In this episode, Lee Gale Gruen reflects on the opportunity retirement provides to revisit and pursue long‑held dreams that may have been set aside during earlier stages of life. She explores how years of responsibilities—career, family, and daily obligations—often delay personal ambitions, leaving many people wondering if it’s ever the right time to begin again. Lee encourages viewers to see retirement not as an ending, but as a chance to explore passions, rediscover creativity, and take meaningful risks. With a thoughtful and practical perspective, she highlights the importance of taking that first step, no matter how small, and reminds us that fulfillment often comes from finally acting on what has long been important to us.
Lee Gale Gruen is a regular Podcast contributor for The Transitions Network. She is an actress, author, speaker, and blogger. She focuses on how retirees can customize their retirement to fit their own personalities, interests, and comfort level.
WEBSITE: https://leegalegruen.com
EMAIL: gowergulch@yahoo.com
BLOG: “Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement Years”: https://leegalegruen.wordpress.com
BOOKS ON AMAZON.COM:
“Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement Years: Find Joy, Excitement, and Purpose After You Retire” https://tinyurl.com/33x9vmcx
“Adventures with Dad: A Father and Daughter’s Journey Through a Senior Acting Class” https://tinyurl.com/5d3yycjw
Click to see Full Transcript
Neil Rerup (00:03.298)
Hello, welcome or welcome back. I was at a meeting recently where we were all retirees. We were going around the room, each telling a little about ourselves. It was my turn and I told my story of retiring from my career as a probation officer and then becoming an actress, author, speaker, and blogger.
The next person was a woman who mentioned she was working as an office manager at her brother’s law practice because he couldn’t find anyone else competent. However, she didn’t sound very excited about it. She said that although she had a college degree, her dream as a young woman had always been to get an advanced degree. Well, I spoke up.
Why don’t you do it now?” Now she responded in a shocked and defensive tone. I dropped that discussion quickly. She obviously didn’t want to hear it. The woman seemed aloof toward me after my remark. I thought maybe she was jealous. I don’t know. My suggestion that she revisit her youthful dream.
was apparently the last straw for her. She made it a point not to talk to me during the rest of the event. I think I touched a nerve. During my speaking and writing, I deliberately touch nerves. I encourage retirees to find something to be passionate about as a motivation to embrace life. Why should we do that at our age?
Do it for the challenge of it, the sheer joy of it. Why should we retirees go quietly into the night? There is still plenty of life to be lived. Now is the time to do it. Don’t just take the easy way out, the same boring way out. You don’t have to follow my path. If you’ve always wanted to try something, do it. You might have to modify it.
Neil Rerup (02:26.191)
Let’s see if you can figure out a way to connect with that thing that excites you. Maybe you can’t become the doctor you’d always wanted to be. But perhaps you can volunteer at a medical facility, helping patients in some manner. Maybe you can’t go trekking into the jungles after animals. But maybe you can volunteer at an animal shelter. Life can get stale.
Just like bread. Try something new. If you don’t like it, don’t run back to the old boring stuff you’ve always done. Try another new thing. Eventually something might grab you. I know it’s comfortable to stick to the tried and true, both in activities and friends. However, trying something new might open doors for you that you never knew existed.
Retirees don’t just have to settle. Find and pursue your passion in one form or another. I’m LeGail Gruen. I hope you’ll visit me again here on my podcast, Retirement Made to Order, hosted by The Transitions Network. I will be posting a new podcast twice a week. Feel free to contact me if you want to comment on any of my podcasts.
You’ll find my email address in the information that follows or in the description at the beginning of this podcast, along with links to my website, my blog, and my two books on Amazon.com. Goodbye for now.