Summary:
Dena was a special education teacher for 36 years in New Jersey public schools. She retired in 2018 at age 60.
In 2004, Dena visited Nigeria and was inspired to start the Dream School Foundation, providing educational resources and infrastructure to schools there. This became her passion project in retirement.
When funding ran out for Dream School, Dena pivoted to pursuing work she is passionate about that can also support her financially.
She got certified to teach yoga and now teaches yoga for women over 50, prenatal yoga, yoga for addiction recovery, and yoga for the elderly.
Dena also recently got a job as an educational consultant with the New Jersey Education Association, coaching teachers in underperforming school districts.
Key Takeaways:
It's important to have a purpose and passion project lined up for retirement. Dena was prepared with her nonprofit work when she left teaching.
Be open to pivoting when circumstances change. Dena creatively pieced together yoga teaching and educational consulting to continue doing meaningful work.
Look for opportunities to be of service, even if they are small. Helping others gives life meaning.
Links:
The Dream School Foundation website: http://www.dreamschoolfoundation.org
This podcast is sponsored by Good Morning Freedom, my retirement coaching firm. I help executives and professionals plan the non-financial part of their retirement, like how to discover new purpose and how you want to spend your time. I offer a 1:1 coaching retirement blueprint package where we work together to discover some new avenues of exploration for your Act Three. This coaching is completely custom and will provide you with a ton of resources and support as you transition to this new stage of life. For all the details, please go to goodmorningfreedom.com/services.
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