Bio

John Fisher is a Ranger with the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, a local park agency with extensive property in the Santa Monica Mountains. He joined the MRCA as a volunteer in 2024. After attending the Rio Hondo Basic Police Academy in 2025, Fisher completed field training and became a generalist ranger in 2026.

Prior to the MRCA, Fisher worked for Sony Pictures Television for over 20 years as a supervising producer for “The Young and the Restless,” where he won six Emmy Awards. Earlier, Fisher worked on the NBC Enterprises syndicated daytime program, “The John Walsh Show.” He spent 11 years with HBO as a production executive, where he supervised a wide range of programming, including “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher,” “The Chris Rock Show,” “Reverb,” and “Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist.”

His experience encompasses key roles in launching MTV, VH-1, MTV Europe, and The Comedy Channel, as well as numerous producing and consulting credits for broadcast, pay cable, syndication, corporate, and home video projects.

A longtime member of the Television Academy, Fisher has served on the Daytime Peer Group Executive Committee and the Daytime Awards Committee. He has been involved with community and educational endeavors and has volunteered with his homeowners’ association, Syracuse University’s alumni advisory network, and Boston University’s Los Angeles program. An avid cyclist, he has been a member of several advocacy groups and a volunteer trail maintainer.

Additionally, he continues to volunteer with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Search and Rescue team based in Santa Clarita and as a civilian volunteer for the Los Angeles Police Department through his membership in the California Emergency Mobile Patrol (CEMP). Fisher also belongs to the Mountain Bike Unit in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and is a volunteer for the National Park Service and California State Parks.

A native of Baltimore, Fisher holds a master’s degree from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School and an undergraduate degree from Towson University.

__________________________

Other Retirement Podcast Conversations You’ll Love

The Third Act – Josh Sapan

Mattering…in Retirement – Jennifer Breheny Wallace

What If You Pivot Instead of Retiring? – Scott Siff

___________________________

About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast

There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time.

About Retirement Wisdom

I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident.

Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms.

About Your Podcast Host

Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking.

Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University.

In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 2 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy.

_____________________________________________

Wise Quotes

On Trade Offs

“I am earning a fraction of what I earned before. I am way down in the food chain, and I love it.”

On Age Bias

“If somebody’s telling you you’re too old, find new friends. They’re just jealous.”

On Future You

“You have to figure out what kind of story you want to tell about this next phase of your life.”

Retirement can create an unexpected form of pressure. With more freedom and fewer work constraints, shouldn’t this be the moment when we finally perfect our health, routines, relationships, and long-delayed ambitions? Steve Kamb argues that this all-or-nothing mindset often produces an all-then-nothing result.

Steve is the founder of Nerd Fitness and author of How to Try Again. In this conversation, he explains why setbacks are not proof that we are failures; they are information about what to try differently. He shares lessons from the Museum of Failure, reframes treading water as a legitimate success during certain seasons, and makes the case that no one truly returns to square one. Every previous attempt leaves us knowledge and data we can use going forward. If we pay attention.

Steve also introduces his PACT framework – Pause, Accept, Change, Try – and explains why permission to start can be more powerful than waiting for confidence. Whether you want to rebuild fitness, develop a new interest, strengthen relationships, or design a more purposeful retirement, this episode offers a compassionate and practical way to begin again.

Steve Kamb joins us from Massachusetts.

_________________

Time for an Upgrade?

The honeymoon period doesn’t last forever in retirement.

It dawns on you that there are more Wednesdays ahead than items on your Bucket List.

I’ve created a brief online tool to highlight the key areas that need your attention the most.

It’s based on what I’ve learned about my clients who thrive in retirement – and what they make sure to get right.

The free Retirement Drift assessment takes five minutes. It’s not a report card. No right answers.

Just where you stand today and a starting point for the retirement you really want to live.

Take the Free Retirement Drift Assessment →

“Something was missing and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Now I know.”

That’s from a podcast listener who took it last week.

If you want to get started on working on the new Future You, that’s exactly what the Designing Your New Life in Retirement program is built for.

Six group sessions with 6 to 10 people doing the same, and a structured way to move from putting it off to designing.

The September cohort is enrolling now with two scheduling options.

Learn more here | Sign up here

__________________

Bio

Steve Kamb is the author of How to Try Again (St. Martin’s Press) and Level Up Your Life (Rodale). He’s also the founder of Nerd Fitness, a worldwide community of nerds leveling up their lives. Since 2009, he’s helped busy people get stronger, live healthier, and build heroic habits. He’s published a thousand articles backed by scientific research and full of nerdy references that have been read by tens of millions.

Kamb writes a weekly “Level Up with Steve Kamb” newsletter read by more than 100,000 super humans. He’s given talks at some of the world’s biggest companies and guest lectured at Vanderbilt University. He currently resides in Nashville, TN, where he plays golf decently and music poorly.

__________________

For More on Steve Kamb

How to Try Again: An Approachable Guide to Navigating Chaos and Making Change THAT STICKS

Website

__________________

Retirement Podcast Conversations You’ll Also Love

Self-Compassion – Dr. Kristin Neff

How to Begin – Michael Bungay Stanier

The Joy of Movement – Kelly McGonigal

_______________________

About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast

There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time.

About Retirement Wisdom

I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident.

Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms.

About Your Podcast Host

Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking.

Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University.

In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 2 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy.

________________

Wise Quotes

On Self Compassion

“It’s not how you succeed with discipline, but really how you fail with compassion.”

On Mindset

“An all or nothing mindset creates all then nothing results.”

On Action

“Action creates motivation, which creates self-efficacy, which creates more action…You don’t need a membership. You don’t need to make a big deal out of it. You can just put on your shoes and go do it.”

______________________

The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Retirement Wisdom Podcast are solely those of the guests and do not reflect the opinion of the host or Retirement Wisdom, LLC. The Retirement Wisdom Podcast primarily covers the non-financial aspects of retirement. From time to time we may invite guests who discuss other aspects of retirement planning, solely for educational purposes. Listeners are advised to consult qualified financial and/or medical professionals on those matters. Consult your doctor before starting any exercise routine.

 

How clear are you about what you’re retiring to?

Our next group program starts in September and is limited to 10 people.

The Early Registration discount ends on July 31st.

Learn more here.

Reserve your spot today.

________________________

We spend years letting our pace be set for us, by employers and the calendar. Then retirement arrives and, for the first time, the tempo is ours to choose. In this conversation, science journalist Elizabeth Svoboda, author of The Art of Pacing, argues that most of us get can stuck oscillating between two extremes — the perpetual sprint and complete disengagement — and that the real skill is learning to move across a range of paces with intention.

Elizabeth shares interesting and useful ideas, including “rigid flexibility” (from an Olympic runner), smart circadian-rhythm energy management, the freedom that “selective mediocrity” can create, and how identity can get intertwined with the pace we keep.  It’s a conversation about doing less of what drains you, so you have more for what matters most.

Elizabeth Svoboda joins us from California.

_________________________

Bio

Elizabeth Svoboda is the author of The Art of Pacing: A Guide to Balancing Short-Term Demands with Long-Term Thriving. She is an award-winning science writer and contributor to Scientific American, Discover, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, and other publications. Elizabeth is a winner of the Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for Young Science Writers, and her work has been anthologized in the Best American Science and Nature Writing series. She lives in San Jose, California, with her husband and young sons.

________________________

For More on Elizabeth Svoboda

The Art of Pacing: A Guide to Balancing Short-Term Demands with Long-Term Thriving

Website

_______________________

How Ready are You for Your New Life in Retirement?

Take this free 5-minute assessment to identify which areas may need your attention:

Not retired yet, but I want to design a meaningful life

I’m in retirement, but maybe I could use an upgrade

_______________________

Retirement Podcast Conversations You’ll Also Love

How to Flourish…in Retirement – Daniel Coyle

Happier Hour – Cassie Holmes, PhD

Will You Flourish or Languish? – Corey Keyes

Taming The Molecule of More – Michael Long

_______________________

About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast

There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time.

About Retirement Wisdom

I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident.

Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms.

About Your Podcast Host

Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking.

Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University.

In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 2 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy.

_________________________

Wise Quotes

On Reassessing Your Pace

“So much of our identities tend to be wrapped up in the pace we keep. As you’re contemplating retirement or just embarking on it, it’s a good time for a big-picture pace reassessment.”

On Flourishing

“Set a pace that is right for you and that leads you toward personally flourishing.”

On Selective Mediocrity

“You have to avoid over-extracting your own resources. By conserving energy on less essential things, you have more energy to devote to the things that matter most.”

 

It takes decades to save & invest enough to be able to retire.

But most people find that when the time comes, they’re unsure about what’s next.

That part doesn’t take decades, unless you keep putting it off.

Join our next small group program in September and Design Your New Life in Retirement.

Two 1 on 1 sessions. 6 interactive group sessions. A new direction.

Learn more and sign up today.

Early registration ends July 31st. Limited to 10 participants.

__________________________

What does it really take to design a meaningful life after full-time work?

In this special “Best of” episode of The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, you’ll hear brief but useful insights from guests who challenge the old story of retirement as a finish line, a reward, or a long vacation.

You’ll hear different perspectives on the the shift from “role to soul”, the emotional side of transition, how to build a life portfolio, why mattering may be as important as money, how connection shapes happiness, why your brain can keep growing, and how creativity can become a surprisingly powerful health habit that can enhance longevity.

This episode offers a powerful reminder: retirement isn’t about stepping back. It’s an opportunity to step more fully into life with the courage to keep growing and contributing in new ways.

___________________________

Want to go deeper on any of these conversations?

How to Live a Meaningful Life – Dave Evans

Navigating the In-Between – Monique Rhodes

What Do You Want Out of Life…in Retirement ? – Valerie Tiberius

Design a Phased Retirement – Anna Rappaport

Mattering…in Retirement – Jennifer Breheny Wallace

Love & Happiness…in Retirement – Sonja Lyubomirsky

Eat Your Ice Cream – Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD

How to Stay Sharp in Retirement – Dr. Majid Fotuhi

Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives – Daisy Fancourt

_________________________

How Ready are You for Your New Life in Retirement?

Take this free 5-minute assessment to identify which areas may need your attention:

Not retired yet, but I want to design a meaningful life

In retirement, but maybe I could use an upgrade

_________________________

Other Retirement Podcast Conversations You’ll Also Love

Best of 2025 – Part Two

What If I? Best of 2025 – Part 1

The Very Best of 2024

___________________________

About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast

There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time.

About Retirement Wisdom

I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident.

Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms.

About Your Podcast Host

Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking.

Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University.

In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 2 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy.

You’ve been asked: “So, what are you going to do all day?”

You have an answer. But privately, you admit it’ll cover 2 to 3 hours a day.

You deserve a better, richer retirement.

Join our next Design Your New Life in Retirement small group program in September.

Learn more and sign up today.

________________________

Dr. Jordan Grumet has crafted three books mapping the terrain between money, mortality, and meaning. His new book, The Healthcare Heist, opens with a story he rarely tells.

That experience became the seed of a much bigger argument: that insurers, pharmaceutical companies, private equity and venture capital firms, and electronic medical records companies all have their “hands in the cookie jar,” extracting value from a system that’s supposed to serve two primary stakeholders: the patient who needs care and the doctor who gives it.

Jordan calls out the “intimacy gap” where today patients disclose everything to their doctors, while doctors are trained to disclose nothing back. He makes a provocative case that it can be closed through storytelling.  He also shares practical and valuable advice you can use: concrete steps for your next doctor’s visit and the healthcare-literacy gaps that trip up many people heading into retirement.

_________________________

Bio

Jordan Grumet, MD is a hospice physician who has spent his career at the intersection of medicine, money, and meaning. He’s the author of Taking Stock: A Hospice Doctor’s Advice on Financial Independence, Building Wealth, and Living a Regret-Free Life and The Purpose Code: How to Unlock Meaning, Maximize Happiness, and Leave a Lasting Legacy. His latest book, The Healthcare Heist, argues that patients and doctors are the only two parties with both the incentive and the ability to fix a broken healthcare system — and makes the case for shared storytelling as the tool to do it. Jordan earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his medical degree from Northwestern University.

__________________________

For More on Jordan Grumet, MD

The Healthcare Heist:How Physicians and Patients Can Unite to Transform Healthcare

The Purpose Code – Dr. Jordan Grumet

Taking Stock – Dr. Jordan Grumet

__________________________

Other Podcast Episodes You’ll Also Love

Eat Your Ice Cream – Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD

What Matters Most – Diane Button

___________________________

About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast

There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time.

About Retirement Wisdom

I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident.

Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms.

About Your Podcast Host

Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking.

Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University.

In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 2 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy.

___________________________

Wise Quotes

On Our Healthcare System

“It made me realize how many other groups are leveraging our healthcare system to extract money out of it…We have a failing medical system… so corporatized… you have all these hands in the cookie jar, grabbing all the money out. And none of it’s really improving medicine…Most people… don’t realize that they’re being pickpocketed at every single step.”

On Medical Malpractice

“Less than one in 10 cases that are filed actually show medical malpractice.”

On the Power, and Promise, of Storytelling

“Stories changed the world.”