My name is Bob Koehler and in my professional life I was an entrepreneur. I started my first company when I was 19 years old and moved on to start three more companies before reaching the ripe young age of 60. I live in Bloomington, MN where my wife and I raised three children.
Very early in 2015 I decided that I no longer had the passion to continue in business so I hung up my briefcase and decided to retire. I was excited about this time in life. I had lots of interests and couldn’t imagine ever being bored or wanting for things to do. For the first 6 months I did everything I’d dreamed of doing in retirement. I worked on my house, went fishing, golfing, biking. I worked out a lot, read and connected with friends. It was a lot of fun at first but by the end of the first year I found myself a little lost and realizing that life was different now. I was no longer the guy in charge of the company with recognition in my industry. I had no schedule to follow, no goals…no purpose.
I spent the next 2 ½ years studying this time of major life transition. I read endless number of books. Attended conferences and workshops and through hundreds of hours of reviewing studies and research on retirement, aging, re-defining purpose and value and lessons learned from those who have traveled this path before me. I also interviewed a number of recent and soon to be retirees to get their perspective on what they thought retirement meant and if they felt prepared for it.
In time I realized that the transition to retirement or, as I prefer to call it, post career life can be a huge life adjustment. Some will coast right into it and find ways to redefine their purpose and passion. Many will not and as a result their health and quality of life will be challenged greatly.
I decided that this was my new calling, preparing others for this great new journey of post career life.