Celebrating Next – Kip Greenhill

It is our mission at Lifelaunch Consulting to help others define their ‘next’ with purpose and intention, and to celebrate as a new chapter unfolds. As part of this, we are highlighting our friends who have successfully navigated the move from ‘now’ to ‘next’ and are thriving as a result! It is our hope that by sharing these stories, we inspire others to live their lives to the fullest.

Name:

Kip Greenhill

My pre-retirement career:

I served as an educator for 43 years, and for 37 of those years I was a school administrator.

Three ways I spend my time in my ‘next’ chapter:

I successfully ran for City Council in my community which has given me a real sense of purpose in helping craft and implement a vision for a better and more vibrant city. I helped a contractor renovate a “fixer up” property near Lake Erie and we spend a great deal of time there walking along the water, gardening and reading. True relaxation in an environment that gives us more emotional intimacy than I ever dreamed of while I was working full time. And, I have always tried to take care of my self by working out on a regular basis, but I now can make the time to work out longer without feeling rushed.

What I love most about retirement:

I can now give more focus to the things that matter most, and I can more easily say “no” to the stressors in life. I can also be more of the person I want to be, and be more of a risk taker, because I don’t have to fit into the behavioral expectations that accompany many jobs.

My biggest challenge with retirement:

Managing time in the day that is not structured has been challenging. I find that I waste a lot of time because I do not have every minute pre-planned as I did when I was working full time. However, not having to be on schedule all the time has also liberated me, but dealing with time has been a challenge.

What I did to prepare for retirement:

First, I made sure that we had enough money saved to live comfortably. I then took an inventory of what gave me satisfaction in life, and I came to the realization that I need to have a sense of meaningful purpose in my every day being.

Something I’ve recently done for the first time:

I traveled to Europe.

Most recent book/article I’ve read:

“Hamilton” and it gave me an appreciation of the man’s intellect and vision.

My future:

I was just re-elected to City Council and I plan to seek the presidency of the Council. From this position, I hope to organize extensive community outreach to build a vision for the development of one of the primary corridors into our city and to also build a consensus on what we want our community to be like in ten years.

My advice for those preparing for the transition from ‘now’ to ‘next’:

It was crucial for me to have a financial plan in place so that I could take some risks in the next phase of my life. Even more importantly, I needed to explore numerous options that might give me purpose. I’ve found that a plan gives me a sense of purpose.