tedwords

"Break on through to the other side..." The Doors

Well, here we are. Welcome to the other side.

I wrote earlier today, "What a beautiful day for a new chapter," and it really was. It was a beautiful sunny spring day, the best of the week, with the birds chirping and the sounds of kids playing outside. It's almost like Mother Nature was waiting for me to turn in my laptop.

I have a friend that asked what I did today, on my first day in this new world, and I kind of fibbed and said "just relaxed." That's not exactly true. After Corb and I picked up a new item for the store and he went to work, I paid bills, corrected a billing error, announced my thing on LinkedIn and sorted through a huge pile of comics. But also, I spent a lot of time just thinking about the future. Which really isnt terribly relaxing at all.

Corb says I don't really know how to relax. He may be correct. As he likes to say, the first thing I do every weekend is clap my hands and say, "Okay, whats on the agenda today?" Poor Corb. Now that every day is Saturday, imagine dealing with THAT every day for the rest of your life.

Pity Corb. But also, for me, step one: Learn to relax.

I already have the next few months planned out. Next week, I start moving into this brave new world, establishing new routines, finding new rhythms. The week after, a road trip to Ohio. Then another week of the new routine. Then, NYC. Then another week and off we go to Europe. See? Rinse, lather, travel. Repeat.

But in thinking about all this, I want to challenge myself to consider my life even more broadly: now that the big decision is made, what else do I want to change about the old routine? What else do I want to make new or turn sideways? This is the perfect time for out with the old, in with the new. And there have been a few changes very much on my mind that I have been setting aside for a while now, since I've been focused on first getting to the retirement finish line.

For this weekend, though, I will simply enjoy the getting there. I have deserved a bit of celebration, I think.

This is the going to be the best summer ever. I can feel it in my bones.

So tonight, I raise a tiki tini martini to new chapters, new horizons, new plans, more changes and waking Corb up each and every morning with a request for that day's agenda. Oh, the fun we are going to have! The places we are going to see! I cannot wait.

As always, I raise a cup to my friends, to all the awesome members of the Friday night Martini club! And love you, mom and pop! You truly mean the world to us. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Pre-Friday night scribblings:

This has been a fast and furious couple of weeks, so it's going to be hard to capture everything for posterity.

First off, there were several farewell parties: one in Rhode Island, one in Boston. The RI one was last week and was a bit more sedate...a bit more like my farewell party with my team, although that was a bit more special since everyone went around and told a story.

The Boston one this Monday was bigger. The day itself was crazy, with meeting after meeting, mostly to say goodbye. And then at four, the big party, which Nicole made sure it wasn't too big, being the sensible person she is.

It was a lovely evening. We held the big public part of it on the 9th floor at 245, and I gave many speeches, and after that a smaller group went to Lolita for drinks. Corb drove in to Boston and my greatest amusement was hearing Corb and Nicole meet and trade stories about my little quirks. Corb said if he got sick of me he was going to drive me to the train station, pat me on the head, and tell me to go off to Boston, and Nicole said she would pick me up at the train station and keep me there until she was sick of me. I was quite amused.

After a few drinks, others headed out to go home and catch the train, but a diehard small group had dinner with me and Corb at Lolita. Kacey, who amused us with so much office gossip, and Kristen, Jasmine and Ellie. We talked for a few hours, which is always what makes me happy, and the food was delicious. We agreed we would try to make this a quarterly thing.

Then, Corb and I walked to the Westin, for one last overnight in Boston. The next day he drove me back home--after the celebration the night before, returning would be anti-climactic.

The next few days after that? Just a lot of wrapping things up. Nicole gave me an indication what was in store for the future, finally--she would handle my Workplace folks, while Claire would temporarily take my Wealth folks. Which is the best possible outcome imaginable. I lived in mortal fear of Kate or Lauren overseeing them, and I know that my team felt that way too. So this is best.

However, I think there will be big changes taking place in the future. I am kind of glad I hopped off the Corporate merry-go-round when I did. I was able to leave on my terms.

Thursday morning, I sent those I have been closest to a "Preview Note," something I have done for major campaigns for the past four years. But this one was a bit different:

***

Good morning, everyone. Tomorrow morning, after 13 years with one of the greatest companies in the world, I am pleased to announce that everyone's favorite Preview Provider will be taking his own deeply personal look at how Americans are viewing, saving, and planning for retirement, by actually embarking upon retirement himself. The goal of this campaign: to take what I have learned these past 13 years and apply it to my personal life, as I turn my laptop into the Smithfield office and bid adieu to the Corporate world. My release is scheduled for Friday at around 9:00 a.m. ET.

Key Themes:

Ted's retirement confidence is trending up, as despite recent volatility, I am 82% certain I will be able to retire on my own terms. That's up five percentage points from last year!

Non-traditional paths to retirement are gaining traction, and phased work is often by design, as I have a very nice plan to transition into the next stage of my life. And yes, much phasing will take place.

Planning turns preference into payoff. I've heard tell that those that have a plan in place are more than twice as likely than their peers to feel confident about their retirement prospects. So yes, I have a plan!

Go-to-Market Approach:

Media Outreach: I want to hear from all of you! You can reach out to me by...

Social Outreach: You can find me on Facebook or Instagram, posting my infamous Friday Night Martini Club reflections. Or, for the most professional amongst us, if you haven't already, add my Linked In.

Spokespeople: You will be speaking with me, myself, and I

My friends, what can I say. It has been an absolute blast! What an honor it has been to get to know each and every one of you these past 13 years, and I do hope you will stay in touch. But as Winnie the Pooh once said, "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

Remember, I am only retiring from the Corporate world. There is still so much more to say and do.

***

And then Friday morning? Corb and I drove to Smithfield and I dropped off my laptop. That was that.