A career transition after age 55 can feel like an unexpected and unwelcome event.
One moment, you occupy a corner office.
The next, a brief meeting concludes decades of corporate tenure, leaving you with a box of personal items and a sense of displacement.
At 55 or older, the world can make you feel unnecessary.
Perhaps you have lived this experience.
Or perhaps you sense a change is coming, despite consistent performance and deep experience.
You might even have chosen to retire and now face the quiet question of "What now?"
Whatever the path, you have encountered three great falsehoods about a career after 55: you are too old for a new beginning, your experience holds no value, and your best years are behind you.
These are all untrue.
The truth is different.
You are not too old; you are a source of untapped potential.
Your experience is more valuable than ever.
Your greatest chapter is waiting for you to write it.
The Paradox of a Successful Retirement
There is a strange irony in traditional retirement.
The more successful your career, the more difficult the transition becomes.
For decades, you were a leader, a problem solver, the person people sought for guidance.
Your schedule was full of important meetings.
Your phone was a constant source of connection.
Your identity and your professional role merged.
Then, silence. This situation illustrates the “success paradox.”
The very qualities that drove your success, such as decisiveness and control, can make retirement feel like a form of exile.
Successful people build an identity around their work for decades.
When that work is gone, they do not just lose a job; they lose a part of themselves.
The first Monday without work emails to check brings a profound realization: no one is waiting for your response.
This feeling is not just discomfort; it is an existential challenge.
Beyond Achievement to a Fulfilling Future
Research on happiness in the second half of life reveals a fascinating discovery.
Common belief suggests that happiness peaks in midlife and then begins to decline.
The findings show the opposite.
For many people, happiness shows a notable increase after age 60.
This is true for those who reorient their lives around a sense of meaning instead of pure achievement.
This happiness does not arrive on its own with a retirement package.
It comes from a transition, a jump between two different life curves.
This means moving from one form of success, based on achievement and status, to another, based on purpose, wisdom, and giving back.
The experience that might make you seem unemployable in the corporate world is, in fact, your greatest asset when you learn how to position it.
Companies that may not hire you as a full time employee will often pay premium rates for your expertise as a consultant or mentor.
Businesses need high level strategic thinking but cannot afford a full time executive salary.
This insight can change everything.
The New Reality of a Longer Life
A profound fact shapes our modern world: the concept of retirement was created for a 70 year lifespan.
Today, people are living well into their 80s and 90s.
The old retirement model assumed a post work life of five to seven years.
We now face a period of 20 to 30 years.
This is not a brief rest; it is a second adult life that demands a new approach.
The old model of a short period of leisure after a lifetime of work is obsolete.
We are witnessing the rise of a new life stage between middle age and old age.
This stage, your “Epic Encore,” is not about slowing down.
It is about redirecting your energy toward what matters most to you now.
It is about contribution, growth, and impact, not just leisure.
Most people lack a guide for this new territory.
We have financial advisors for saving, but few life advisors to show us how to live.
From Success to Significance
For decades, you measured success with clear metrics: salary increases, title promotions, team size, and revenue.
These are the standard measures of achievement in the corporate world.
Now, you are entering a phase where these metrics no longer matter.
What matters now is significance: the impact you have on others, the wisdom you share, the problems you help solve, and the legacy you create.
This shift from success to significance is a profound transition.
A popular concept divides life into two halves.
The first half is about the pursuit of success, while the second half is about creating significance.
When climbing the corporate ladder, worth is measured by achievement.
Now, it is measured by impact.
The guiding question changes from “What can I achieve?” to “Whom can I help?”
Your Next Chapter and the Right Mindset
A useful concept for this life stage is the idea of the “Second Curve.”
Before your first curve of success peaks and declines, you must begin a new one.
This second curve is not more of the same.
It is a new direction that builds on your past but is not confined by it.
Starting your second curve requires three things.
First, let go of old identities.
You are not your job title.
Second, embrace a beginner’s mind.
After being an expert for decades, you may need to become a student again.
Third, find your “why.”
Your corporate career was driven by external goals.
Your second curve must be driven by internal purpose.
Your Epic Encore Awaits
The three great falsehoods about your career after 55 hold power if you believe them.
You are not too old; you are just getting started.
Your experience is not obsolete; it is your most valuable asset.
And the path ahead is not a downward slope.
The view from the second mountain is often better than the first.
This is not the end.
It is your Epic Encore, and the curtain is just going up.
If you’re in that place right now, I invite you to give yourself grace.
If you want some tools to help you through it, I’ve created a guide just for you:
👉Download: Unfinished Business: Moving Forward When Your Job No Longer Defines You
Inside, you’ll find practical strategies for rebuilding your routine, regulating your emotions, and reclaiming your direction on your terms.
This is hard.
But you’re not broken.
You’re becoming.
You’ve got more to give. Let’s build what’s next together.
Talk soon,
Ted
