Hi! I’m Marilyn Hintsa
I’m a retirement coach.
I’m also on my own retirement journey which began in late 2019. I was unexpectedly set free by my employer at a time when, for me, retirement was still just a blip on some distant horizon. Given that, I decided to jump into coaching because it had been floating around in the back of mind for years. “If not now, when?”, I thought.
Still not feeling “retired”, I trained as a leadership coach because I was told that’s where the money was. Luckily, coaching skills don’t vary based on the market niche you choose so I was easily able to pivot to retirement coaching when I realized that I didn’t want to re-enter the corporate world, a place I never quite belonged.
I launched ULeadU Post Career Pathing – note it’s still about leadership – in Spring 2021 with more than a few doubts about starting a business for the first time at the age of 64. It took 2 more years for me to truly accept that I was on a retirement journey and ULeadU was the first leg of that journey.
I love that this path has taught me so much about so many things not least, about myself and what I’m capable of when I just try. I bring that spirit of trying and experimenting into my practice because I think that’s a big part of finding our way post career.
When we begin a retirement journey, we enter an unfamiliar territory that for most people feels unexplored even though multitudes have been there before us. Each journey will be unique because we are each unique. At the same time, we are far from alone and have much in common with fellow travelers.
There’s no “right way” to do retirement.
There’s just your own way.
To my mind, this is a most wonderful time of life if we choose to make it so. That means embracing freedom even if that feels a bit uncomfortable at first; saying “yes” to things you’ve never done before because it might be fun and you’ll learn something; being lazy if you feel like it or taking on a big new challenge if that’s more your style; fully engaging with the people in your life and making new friends; finding deep happiness with renewed purpose; and giving in to wonder and joy whenever they bubble up.
I’d love to hear how your journey is going. If I can help you navigate your next steps, I’d be delighted to talk about that too.