Second Act Stories

Right after high school, Destiny Burns enlisted in the armed forces as a cryptologic officer. She had an exciting, 20-year career traveling the globe with the Navy. And when she retired from active service, she settled down in Northern Virginia and worked for a range of defense contractors. But in her early 50s and after a divorce, she decided it was time to move back home to Cleveland, Ohio and launch her own business called the CLE Urban Winery. CLE purchases all of their grapes from California and Washington but the wine – about 50,000 bottles a year – is made in Cleveland. “Good Wine Made Fun” is Destiny’s mantra. Launched in 2016, the CLE Urban Winery was growing and thriving until March 2020. The COVID-19 Pandemic forced a three-month shutdown ("it was like a dagger to the heart") and continues to challenge her business on a daily basis. Despite this difficult environment, she couldn't be happier running her own company. Special thanks to Kerry Hannon, author of "Never Too Old To Get Rich," for sharing

Sheldon Myeroff is a true entrepreneur. He launched Direct Recruiters, Inc. at the age of 31. And over the next 37 years, he successfully grew the business into major executive recruiting company. In 2011, he began an exit plan from Direct Recruiters – turning over the management of the company to a group of partners. And that’s when he installed a rather elaborate woodshop in his basement. And over the past 7 years, he has turned a hobby of work working and furniture making into a booming business called Chagrin Valley Custom Furniture. Success has come from specialization with a focus on designing, building and selling custom-made river tables. A "river table" is two pieces of natural wood with a river of epoxy resin flowing down the middle. That’s become 80% of his furniture making business. He is now turning the day-to-day operations over to a 32-year-old mentee named Zach Schulte (who we’ll also hear from in today’s episode). Click here for a look at more river tables and other wood products produced by

For more than 30 years, Amy worked as a writer, both on staff and on a freelance basis, for a wide range of top magazines. But when her father passed away in 2009, his funeral had a profound impact on her. And in relatively short order, Amy enrolled in mortuary school to become a licensed funeral director. Ten years later, Amy owns and manages Fitting Tribute Funeral Services in Brooklyn, New York. Profiled in The New York Times and range of trade publications, she has built a name for herself as an advocate of green and sustainable practices within the funeral industry. And her work as a writer continues via her blog “The Inspired Funeral.” Special thanks to Bruce Feiler, author of "Life Is in The Transitions," for suggesting this episode.    

What most of us know about hypnotism comes straight from Hollywood and involves swinging pocket watches and devious characters reciting the words “you are getting sleepy.” But Lisa Ludovici operates very differently. She is a certified medical support hypnotist and is almost always brought in by a doctor. Frequently, they turn to Lisa when every other path to healing has failed. Jackie Kotler is a case in point. She literally broke her back in a cliff jumping accident in the Dominican Republic. A difficult operation was followed by an even more difficult recovery. Traditional methods failed and Jackie tried acupuncture, alternative medicine and a psychologist without success. As a final "Hail Mary" effort, her doctors then turned to Lisa Ludovici and hypnotism to successfully heal her. Lisa made the transition to hypnotist from a series of high-powered jobs in the world of advertising sales working for companies like America Online, Microsoft and Time Inc. Click here to learn more about Lisa and her practice

Robin and Carl Mennie opened River Street Sweets-Savannah's Candy Kitchen in Asbury Park, NJ on July 2, 2020. It’s an amazing shop filled with freshly-made pralines, rice krispie treats, loggerheads, chocolate covered pretzels and more – basically any sweet item you could ever want. This franchise business is a leap for both of them. Robin worked for 20+ years as a nurse practitioner with a specialty in cardiology. Carl was – and still is – a pilot with American Airlines working mostly on international flights. The business is really a family affair with all four of their children helping in the operation. It’s a sweet story but it’s certainly not an overnight success. It took over three years from their first meeting with the Strickland Family, the owners of River Street Sweets-Savannah's Candy Kitchen, before the sale of their first praline in Asbury Park. And, of course, they had the challenge of opening a new store in the middle of a pandemic. Click the link to learn more about the company. And if you fin

Fraidy Reiss' story is among the most inspiring tales we’ve ever profiled on the Second Act Stories podcast. Part of the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York, Fraidy was married at the age of 19. It was an arranged marriage to a man she barely knew. He demonstrated a violent streak within a week of the wedding punching his fist through a wall and threatened to kill her. Over the next twelve years, she feared for her own life on a daily basis. But she eventually she found a way to get a college education, achieve financial independence, divorce her husband and escape with the custody of her two daughters. Today, she is the Founder and Executive Director of Unchained At Last, the only organization in the United States dedicated to ending forced and child marriage through direct services and advocacy. Want to learn more about Fraidy Reiss and Unchained At Last? Check out her TED Talk on YouTube and visit the Unchained At Last website. Fraidy is also featured in Bruce Feiler's book "Life Is In The Tran

Bruce Feiler is the author of seven New York Times bestsellers (including Walking The Bible, The Secrets of Happy Families and Abraham), the presenter of two prime-time series on PBS and the inspiration for the NBC drama series “Council of Dads.” He’s also presented two TED Talks viewed by more than two million people. It’s an honor to have him on Second Act Stories. We sat down in the backyard of Bruce's townhouse in Brooklyn for a socially-distant interview focused on his latest book Life Is In The Transitions: Mastering Change At Any Age. It is a highly-relevant book for anyone exploring a second act and we've happily added it to our "Best Books About Second Acts" resource page. For more on Bruce and his work, here's a link to his website.

Kiku Mehta was born in 1937 and grew up in the Gujarat Province on India. He was trained as a lawyer there but emigrated to the United States in 1964. When he arrived here in the US, he set aside his work as a lawyer and went to work as a social worker for Children's Services Inc. in Philadelphia. It paid the bills and helped him and his wife Kira put their three daughters through college. He stayed with Children's Services for 51 years. But when the organization shut down in 2017, Kiku was out of a job. With the help of his youngest daughter and a family friend – both lawyers – Kiku want back to school to complete 41 continuing education credits and pursue the reinstatement of his law license. And today at the age of 83, he now practices immigration law in Philadelphia at the law offices of Stanley J. Ellenberg. Kiku Mehta's advice to others considering a second act: "Do it to help people. My background as a social worker helped me to do it that way. So, money is the last thing on my mind. I joined the law p

We first read about Terry Kutz in a terrific article in The Wall Street Journal. Terry had a long career as a financial planner in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But as a hobby he had become involved in revolutionary war reenactments with a group called the Northwest Territory Alliance (NWTA). And one day an organizer asked him if he’d be willing to play the role of Benjamin Franklin at an event they were putting on. In retirement, his work interpreting Ben Franklin has become a part-time occupation (or what his wife now calls a full-time obsession). He’s participated in dozens of historical re-enactments and events as a historical interpreter. When we met him at his home in New Berlin, Wisconsin, he came in full historical costume and wearing bifocals – which of course were invented by Ben Franklin. Click here for more on Terry and his work as a historical interpreter. The bulk of today’s episode focuses on Terry and his second act. But we'll start by going back to 1776 for an interview with one of America's foundin

Chris Welles was a 46-year-old executive recruiter in Boston, Massachusetts. He was happy in his job and he had no plans for a change. But in 2008 he took a summer vacation with his wife, four kids and two other families to Kenya. And the trip completely changed his life. Today he manages “American Rhino,” a growing clothing brand with a retail and online presence. The company sells shirts, pants, sneakers, canvas bags and now face masks. All of the manufacturing takes place in Africa. And 10% of our every purchase goes directly to supporting wildlife and land conservation in Kenya. The products that American Rhino produces are truly outstanding. Kikoy is a wonderful breathable fabric that has the feel and look of linen. Please visit www.AmericanRhino.com and check the shirts, shorts, canvas bags, sneakers and more. And remember 10% of every purchase goes back to Kenya to support wildlife conservation.

We depart from our traditional format with this episode to offer a glimpse inside the world of contact tracing. This is the fastest growing job in America, with the need for an estimated 200,000 contact tracers to track infections and protect the U.S. population against the advance of the COVID-19 virus. For those in our audience who may now be unemployed or simply looking for a new challenge, we thought it would be interesting to learn how the job works and the qualities needed to excel in this role. We connected with Daniel Okpare, a 30-year-old masters student in New York University’s School of Global Public Health. In addition to getting an advanced degree, he is on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis, working for New York City’s Health and Hospitals Program. He was previously profiled in The New York Times. One point of clarification...many of the contact tracer positions focus on connecting with individuals infected by the virus by telephone. Daniel’s job is that of a “community engagement specialis

Patricia Heaton starred in two wildly successful television series: Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle. But it was the not-so-successful series Carol’s Second Act that led Patricia (or Patty she likes to be called) to author a new book called “Your Second Act.” It shares her own story and her new work serving as an Ambassador for the non-profit organization World Vision. The book also details the "Second Act Stories" of 14 other, courageous individuals navigating major, life transitions. It's an inspiring read for anyone exploring a new path. We normally conduct all of our podcast interviews face-to-face. But with travel challenges brought on by the COVID-19 crisis and the opportunity  to interview a three-time Emmy award winner, we made an exception for the chance to speak with Patricia Heaton via telephone. Her new book, "Your Second Act," is on our "Best Books about Second Acts" list.

Susan Goldfein is 79 years old, in great shape and splits her time between Florida and Connecticut. For most of her professional career, she served as a speech pathologist in a range of different settings. She worked with elementary school students, provided home care for stroke patients and she taught at the university level. Her last position was with the Alzheimers Association in New York City. But in 2008, the organization faced major funding challenges and had to reduce their staff. So at the age of 68, Susan was out of a job and completely lost in terms of what to do. After some early struggles, she took an eight-week course in short story writing at a community center. And in the footsteps of Nora Ephron and Erma Bombeck, she found her voice as a successful humorist. She pens a blog called “Unfiltered Wit,” has written two books and her stories are syndicated in eight different newspapers across the country. You can check out her writing on her website. Concerned about COVID-19, we sat down outside in

Kevin Garrison worked the overnight shift for Amtrak helping to keep the trains running in an out of New York City. And in 2016, he was looking for a charitable Christmas project. An online post about a blessing bag – a plastic bag filled with everyday hygiene and food products caught his eye. It proved to be the start of the Blessing Bag Brigade – a non-profit that has delivered 65,000 blessing bags to those in need. But in 2016, he was looking for a small charitable project to celebrate Christmas. On his computer, he saw a posting about a “blessing bag” – a small plastic bag filled with everyday hygiene and food products that could be distributed to those in need. With the help of his friends, he put together 200 blessing bags. After then after work, he walked around Penn Station and distributed the bags to homeless men and women. He did this for about two weeks. Four years later Kevin has formed the Blessing Bag Brigade – a non-profit in New Jersey that has distributed over 65,000 blessing bags to the less

If you’ve ever dreamed of writing the Great American Novel, this episode is for you. For most of his professional career, Marty Herman was a business turnaround specialist. He would come into troubled companies, figure out what was wrong and implement a solution. And then he’d move on to the next company. But he always had a love of writing – he even sold a couple of short stories in his life. So at the age of 75, and with the help and encouragement of his youngest daughter Aimee, he published his first mystery novel called “The Jefferson Files.” Since then he’s published four other mystery novels, a book of short stories and a biography of a local jazz musician. Marty loves writing. But he also loves selling his books. Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he attended 200+ book and craft fairs each year and estimates that he's sold 15,000-18,000 of his books in this manner. Click here to learn more about his work and purchase one of his books. I read his latest mystery, "The First Tuesday Of The Month M

Over the course of the past two years, we’ve interviewed quite a few lawyers. Mark Salvacion was a corporate lawyer who found a more fulfilling life as a Methodist minister. Richard Turner was a trial attorney who found a path to becoming a very successful nature photographer. Michael Lowe left the law to start a Washington, DC gin distillery with his son-in-law. And Amy Yontef-McGrath was a former lawyer who experimented with 50 public service projects in celebration of her 50th birthday. But nothing could have prepared us for Lora Cheadle’s story. She went from practicing law in the insurance industry to burlesque dancing. We're not making this up. Actually that’s only a piece of what she does. Lora is also as an author, a hypnotherapist, a podcast host and her favorite term self-coined term: a life choreographer. But burlesque is a big part of her second act story. Click here to learn more about Lora Cheadle, her new book "Flaunt: Drop Your Cover and Reveal Your Smart, Sexy and Spiritual Self," her blog a

Barbara Brooks and Guadalupe Hirt are two, talented women based in Denver, Colorado. Both have entrepreneurial backgrounds but had the same plan as they approached their 50s: Get a stable, corporate job...Enjoy solid health benefits....And put away some retirement funds. But like many older workers they hit a brick wall called ageism. After dozens of resume submissions and almost no interviews, they took a different direction. Barbara and Guadalupe formed an organization called Second Act Women. Not surprisingly, we love the name of their organization that helps women in their 40s, 50s and above navigate the latter stage of their professional lives. At the center of the group is an amazing event called "Biz Life Con" an active online community on Facebook. After a successful start in Denver, they are now in the early stages of taking their approach to other cities in the USA. Click here to learn more about Second Act Women.

Mary Robinson was just 14 when she lost her father. Throughout high school, college and her 20s, that grief stayed bottled up inside her. A therapist helped her get her life together by helping her share her story. She landed a corporate job with Prudential Financial working in their information technology department and eventually running the company's volunteer programs. But after fourteen years, she concluded she was a "fish out of water" in Corporate America. Mary kept a small sign on her bedroom mirror that said "Leap And The Net Will Appear." One day she marched into her boss' office with a resignation letter and announced her decision to leave Prudential. She had no idea what she was going to do. But "The Net" did eventually appear in her decision to launch "Imagine: A Center For Coping With Loss." Imagine is a free year-round grief support center for children ages 3 to 18, and young adults 18 to 30, and their parents, who have had a parent, brother, sister or other close family member die. Mary was ho

Expert estimates predict the U.S. unemployment rate could rise from anywhere from 10% - 32% in 2020. Whatever the final number, that represents millions of individuals who will be unexpectedly looking for work. As Americans struggle to find new positions, it may be the right time to ask "Is It Time For My Second Act?" For perspective on this challenge as the world wrestles with the COVID-19 Crisis, we turned to two of the nation's most respected experts on the topic of career and workplace issues: Kerry Hannon and Marci Alboher. Kerry Hannon has written 12 books in the area of career transitions and personal finance as well as literally hundreds of articles for The New York Times, Forbes, Money, USA Today, US News and World Report and AARP. Her latest book, Great Pajama Jobs: How To Land A Job Without The Commute, will be released in July 2020. Marci Alboher is a Vice President at Encore.org, author of The Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Difference in the Second Half of Life and former

Since his junior year in high school, Chris Donovan has been sketching women’s shoes. It’s been his quiet obsession for the past 30+ years. At the age of 50, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. And he knew it was time to leave his safe job at the phone company to pursue his lifelong dream. “I need to follow this. I need to find out why I have this passion for shoes.” Based on the recommendation of European shoe designer Aki Choklat, he was accepted to Polimoda, one of the best fashion design institutes in the world. He enrolled in an accelerated masters program and packed his bags for Florence, Italy. And while his first few months were difficult, he ended up graduating at the top of his class. Since our initial interview with Chris in October 2018, he has figured out how to turn his amazing designs into an actual product. Take it from Tim Gunn of Project Runway: "It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before." For more examples of Chris' amazing designs, visit www.ChrisDonovanFootwear.com.