Lessons Learned

Turning What You Love into What You Do
By Patrick J. O’Connor

Looking back is a very good way to chart a course forward. Often, it’s valuable to review where you’ve been to see what’s been learned. This segment is a review of three years of writing the “Turn What You Love into What You Do” blog for Northeast Ohio Boomer. The emphasis is on lessons learned that can be applied to everyday living. 

A review is a good thing for people to do from time to time, regardless of age or life stage. It helps us grow and improve. Lessons learned from a review are often a good way to chart a path forward. 

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates

Origin of the Blog
Volume 18 of the Road Less Traveled (RLT) series from AroundKent was a summary of all successful RLT subjects featured in the magazine. It included the phrase, “they have all turned what they love into what they do,” which seemed to be the essence of their success. It also seemed like a good way to look at careers and life in general as well as a good title for a blog. Writing this blog continues a theme of writing unique content readers will find interesting. 

Three Years and 33 Segments
The blog has expanded the reach of the RLT series, often including some RLT subjects. In addition, interesting people and topics emerged to dig deeper into the notion of how people turn what they love into what they do.  The segments often have dominoed from one to another, almost as if they had their own agenda/energy ( a familiar feeling to me). 

The blog has explored a wide range of interesting topics and people. Topics such as psychic income, social capital, Encore Retirement Lifestyle, lifelong learning, and career planning emerged.  Readership has been hearty, with certain topics receiving more attention than others. Topics with the most reader interest were learning from failure, the Encore Retirement Lifestyle, constant adjusting, and social capital.

Lessons Learned
The segments have provided a personal education (lifelong learning) along the following lines. We can incorporate these lessons into a productive everyday lifestyle.  

A satisfying, fulfilling life comes from the interaction of the personal, social, community and work aspects of life. In particular, the interaction of work and life are almost interchangeable. This interaction can happen at any point in life, but it is especially important during retirement. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts, which translates to synergy. 

Psychic income – Many people like doing things for others without expecting anything in return, which creates a psychic income account. Each time we do something for someone without expecting anything in return, we make a deposit into the account. There is no way to spend psychic income, you can only save it. The time and activity associated with it is precious, contagious, and benefits everyone. We can take our psychic income account with us when our time comes. 

Boomers are a massive resource for society – Over 65 percent of volunteers are retirees. Retirees often lament the loss of socialization and purpose in retirement. Volunteering can fill both voids and is part of a community’s social capital. In most cases, they include an emphasis on the social side of social capital.

“Each time we volunteer, we have a new group of friends.” ~Maria Phillips

Social capital – People want to be associated with positive activities. These activities are often a personal outlet, which is essential to overall wellbeing. There are more good people doing good things than we realize, as much of these efforts go unnoticed…. often by design from those who do them.  Generous people tend to be shy about their generosity. 

A Career continuum has numerous stages for people to Turn What They Love into What They Do. Blog segments  14-20 chronicled the various stages along the continuum, including a process for turning what you love into what you do at each stage. The Encore Retirement Lifestyle  is a popular one for people in or nearing retirement. 

Next ?
A review of past activities and experiences usually points us in a new direction. This new direction is often a continuation of a particular style, theme, or interest area, as everything is connected. The past can serve as a guide to the future. And the car windshield is much wider than the review mirror. 

The basic skill of the future is to revisit, reboot , reinvent, recharge and reimagine. This requires constant adaptation and adjusting, which sparks lifelong learning. In some respects, life is one long, continuous adjustment. 

These blog segments reveal we have abundant opportunities which seem to be everywhere. We can do pretty much anything we want and are only limited by our own perceived limitations. It’s never too late to get started. 

“Just Getting Started” ~Tony Bennett’s book title at age 90