What do you do when you always had a creative side that is ready to be fully expressed after 26 years in law enforcement? You retire to become a full-time artist.

John Patrick Weiss is a writer, painter, cartoonist and photographer. In our discussion he talked about how his creative passions sustained him during his career; they became a refuge during stressful times. When I asked what he had learned during his career that helped him as an artist, his answer was discipline.

John loves landscape painting and is recently experimenting with black and white photography. You wil hear him talk about ideas of where that medium might take him. Writing seems to be his main passion.

This show was recorded live, and there is a 10 minute stretch where the streaming software of the host (me) went down. As the professional that he is, John carried the show by himself for that time. It is a funny interlude in the show.

Episode Takeaways:

1. Whatever your passions are, go for it.

2. Paraphrasing from David Brook's book, "The Second Mountain," John tells us that the first mountain is self-centric. The second mountain is other-centric. Chase that second mountain in this next stage of life.

3. Be open to new experiences

4. Try different things until you find the thing that makes your heart go a-twitter.

Thanks so much for listening.

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You can email me with questions or comments at wendy@heyboomer.biz

- Wendy Green is a Certified Life Coach, working with people going through the sometimes uncomfortable life transition from full-time work to "what's next." Find out more about Wendy's 6-week "What's Next Transition" Coaching workshop

- You can find John at johnpweiss.com.