Portfolio Life: The New Path to Work, Purpose, and Passion After 50 »

David Corbett is the founder of New Directions, Inc., on Boston's historic waterfront, which offers planning in career and post-career fulfillment to accomplished individuals. He speaks frequently on life transitions to audiences that include executive forums, business school groups, as well as legal, medical, and human resources professionals. Corbett is quoted often in national publications including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Visit his website at www.newdirections.com.

Richard Higgins is a writer and book editor. A Harvard Divinity School graduate, he coauthored Taking Faith Seriously. A former Boston Globe writer, he also edited More Than Money Magazine.

We are not only living longer and healthier lives; those of us over 50 are tackling a life stage that did not exist twenty-five years ago—a new arena that could last three or four decades after our initial careers have ended.

In this groundbreaking book, David Corbett, a thought leader on life transitions for executives and professionals, offers a compelling alternative to traditional retirement. Portfolio Life shows how to adopt a new way of thinking and living in extended middle age. This period was once relegated to winding down, but now it holds the promise of our most significant and passionate years, a time when we can be ourselves and contribute. Corbett describes a "life portfolio"—a balanced mix of work, learning, leisure, family time, and giving back that individuals tailor to their personality and goals. Using compelling stories, the book shows how to allocate one's time and energy among competing needs and personal dreams. The author includes advice on discovering our callings, the entrepreneurial spirit, spirituality, the role of legacy, and more.

Corbett elaborates a disciplined, step-by-step process for creating a life portfolio. He explores long- and short-term portfolio planning, offering practical suggestions and exercises. He also shows how to deal with the emotional turbulence that is inevitable in this transition. Portfolio Life is a guide not to surviving but to flourishing after careers end. Corbett holds that a life portfolio touches on what is really worth living for—those goals and purposes we need to call to mind throughout life's journey.

Publishers Weekly

As the boomer generation's hair turns gray, it's not surprising to see retirement advice books like this one, which argues against conventional scenarios. As founder and CEO of New Directions, which coaches older workers on making the transition from working to life after a career, author Corbett points out that boomers' longer life expectancy and better health means that reprioritizing may be more rewarding than simply stopping working. In his first few chapters, Corbett discusses why the concept of retirement needs to be retired, then quickly moves to his central proposal. He encourages readers to focus on building a portfolio of skills, which allows them to shuffle their skills in the same way they would remix a financial portfolio, rather than follow a linear career trajectory. Instead of abandoning work altogether, people can refocus later in life on the preferred skills and meaningful pursuits that suit them best. This insightful and readable book provides not only a convincing argument for the portfolio concept but also concrete instructions on how to get started. If there's a drawback, it's that the subtitle dismisses younger readers who could benefit by putting this plan into action long before reaching age 50. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Foreword.

Preface.

1 Trailblazing.

2 A New Beginning.

3 New Realities.

4 Portfolio Life.

5 Steps Toward Portfolio.

6 Time to Give Back.

7 Closing the Gap.

8 Listen to Your Life.

9 Steps and Tools in Assessment.

10 The Portfolio Frame of Mind.

11 Five Paths to a New Mind-Set.

12 Anchors in a Sea of Change.

13 Planning for Success.

14 Moving into Portfolio.

15 Pockets of Turbulence.

16 The Goal Beyond.

Recommended Books.

Recommended Organizations and Web Sites.

Works Cited.

Acknowledgments.

The Authors.