Arecent survey by Fidelity Investments says almost three-quarters of Canadians are satisfied with their retirements, and half say they found the transition easier than expected. And yet, with up to 10 million Canadians facing retirement or a change in their working lives in the next couple of decades, that still means several million people may find the transition difficult --and not just financially.
That's where Nigel Brown comes in.
The self-described "life-planning and purpose pioneer" is in the business of helping people make the transition from their primary career to what he calls their new calling -- a transition he says is the second-most difficult in life next to adolescence.
"I feel this is my calling," Brown, 62, says over the telephone from Kelowna, B.C., where he lives with his wife and two teenage sons. By "calling" he means the "healthy obsession of wanting to give your gifts to others." But, he's quick to point out, he's not exactly giving away his gifts.
His business Life Planning Matters is not a charity but a viable commercial-venture-in-the making. Though he's in the second half of his life, his wife and children are still in their first half. "So, this is certainly not a charity."
Brown sold his financial-planning practice last year, but has been working on his own transition for a number of years, joining the International Coaching Federation (Okanagan chapter) and making connections and contacts along the way. "I decided I was more interested in people than in money matters," he says.
He is the only Canadian trained by and affiliated with the Purpose Project, a joint venture of the University of Minnesota's Center for Spirituality and Healing and the Inventure Group's Richard Leider, whom Brown describes as a mentor and one of his original inspirations.
Brown uses Leider's material on purpose and meaning in his workshops. "They give me tremendous credibility."
While all this may sound very New Age, Brown says the basic need for the service he provides to his clients is bound to grow. People facing the big transition "will either have a need to work or will want to do more, work more. The idea of doing nothing is not exciting."
He says the transition can be difficult because of how work shapes people. "We're all born with an identity. We're all born with what I call genetic values. In our younger days, our values are shaped by our parents. Later, in order to conform to jobs we think we might like, our identities become skewed. Our identities become our jobs. When we make the transition [away from work], we leave our identities behind, not just our jobs."
Brown says he has the tools to help people find their calling, to reconnect with the identity they had before they started work. He says if you are not sure if you are in step with your calling, start with this: Identify a peak experience in your life irrespective of the reward. Examine that experience. What characteristics of the experience made it so meaningful? What do you consistently attempt to give others?
