Life Reimagined: Discovering Your New Life Possibilities

by Richard J. Leider, Alan M. Webber

Winner of the 2014 Silver Nautilus Award

Are You Ready for Your Life Reimagined Moment?

Are you at a point in your life where you’re asking, “What’s next?” You’ve finished one chapter and you have yet to write the next one. Many of us face these transitions at midlife, but they can happen at any point. It’s a time full of enormous potential, and it defines a whole new phase of life. It’s called Life Reimagined.

Here is your map to guide you in this new life phase. You can use the powerful practices and insights—enhanced with online tools and exercises at AARP’s LifeReimagined.org website—to help you uncover your own special gifts, connect with people who can support you, and explore new directions.

You’ll be inspired by meeting ordinary people who have reimagined their lives in extraordinary ways. You’ll also read the stories of pioneers of the Life Reimagined movement such as Jane Pauley, James Brown, and Emilio Estefan. They show us that this journey of discovery can help us find fulfillment in surprising new places.

One of the profound truths that underlies this book is the liberating notion that each of us is “an experiment of one,” free to find our own path in this new phase of our lives . No old rules, no outdated societal norms, no boundaries of convention or expectation. Let Life Reimagined help you discover your new life possibilities!

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Psychology, Philosophy, Business

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Richard’s ten books, including three best sellers, have sold over one million copies and have been translated into 20 languages. Repacking Your Bags and The Power of Purpose are considered classics in the personal development field. Richard’s “inventures” in writing books have taken him to events with readers in all 50 states, every Canadian province, and 15 countries.

As co-author of Life Reimagined, he is the Chief Curator of content for AARP’s Life Reimagined Institute. Widely viewed as a visionary and thought leader on the “power of purpose”, his work is featured regularly in many media sources including, PBS public television, and NPR public radio. He is featured in the PBS Special – The Power of Purpose.

As a keynote speaker, he is one of a select few advisors and coaches who have been asked to work with over 100,000 leaders from over 100 organizations such as AARP, Ericsson, Mayo Clinic, MetLife, National Football League (NFL), and United Health Group discover the power of purpose.

Richard holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling and is a National Certified Counselor (NCC), a National Certified Career Counselor (NCCC), and a National Certified Master Career Counselor (MCC). As a Senior Fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality and Healing, he founded The Purpose Project. He is co-chairman and dean of the World Purpose Forum, co-chairman of the Linkage/Global Institute for Leadership Development, and a member of the Council Advisors of the FRED Leadership Forum. He is also a board member of Youth Frontiers, and Life Coach in Residence at The Marsh: A Center for Balance and Fitness.

He is a contributing author to many coaching books, including: Coaching for Leadership, The Art and Practice of Leadership Coaching, Executive Coaching for Results, The Leader of the Future, and The Organization of the Future.

Richard’s work has been recognized with awards from the Bush Foundation, from which he was awarded a Bush Fellowship and the Fielding Institute’s Outstanding Scholar for Creative Longevity and Wisdom award.

For 30 years, Richard has led Inventure Expedition walking safaris in Tanzania, East Africa, where he co-founded and is a board member of the Dorobo Fund for Tanzania. He and his wife, Sally, live on the St. Croix river outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Reviews

[Jay French · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was underwhelmed with this one. I found the methodology of reimagining your life to be similar to a lot of change management processes that requires planning – heavy on the planning. It certainly gives some nice examples of folks rethinking their lives, but when reading I didn’t see how the examples tied in with the parts of the process being talked about. I will admit I’ve read quite a few of these types of books and I am a bit jaded. I think if you haven’t read some in the same class as this, such as… , , this may be a good book to start with. It doesn't focus on new careers, like many of the other "rethinking" books out there do, and doesn't really focus on retirement, per se. This is more of a life review that tends to happen around retirement time...

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was actually disappointed in this book. It is really fluffy stuff. Yes, it encourages you to re-imagine your life and interviews some people who did. But there are no worksheets to go through to find out what your personality style suggests you try. I guess they want you to hook up to their website and go through material there. One can certainly do that without the book. I do feel it was rather a waste of time for me.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very important topic handled in much too light a way. Chooses to go for a motivational ("you can do it!") self-help book approach when more substance is called for. "What Color Is Your Parachute -- For Retirement" is much better.

[Linda Simmons · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was largely a waste of time. It had a bit of material that was motivating. Whatever the value level of the material, it was repeated and repeated and repeated. How many times can you say the same thing over again? They may answer that question. It could easily be condensed to two pages.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading "Life Reimagined: Discovering Your New Life Possibilities" for quite awhile, as I wanted to take time to really think about what is covered here. Though there is much here of value, it continuously refers to the resources available on the Life Reimagined website - which no longer exists. For this reason, I felt robbed at times. The book was published in 2013, and I purchased it within the past year. Why is it still for sale, when the website, which is integral to the book, no longer exists?

Some ideas that I found interesting:

- Leider and Webber challenge the reader to reimagine life as a six stage journey that includes childhood, adolescence, adulthood, NEW LIFE PHASE, retirement, and old age - the NEW LIFE PHASE being a new stage or new normal. Rather than picturing our lives as a curve that peaks in mid-adulthood, this reimagines the trajectory of our lives continuing to climb through adulthood, the new life phase, and into retirement.

- The discussion of "triggers" in our lives was also interesting as well. - "Another word for a trigger is a wake-up call - a conscious choice or external event that disrupts the comfortable status quo of our lives. It's a moment when the game changes, and we have to adapt to the new game." - (p. 17) - "What happens is that triggers - positive or negative, subtle or unmistakable - kick our lives into limbo, a period of uncertainty, of wondering what comes next, and of anxiously anticipating how soon whatever does come next will actually arrive." (p. 19) - Would William Bridges call these triggers "endings"?

- The Three C's - 1. "Courage is not a choice."- 2. "Curiosity is change." - 3. "Courage is commitment."

- "When you look at the Life Reimagined map, almost all of it is free of charge." (p.27)

- "The last of human freedoms is to choose our way, regardless of the circumstances." (p. 31)

- In reimagining our lives, take time to reflect, connect, explore, choose, repack, act. (p. 44) - This would be a useful concept to use for the TTN signature workshop.

- Keep a POSSIBILITIES journal or file or talking journal.

- I very much enjoyed the interviews with individuals who have lived this process and/or those who are experts in the area (Chris Gardner, Emilio Estefan, Jane Pauley, etc.). I also enjoyed all of the anecdotal evidence that Leider uses to support his ideas - many great true stories.

- Through reflection we "...become more conscious of yourself - in a good way." (p. 55) - "Reflection is about pausing to look at life from the inside out." (p. 56) - "Each of is has a story, a narrative of our life. Part of reflection consists of telling yourself about yourself - fo revisiting your own story...The point is to examine that story and then to use it to reimagine what's possible going forward..." (p. 57)

- "Life reimagined is about fulfilling time, not filling time." (p. 60)

- "Everything starts with time. Ir's one of the oldest and wisest truths of life: you have to take time to make time." (p. 62)

- "Throughout life, community is important. In this new phase of life creating a sense of community is essential...But here's what happens to community and connections over time; they tend to fray...ordinary for those connections to fray as we move into this new phase of life. Very simply, the original reasons for the connections may no longer apply." (pp. 65-6)

- "Isolation is fatal...The antidote is community, or connectedness." (p.68)

- "At this point in my life, what gives me energy - and what drains me? What are the deep and persistent tugs in my life - the pulls toward something that won't leave me alone until I address it? What doors in my life seem to be closing - and what doors are opening?" (p. 70)

- "...what you say to a kid - and actually...to anyone - can have a lifelong impact. And you always want to be encouraging." (p. 77)

- "...there are passions in you, there are gifts in you that don't have an expiration date. You ought to make certain that you fully maximize that and engage and give back so that you are a meaningful contributor in your own community." (p. 80)

- ad campaign - "'The round pegs in the square holes...The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them...About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius...Think different.'"

- Your life is in alignment when you combine your GIFTS, PASSION, and VALUES.

- "...at its core, life consists of choices that involve having, doing and being...you start with being yourself, with who you are authentically. That leads to doing things that are in alignment with who you are. Finally, as a consequence, you have a fulfilling life - one that is both successful outwardly and feels authentic inwardly. " (p. 93)

- "'I believe that I am at the peak of my purpose in life...the purpose of showing people that life is what you want it to be. Happiness comes from inside. Life outside might give you instant gratification. But happiness you have to find inside yourself. If you do not have a purpose, you cannot have happiness inside of you.'" (p. 112)

* With the current popular notion of the need for my generation to "downsize," I found Chapter 9, "Repack - What to Lose, What to Take?" particularly interesting. I really liked that it framed the entire idea in terms of TRANSITION and focuses not just on physical baggage, but emotional baggage as well. This was much more palatable than some of the Marie Kondo, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" stuff that is out there. It really reinforced for me some of the William Bridges theory that I have been studying ("Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes").

1. - Dr. Maya Angelou spoke to me many times about how, for a long time, a lot of us have been living in exile in a place called 'things, stuff.' And you get to a place where you realize that time is the ultimate asset." (p. 39)

2. - “Transitions ask us to come to terms with changes. Transitions are about who we’ve been, where we’ve come from, and where we’re headed. They ask us to look hard at what we’ve collected along the way - both tangible and intangible - and to jettison the baggage that no longer fits who we are or who we want to become. Transitions are about the inner repacking and reimagining we have to do in order to make the most of the change that’s going on in the outside world. Transitions - and the art of repacking - have to do with the gradual falling away of the old and the equally gradual emergence of the new.” (p. 104)

3. - “Whether we know it or not, all of us are collectors…what we do is collect stuff. Stuff can be tangible items and artifacts that decorate our homes. Stuff can also be memories, dreams, regrets - experiences and emotions that decorate our inner lives. Stuff can be habits, beliefs, ways of communicating, ways of relating to others, or a self-image that we’ve carried with us for years. The stuff we collect, if we’re honest about it, comes to represent who we are - or at least who we’ve been.” (pp. 104-5)

4. - “To repack is to look carefully at what we’re carrying: what’s absolutely essential for the journey and what’s not. To repack is to decide what to lose and what to take. It is an expression of choice, curiosity, and courage. It is a practice that challenges to lighten your load. To succeed in this new phase of life, we need to learn to pack, unpack, and repack often.” (p. 107)

5. - "The problem is that simplify-your-life strategies don't address the underlying reasons your life feels so overcrowded - or empty - in the first place." (p. 112)

6. - "All transitions start with an ending, move to a period of limbo, and then lead to a new action or a fresh beginning."

7. - "...endings rarely come without some pain, a sense of loss, a feeling of sadness. Endings mean letting go of something 0 a connection to old friends or a familiar place, a sense of ourselves that we'd grown good at, attached to, confident of. Those endings necessarily come before there's anything concrete to replace them." (p. 114)

- "Here's the truth: Fear is the enemy of action. Fear robs you of your choices, saps your curiosity, short-circuits your courage." (p. 120)

- "Living in the moment creates energy." (p. 123)

- "There is, in fact, a rhythm to action. You act and then you reflect. First you go out into the world, and then you go back inside to see how your action feels. By moving back and forth between action and reflection, you take advantage of your experience; you learn from doing; and you capture the benefits of trying something new without feeling overcommitted to something that is still an improvisational experiment." (p. 126)

* "Finding purpose and connecting with others is the core that generates an authentic life. We need to find ways in which we can stay engaged with life - by finding our purpose - and engaging in life - and by connecting with others." (p. 136)

- "We can choose...We can stay curious...We can act courageously... (p. 137)

I will definitely be using this book in future presentations. Recommended for older readers.

[Paulette Stenzel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I considered reading this a while ago, but I rejected it after reading some sample pages. Yet, I read it this month for a book club because I want to participate actively in discussion. In short, I was bored and found it tedious to push through the book. The book includes some good advice, but it is a combination of common sense, advice I have read elsewhere, and statements of what I know based on my own life experiences. Although it is only 168 pages, including end-of-book items such as interviews with the authors and acknowledgements, the content is repetitive. I found myself reading several pages or even entire chapters and thinking, “He could have said that in one or two pages instead of five and moved on.”

Perhaps the fact that I have found multiple passions in my life contributed to my perspective that I wasn’t hearing anything new. Therefore, the book might be more inspirational for someone who has not yet found a passion or multiple passions. I am nearing retirement (I’m calling it “graduation” to part time professor with more time for other endeavors), and I was hoping for some inspiration for my choices as I move into that new phase.

As I write this, nothing inspiring sticks with me from this book by Leider and Webber other than, perhaps, a few words about “unpacking” and then “repacking” our lives. That’s an apt way to phrase transition.

On the other hand, I found it annoying that the author spoke as though he has created something vastly revolutionary. He says “Life reimagined is a new mindset that is creating a powerful movement that matches the emerging moment that we are in.” I don’t think so. As humans, we continue to strive to move forward at each stage of our lives, and I don’t think the search to “reimagine” is anything revolutionary.

As an aside: I listened to a bit in the audible version but read the remainder in writing. I preferred the written copy. The reader’s tone was preachy, and I got annoyed with hearing him.

In closing, I see that some readers loved this book, so I offer my opinion only as one reader’s reaction and convey my respect to those who loved the book. I am sure others will, too.

[Denise Tarasuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, Brilliant, Life Changing! Life Reimagined is a wonderful must read! Discover a new way to look at life and a simple way to unearth new possibilities that maybe were not possible. “What next?” can be solved with complete joy!

[Susan Kosel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read it for book club. What can you say?

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was some interesting ways to look at exploring new career options but nothing really new. The book is tied to AARP's Reinventing Yourself program that doesn't exist anyone more. I read about half of the book and that was enough.

[Thomas Zegray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the two authors approach at building life reimagined as a fad or following that everyone needs to be part of...I always walk away from my books with one main reason for reading it. In life reimagined it is action then reflection....

[Pía López Copetti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fluffy, repetitive and filled with self-improvement junk. Not a book I’d recommend

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat inspirational. The personal stories add to the emotional aspect of the book.

[T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing great.

[Lori Quizaman]

Not impressed. It was simple and easy to read. But I did not learn anything new.

[Loretta Alcala · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explores the actions you need to take to make change in your life. The examples also provide a framework on how to find your purpose.

[DeAnne Worley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was Ok...

This book had some good motivation for ways to stay active and involved before and after retirement, but for me it was not extremely interesting. It was just ok.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing totally revolutionary here, but came at the right time of my life and reimagining.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Do you agree that there is a "new" phase of life between middle age and old age, with unique characteristics and possiblilities?" If you need some convincing, this book is for you. I felt very inspired by the stories and advice. The book encourages readers to continue to make choices, be curious, be courageous. It's never too late nor too early to reimagine life. This book takes some hits as being too "light" on a serious subject, and it does have a cheerleader tone. But that may be the tone needed to move some of us off the couch.

[Christa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even for those who are not quite at midlife (ages 40-60), this book had great insights. It uses scientific research and journalistic story-telling to walk you through what will help you make the most out of midlife. For example, the book discussed scientific research on the effect of strong friendships on stress, health, and resilience, inspiring me to take a little more time for my friends. It also discusses the keys to a happy marriage in midlife and the importance of pursuing a purpose and giving back to others.

[Shari · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some good information. Some things were helpful and (new to me) insights and some things I didn't quite agree with. Even though it states that lack of money isn't a good excuse I still believe it is. I also was a bit disappointed in the website as I expected it to be more helpful than it was.

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book with some good ideas. There is also a complementary website that looks great. I'm pretty happy with my life as it stands right now, but nothing stays the same forever. It's always good to "keep moving" as my old cigar box reminded. I really bought the book for a friend who is dithering about changing his life. I'm hoping it will provide the push he needs.

[Bill Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

maybe I give it four stars. Picked up in the airport in Hawaii. It caused me to lose my complacency and renewed my energy toward trying new things and finding connections with other people. Gave it to brother Marty and hope Donna will read it so we can work on web site and discuss some of the strategies etc.

[Lenorek · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to read when thinking about and/or going through transitions in life. Since I was not particularly committed to the journaling part of this book, I'm sure I did not receive the full benefit that the Life Reimagined process has to offer. I CAN imagine re-reading this book to refresh ideas and encourage personal change.

[V Massaglia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good read for those in transition. The process really resonated with me in my work in career development - a process that takes us from reflection to connection all the way through to action. Richard Leider's work is always inspirational and I admire his commitment to helping others live a more fulfilling and purposeful life. I recommend all of his writings.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was given to me by a friend at a time when I was searching for how to begin again. It has some great stories of new beginnings and led me to search further for my next chapter. It is not a deep lesson or a difficult journey to complete like some self help books. It lays out a new paradigm and gives you some tools to take away. It's a good quick read with some inspiration.

[Katie Meskell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well done

The book is a "quick read" however the wheels that are set in motion require serious thought and gentleness to one's self. Reimaging can be a call to courage as well as the call to enjoyment and silliness you may have ached to bring back to your life. As it is said , you are the author of the story of you! This book invites you to add another chapter.

[Haven Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this from a goodreads giveaway and I absolutely loved it. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it suited me wonderfully!

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad but very run-of-the-mill.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a typical "self-help" book targeted at the newly retired generation. I took note of a few concepts, such as "journaling" and noted the advice that "isolation is fatal".

[Judy Evenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of food for thought. But follow through for me not likely as I am either too tired or too lazy.