Your Successful Retirement Can Be Found Beyond the Numbers With Craig Colvett

Welcome to today's episode of Wealthy After 40. I am excited for today's guest. He is going to talk about a topic that I recently went through, and so I'm excited for you listeners to hear his ideas, hear his thoughts, and hopefully process them for yourselves. So I welcome Craig Colvett to our podcast. Welcome, Craig. Thank you for having me. He is the co founder and president of Coach360. He started his career as a financial advisor where he worked for J. P. Morgan Chase and then moved to an internal wholesaler with Lake Mason. And after spending most of his time there, he then moved to Empower as a retirement consultant. Looking for more purpose and a more direct way to help impact people, he then became a life coach, where his clients work with him on relationships, career, and health and well being. After recognizing a disconnect within retirement planning with the non financial aspects of retirement, that is when he co founded 360 with the intention of addressing this need. So Craig, The non financial aspects, and nobody's talking about it. So, share some thoughts with us. Absolutely, yeah, so you're, you're right. The, the difference between the financial focus and the non financial is drastic. So every day I get an email, a Google alert for anything related to retirement. And nine of the ten articles are focused on something related to the financial piece. And there's some reasons behind that, right? The, the industry in general, they like numbers, they like precision, it's math, they love that stuff. But the part, when you look at the folks who have successfully retired, it's really, they figured out the non financial pieces. Pretty explicitly, right? So there's this social support piece. That's a big one that can be a drastic shift. If you go from working in an office or any kind of setting where you're surrounded by your friends, colleagues, even people you don't like, it's okay. They're still there as human beings. So that's a big one. Obviously your mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing need to be addressed as well, and that can be a challenging time of course and then finding your purpose. Right. Most people in a large part define their, who they are, their identity by what they do and whether or not, you know, folks should or want to, that's completely up to them. But when somebody wakes up in the morning in retirement, you need to be waking up for something or some things. And so that's an important piece. And so recognizing that there is a gap out there. And I think the way that I think of it is simply that as an industry, I think we're just positioned to be able to serve people better, leading them up into, I'd argue a little bit even on challenging them to define why they need to retire. Understanding that aspect a little bit, right? What is it that there is one of two scenarios, right? Either they're getting away from something or they're getting into something, right? Maybe something they care more about. We talked earlier a little bit of having some control over your day. I've seen somebody on LinkedIn post that, you know, it's not just financial freedom, it's calendar freedom. And that's one, with little kids, that's one that rings true to me is, if something's coming up on Thursday afternoon, I want to be able to go to it and not be asking permission. That's a really big deal, so I'll stop there. Yes. No, I love it. It, it is true. You know, we're either running away from something or running to something, and hopefully we can create more of that too. More of that, I'm ready to take on something different, which is what I shared with you and reasons why I retired. I needed to find a purpose. I have a hobby, but I already do it quite often. So just a hobby is really not likely going to fill your time. So share with us how you help clients walk through this. I think it's an important distinction, right? Is that the hobbies can stay, but the purpose fulfillment probably needs to be a bigger piece. So if you think about the roles that we have throughout our careers. We are usually part of a system that's on a greater mission, right? And the lucky ones of us have found organizations that we can really latch onto. We feel passionate about what their purpose and their mission is, and then we're contributing to that, right? So you have sort of the micro what us as individuals are contributing, but then you have the macro of how that organization may be helping large groups of people. And so I think just helping folks recognize what their career has been, not just in terms of what they get up and do every day, but sort of the bigger picture, bigger mission and recognizing we have hobbies right now while we're still not retired. Right? And so those, those can stay in place, but when your alarm goes off or doesn't go off in the morning, but you still are getting up out of bed, what do you look forward to? What's the excitement? How do you identify yourself? One of the interesting things I challenge folks on when they say in a response to what do you do, if they're retired, they usually respond with, well, I'm retired. And if you look at the definition of retirement, all it really means is you stop doing something. So I challenge them a bit to say, Instead of answering somebody with I'm retired, what if we led with who you are? What do you do? Do you volunteer? Do you have a part time job? Do you help out Meals on Wheels? Do you assist some elderly neighbors? Things along those lines. So helping folks recognize the value that these different roles that a they've already been playing, right? It doesn't automatically change just because you've stopped your traditional career, but helping them recognize. What has those various roles actually given to them spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically, you know, I hear sometimes you when you read articles or you hear from folks like I don't want to stop because if I stop, then I'll start to feel aches and pains and this and that. So it's a little bit about recognizing what they've been given so far, and we still need to replicate that on some level, but maybe the form looks a little different. Yeah. Yes, no, I love that. As you're talking through all of those things, I, I recognize that that's kind of what I did, right? So, as I was pursuing my different options of fulfilling my day, and I always like to tell people about four to six hours is what you want to try and find something fulfilling for your day. And it really doesn't even have to be every day, right? So, I did. I considered being an avid reader. I'm like, I love it when people read. I could go help out the little kids at school and help them. And then I'm like, Oh, that comes with a time crunch, right? I was wanting, I think more so to get rid of the time and punching that clock. And not that I had to punch a clock, but that restriction. And so that's why I chose entrepreneurship as opposed to, I would still love to help kids learn to read, but that comes on, I need you here at this time in this place and this. And I wasn't wanting to do that anymore. So there's a lot of different shifts you can do within that quote retirement. Yes. But, you know, it is. And then when you said physically, like, I made sure that that is my number one. I take, you know, for myself, how I'm going to stay young, right? Not ready for the recliner, not ready to sit in that all day, not ready to do all those things. Although if I choose to do that one day, that's fine. But, you know, yeah, so I loved all of those areas and how you were covering that. So what is the, what is the biggest hurdle you see clients? try to overcome as they're segueing or as they're thinking about this. I think sort of the redefining retirement, getting rid of that word entirely, and just talk almost thinking of it like a career shift, right? Because that's really what it is. Yes. There's many different career shifts. Typically when folks are at that point, let's just call it their mid 60s, when they're at or near that point, they have more options. Right? Theoretically, their debt has been paid down, their income is probably on the higher end where it's been over the course of their career, if they've had dependents, hopefully those dependents have left the nest and are on their own, etc, etc. So theoretically, all of that boils down to having more options. And so then it comes back to, well, again, how do you want to spend your days? So one exercise I like to do with them is flash ahead 5, 10, 12, 15 years. and look back and what would you find the most satisfying in terms of what you're doing with your Monday through Friday? Let's just kind of stick with that because most of us are used to that definition. What would you have found most satisfying? What would you have been most disappointed with in yourself? If you, to use your example, sat in a recliner all day, which folks can choose to do that. Right. So long as they're doing it very consciously, and not because they're afraid of maybe something on the other side of that. So it really comes back to defining their purpose, and that's going to lead them into, okay, once you define that, what's the setting for it? My purpose is to go do volunteer work. Great. That just gave you a social setting now. Yes. Right? That just gave you other human beings. To go be with. And that's not a small thing, by the way. You're probably familiar with the Harvard study that showed the single biggest predictor of longevity was a person's social support. It's an 85 year study. And the single biggest predictor was your social support above all else. And then that leads into what you were saying, too, about the physical and mental, like, stimulation. Keeping your mind active. Keeping your body active. Right. I mean, there are phrases again coming from folks who are already at that point. But they said, when I slow down, I start to feel it. And so their brains continue to move, their bodies move, they're getting that exercise, they're getting out of their house. They have some sort of structure, which typically can help people. I think the difference here is that folks have a lot more options than they recognize. Because I think as a group, we just tend to revert to what we've seen on TV, maybe what our parents retired as, our grandparents retired as. I remember my grandfather used to go to, to OTB, off track betting. And that was kind of his day. He'd go to the grocery store and he would go to bed on horses. Right. And that was kind of his day. And looking back, I said, gosh, he really, he could have done more for more people. Right. So that impacts me of wanting to say, how can I potentially inspire people? And quite frankly, they get out of their own way because a lot of times we get trapped inside these little boxes in our mind and go, well, I'm going to retire. So therefore I just stay home and golf and read a book or whatever it might be. There are a lot of options out there and also think about how knowledgeable and experienced somebody at that age is and what they may be able to do for others from a mentorship, from a leadership perspective, etc. Yeah, so important to realize that it's just a second leg of your journey. And really, you know. I know my husband and I were always like we just have to wake up every day to get paid. So what we do on top of that is a different fulfillment. It's not a need. It's not the want, right? It's the fulfilling that purpose. And again, filling our social structure, filling who we are. And, you know, as I said, I began an entrepreneur and the growth and the, my brain and everything I've worked. Really hard. And, you know, at the end of my career, I was like, Oh, it was so easy. But yet, if I go back to the very beginning, it wasn't easy. It was the same. And so recognizing that, but yeah, so how how can people reach you and what does it look like to work with you if they're interested in, you know, delving into this topic a little bit further? Yeah, I appreciate you asking. So coach360. io is the website. And yeah, as you said, I mean, there's a couple of important parts. So I equate this to working with a personal trainer, right? So if somebody is working with a personal trainer, they've decided that they're prioritizing their health and well being. And I use that phrase very intentionally. Because it's not just their physical health. If you're working with a personal trainer, anybody who's exercised or even simply just read the benefits on exercising knows those benefits extend across your body in ways that we quite frankly can't even fully measure, but we know it's there, right? And so working with a coach, potentially it could be a retirement coach. It could be a career coach. It could be a relationship coach. That comes up great divorce. The single biggest age range for divorce is 55 to 64. It's about 43 percent of people. So basically one out of every two people, 55 to 64 are headed for the divorce path. And there's a reason for that, right? We get on in our years, things change, we change as people. And if you haven't worked on the relationship up to that point, You may be in for a rude awakening when you find you and your spouse home a lot, and you're like, who is this person? So I think that's the part is, have to be open to what comes our way, recognize there are resources. Again, just like with a personal trainer, you could go in, have a specific goal in mind. You could say, gosh, I'd love to run a marathon this year. That's a big goal of mine. It would be general health. Could be recovering from an injury could be not wanting to get injured again, maybe injured before. And so a life coach can be a very similar support system in that way, where you have something front and center that, you know, if you can take care of that, address that challenge, get on the other side of that, get through it. You know that there will be rewards waiting for you, but the benefits to a life coach were objective. I don't necessarily care whether you wanted to retire at 50 or not, so I can come in and challenge you and we can talk about that and unpack it and recognize really what does it give you? Right? I mean, I bet if we, if we went through a bit, I bet it gave you things that you didn't previously have. And that's what coaching can do is say, these are your goals. What are they going to do for you? What are they going to allow for? Maybe it's happiness. fulfillment, less regret, right? Maybe a different side of the same coin. And so the beauty there is the client controls the relationship. They decide the frequency, they decide which coach they work with. They get to pick based off of, I tell them a lot, it's feel. How does it feel when you're talking to the person? Because you're going to be opening up a successful coaching relationship is really based on a person's ability to be vulnerable. And get into topics that at first can feel like, Ooh, gosh, I'm going to, I'm going to share something deep with a stranger, but there's some real benefits to doing that with a stranger and that the stranger doesn't have any of the previous attachments. So I can see you're nodding this. You recognize the value, but that's it. They, they get to control that and they get to explore what's happening. I use the phrase unpack. I think about just unpacking statements, belief systems, value systems, goals, and saying what's really there. So when someone says, I want to travel, they need to be able to essentially defend that and tell me why that holds any significance because I'm not there to tell them whether they should or should not travel, right? I'm there to help them discover, wow, I didn't realize that actually comes back to this and I don't really feel that way anymore, but I held onto that belief system longer than it served me. Yeah, yeah, you know, because coaching is fairly new and a lot of individuals are not quite sure what it looks like. I think you've given a really good perspective into that. I was thinking this morning about it and I'm like, you know, the benefit of a coach. Yes, they help you get through your beliefs, get through your mind, but yet accountability. Right. You, you start going down that path and you've got an appointment next week with your coach and they're going to want to hear how this and this and this one still up to the client. But yet that accountability and that I think is huge as well. So. Great. And if I could chime in to I also the accountability, you're absolutely right. The coach can show up. The coach can also help them develop an accountability system. Right. And so therefore, yes, you have the coach, but you have other stops along the way that you can create as the one being coached. And bring in a spouse, bring in a neighbor, find an online community. I know you do a lot of group work and one of the big benefits to group work is group accountability. You have to stand before this group and they're going to ask you to say, where are you relative to that? So I think the system, because let's be honest, like as humans, we need that. We need to be able to answer for this stuff. And when we have the freedom where we don't really have to do something. That can be the part where sometimes we need that accountability even more, essentially someone or a group to answer to, and so I think building in that system where they can utilize whatever it might be, sometimes it's as simple as, as you know, writing it down. I have a post it note right here, having it visible, having it external, not inside your brain, telling it to somebody. Go find the next person and tell them your goal for this week. And even if you never see them again, you just made yourself more accountable because you shared it with another human being. So some cool ways to kind of trick ourselves into being better. That's so true. So triggered my memory back, you know, when I was thirty five and I'm like, Oh, I could actually retire before the age of 50, technically. But I was like, And then there was some other dreams, financial. So I'm like, okay, here's all the things we want to do. We're in our mid thirties, you know, we're declaring all of these things. And I'm like, there's no way we can do that. And it wasn't the retirement piece that I was saying no way to, but after I said that out to the universe, I was like, Oh, I'm going to prove you wrong. And I'm going to do this. So there is power in speaking. Speaking it out of your head instead of just thinking that so, so very amazing, even you, you recognizing this, what, 15 years later, like there was value and you're right about, you can say it in the house to yourself, but saying it out loud, all of a sudden you go, sometimes you call yourself on it and you go, you know what, like that's, I'm, I'm, I'm leading myself to believe something that I actually don't believe. And then from there again, maybe you need to back into what it needs to be, what needs to change, et cetera. But there's a lot of power in getting it out in a, in a very healthy, constructive way. Yeah, so true. So, all right. Before we end if listeners are within probably five to seven years range of retirement, what is an action step they can start doing to really start feeling okay with that? I think the big thing so so you probably know this. I'm sure many listeners do. Journaling is one of the most powerful ways for us to work through our thoughts, feelings, emotions, right? Simple journaling. By the way, that that can take any form that somebody wants to. If somebody loves to write, write. If you hate typing, write. If you hate typing and writing video, I don't care what it is. Just journal some way, somehow. Take your thoughts and your feelings from internal to external. I would challenge people in the form of journaling to simply define, as you said, so let's say somebody says in five years, I want to retire, dump the word retirement. and say, in five years, I want to what? What is, what is the life that you see? Because ultimately, if someone's saying, even you, I want to retire, you're essentially saying, I want my life to look like X. Define what X is, and then subsequently why X means anything. What does it even mean? What is financial freedom mean? What is time freedom mean? What is getting away from your current organization mean? In other words, what does it do for a person? So journal what this actual is next. I love that you said it really is just the next iteration of one's career. What is it that you're going towards? And are you running away from things that maybe we need to stop, turn around and identify and go, wait a second, because that could be a part of it as well, because we are creatures that are driven by fear more than anything else. So that's what I would challenge folks to do. Awesome. Perfect. All right, Craig, let our listeners know how they can connect with you, where they can find you. Coach360. io. You're welcome to find me on there. Also on LinkedIn, you can look me up on the personal side as Craig Colvett. And also coach 360 as well. So I put a lot of information there again, highlighting, as I said earlier, there's a lot of studies out there for retirees. We should be smart and learn from people who are ahead of us and understand what challenges they faced and what they did to address those. So I really seek to put resources out there for folks looking to educate and then potentially move into a more specific solution. Perfect. Awesome. Thank you for your words. I appreciate it. His links will be down in the show notes. So please go connect with him, reach out if you need. And we thank you so much, Craig, and we'll see you listeners later. Thanks for having me.