My Blog Purpose: I help people approaching retirement and already retired to reinvent themselves so they can enjoy a fulfilling, purposeful, and meaningful retirement.
My Interest in Retirement
I retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2009, and from my estate planning law practice in 2015. After moving to Arizona, I enjoyed being on “permanent vacation” for about a year.
Then I started to miss a routine in my life, and felt a loss of identity, purpose, and status. I felt loss and lost. It took about a year of experimenting with different areas of curiosity for me to find a path that helped me to regain a sense of meaning, identity, and fulfillment.
I didn’t realize at the time these are the phases that many retirees go through. It wasn’t until afterwards that I discovered a short video by Dr. Riley Moynes, The 4 Phases of Retirement , a TED talk (13 minutes).
As I learned more about the process I had gone through, I came to realize that, as Joshua Becker says in his book Things that Matter, “The key to a happy retirement is to have something that you are retiring to, not just something that you are retiring from. The difference between happy and unhappy retirees is having a purpose.”
Our culture does a poor job of preparing people for retirement. We focus totally on financial preparation and ignore the equally important topic of mental preparation. As a result, many retirees have no preparation or concept for what is a major life transition.
I want to help others prepare for and successfully navigate retirement. I have appeared on podcasts and Zoom calls with groups, educating people how to prepare and how to reinvent themselves during retirement. I’ve also written several articles about retirement for my blog, OriginalMacGuy.com. I’ve now launched this blog, focusing exclusively on retirement issues.
Several years ago, I wrote a blog focusing on Senior Sexuality. Last year, I rewrote many of those blog posts and combined them into a book about sexuality relevant to all adults, Sex for Life.
Certified Professional Retirement Coach
I’m a Certified Professional Retirement Coach. In March 2025, I signed up for and began working on a Certified Professional Retirement Coach course sponsored by the Retirement Coaches Association. In July, I completed all of the academic work and practice coaching requirements and was granted certification.
If you’d like to know more about my practice or retirement coaching, see my webpage. There, I provide information on who it’s appropriate for, the types of issues we talk about, FAQs, and the cost of coaching.
Retirement coaching isn’t therapy or financial advising—it’s a thought partnership to help you design a purpose-filled life. Whether you’re struggling with a lack of structure, a fading sense of identity, or simply wondering “What’s next?”, coaching can provide the clarity and momentum you need.
While I look forward to helping people navigate retirement by coaching, I don’t want this to become a full-time job for me. I will therefore be accepting only a limited number of clients.
If you’re facing retirement—or already in it—and wondering how to make it more meaningful, I’d be honored to help you explore what’s next. Feel free to reach out through the website by requesting a free thirty-minute call. I’d love to hear your story.
Jim’s Bio
I’m lucky to have been married to my best friend and lover, Lanette, since 1972. We raised four children and are now retired and living in Rapid City, South Dakota.
In December of 2022, we celebrated our 50th Anniversary with a trip to Disneyland. It was a blast! Here’s a blog post about my reflections about 50 years of marriage: Reflections About Hot Sex, Love, Friendship, and Productivity On My 50th Wedding Anniversary.
Minister & Chaplain
After attending a religious junior college in Tennessee, I began working as a minister. When I realized I needed more education, I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force to receive GI Bill educational benefits. Following Basic Training and Technical School, I served as a Medical Administrative Specialist. I took night classes while stationed at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. After my term of enlistment, I returned to school at Freed-Hardeman University and graduated with a B.S. degree.
Next, I attended Harding School of Theology when it was located in Memphis, TN, where I obtained a three-year Master of Theology degree. I became a chaplain in the Air Force, where I did a lot of counseling, teaching, and visiting. I also got to do many cool things, like go to Air Force Survival School and regularly fly on fighters, bombers, tankers, and transport aircraft.
Lawyer & JAG
After being discharged from active duty in 1993, I attended law school in Oregon at the Lewis and Clark Law School. Following graduation and passing the bar, I began a career focusing on family law and later transitioned to estate planning.
I became a JAG (Judge Advocate General) and practiced law in the Air Force Reserve, serving on both inactive and active duty tours. In 2009, I was mandatorily retired from the Air Force after a 33+ year career. I was kicking and screaming as I approached retirement, enjoying what I did in the Air Force and not wanting to quit.
I retired from my sole practitioner law practice in 2015 and moved to the Phoenix, AZ, area with my wife, Lanette. In the summer of 2023, we moved to Rapid City, South Dakota.
What I like to do
I enjoy hiking, backpacking, Mac computers, iPads, and iPhones.
I love learning new things and sharing my knowledge through teaching classes, reading, and writing. I’ve always been interested in several historical periods and like to play WWII historical wargames on my computer.
For 7 months I worked part-time for the National Park Service as a ranger at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, where I conducted tours and interacted with the public. I recently transitioned back to volunteer status, where I still lead tours and welcome visitors.
This past year, I’ve focused more on the process of retirement and how to help others enjoy a happy and productive retirement. I’ve been a guest on a podcast and done a couple of Zoom interviews and programs. I’m planning to expand my work in this area over the next few months, including more blog posts on the topic, becoming certified as a Professional Retirement Coach, speaking as a guest on podcasts, and participating in Zoom discussions for groups at MacSparky Labs.
I still haven’t decided what I want to do when I grow up!