Journal Your Way to Retirement
Evolve into Retirement It Isn't Just About the Money Be the Architect of Your Life
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Tell me a fact, and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth, and I’ll believe, but tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever. - Indian Proverb I recently retired as a financial planner and the transition was not as easy as I thought it would be. I have studied financial transitions for many years, but, wow, when it came to my own transition, I was surprised at the many emotions that took over. Being a financial advisor, I would not have retired if money was an issue. But, I could have prepared better for the issues. So, why didn’t I journal about retirement 5 years prior to that day? Because I thought retirement for me was mostly just about the money. I am here to tell you, it isn’t. Although I am sure the second half of my life would have eventually evolved wonderfully, I wanted to speed up the process of getting to the perfect retirement. “Ah Ha!” I started journaling daily about retirement. That is when I felt compelled to share these “Ah Ha’s!” with you. You, too, will have many “Ah Ha!” moments as you journey through this book. It is my heartfelt desire for you to obtain clarity on all the various aspects of retirement—the good, the bad, and yes, the ugly. This book will provide you with questions you can journal about to obtain that clarity and action steps to move forward. Here is a sample journal question: What three words describe what retirement means to you? (For example: relaxed, bored, organized, scared) Choose one word at a time to contemplate. What pictures come to your mind when you say that word? How do you feel when you say that word? Does someone else come to mind when you say that word? Do you see yourself in a special room or home? Is the word grandiose, simple, depressing, uplifting, boring, exciting? What is that all about? (Ask yourself these questions for each word you choose.) (i.e.: Calmness – I envision waking up each day without the alarm, not rushing off to the office for a crazy schedule. I let each day evolve. I will have a leisurely morning watching the morning news, drinking coffee and reading the paper. I am very happy and calm, etc.) Enjoy the journey. Joan Marie Gagnon Mansfield, Massachusetts
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About the Book
If you picked up this book, you probably know the benefits of journaling or have been curious about it. If you don’t have experience with journaling, you are in for a life-changing experience. I have been journaling on and off for twenty-five years. It has given me clarity on ideas, life, and love when I needed it. You do not have to journal to benefit from this book. Contemplating each question alone can generate the blissful retirement you desire. Retiring from the workforce, from the daily routine you have known for many years, can be scary, exciting, frightening, calming, or paralyzing. This book will guide you through thought processes that may or may not have entered your mind as you begin to think of retirement several years away, or if you are fast approaching your last day in the workforce that you currently know. This book will also be helpful if you are retired, but just have not assimilated into your new life comfortably. The subconscious and conscious minds are powerful resources that can give us exactly what we need to have a wonderful, joyous next phase of our life. By asking yourself powerful questions, the real truth will be revealed. What you think and believe has a profound effect on your world. The journal questions will bring you from how you are feeling today to how you want to feel when you are retired. It will help you blend the logical mind and your emotions. This book will not address in detail financial numbers, but will bring out into the open your feelings about your financial goals for retirement. Think of the journaling as a personal private conversation with yourself about retirement.
About the Author
Joan Marie Gagnon is a certified public accountant and a certified financial planner with thirty years of experience in the financial arena. As a financial advisor, she noticed that when individuals are getting ready to retire, it wasn’t just the money they were worried about, especially if their work was their life. If they didn’t work, what would they do? Having studied financial transitions, she knew that retirement would be very challenging for some of her clients. Hence, the idea of the book “Journal Your Way to Retirement” was born. She actually retired a bit earlier than planned in 2016 and felt the stress and anxiety associated with being pulled into a different reality overnight. So, she started journaling and found that it was a huge help in the transition. Since then, she has expanded on those initial retirement journal questions for you to form a complete circle starting before retirement and ending in blissful retirement. Joan Marie lives with her husband and their two dogs in Mansfield, Massachusetts.