1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 Tell me about your vision. 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:10,000 Well, Harry, I have been sensitive to my potential from a young age as a teenager. 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:20,000 And I now am looking at the people in retirement as being, what about their potential? 4 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:28,000 With so many people coasting, playing golf or being a couch potato, 5 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:33,000 that to me, is there meaning in that? Is there fulfillment in that? 6 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:42,000 What could you or would you love to be doing if somebody inspired you or lit a fire in you? 7 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:55,000 And so I am both a spark strategist, a retirement coach, and a behavioral scientist. 8 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,000 So I want to bring out the best in people. 9 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:06,000 And all this free time in retirement sounds to me like untapped potential. 10 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:14,000 And in fact, a lot of people kind of get lost in retirement when they don't have their business card anymore 11 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:18,000 that tells them what their title is or who they work for. 12 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:27,000 We're not taught that we're in charge of our – we get to live from our heart now 13 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:32,000 instead of from our brain and our brawn. And nobody tells us about that. 14 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:39,000 So we get lost with our structure. Why do we need to get out of bed? 15 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:44,000 The alarm clock does tell us that we have a job to go to anymore. 16 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:53,000 So the – in fact, my last job at Boeing, they said – somebody told me that a lot of people put off – 17 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:58,000 yeah, put off retiring because they know they'll be dead in three years. 18 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:09,000 Oh, man, that hurt to put off retirement because apparently their whole life is made up of work, work, work, work, work, work, work. 19 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:13,000 And to not have work, they would be a drifter. 20 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:21,000 So they become bored. They become depressed. They become suicidal. They become addicted. 21 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:28,000 They – traveling – a lot of people dream of traveling as long as their health is good, and I understand that. 22 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:39,000 But a great way to add purpose to your life quickly out of the door after you leave your job is to volunteer. 23 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:49,000 And I wrote a course in May of make a marvelous transition into volunteering because it gives you a reason to get out of bed. 24 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:59,000 It gives you people to socialize with. It gives you something to learn and to feel like you're contributing still to society, that we still need you. 25 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:14,000 So my vision is to inspire, and I teach – just any day now, I will have on the Great Discovery platform my secret sauce. 26 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,000 It's called Discover Your Spark, Rekindle Your Joy. 27 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:28,000 And it's a little late getting done because of vacation and illness, but I've got a young lady that's working with me to finish that up. 28 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,000 And it's just momentarily ready to go. 29 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:37,000 So here's the spark that I learned about myself right after retiring. 30 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:41,000 It was the first thing I learned in coaching school, and it goes like this. 31 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,000 Well, okay, so I mean, first set the stage. 32 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:54,000 After we finished writing our essence, our spark, they had to stand in a circle and read our spark to each other. 33 00:03:54,000 --> 00:04:05,000 And as it came my turn, I kind of sucked in my breath and I thought, nobody's ever asked me to define my soul before. 34 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,000 Wow, it was amazing feeling. 35 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,000 And here's what I had developed. 36 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,000 I am precious jewel of wisdom. 37 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:19,000 I am colorful collaborator, motivator, and learner. 38 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:24,000 I am tranquil, authentic, and pure inspirer. 39 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,000 I light fires. 40 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:41,000 So, Harry, my vision is to teach 10% of the boomers what their spark is, their invisible assets, defining their soul. 41 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:46,000 Because then they have meaning, they have better health, and they have fulfillment. 42 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,000 That's a big job facing me. 43 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,000 Yeah, thank you for sharing that. 44 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,000 I think you already answered it in a way. 45 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,000 But what is your advice, Sharon? 46 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,000 Like why do you do what you do? 47 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:04,000 Yeah, yeah, I did answer it, and that's I mentioned the feeling of potential. 48 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:11,000 Now, during my career, I every now and then would jump at the chance of helping people revise their resume 49 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:18,000 because oftentimes I can see some strengths in you that you can't see or you think, oh, everybody can do that. 50 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:30,000 So revising your resume to bring out more strengths and look better to your potential new job is something that I find easy 51 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:37,000 and kind of tickles me because I actually did that for my friend that's seven foot tall. 52 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:45,000 I helped him revise his resume, and he wound up moving to California and doing a job that he enjoyed quite a bit down there. 53 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:54,000 So the potential in, you know, I remember maybe I was 14, and I wonder what my potential is. 54 00:05:54,000 --> 00:06:03,000 It's kind of like a mystery to me, and I think that's a good thing to keep us drawn, you know, walking towards our future. 55 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:05,000 Thank you for sharing that. 56 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:08,000 Thank you for being authentic about it. 57 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:16,000 My next question for you is, Sharon, then what held you back all those years ago? 58 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:26,000 Oh, well, that's a difficult story, but it really does play in a lot of my story. 59 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:31,000 I had wanted to be invisible as a young girl. 60 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:41,000 There was sexual abuse going on in our home, and I hundreds of times said, thank heavens he keeps his hands off me. 61 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,000 But I was a lifelong learner even. 62 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:51,000 I had helped my brother and sister with their flashcards, you know, three plus two equals five, 63 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:55,000 and I knew their flashcards before I started first grade better than they did. 64 00:06:55,000 --> 00:07:03,000 But that lifelong learning actually helped save me, I think, with my own focus and my own office, 65 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:07,000 just that even there was this abuse going on. 66 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:23,000 And I figured if I kept obedient, don't rock the boat, focus, and maybe I'd be safe, and I actually felt invisible my whole career. 67 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:33,000 I didn't really realize that, but down deep in my gut, there was something about not being seen or heard, but especially heard. 68 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:41,000 Until I started some of my college classes that people started helping me. 69 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:47,000 I'll never forget somebody offered me a couple free counseling sessions, 70 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:57,000 and I had to tell them why they would do that for me, and I had to say I was worth it. 71 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:04,000 That was tough to admit, but their generosity was a sense of love. 72 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:14,000 So it's not been since I learned my SPARK, my Essence Statement, that, well, at about the same time, 73 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:21,000 I got a profile back in the mail that said I was an influencer. 74 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:26,000 You made a mistake. You got this wrong. I'm not that person. 75 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:35,000 And yet, it kind of planted you seed, and I thought, well, let's take some baby steps, act as if that was true. 76 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:46,000 I accepted the opportunity to be a guest on a podcast out of New York City, and then started doing my own podcasting for a couple of years. 77 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:56,000 Little by little, becoming visible has started happening, and I'm becoming bold and courageous about it now, 78 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:04,000 because every week I put something out on Instagram that is Sharon underscore Queen of Courage. 79 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:14,000 And I love inspiring people and helping them embrace who they are and their invisible assets. 80 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:18,000 Thank you for sharing that. It goes directly to my next question, P. Sharon. 81 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:23,000 Then how did you get started in all this? 82 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:32,000 Well, it was April of 2016. Actually, in January, I got an email in my inbox at Boeing 83 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:39,000 that said Boeing was cooperating with a community college on a coaching program. 84 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:43,000 And at first, I just I thought, oh, good. Oh, good. 85 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:52,000 I'm glad Boeing's doing that. But then as I pondered it a little bit more, I thought, oh, yeah, I've been an employee involvement facilitator. 86 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:59,000 And it seems like the next natural step would be to become a coach, natural progression. 87 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:10,000 So I started coaching school the week before I retired. 88 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:19,000 All right. And how did you get started on the path that you're on today? 89 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:25,000 Well, I often say I'm the one that stops me. 90 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:31,000 You know, I I don't let closed doors be the last word. 91 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:38,000 And I've been plant and I also say I've been planting seed in my business. 92 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:47,000 I have been writing. I wrote a book, Fresh Courage in Retirement, Finding Purpose, Essence and Fulfillment. 93 00:10:47,000 --> 00:11:01,000 And I it's basically a do it yourself for finding purpose because in retirement, purpose is the secret sauce that gives you a reason to get out of bed. 94 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:06,000 It gives you somewhat of a feeling of being useful still. 95 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:12,000 And it helps you live longer and healthier. What could be better than that? 96 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:17,000 And I'm 76 and I brag about it because people don't believe me anyway. 97 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:33,000 And I'm headed for 100. So I and another principle that's helped me embrace my job and my business is not living by fear. 98 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:46,000 Back when I was about 40 ish, I guess I I had just moved to Tampa, Florida, and I was kind of hitting the wall with finding new friends and and the whole adjustment. 99 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:54,000 And I did a little research and found a couple chapters in Joshua in the Bible that talked about do not be afraid. 100 00:11:54,000 --> 00:12:05,000 Be of good curves, be of great curves. Do not be afraid. And I started stomping my foot and saying I refuse to live my life based on fear. 101 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:10,000 And I think that has contributed a great deal to my youthful appearance. 102 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:19,000 And we've got ingenuity. Let's use it for good, not for worry and fear. 103 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:27,000 So I've been planting seed for a number of years in my business with the writing and the podcasting. 104 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:33,000 And I just was on a in a class last week for being international speakers. 105 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:48,000 And I'm looking forward to that teaching the boomers globally, at least 10 percent of them to live from their spark and have that longevity and good health on their side. 106 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:53,000 So did you start on this journey? 107 00:12:53,000 --> 00:13:01,000 I don't know if you started your business when you were still working or you retired or you already started your business a while ago. 108 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:06,000 Well, the principle, in fact, I meant to bring that out. 109 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:19,000 I had worked at a convention conference at my church for singles. And my director was somebody had already been doing the conference for two or three years. 110 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:35,000 And he he told me a great tip, gave me a great tip that when you have a big event like that finished wrapping up or as it as it's finishing up, have something else to go to. 111 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:56,000 And I didn't ask him how he learned that lesson. But I I think he probably had come some of those bumpy roads after you have so much focus and completion of something that I remember working in my front yard after the event I hosted 112 00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:13,000 and was planning some bulbs or something. And I and just being alone and in my own thoughts was kind of settling and catching my breath for the next event. 113 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:34,000 So as I face retirement, I use his great advice to say, what else? What's next? And so while I was looking at that email from the community college in Boeing, I thought, OK, this could be that next step. 114 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:39,000 So that's that's that's good. Thank you for sharing that. Now I see the bigger picture. 115 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:45,000 Yeah, I have one more question for you before we enter a segment. 116 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:52,000 You are this is where you are at right now with your vision and this is the future where you see yourself going. 117 00:14:52,000 --> 00:15:04,000 Oh, go ahead. Yeah. So where is the let me put it on there. So making sure it's there. 118 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:17,000 Yep. Where do you see yourself going with your vision? Well, in fact, I've been challenged two or three times this last month about having a bigger vision 119 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:23,000 and and especially adding the images that go with the dream, the vision. 120 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:38,000 And so I've been saying for two, three years that I want to impact 10 percent of the boomers to live from their spark and that allows them to give back with pleasure and fulfillment and meaning. 121 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:42,000 But now I need to make more. 122 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:57,000 Well, I only about 50 percent of the boomers are on social media, so there's 50 percent of them that will never hear the message I have been building on social media. 123 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:11,000 So I need to get out there and speak. And that is the the reason I took the course last week on getting better at speaking, but also getting paid well for speaking. 124 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:32,000 If there's companies that actually do help their older employees in that transition as a behavioral scientist, all this planning financially for retirement leaves another 60 percent of the equation not touched. 125 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:44,000 And that's all the emotional side of leaving a job and not knowing who you're working for anymore, what your title is and where are your team members. 126 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:49,000 You've got to replace all that. And I'm here to do that for you. 127 00:16:49,000 --> 00:17:05,000 And having the emotional well-being of knowing what's inside and now being able to live from your heart is huge because I think it feels a little bit like heaven on earth. 128 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:16,000 How cool is that? And to live from your intrinsic motivation, you don't need somebody. Come on, let's get that job done. 129 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:24,000 No, you're probably working overtime because you're enjoying the feeling that comes from giving back. 130 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:34,000 So I've got a lot of work to do. And speaking is a big part of that, I believe, as well as keeping busy on social media. 131 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:56,000 And I'm finding that I was just on a podcast and this lady at 31 was really tracking with me about that being vulnerable and courageous and being your own unique expression of what and why you're here. 132 00:17:56,000 --> 00:18:00,000 Thank you for being here today. I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live. 133 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:05,000 I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions as these episodes continue to move forward. 134 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:09,000 This is going to get more and more fun. We'll have more and more engagement as well. 135 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:13,000 We'll invite people to participate in the show. And thank you for giving us your time and attention. 136 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:31,000 Have an excellent time building out your vision and becoming a Vision Pro yourself.