Episode 19: How to Overcome Retirement Shock and Build a Vibrant Next Chapter with Mike Drak

Show Notes

In this inspiring episode of The Real Retirement Show, hosts Yasmin and Kathleen sit down with Mike Drak—retired financial services professional turned author, public speaker, and Ironman-in-training at 70—to explore the non-financial dimensions of retirement. Mike shares his powerful journey from retirement shock to personal reinvention, revealing how he overcame fears, embraced purpose, and adopted the principles of a long, healthy, and fulfilling life. Together, they discuss the importance of physical vitality, meaningful relationships, and a growth mindset—and why financial advisors must expand their role beyond numbers to guide clients through life’s next chapter. Tune in to hear how Mike is breaking stereotypes and redefining what it means to truly thrive in retirement.

00:00 Discovering Your Purpose and Overcoming Fears

02:00 Welcome to The Real Retirement Show

02:43 Meet Mike Drak: Author and Retirement Expert

03:33 Mike's Ironman Challenge at 70

05:24 Redefining Retirement: The Retirement Rebel

08:12 The Concept of Watching Your Life Movie

09:59 Experiencing Retirement Shock

14:57 The Nine Principles for a Fulfilling Retirement

16:41 Longevity and Retirement: Bridging the Gap

18:12 Practical Steps to Extend Your Health Span

19:58 Inspiration from Clive: A Model for Active Aging

20:39 The Importance of Fun and Connection in Fitness

21:49 Balancing Purpose and Consistency in Life

23:08 Financial Mindset in Retirement

24:47 Navigating Finances with a Partner

26:38 The Role of Advisors in Holistic Retirement Planning

31:48 Personal Growth and Overcoming Fears

36:47 Resources for a Fulfilling Retirement

38:25 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

About Mike Drak

Mike is an author, public speaker and recognized authority on the non-financial aspects of retirement. After having spent 38-years in the financial services industry, Mike retired and personally faced what he called “retirement shock”. During this time, Mike found himself on a journey of self-discovery and authored three best-selling books on retirement; Victory Lap Retirement, Retirement Heaven or Hell: Which Will You Choose? and Longevity Lifestyle By Design. Mike is a Senior Contributor at Booming Encore and dedicates his time to helping other retirees design a fulfilling, meaningful retirement lifestyle for themselves.

Resources

Get both these books for free at https://boomingencore.com/

• Retirement Heaven or Hell: Which Will You Choose?
• Longevity Lifestyle by Design

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-drak-6b401095/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retirement_rebel/

Real Retirement Video Podcast: Real Retirement - YouTube

Creators and Guests

Guest

Kathleen Mundy

Guest

Mike Drak

Guest

Yasmin Nguyen

What is Real Retirement?

Welcome to "Real Retirement," a groundbreaking podcast where your hosts, Yasmin Nguyen and Kathleen Mundy, delve into the multifaceted world of retirement beyond the numbers. This isn't your typical retirement discussion; it's a vibrant journey into what retirement truly means in today's world.

Each episode of "Real Retirement" brings you compelling conversations with guests who bring a wealth of expertise and authentic retirement life experiences. Our goal? To inspire and educate our listeners to approach retirement with intentionality and a broader perspective.

But "Real Retirement" is more than just a podcast. It's a community for those navigating the uncharted waters of retirement, whether you're just starting to plan or are already on this deeply personal journey. We explore a wide array of topics, including:

• 
  Physical and Mental Well-Being: Understand the importance of health in enjoying a fulfilling retirement.


• 
  Family Dynamics: Navigate the changing relationships and roles that come with this new phase of life.


• 
  Retirement Transitions: Learn how to smoothly transition into retirement life.


• 
  Purpose & Identity: Find meaning and redefine your sense of self post-retirement.


• 
  Social Connections: Discover ways to maintain and build new social ties.


• 
  Legacy & Impact: Contemplate the mark you want to leave on the world.

What sets "Real Retirement" apart? It's our commitment to authenticity. We bring you real stories from real retirees, discussing real challenges, surprises, joys, heartaches, and the myriad emotions that come with retirement. From addressing family dynamics to confronting identity shifts, we tackle the issues that truly matter to retirees.

Join Yasmin and Kathleen as they journey through the honest and often unspoken aspects of retirement. "Real Retirement" isn't just about ending a career; it's about beginning a new, exciting chapter of life with all its complexities and joys. Tune in and be part of a conversation that redefines retirement in the most real way possible.

Mike Drak: really believe that
everyone has a purpose and

they've had it all their lives
and they have certain skills.

That maybe they never had a
chance to develop and certain

interests and certain passions.

And what we wanna do is get'em
back on that path and see where

it takes them.

And that's the exciting stuff.

And you see these people
becoming, you know, like me,

maybe a writer I never wrote
before.

I had no idea.

But then I started experimenting
with and I went, wow, this is

kind of neat.

Right.

then the funniest thing is I had
this terrible fear of public

speaking.

I had it for all my life and I
never thought I would be able to

do it.

And then after writing a book, I
said, well, I gotta learn how to

public speak so I can go out and
talk about the book.

And I went and I conquered that
fear.

I couldn't believe it.

It would've been one of my
biggest regrets, that be

unresolved.

I actually went to Toastmasters,
and I can't tell you how many

times I went there and sat in
the parking lot and bailed on

the meeting, and one time I
said, you know what?

This is the last chance I gotta
go in there and I gotta conquer

this fear.

I'll never forget I walked in
the meeting and, I guess they

know you're new and you're
scared.

And so they come up and they try
to talk you down a little bit

and get a little calm.

I'll never forget, I told the
lady, I said, do me a favor, and

she goes, yeah, sure what?

And I said, can you go lock the
door?

Because at some point I'm gonna,
I'm gonna make a break.

I'm gonna try to get outta here.

and she went over and locked the
door and it was hard.

It was so hard.

You have no idea.

got through the night and I went
back the next night and got

through it again, and then I
went back the next week and got

through it again and it got a
little bit easier, but it was

hard work.

But I avoided, one of my biggest
regrets I would ever have is, my

fear of public speaking

Yasmin Nguyen: Welcome back to
The Real Retirement Show.

My name is Yasmin.

Here with my co-host Kathleen.

Whether you're retired or
thinking about retirement, we

delve into the multifaceted
world of retirement beyond the

finances.

This isn't your typical
retirement discussion.

It's a vibrant journey into what
retirement truly means in

today's world.

We bring you real stories from
real retirees and experts

discussing real challenges,
surprises, joys, heartaches, and

the myriad of emotions that come
with retirement.

From addressing family dynamics
to mental and physical health,

to finding purpose, we tackle
the issues that truly matter to

retirees and those thinking
about retirement.

Our special guest today is Mike
Drak.

Mike is an author, public
speaker, and recognized

authority on the non-financial
aspects of retirement.

After having spent 38 years in
the financial services industry,

Mike retired and personally
faced what he called retirement

shock.

During this time, Mike found
himself on a journey of

self-discovery and authored two
bestselling books on Retirement

victory Lap Retirement and
Retirement Heaven or Hell, which

will you choose?

Mike is now a senior contributor
at Booming Encore and dedicates

his time to help other retirees
design a fulfilling, meaningful

retirement lifestyle for
themselves.

Please help me welcome Mike,
Drak

Kathleen Mundy: welcome, Mike.

Yasmin Nguyen: so awesome to
have you here.

Mike, I think in our last
conversation you talked about,

this challenge that you're on
right now and you're doing an

Ironman challenge at the age of,
what is it, 70?

Is that right?

Mike Drak: Yes.

A young 70.

Yasmin Nguyen: 70.

So how's your journey going and
what inspired you to take on

this challenge?

Mike Drak: So far it's been
brutal, to be honest, because

I'm starting from such a bad
position.

I'm out of a shape.

I'm overweight, I'm slow.

kind of creaks when I walk.

But every day it's getting a
little bit better, which is

encouraging.

the reason I'm doing it is
number one, I wanna give my

health back.

lose some weight.

I want to live the best quality
of life I can for as long as I

can, and I wanna serve as a good
retirement role model to other

retirees to say, Hey, look
what's possible if you really,

if you're really want it bad
enough and are willing to do to

work, there's so many things you
can do, not just Ironman, I mean

anything.

And so that's the purpose behind
my madness.

Yasmin Nguyen: I don't know that
it's madness.

Mike, it's really inspirational
because so many people at this

stage have these limiting
beliefs that, oh, I'm too old.

My body doesn't work.

But you're really, stepping into
a whole new place of

possibilities for people.

Mike Drak: Yeah.

you have to be careful because,
your beliefs about aging and

we've been sold this thing that.

Once you've reach a certain age,
you know you're gonna be frail

and you gotta be careful or
you're gonna get hurt and you

should just play safe and sit
back and watch the world go by

and that's not what you wanna do
because that will make you grow

older faster you wanna stay away
from that.

You wanna remain vibrant, you
wanna keep experiencing and

learning new things, and it is
so important.

Yasmin Nguyen: Yeah, it
certainly is.

Hey, by the way, what does your
shirt say?

Mike Drak: Oh, it says
retirement rebel.

Yasmin Nguyen: Retirement rebel.

Well, tell me a little bit more
of what that means and what does

it, for you, what does
retirement and rebel mean to be

one?

I.

Mike Drak: you know what?

What I'm trying to express is
that we wanna throw away the old

retirement rule book.

where, traditional retirement,
you're supposed to stop work at

a certain age and you're
supposed to take it easy and

maybe play pickleball or
something like that.

And I'm saying, no, we don't
wanna be like that.

This is our time now that we
have our freedom back.

wanna do all those things that
we always dreamed about, the

things we're passionate about.

And, we wanna post about all the
exciting things we're doing on

social media.

So our friends catch on and they
come and join the party.

So I'm always on the outlook for
other retirement rebels.

And you can spot'em because
they're the ones, they're full

of energy and they're having a
lot of fun.

They're exciting and they're
doing so many interesting things

and I just enjoy it so much and
those are the people I wanna

hang around.

So I wear the shirt, it draws
retirement rebels in, we have a

few laughs and we talk about our
adventures and we inspire each

other.

Kathleen Mundy: Mike, I think I
need your shirt.

You know, it's funny because, I
think that retirement, when

you're talking about, the older
concept about slowing down and

taking things easy, that perhaps
is what our parents did.

that's not who we are.

And I love the fact that you
talked a little bit about, the

difference between heaven and
hell in retirement.

And it really has to do with the
mindset and the, decisions to

move forward and not stay stuck.

get into a place that maybe
stretches you a little bit like

your Iron Man is doing, and give
you a better understanding of

the capacity you have to accept
these challenges and succeed in

them.

So I'm, that's why I said I, I'm
thrilled with your concepts,

your ideology, the ethos of what
you're doing, and I need your

shirt.

Mike Drak: I'll get one out to
you, but you have a good word

there.

Capacity, and another good word
is potential.

And we all have so much untapped
potential.

I.

us and we've lost touch with
that.

And what we wanna do is wake
people up to that again and say,

okay, what are you really
passionate about?

Because this is your time to
chase after it, right?

Maybe it's a different type of
work that you wanna do.

Maybe it's volunteering or being
a service to others, but we all

have it within us.

And so we're trying to help
people dig it out and say, okay,

let's chase after it.

Now let's see what we can do and
how much fun we can have doing

it.

Kathleen Mundy: Does this kind
of fall into your concept?

I love this, watching Your Life
movie.

In fact, my husband's always
saying, talking about game

field.

So he looks at what's happened
and then decides what should

happen in the future.

And that kind of reminds me of
something that you are talking

about and you're wanting to make
sure that last scene in your

film is the best scene that you
can make.

Mike Drak: Exactly, because you
know, what I did was when I

wrote that section in the
chapter was I look back at my

life.

And I said, am I really happy
with what I've accomplished to

date, what I've been through?

and I really wasn't because I
was thinking, oh, I'm working in

a corporate world.

I'm working for a big bank.

Really, there's not a lot of
autonomy.

I took orders and I did what
they wanted and I was very good

at it, but I wasn't happy doing
it.

And things changed over time.

And then I said, I gotta get
away from this.

So I said, okay.

I paid my dues.

I went through that part of the
movie, now it's me.

I'm the producer now.

I'm gonna make a happy ending
for myself and hopefully it's a

long, happy ending.

That's what I'm working on.

yeah, I think about it all the
time.

And another thing I think about
is my future self, what gonna

look like and what I'm gonna be
doing in 10 years.

When I turn 80.

I think about it every day and I
say, okay.

What do I wanna be doing when
I'm 80?

Why, I put those things in place
now to help me get there?

and one of'em is my health.

I wanna be really healthy when
I'm 80.

'cause I wanna keep doing the
things I love to do, but I need

to start working on it now or
it's not gonna happen.

So yeah, that's what I think
about'em.

Yasmin Nguyen: Speaking of
movies, Mike, you know in many

movies you start with the movie
and then you've got the sequel,

and then you've got the prequel
as well.

And I'm curious if we rewound
the clock back to this journey

that you started where you
experienced retirement shock.

Can you help us understand what
was the experience that you were

going through and what is this
retirement shock?

Mike Drak: It was brutal at the
time, believe me.

it was almost like a trap
because one point when I, I was

59.

And I decided, okay, I don't
wanna work here anymore.

In the bank.

I was getting stressed out.

I didn't like, some of the
things the bank was doing at the

time, office politics and all
that stuff.

It was just like it got to me I
said, yeah, I gotta get outta

here.

So I was starting to tell people
I, I'm planning on leaving.

People were shocked because we
were part of a defined pension,

plan.

You're not supposed to do those
things like career.

to my surprise, one day someone
called me into a surprise

meeting where they gave me the
package.

Kathleen Mundy: There you go.

Mike Drak: I remember sitting
there, it was the funniest

thing, and they had someone
sitting beside me.

I guess they wanna make sure I
didn't jump out of a window and

my boss was sitting across from
me, he said, are you okay?

And I looked at him, I went, how
am I gonna play this?

I went, oh, you know what?

I'm feeling a little dizzy.

This is a shock, And he says,
maybe you should take the rest

of the day off.

I said, oh, thank you very much.

Yeah, it's, it's a big change
for me.

Thank you for understanding.

I got into the car, I phoned my
wife and I said, Hey, contest,

we hit the jackpot because I was
gonna leave anyways, and instead

of walking away with nothing, I
had their sever check.

That opened everything up for me
and I said, wow, this is gonna

be great.

And I got home and for the first
week everything was wonderful.

I didn't have to get up and
commute and I didn't have to,

report to certain people and do
all these things.

And, at the end of the first
week, the following Monday, I'll

never forget what happened.

I was sitting there on the couch
trying to find something

interesting to watch on tv.

I had one of these fancy smart
TVs.

I got 500 stations.

I couldn't find anything to
watch.

That was interesting.

And I started feeling really
miserable and I was all by

myself'cause my wife was still
working.

My friends were still working
and I'm just sitting there being

miserable and I go, there's
something wrong.

Because I got this money, I have
more than enough.

I don't have to worry about,
making any more money, but I'm

miserable and I don't feel like
doing anything.

And what really bothered me,
irritated me was no one could

understand what I was going
through.

My wife couldn't understand, my
friends couldn't understand

because everyone automatically
assumed, how can Mike be unhappy

because he doesn't have to work
anymore?

The truth is Mike was unhappy
'cause he wasn't working

anymore.

He wasn't involved in things he
wasn't doing interesting things

and dealing with people and
solving problems.

I love solving problems.

And I was doing nothing.

I was just sitting there like a
vegetable and that's when I

started sliding into retirement.

He and I spent, a year there
trying to figure things out and

that really bothered me and
concerned me because.

I saw that happen to my father
and it cost him about a year

too, and I had a good friend die
from it, he ended up drinking

himself, to death because he was
bored and he was lonely.

I.

And I said, no, this is bad and
I gotta deal with it.

I went out and I got my hands on
every retirement book I can

looking for answers.

But I was frustrated again
because all they did was the

money aspect of retirement.

No one talked about the
psychological side or the

challenges we'd be facing and
what to do about it.

And so that's what led to the
writing of the books really is,

my personal journals.

Trying to figure different
things out as I went through it.

And luckily I came up the other
side and, I found the solutions

I needed and life's never been
better.

But it took me a while to get
there and, my goal now these

days is I don't want people to
waste a lot of time and go

through the stress and anxiety
that I went through.

I'm saying, okay, let's Prep you
before you actually retire, so

you're prepared for these things
and you can jump into or use

retirement as a stepping stone
to a better life, and then try

to figure out what that life
will look like.

Kathleen Mundy: Well, it sounds
as though you mirrored that with

your personal journey, which is
I think, the best way to tell a

story and have people understand
what they can face and how to

avoid it.

you also developed nine
principles.

Have I got that correct in

Mike Drak: Yes.

Kathleen Mundy: overcome?

Can you share that with us
today?

I think that our listeners would
really be interested in knowing

what those principles were

Mike Drak: I call them in the
book, retirement Principles.

But really now I've shifted it
and I'm calling them Longevity

Principles because following
these principles will lead to a

long and healthy life.

And these are principles I
follow every day.

And really they're longevity
drivers.

what will make me happy and what
will lead to a health healthy

life.

one of the principles is
relationships.

It's so important, they've done
so much research on this, that

you have to make sure that
you're engaged and around people

and you either friends or family
or your neighbors or.

I always like to tell people,
find a tribe to join, or

multiple tribes.

I belong to a swim tribe.

I belong to, a riding tribe.

it is so nice to interact with
other people and there are

different age ranges too.

The young people, old people.

And, we feed off each other.

We feed off our energy.

we have fun and they encourage
me to follow my goals and I

encourage them.

And, we mentor each other too.

You know, we talk about all
these different things.

So, that's such an important
driver and that's just one of

them.

Another one is making sure we
have a positive attitude, right?

there's all kinds of research
done.

The famous NUN study saying that
happy nuns outlive unhappy nuns.

And it holds true for everyone
is, if you have a positive

attitude, if you look at aging
as a positive thing, guess what?

You're gonna live up to maybe
seven and a half years longer

than the average, retiree.

And then we could go down the
list.

There's so many, more of'em.

but they're all longevity
drivers.

And there's things, I practice
every day.

Yasmin Nguyen: Mike, now you
mentioned the word longevity.

what is your perception on the
difference or the intersection

between longevity and
retirement?

I.

Mike Drak: I take retirement
right outta the equation, right?

My focus on longevity is,
there's two things I look at.

There's health span that period
of time where I'm gonna be

healthy enough to do the things,
I wanna do in lifespan, and

there's a gap between'em.

And I think the average gap
right now.

Is about 11 years for retirees
in Canada.

So maybe they're, and don't
quote me on the numbers but say,

the average retiree is healthy
up to the age of 65, but then

they're gonna develop, a health
problem.

Maybe it's gonna be arthritis,
high blood pressure, or whatnot,

and it's going to impact the
quality of their remaining life.

We're saying, it doesn't have to
be that way.

If you follow the longevity
drivers, our goal is to decrease

that, that gap, let's call it
six span.

We're going to decrease that six
span as much as we can.

Best case scenario, I like to go
fishing one day, a dinner with

my wife, and not wake up the
next morning.

That would be the perfect exit
for me.

And is, it is all about pushing
our best before date as far back

as possible so we can enjoy real
quality, years and quality

lifestyle.

But you know, it takes some work
and attention.

Yasmin Nguyen: Mike, now you
talked about pushing back your

best before date.

how do people start doing that
in their own lives?

Mike Drak: it gets back to the
longevity drivers.

So we're looking at those and
we're saying, okay, here are

areas we need to focus on.

And one of them is just general
health.

Like a lot of people they.

Approach retirement.

Their health declines because
they're busy at work and they're

getting a little slow, so
they're gaining weight and, bad

things start to creep in.

And we're saying, okay, let's
nip this in the bud.

Let's turn this thing around.

And one of the most important
things is doing weight training,

getting to the gym, doing weight
training on a regular basis,

because that will keep you.

in,

Yasmin Nguyen: Yes.

Mike Drak: health.

And another thing we do is,
aerobic, exercise and then we do

a VO two max exercises.

These are all proven to extend
longevity, increase our health

span.

so we're looking at that.

We're looking at the quality of
food we eat.

we wanna eat, healthy foods, we
wanna stay away from the bad

stuff.

A lot of those snacks and potato
chip, I found the potato chips

and chicken wings.

you, you can still enjoy'em, but
it's all in moderation.

So we're changing our diets,
right?

And then we're hitting some of
the other drivers and yeah,

we'll get there.

and like I said, the goal is to
push that back as, as far as

possible.

When I was on my cruise, I met
this interesting retirement

rebel by the name of Clive.

He's 84 years old.

I wouldn't have known that and
we're in spinning class.

This guy's going hard.

He's jumping out of the saddle.

I couldn't believe it.

And then when they had the, high
speed spinning, he was pushing

the pedals, he was doing 150
RPM.

I couldn't get up over 120.

And I'm looking at this guy, I
said, Clive, when I'm your age,

I wanna be just like you.

But it is, it showed me that
it's possible.

have to work at it.

And Clive is, he was in spending
class every day, just like me.

And he was in the gym every
afternoon.

He's 84, but he doesn't look at
it, he doesn't act it because he

works at it.

That's the payoff.

And I, again, with my future
self, when I looked there and I

said, I wanna look like Clive.

I wanna act like Clive.

I wanna have Clive's lifestyle
because he spends a lot of time

traveling world on cruises and
whatnot.

And he's having a great time.

And I'm saying, wow, that's the
kind of lifestyle I wouldn't

enjoy.

Yasmin Nguyen: Wow.

I'm curious, when you talked
with Clive, did you notice any,

anything unique about his
mindset, because of course he's

taking action, but what is it
that's driving him to take

action?

I.

Mike Drak: one, it's very
youthful.

Number two, he put the fun back
in the working out for me.

So we're riding side by side.

It's really hard, but we're
laughing about it.

It is like we're kids Again,
it's the attitude.

It's just Clive was trying to
break me, but he was having fun

doing it and I'm trying to hang
on for dear life.

I don't want him to break me,
and we're laughing about it, so

it gave me a new goal to work
towards.

And we feed off each other's
energy and then we start talking

about, Hey Clive, what else are
you doing?

Well, I got a part-time job.

This is what I said, you got a
part-time job.

84.

He goes, yeah, I'm not gonna
retire.

Why won't I retire from doing
something I love?

You can't argue with that.

And I go, that's a great
attitude to have.

he kept working at it.

Again, addressing these
longevity drivers and that's why

he's as happy he is and doing
all the fun things he's doing,

and there's a lot of Clives out
there.

It'd be surprised, I meet him
all the time.

Yasmin Nguyen: You mentioned how
important it is to have fun and

stay connected, but do you think
you'd still be fulfilled if you

didn't have something to work
towards, like a goal or even a

part-time gig that gave you that
sense of purpose?

Mike Drak: No, you wouldn't be.

And and that's one thing my
Ironman training has taught me

too, is you have to be very
consistent.

You have to be disciplined, and
you can't just say, oh, I'm

tired today.

I'll do it tomorrow because
you'll never get there.

I.

So you have to come up with your
own strategy that will work for

you, and you have to apply it
every day.

You have to be consistent.

And if you do that, yeah, good
things happen.

Like you can improve your health
a little bit every day, you

gotta get to the gym to do it
right, or you gotta go outside

and get those walks in.

Right?

But you know, the smart people
combine things too.

I need to socialize with people
because that's a happiness

booster for me.

So why not go out for a walk
with a bunch of people?

Why not go to the gym with a few
friends and have a few laughs as

we're working out?

You gotta make it fun, but you
gotta have a purpose behind it

too, because that's what drives
it.

And purpose is one of the best
ones.

live a long, healthy life.

Who doesn't want that?

Yasmin Nguyen: It sounds like
you've really found a rhythm

that brings you purpose and joy,
but I wonder how does this

mindset show up when it comes to
your finances?

For example, is it easy for you
to spend money you've worked so

hard to save?

Or do you find yourself holding
back even in retirement?

Mike Drak: that's a complicated
question because I'll tell you,

I have a problem.

have a hard time spending money.

I have a hard time spending down
my retirement assets, and I

don't know why that is.

I think probably part of it is
'cause I spent so long trying to

save money and gain financial
independence.

And there's so many crazy things
happening in the world, like

this tariff thing, and you just
don't know what's gonna come

down next.

And we saw what happened, when
inflation kicked up and things

like that.

I don't wanna lose sleep at
night.

So I thought, okay, What can I
do?

To make life easier and reduce
my stress levels.

And the conclusion is to still
generate some level of active

income.

To me that made sense.

But I don't wanna work
full-time.

work part-time.

But the key is I'll only do work
that I love to do.

that's my standard and I hold to
that and now I'm there.

I do talks, I sell books and do
some other things.

I generate this fun money, which
is my cushion, and I don't have

any problem spending that money
at all.

And then for the rest of it, let
my wife worry about it.

Yasmin Nguyen: I'm curious, how
do you and your wife navigate

the financial side of things?

Has your approach changed or
have you shifted more of that

responsibility to her?

Mike Drak: Well, my wife's a
financial advisor.

Before a couple years back, for
many years I did my own

investing, own, saving myself.

It was like a hobby of mine.

I'd watch BNN all the time and
try to find out, where the

market was heading, pick up some
information and whatnot.

But I finally got tired.

I got bored of it really.

I said, I don't wanna do this
anymore.

And I pushed it off to her and I
said, I'm just gonna focus on

generating some additional
income and having fun.

I.

That's what I'm doing.

And it is not to watch BNN all
the time, not to check your

phone to see what the stock
prices are every five minutes.

it's nice not to be, not to do
that anymore.

So it's, yeah, taking a lot of
heat off.

Yasmin Nguyen: Mike, has your
relationship with your wife

shifted as you've stepped into
this chapter retirement, and

perhaps she's still in the
middle of her career?

I.

Mike Drak: Yeah, we have some
interesting discussions because

sometimes I feel she doesn't
view my work as real work.

Because she has to go out in the
car and drive to work and has to

sit in an office and do all
this.

I just walk upstairs.

I'm in my office and I do
whatever I feel like doing.

So I have a lot more freedom and
flexibility.

Maybe she takes her work more
seriously than I do.

I just have fun doing it, and I
only deal with people that I

wanna deal with.

yeah, it's still work, but it's
a different kind of work if you

pick up what I'm trying to say.

Prefer my kind of work much
more.

Yasmin Nguyen: Yeah.

speaking of work, you were in
the banking and financial

services world for quite a while
and I'm curious, based on your

experience, what role should
advisors be playing in guiding

their clients through these
types of transitions?

Mike Drak: Well, this is one of
my pet peeves right now after

having gone through and
experienced what I did.

I think it's very important for
an advisor to step up to the

plate and use a more holistic
approach with respect to

retirement planning.

So when we talk retirement
planning, it's not just numbers,

about lifestyle design, it's
about preparing your customers.

For the non-financial challenges
they're gonna be facing and

helping them come up with an
appropriate lifestyle plan that

will work for them the rest of
the years they're gonna enjoy in

the future.

that takes time, but they're the
ones in the best position to do

it right.

it is so important because we
know one in three retirees are

gonna suffer from retirement
shock, and it doesn't have to

happen.

they need someone to educate
them and help prepare them and

to hold their hand as they
transition through, because a

lot of people will struggle with
it and it can be very difficult.

Right now, the pushback is, I
know some of the advisors say,

why should I do it?

I'm not gonna make any more
money doing it.

And I'm saying listen, if you're
a trusted advisor.

have an obligation to help your
clients because it's gonna be a

tough patch for some of them to
get through.

And yeah, if you wanna be the
trusted advisor, you gotta step

off the plate and help'em,
right?

And it doesn't take a lot of
time to do it, but just give'em

the information and have these
discussions and when you have a

quarterly meeting, okay.

a little bit about the money and
the returns and things like

that, but then let's get into,
okay, what are your plans for

the future?

What do you see yourself doing?

What sources of new purpose are
you gonna have?

Are you gonna get healthy again?

Do you need to get healthy
again?

What's your plan for doing that
and having these meaningful

conversations and the advisors
that are doing it are having a

lot of fun with it.

Because, instead of just talking
about money, which gets boring

really fast, we're talking about
life and what's your vision for

your future?

And that's where it gets
interesting.

I just love doing it with
people.

Yasmin Nguyen: That's such a
powerful perspective, Mike, and

I imagine when advisors take
that extra step to have those

deeper conversations, it changes
everything, not just the client,

but the advisor too.

do you think that's what really
builds trust and long-term

relationships?

Mike Drak: sure.

Because you're showing to your
clients, you care about them,

you care about their futures,
right?

And it allows you to
differentiate yourself from

other advisors that just want to
talk about money.

a trusted advisor is your go-to
person, right?

I got an issue, I'm scared about
this.

we talk about it?

And you're looking for their
expertise and you're looking to

use them as a sounding board to
say, Hey.

I'm thinking of doing this, what
do you think?

And I want your input.

that's why it's important that
they get that input.

So the smart advisors are
starting to go there, but it's

slow because it's hard to get
the banks to buy in.

I.

Because they're looking at the
money side, right?

And they're looking at, what
kind of return they can earn.

And they're saying, do we really
need to provide that?

Because it's going to eat up
some hours with an advisor,

right?

And some advisors don't wanna do
it, or they're uncomfortable

with doing it.

and so that's what we have to
deal with right now.

And then I noticed like the
industry in itself, if you look

at it,'cause of the
demographics, With the advisors.

You got a lot of older advisors
and they're saying, my book's

big enough.

I don't need to do this, and I
don't feel like doing it.

And then, we're looking at,
okay, we can't change down, but

we can get to the younger
advisors that are going to be

taking their place and say,
okay.

This is the thing that you got
to start thinking about and

providing to your clients and
they'll buy.

I'm sure it'll buy into it'cause
it only makes sense, but that

change is gonna take some time.

Yasmin Nguyen: Absolutely.

And as we look at change, we're
not only looking at the change

in advisors, but also the
demographics of the clients.

the younger generations are more
astute and they make decisions

based on relationships and
stewardships and all of these

other considerations beyond just
the services.

Mike Drak: That's right.

And it's gonna go there because
it has to, but it is just, it is

taken a little bit longer than
I'd like to see.

Yasmin Nguyen: Yeah, you're
making an impact doing it with

both, your speaking, but Al and
also your books as well.

it seems to chronicle your own
personal journey and taking us

along the ride there.

And I'm curious, what's next for
you?

What's the next book?

What's the next journey beyond
your, iron Man?

A challenge?

Mike Drak: Well, there's two big
dreams I have.

the first dream is I'm going to
probably partner up with my wife

after Ironman, I'm going to, I
wanna be a role model for

advisors and I'm going to
provide retirement guidance for

her clients.

And so she'll talk about the
money side of her partner and

all that, and.

I'll come in time of need to
say, okay, I'm gonna talk about

planning, non-traditional
retirement planning, and here's

my books.

The your homework is to read the
books, and then we'll sit down

and we'll have these meaningful,
deep conversations about what

your plans are and what I think
you need to focus on, and we'll

work together to create this
lifestyle plan.

it, it takes time.

'cause I wanna get to these
people before they jump into

retirement.

I, and the planning process
really is probably gonna take a

couple years.

And what I'm really excited
about is dealing with people.

I dub late bloomers, the ones
that reach financial

independence maybe in their
fifties.

Instead of saying, oh, I just
wanna retire.

I wanna use it as stepping stone
to something better.

I want to go do something I,
I've always dreamed about and

whatever that is, and let's
figure out how we can get there

and prep them and help'em.

then one day they'll come to me
and say, guess what?

Tomorrow I'm making a jump.

gonna become whatever.

And that's the exciting part.

You know, people are starting
these home-based businesses and

whatnot.

They have these dreams and
they're saying, I wanna get

outta this corporate job'cause
I'm burned out, but I'm not

gonna stop.

I'm gonna do this.

It's a sound plan and I'm gonna
continue on for as long as I

want.

think to me, that makes perfect
sense.

Yasmin Nguyen: Did you ever have
a moment where you found

something new that totally
surprised you?

I.

Mike Drak: yeah, it's so
important.

so you're coming up with new
ideas and it is so exciting to

see that.

and that's why I love dealing
with these late bloomers because

really believe that everyone has
a purpose and they've had it all

their lives and they have
certain skills.

That maybe they never had a
chance to develop and certain

interests and certain passions.

And what we wanna do is get'em
back on that path and see where

it takes them.

And that's the exciting stuff.

And you see these people
becoming, like me, maybe a

writer I never wrote before.

I had no idea.

But then I started experimenting
with and I went, wow, this is

neat.

then the funniest thing is I had
this terrible fear of public

speaking.

I had it for all my life and I
never thought I would be able to

do it.

And then after writing a book, I
said, I gotta learn how to

public speak so I can go out and
talk about the book And I went

and I conquered that fear.

I couldn't believe it.

It would've been one of my
biggest regrets, that be

unresolved.

I actually went to Toastmasters,
and I can't tell you how many

times I went there and sat in
the parking lot and bailed on

the meeting, and one time I
said, you know what?

This is the last chance I gotta
go in there and I gotta conquer

this fear.

I'll never forget I walked in
the meeting and, I guess they

know you're new and you're
scared.

And so they come up and they try
to talk you down a little bit

and get a little calm.

I'll never forget, I told the
lady, I said, do me a favor, and

she goes, yeah, sure what?

And I said, can you go lock the
door?

Because at some point I'm gonna,
I'm gonna make a break.

I'm gonna try to get outta here.

and she went over and locked the
door and it was hard.

It was so hard.

You have no idea.

got through the night and I went
back the next night and got

through it again, and then I
went back the next week and got

through it again and it got a
little bit easier, but it was

hard work.

But I avoided, one of my biggest
regrets I would ever have is, my

fear of public speaking And
people all have these fears and

we're saying, okay, let's deal
with it.

Let's get it behind us and let's
move on to new things.

And these are people that are
growers, they have a grower's

that don't wanna stop.

They wanna keep learning new
things, they wanna keep

experimenting with new things
and come up with new ideas.

And, those are the people I love
dealing with.

Yasmin Nguyen: Mike, that's so
inspirational.

as, you're literally modeling
the.

Retirement rebel, and you're
doing it through your growth

mindset.

That's one of the things we
explore is the growth versus

fixed mindset and the growth is
where it opens up all these

possibilities.

thank you for sharing that with
us.

for our listeners, who wanna
learn more, who wanna become a

retirement rebel, who wanna
access your resources and books,

where can they find you?

Mike Drak: Okay, the good news
is that you can go to booming

encore.com and you can download,
two of my books.

You can download Retirement
Heaven or Hell, which is my

favorite book.

And there's also another book,
longevity Lifestyle by Design

that will teach you about
retirement shock and how you can

avoid it.

And also tell you about how to
start working on your future

retirement lifestyle design, the
one that you want to retire into

and keep growing and doing all
kinds of, great things.

So those books are there, the
reason I gave'em for, I've

decided to give'em away for free
is I just wanna help people.

don't want'em to go through what
I went through.

I want'em to have great.

Lifes, and so that's why they're
there.

place you can find me is on
LinkedIn, so you can, I'm always

coming up with posts on
different, subjects relating to

retirement and longevity.

And then if you wanna really
have fun, can follow my inst

Instagram account, follow My
Retirement, or let's call it

Ironman Journey.

So you can find me at retirement
Rebel.

And, yeah, it's, that's gonna be
very interesting because I don't

know how it's gonna turn out,
but I'm gonna give it a real

good shot and worst case, I'm
gonna get my health back

anyways.

But, I'm gonna learn a lot.

I'm gonna talk about it, and
also share some retirement

thoughts as I go through it.

But yeah, it's gonna be
interesting.

Yasmin Nguyen: Excellent.

We'll include all those in the
show notes so people can easily

find you.

as we wrap up with our
conversation I love that you're

not just offering tools, but
encouraging people to check in

with themselves regularly.

It's so easy to drift off
course.

Do you recommend any kind of
process or rhythm to help people

stay aligned over time?

I.

Mike Drak: No, that's a very
important point because what I

recommend in the book is doing
an annual review and looking at

all these longevity drivers.

sure that you're not, you
forgetting about some of'em, or

to make sure you're putting
enough emphasis on certain areas

if they're lacking, because like
you say, they feed off each

other, they balance each other
out, and you need them all

working together and it's easy
to lose sight of it.

So you want, you wanna keep
checking that you wanna keep

working on them and you wanna be
focused on that future self.

say, here's what I wanna be in
10 years, what I wanna look like

and here's what I wanna be
doing.

keep going out, keep going.

It's like a rolling budget.

Keep going out, keep changing
things, but have a goal to work

towards.

Right.

Yasmin Nguyen: Yeah.

Wow.

That's such a great reminder,
Mike, to keep checking in with

yourself and evolving with
intention.

I just wanna say your passion is
contagious, and I know so many

people who are going to benefit
from your work.

Thank you so much for everything
that you're doing.

Mike Drak: it's been a lot of
fun.

It's a pleasure.

I like talking to people that
get it and I love the work

you're doing and between us,
we're gonna help a lot of people

Yasmin Nguyen: Yeah.

Mike Drak: What it's all about
at the end of the day.

just having a lot of fun doing
it too.

Yasmin Nguyen: Thank you so
much, Mike.

What a joy to have you, and
we've learned so much and so

appreciate you being a part of
this conversation with.

Mike Drak: My pleasure.

Yasmin Nguyen: Thank you for
taking the time to join us

today.

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