Shownotes
Ready to ditch the old script about retirement and step into your most empowered, abundant chapter yet? In this episode, I’m joined by Milan Schwarzkopf—a master strategist who turned his retirement into an adventure of meaning, connection, and vitality.
Milan shares his proven four-pillar framework for designing a Third Act that’s rich with purpose and fulfillment, not just financial security. Whether you’re decades away from retirement, on the cusp, or caring for aging parents, you’ll walk away with practical steps to:
- Prepare financially (and why it’s never too early or late to start
- Cultivate health and relationships that truly light you up
- Discover a renewed sense of purpose that energizes your days
- Build new connections and expand your circle, no matter your age or personality
- Break free from fear and redefine what’s possible for your next chapter
If you want your retirement—and your life—to feel vibrant, joyful, and meaningful, this episode is your invitation to start designing it now.
✨ Want more? Grab Milan’s free introductory chapters and retirement roadmap at thirdactresources.com.
Want premium clients from your content?
Grab a free Client Acquisition Audit and I’ll show you exactly where your message, offer, and CTA are leaking conversions—and the 3 fixes to turn your podcast/Substack into a client pipeline.
👉 Book here: https://coachsalchemist.com
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Transcripts
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: What if your next chapter could even be more meaningful, abundant, and vibrant than anything you've experienced before today? We're exploring how to design a purposeful 3rd act. So retirement becomes the most empowered and inspiring phase of your life. Hi, and welcome to the you. World order showcase podcast where we feature, life, health, transformational coaches, and spiritual entrepreneurs stepping up to be the change they seek in the world.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: I'm your host, Jill Hart, the coaches alchemist on a mission to help coaches and entrepreneurs amplify their voice, monetize their mission and get visible with
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: sub stack and podcasts. Today, we're speaking with Milan, Ashwarzkopf Milan is a master strategist in life, design, project, management, and purposeful living. After decades of leading complex global projects, he turned his expertise inward, transforming his own retirement into a chapter filled with adventure, health.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: deep relationships, and true meaning. Now he's on a mission to help others step confidently into their 3rd act, offering practical steps and soulful insights to turn fear and uncertainty into joy, purpose, and fulfillment. Welcome to the show, Milan. It's great to have you with us today.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Thank you for inviting me.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: You are very welcome. So let's ask you the big question, what's the most significant thing in your opinion, as individuals we can do to make an impact on how the world is going.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Regarding retirement in the present status of medicine you can reasonably expect to live until 90, not depending on your genes.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: So if you, for instance, retire in 65,
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: you have 25, maybe more years in front of you.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: and they can be the best part of your life if you prepare well and manage it well.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Despite this fact, nearly no one is preparing for this.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: So that kind of leads to one of my 1st questions, which is, when is the best time to start preparing for retirement?
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: In your opinion.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Actually my retirement preparation system is based on 4 pillars, financial health.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: social and relationships, and last, but not least.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: finding a new life purpose for retirement not based on work anymore.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: In my view, financial preparation takes at least 15 to 20 years.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: So from this point of view, I would recommend.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Start preparing yourself financially in mid or late mid age, as soon as you are able to put some money aside and invest them with the help of a professional
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: for your manager. All the other pillars can be started anytime you can improve your health, your relationships, anytime.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: You can redefine your life purpose or find a new one for retirement anytime. It's never too late, the sooner the better, but it can be started at any time.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: So
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: most people only prepare for retirement financially. What are the other essential ingredients you believe are missing? And why do they matter so much.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Even if you prepare well, financially for your retirement.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: He, everyone would agree that you need health as well, so you should prepare
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: to be healthy, to spend most of the time in retirement in healthy status.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: And this, another fact is that if you have reasonable amount of money
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: and a reasonable amount of health. Your real happiness will come from relationships.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Many people, including me, neglect the relationships during work career.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: because work is on the 1st place, and everything else is not that important.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: but your real happiness will come from relationship. So
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: I personally had to learn how to improve the relationships, how to do that implement it.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: and I would recommend others doing the same again, the sooner the better. But it's never too late.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: So how can somebody approaching retirement, or in a lot of cases caring for aging parents begin to cultivate strong social networks and a deep sense of purpose, even if they feel kind of lost right now.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Maybe the 1st thing is to realize the importance of this topic.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Want to improve the relationships, want to educate myself, learn at least some simple steps how it's done.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: I have read many books, listened to many webinars. I have to try to summarize the basic knowledge about relationships in a chapter of my book and my course.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: So anyone who wants to know
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: has the knowledge available at hand.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: So what? What are some of the 1st steps you can take towards
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: developing? Are are you talking about like
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: bringing relationships with like families or outside relationships. And do you take into consideration that relationships change over time.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: It's a very good question during the work time you probably have, besides, the family most relationships from work.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: When you retire you will lose all of them, or most of them.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Many people are isolated in retirement, and it is very dangerous, both physically and mentally.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: So you should learn how to create new relationships, how to improve relationships with sales spouse.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: because you were used to spend 1, 2, 3 HA day plus weekend with them. Now you have 24 h, 7 days a week.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: It's not an easy transition at all.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: The thing is chosen also. Many people isolate themselves in one social bubble.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: so you should try to improve your close relationships, distant relationships, physical and virtual relationships.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Also, relationshipless people with different opinions
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: learn how to discuss with them
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: how to accept some of the new opinions, not to isolate yourself.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Yeah, I would say, the most dangerous thing for people when they hit retirement. Age is a television set in that lounge chair.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: You may as well just, you know.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: go book your appointment with the funeral home, because it's just a matter of time if you sit down in it, and you don't engage in other activities. Do you have ideas for helping people.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: There is a famous
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Go ahead! There is a famous saying, as soon as the TV refrigerator and couch become your best friends you are on a quick pace to grave.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Yep, for sure that that's a universal platitude. As far as like
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: making friends and finding friends at after you retire. Do you have ideas about this I have. I have my own, and I'll share mine. But I'd like to know what your thoughts are.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: You got some creative Hello, yeah.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: you can create your friends based on common hobbies, common sports of clubs.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: you. There are many, many opportunities, especially in cities where people meet.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: So you should actively search new friends, new relationships.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: And it's generally best done by using common activities.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: The things that you like to do you? You now have time to explore them, whether it's like joining a book club over, you know kinds of books that you're interested in.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: or and those can be done virtually, too. And don't forget how powerful making friends over the Internet can be. You can sometimes meet up with them, but you can just have
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: weekly or bi-weekly, just chats on a zoom call with somebody. You can also take classes.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: or learn a new sport, you know not all sports are really super physical, or join a Bowling league, or there's just like so many ways that you can expand your horizons and expand your circle of
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: of people that you can do things with
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: as as social animals. I find that it's it's
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: it's easier to build relationships with people that you're doing things with. Like, if you like, hiking in the woods, find a group that's going on hikes, or if you like riding your bike, find a group that's riding their bike someplace, you know. It's like there's so many ways to interact with new people and and bring new people into your circle, and you don't have to stay. And I mean, if they're full of people that you're not really particularly attracted to, then
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: find another one. There's not like a limit to how many you can try.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: I fully agree, and I would add, it's
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: The more you are an introvert, the more complicated is it it is.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: the older you are the more complicated it is, but it is very important it should be done.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: It should be done, and you shouldn't have to worry about only meeting people or trying to meet people in your own age group.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: because people that are much older than you and much younger than you all have things to contribute that will really enrich your life at this point in your life.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: I fully agree you said it very well. Actually, there is
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: anything with anybody you can learn from them.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: You must try to find that.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: And and not not so much.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: It's really easy for us to want to just confirm our biases and surround ourselves with people that only echo back our our thoughts and our fears, because a lot of it is based on our fears about what could or would happen in different situations, but to be able to just explore
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: how people are thinking about things also opens our minds up to new and at
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: new ways of of looking at how our experience is going, and it's not that anybody has to like be right or wrong in a situation. It's just that it can be different.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: and allowing yourself to explore what different might look like.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Yes, and not only that, you can even extend that to
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: refreshing your new life purpose, or trying to see what the life purpose others have.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: If there is anything good for you as well.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: if there is anything bad for in that for you.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: so it has far reaching consequences, talking to people with different opinions and different experiences.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: And it's never too late to start a new chapter. Just my favorite thing. You can always change. You know what you were last year or last decade does not define who you are today. If you've always wanted to write a book
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: or travel the world, or go to the town next door and check out some crazy space.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Do it
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: you? You've reached the point where people aren't. Gonna you don't have to worry about what other people think of you.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: It's 1 of the things I really like about being the age I'm at right now.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: So I like to call Level 65 in the game of life.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Even science is calling this neuroplasticity. It's very well known that a brain is able to learn new things in any age based on one assumption you must want.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Yeah.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: You want to do so. Brain is not only able to do that.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: but it likes it very much, and it's very healthy and keeps you fresh, mentally and physically.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Yeah, I
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: it's 1 of the my favorite things about life. You can always be something different. Learn something different. Try something different. It doesn't. It's not.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Nothing is always the same, it's always changing, and the more we can embrace it and enjoy it and have fun with it, I think the better our experience of life actually can be.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Again. You have 2530, maybe more years
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: for this experience. So use it.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Yeah, I I'm looking forward to it.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: So for listeners who feel anxious or uncertain about this stage, what's the one simple action they can take this week
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: to start living their best 3rd act, no matter how old or young they are.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: The 1st step. Again I realize I have the chance.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: They have their 3rd act in front of them, which can be the best part.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: How was that life?
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: For the 1st time in history we are living that long
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: we are living in democratic institutions, we have completely
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: all freedom of choice, how we will live, what we will do.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: So use this freedom for you.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: I know that you you work with people to help them craft a
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: call it a plan, but it's more of a roadmap to having a really great 3rd act. You want to talk about how that looks. Do you do it? One on one? Do you do it in groups.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: I actually offer 3 products. I have written a book which is called Living Your Best act How to be healthy, wealthy, and happy in your retirement.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Don't make the mistakes most people do. The book became Amazon number one bestseller last year.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: and I have 2 introductory chapters which actually discuss the importance of retirement preparation.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: And then I have chapters dedicated to all 4 pillars.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Another chapter dedicated to stress management, and some more small chapters.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Then I have published a course
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: pre-recorded. I have published that 3 weeks ago everything is available through my web pages.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: and I am offering one to one coaching to anyone who wants to go to more details than I was able to fit in the book, or who wants to receive customized advice.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: And who who would be the best people to reach out to you? Is there like a certain age group that you?
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: You work with more than others, or a gender or couples. What! What does all that look like.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: I was originally thinking that because of the financial preparation and its longevity, my ideal clients are people in mid or late mid age who can afford to put some money aside.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: But then I, in cooperation with my coach, came with a new ideal client definition.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: I am helping people who are thinking about retirement, preparing for retirement, who are already in retirement.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: or possibly people taking care of their retired parents.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: I I'm sure you could be very helpful for people who are taking care of retired parents. I, my dad, is the only one of my husband's and I's parents that are still with us.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: And he's living a great retirement, let me tell you. He'll be 90 next year.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: and he's got a girlfriend lives across the street, and he just he he's so involved in things all the time. He he works out every day. He
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: he joins all these clubs, and he's in charge of jokes on the Singles Club, so we always have to hear his jokes. He runs them by us, but he's just like the epitome of a great retirement. And so I've had the opportunity of having somebody model for me. What a really good retirement looks like.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: And yeah, my dad's nailed. It props to him.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Glad to hear that there are not that many people who are doing this.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Hi.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: I know it's just like I. I've looked around at other people that I know that are in their seventies and eighties, and they're just they're
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: they fall in usually one of 2 categories. Either they've retired to their couch and they're just waiting to die, or they're very active. And they're doing stuff, and those people that are active in doing stuff. You don't know how old they are because
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: they're just out doing stuff, and they're having a life.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: It's it's it's really a matter of staying engaged. And I think
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: there was a period of time when people would work for their 40 years, and then they would retire. But they
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: they just didn't really realize that
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: this is just the beginning. It's just a new phase, and you're not necessarily old unless you consider yourself old, you can just. You can still do all of the things that you want to do. You may have to adapt them, you know, because
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: maybe you can't physically do some of the things that you used to do. But you know, if you work at it, you can. You can still
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: like. I didn't think I could stand on my head anymore, but I can still stand on my head.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: I can do a handstand.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Our heads down.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: It was my case as well. I knew when I retired I must 1st improve my health, which was damaged by high stress from managing big international and global project and learn how to do that. Because doctor won't tell you doctors know nothing about prevention. They don't have time nor incentives to provide you this information. So you must find this information in books and or webinars.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Then I had to learn how to improve my relationships
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: again, learn how to do that and implement that.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: And the last task, which was maybe the most complicated one, was to find a new life purpose. The more you had your life purpose based on work which was my case.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: the harder it is when you lose it, so I can.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: And the more fulfilling go ahead.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Done.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: I was strength, I would say, improving your health.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: We actually know everything. What should be done.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: It's only a questions to implement it
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: basically the same as Swiss relationships.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Once you study some techniques, some advice, the best worldwide coaches.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: it was pretty easy to learn it and write the appropriate chapter of the book.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: On the other hand, finding a new life purpose.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: it's a new science which is definitely not closed.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Everyone is approaching this issue from different angles, so I have tried to approach its approach, that from my angle
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: I have created some system. I don't know if it's good or bad, or anything in between.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: I do know that finding your life purpose is.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: it makes you feel like nothing that you're doing is work, and it's not that it can't produce an income for you. It just allows you to express what you're here to express. I believe we all have a light that we're here to shine. And that's just what our purpose is. Is this turning our light on and letting other people who need our light to shine, find us.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Many people in retirement find their new life purpose in helping others. This is my case as well. So part of my life purpose is
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: to help other people, prepare for their self, act, and live through their self, act as best as possible.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: That's that's awesome.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: I really appreciate you joining us today. Mohaman people can find you at the 3rd actresources.com. Is that correct?
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: That's correct.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: And on that website you can find a
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: an opt-in form that will allow you to get access to the 2 introductory chapters of your book, living your best 3rd act, how to be healthy, wealthy, and happy in your retirement, and there's also a space on there. If you would like to schedule an appointment
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: to have a chat with Milan about what his coaching might look like for you. Is that also correct?
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: And and more, there is a link where to get the course.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: There is also a link where to take an retirement preparation quiz.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: which is pretty good to do it before our 1st call.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: so that we can evaluate the results and discover what is most important for them, was the beginning.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: Would you say? Going through your courses probably would be the the 1st step in terms of read the chapters, and then maybe go through the course, and then schedule a call with you, or would scheduling a call with you.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: be beneficial even if they haven't gone through the course.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: Actually the contents of the book, and of the course is basically the same. So either they prefer reading or listening.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: they should take the appropriate step as far as, and then to sync
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: on what they need to expand more book a call with me.
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::Milan Schwarzkopf: and we will discuss what's most important for them in this life stage.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: I like that. I like that a lot.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: So once again, thank you for joining us and to my audience to connect with Milan and get access to his free chapters, and also access to him, be sure to check out the 3.rd No, it's just 3rd actresources.com.
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::Jill Hart-The Coach's Alchemist: and thank you for tuning in with us today. If you have a podcast or are interested in starting one, be sure to reach out to us at support@heartlifecoach.com. We love to help spiritual entrepreneurs and coaches, amplify their voice and monetize their mission and offer a variety of ways to do this, leveraging substack and podcasts join us for our next episode as we share what others are doing to raise the global frequency and remember, change begins with you. You have all the power to change the world, start today and get visible.
