Life Without a Title: When a CEO Retires

Summary

Summarized wtih ChatGPT

Former CEO David Siegel shares insights on navigating life after retirement, emphasizing the importance of preparation and maintaining meaningful connections. He encourages exploring new passions and being open to different opportunities, while also managing one’s ego during the transition. Siegel highlights ten principles that can help individuals find fulfillment without a title.

Key Takeaways:

1. Prepare for life after full-time work well in advance and explore side projects.
2. Focus on in-person connections to enhance relationships and personal growth.
3. Stay open to new experiences and manage your ego as you redefine your identity.

Highlights from Article

Ikigai is a Japanese term that is a conjunction of “iki” (to live) and “gai” (reason) — the reason to live. It represents the intersection of four of life’s priorities: what you love (passion), what you are good at (skills), what the world needs (impact) and what you can be paid for (profession).

One can argue that any time you need to describe yourself with the word “former” as your top achievement — it’s time to do something different. The invitations stopped quickly.

Because you will have more time on your hands, it will be easy to fill that time with less meaningful activities – like watching Netflix at 2 pm on a weekday. I take the same approach to my calendar today as I did when I was a CEO. In the beginning of the week I review my schedule for that week and the following week with my assistant and ensure that it is optimized for the right balance of activities.

Try to plan multiple in-person meetings the same day – I’ve had waiters ask me if I am ever leaving the table after the 4th back-to-back conversation.

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