Discover your retirement 'type' through relatable stories of actual coaching experiences, written by retirement coaches Charlie Baker, Larry Wofford, and Craig Bothwell. Read through common retirement challenges, present habits to overcome them, and find meaning in this next chapter of your life!
A practical, step-by-step guide to help you understand the specific areas needing attention in your non-financial retirement planning.
Examine your retirement in a new way through thought-provoking questions.
Identify common myths about retirement so that you’re not caught off guard.
Explore common retirement challenges that you may never have considered.
Plan for more than the financial aspects of retirement with tools to find your purpose.
Research has shown there are nine common issues that impact those transitioning into retirement. Dream Chapter dives deep into each of these issues with a story based on a real-world retiree who has overcome one of the nine hurdles.
Discovering purpose and meaning in retirement
Taking risks to find your passion in life
Holding yourself accountable for your time and habits
Improving your physical, mental, and spiritual health
Choosing a positive attitude
Finding your success “sweet spot”
Maintaining a flexible approach
Prioritizing a growth mindset
Identifying your motivators
Our Book uses stories of actual coaching experiences to highlight critical retirement aspects. Our Guidebook helps guide you in designing your meaningful retirement. Read one of those stories and preview the Guidebook today by submitting your email.
Dream Chapter will prepare and motivate you to make the most of your big life transition.
"An executive I coached for years invited me to coffee not long after he retired. I thought this was going to be a friendly catch up. It was a scolding. He said I hadn’t prepared him for retirement and asked, 'What should I do now?'
So I set myself to learning all I could about why retirees don’t see or understand the non-financial challenges of retirement. Then I started creating the content that will help prepare you for retirement or get you back on course if you are struggling in retirement. Retirement should be the best years of your life, and I want to make sure they are. Let’s do this!"
Charlie Baker, Dream Chapter Co-Founder
Historically we plan for retirement looking through only a financial lens. The Dream Chapter challenges readers to think more broadly about what they really want and need in retirement from an interpersonal, social, and professional relationship perspective. Its thought-provoking stories and questions helped me realize that I can’t adequately determine the financial resources I need for retirement until I have taken the time to understand what I really want to do with my time in retirement. Retirement shouldn’t be viewed simply as a long-term vacation but more so as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to use our wisdom and skills to improve the lives of other people and our world. Determining how we do that is truly what retirement planning should be about.
I wish this book had been available to me ten years ago when I retired. It is a goldmine of real-life retiree experiences. It provided me with a way to find answers to questions I had never thought to ask. I think all of us want to make the most of the time we have left. And this book helped me in many ways, including my own answers to the elusive question of, “What is the meaning of my life?”
“Dream Chapter, Retirement By Design” is a practical, challenging and inspiring book to assist people moving from a career into the dream chapter of their life. Through the tools provided and the stories shared, Dream Chapter will help you find fulfillment and direction in one of life's major transitions —retirement.
Henry David Thoreau said, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.” This summarizes Dream Chapter. Through personal experiences and stories, the writers present practical ways and insights to maximize your chances of a meaningful and successful retirement. Dream Chapter will challenge you to dream big, as you explore and discover your new world of retirement. A must read.
Who is Charlie Baker? For over 30 years, Charlie’s executive coaching experience spanned multiple industries. From higher education, retail industry, regional health care providers, energy clients, governmental agencies, and an international professional service corporation, he has consulted with those in the corporate suites and throughout the organizations to create and implement healthy, dynamic plans of action. His background of a B.S. in Education and a Master’s in Theology laid the foundation for his passion of creating a workplace environment conducive for businesses to succeed and for their leadership at all levels to grow, thrive, and serve.
When not traveling, one can find him training for 5K’s, working on the ranch, or spending quality time with his family.
During the latter years of his career, he ‘dreamed’ of helping others transition from their full-time, professional careers to their active, meaningful retirement years. What you hold in your hands is the fulfillment of that ‘Dream Chapter’.
Larry Wofford is a professor of entrepreneurship and serves on the board of advisors for a national health-care organization. Throughout his career, he developed and operated successful businesses in the logistics and motor vehicle industries. He also published two textbooks and numerous research articles.
He has coached and guided many individuals making life and career decisions and transitions. It became his mission to develop an approach to help pre-retirees and retirees experience a more meaningful and satisfying life.
Larry earned a Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin and a Postgraduate Diploma from the University of Oxford. He holds the AICP designation from the American Institute of Certified Planners. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a Hoyt Fellow of the Homer Hoyt Advanced Studies Institute.
Craig Bothwell spent 43 years as a successful executive and entrepreneur in the hospitality industry. What began as a college job washing dishes in 1969 with Mazzio’s Corporation, Bothwell found his passion for business and played a major role the next 36 years nurturing and rapidly growing the regional pizza chain and its subsidiary brands to over 200 locations and 3,000 employees. He served as President and Chief Operating Officer from 1986-2005.
In 2005, Bothwell left Mazzio’s to become a franchisee for McAlister’s Deli. Bothwell expanded to twenty restaurants in the Midwest before selling the company in 2012. He is also past president of the Oklahoma Restaurant Association (ORA) and continues to serve as an Associate Board Member. He is a partner and co-founder of The CC Group, a comprehensive coaching firm for business professionals eager to sustain success in life, work, and retirement through a proven and unique coaching process.
A native of Springfield, Missouri, Bothwell holds a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from the University of Tulsa.
“Retirement is such an anticipated chapter, but so many of us plan for the financial impact. We underestimate the social and emotional challenges (and opportunities) it can bring. This book focuses on the retirement experience of the whole person and gives realistic insight into the process of moving from paid employment into retirement, focusing on what we need to do to truly make this our own dream chapter.”
Have questions or want to chat? Reach out and we will be in touch.