The Retirement Wisdom Podcast You Still Are Somebody – Carl Landau
Six Fridays This Fall to Design What You’ll Be Retiring To
Starts on October 3rd
Learn more here – Limited to 10 participants. Take the first step toward shaping your future – register now.
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On this episode of The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, we’re joined by Carl Landau, creator and host of I Used to Be Somebody. Carl brings warmth, humor, and introspection as he explores the twists and turns of retiring after an entrepreneurial journey. He shares why letting go of your work identity, redefining purpose, and discovering a mix of new creative outlets—like podcasting, documentary filmmaking, and pickleball—can light up your retirement.
Carl reminds us that slowing down doesn’t mean stopping, and that reinvention can be both fun and fulfilling.
What You’ll Learn
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How Retirement is an Evolving Process—finding your way takes some time, especially for high achievers
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Why Setting Boundaries is Key —how to avoid turning hobbies into a new full-time job… and losing your freedom
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How Letting Go Frees You—who you were doesn’t define who you’ll be next
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Why Saying “No” is a Game Changer— create space for what truly matters now to you, not for other people’s agendas
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How to Build Your New Life — develop a meaningful life plan, not just a financial one for retirement
Carl Landau joins us from Sacramento, California.
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Bio
Carl Landau is the founder of Pickleball Media. He has been an entrepreneur since the age of 26 and started and sold three successful media companies, published five magazines (software development, winemaking and craft brewing industries). He currently hosts the popular podcast I Used to be Somebody, inspiring 50-plus-year-olds how to build their (un)retirement good life. He’s the co-author of the book, Pickleball for Dummies.
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For More on Carl Landau
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Podcast Episodes You May Like
Your Identity Beyond Your Job Title – Laverne McKinnon
Lessons Learned in Retirement That Can Help You – Judith Nadratowski
The Art of a Balanced Life in Retirement – Dr. Marybeth Crane
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About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast
There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time.
About Retirement Wisdom
I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident.
Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms.
About Your Podcast Host
Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking.
Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University.
In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy.
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Wise Quotes
On Identity in Retirement
“About three months ago, I was playing [pickelball] with this guy and explaining to him how to play a short game…He’s a big time like doctor, and all I had absolutely no idea. And no one makes a big deal what they did. And no one cares. So I think that’s sort of a surprise too.”
On Mistakes to Avoid
“The other big regret is people don’t think in advance about what they want to do in retirement. In retrospect, they didn’t get give enough thought to it, and felt like they wasted that first year – and wish that they hadn’t, especially with longevity. If you’re in your 60s, and you’re in pretty good health, there’s a good chance you’re going to live to 90. It’s a long time. So you want to get the most out of it. We’ve said it a million times: more people think about that two week vacation than they ever think about what to do for the next 25 years. So I think that’s the biggest mistake people make.”
On Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone
“About four years ago, I saw this ad on Facebook. The local theater in Sacramento, was offering for the first time, a Stand Up Comedy Workshop. And I knew if I thought about it long enough, I would not do it. And this is something that I’ve talked about for a long time. In your family, they’re just rolling their eyes at this point because you’ve said this like a dozen times. So my whole thing is like to do it. So I just paid the 400 bucks to take the workshop. And it was just five classes. And then the final was that we had to do stand up, at least a five minute stand up, for over a hundred people, in a live audience. And mine ended up being 14 minutes. The guy had me close it – and it was incredible. It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. But boy, what a high when it’s done. And Joe, the really funny thing is the guy who taught it, who’s a professional comedian, said, Hey, you’re really good. You should do this. You could do this. And I have zero interest in doing it. I just wanted to try it and do it. And that’s all I needed to do. And that was really nice.”