Latest Careerrelaunch Podcast Episodes
Leap of Faith: Greg & Pam Ayers Quit Their Jobs To Answer God's Call
Second Act Stories - February 20, 2023 22:50 - 21 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsGreg and Pam Ayers were living the good life in Salt Lake City, Utah. They were living the American Dream...senior management positions with significant salaries, a nice home and two young children. But the loss of a close friend caused Greg to question his own life and ask “Am I really makin...
How To ROAR Into Your Second Act: 21 Minutes with Michael Clinton
Second Act Stories - February 01, 2023 16:09 - 21 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsMichael Clinton is a uniquely-talented individual. A former president and publishing director of Hearst Publications (which includes Cosmopolitan, Esquire, O The Oprah Magazine, Redbook and Woman's Day), Michael is also an accomplished photographer, marathon runner, philanthropist, author and pr...
Best of 2022: Jeff “Skunk” Baxter’s Coda: A Doobie Brother Focuses on Counter Terrorism
Second Act Stories - January 09, 2023 05:06 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsAt the beginning of each year, we at Second Act Stories like to take a look back at the incredible interviews we shared and pick one episode that truly exemplifies the surprising, inspiring and eye-opening nature of a fascinating career change. This “Best of” show gives us an opportunity to re...
Elementary School Custodian Tylan Bailey Finds a Perfect Second Act as a Teacher
Second Act Stories - January 04, 2023 06:12 - 27 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsTylan Bailey had a tough home life growing up. He had more than his fair share of adversity, which brought him to no fewer than 14 schools by the time he was ready to graduate from high school. In spite of such a profound lack of stability, Tylan created his own stable environment by focusing on...
Hats Off To Deborah: At 60, She Became A Milliner
Second Act Stories - December 08, 2022 06:39 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsDeborah Kase Lillian always loved hats. She played dress up with her mother's and grandmother's hats as a child. And she always loved rummaging through thrift stores to find unique hats. But it was the combination of an earlier move to Paris and her 60th birthday that convinced her to go back ...
Adam Carolla: The Carpenter Who Built a Legendary Comedy Career
Second Act Stories - November 16, 2022 05:41 - 44 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsAdam Carolla is a bona fide comedy legend with a seemingly endless number of credits to his name. He co-hosted the “Loveline” radio show with Dr. Drew Pinsky; his own number-one morning radio show, which replaced The Howard Stern Show, was syndicated to a wide range of markets; he created and ho...
Animal Rescue Is Dr. Peter Rork's Second Act
Second Act Stories - November 04, 2022 01:58 - 21 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsDr. Peter Rork was a highly-successful, orthopedic surgeon in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. But at the age of 59, he unexpectedly lost his wife Meg and grief took hold of him. He quit his work. He stopped eating. And he and his dog Doyle retreated to a remote vacation home in Montana for three months. ...
Veda Semarne’s Leap from the Classroom to “The Office”
Second Act Stories - October 16, 2022 20:37 - 27 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsVeda Semarne grew up loving everything about education. So much so that she earned a PhD in Art History from Yale University and entered the workforce as an academic, with every intention of finding a full-time, tenure-track position and living her life in and around higher education. But after ...
After the White House: A Speechwriter Finds Joy Teaching
Second Act Stories - October 03, 2022 05:41 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsCody Keenan started working in the White House at the age of 28 and rose up to the role of Chief Speechwriter for President Barack Obama. In terms of his chosen profession, he was at the top of the mountain at a very young age. But after eight years, the Obama Presidency ends. What does he do ne...
Day With M Night Shyamalan Inspires A Second Act In Filmmaking
Second Act Stories - September 08, 2022 11:17 - 23 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsMelissa Davey was a senior, corporate executive turning 65 and facing a key decision point in her work life -- Do I stay or do I go? At the same time, an odd series of events resulted in her winning a charity auction to spend a day on a movie set with director M Night Shyamalan. Shadowing Mr. ...
The Wolf of Late Night: Paul Mecurio’s Journey from Wall Street to Comedy
Second Act Stories - August 09, 2022 05:17 - 37 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsPaul Mecurio has achieved a level of success in comedy that budding comics only dream of. He’s a writer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert; he was a founding writer on The Daily Show, for which he won Emmy and Peabody Awards; he hosted a one-man Off-Broadway show called “Permission to Speak w...
Recipe for Success: A Red Truck, Amazing Pies & Barack Obama
Second Act Stories - July 22, 2022 10:27 - 23 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsBrian Noyes was an art director for 30+ years with top publications like The Washington Post, Smithsonian, Architecture and House & Garden. He loved his work. But he also loved baking. And he regularly took week-long courses at schools like the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY and ...
Jeff “Skunk” Baxter’s Coda: A Doobie Brother Focuses on Counter Terrorism
Second Act Stories - July 01, 2022 01:18 - 38 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsJeff “Skunk” Baxter is a rock and roll legend. He was the founding lead guitarist in Steely Dan, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Doobie Brothers. As a hired gun, he’s played with a who’s who of music royalty, including Linda Ronstadt, Donna Summer, Elto...
Ready For A Career Transition? 26 Minutes With Coach John Tarnoff
Second Act Stories - June 12, 2022 09:37 - 26 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsJohn Tarnoff is a non-traditional, career transition coach. A veteran of Hollywood, John was fired 7 times over the course of his lengthy career in entertainment. At age 50, he decided to go back to school and earned a master's degree in spiritual psychology. Pivoting to a focus on people and ...
A Second Act Creates the World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookie
Second Act Stories - June 01, 2022 22:20 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsSteve Lewis is objectively one of the most creative people on the planet. So much so that pure creativity is what motivates him; money just isn’t part of the equation. That doesn’t mean he isn’t successful. He is. Very. But his success is a byproduct of executing his incredible creative vision. ...
Goodbye Hedge Fund...Hello Sourdough Bread
Second Act Stories - May 13, 2022 18:21 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsAdam Simon was a partner in Echo Street Capital Management, a successful hedge fund in New York City. While he enjoyed the challenge of the work and it's financial rewards, the demanding 80+ hour per week schedule was wreaking havoc on his personal life. So in 2017,he quit and focused his attent...
Heavy Metal Lawyer: Black Sabbath Bassist Dave “The Beast” Spitz, Esq.
Second Act Stories - May 05, 2022 19:35 - 40 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsReferring to someone as a rock star usually means they’re excellent at what they do. Dave “The Beast” Spitz is a rock star lawyer in south Florida. Sure, he’s a really good lawyer, but he’s also an actual rock star. Prior to going to law school in 1996, Dave played bass for the legendary band th...
Life After The NFL: Arrelious Benn's Java Journey
Second Act Stories - April 18, 2022 01:18 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsArrelious Benn was a star football player at Dunbar Senior High School (Washington, DC) and the University of Illinois. He entered the NFL draft after his junior year in college and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His NFL career with Tampa Bay, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Jacksonvi...
Why Leah Gorham Scrubbed Out of Nursing to Drive a Truck
Second Act Stories - April 04, 2022 12:33 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsLeah Gorham spent 16 years working as a nurse, helping patients while she also helped an industry known for a shortage of talent. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic surfaced and spread, causing workloads and stress levels to skyrocket for first responders, Leah took it in stride. Although healthcar...
Dumping Oil & Gas Careers To Make A Better Dumpling
Second Act Stories - March 21, 2022 14:33 - 19 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsChih Lin and Mike Dorsey were trained as engineers and worked in the oil & gas industry in Houston, Texas. But both were miserable at work and decided they needed to make a change. They launched a company called “Dumpling Dudez” and turned their attention to teaching small groups of people the...
Actress Turned CEO: Anna Vocino’s Path to Eat Happy
Second Act Stories - March 06, 2022 23:25 - 21 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsAnna Vocino has an impressive IMDb resume dotted with comedic acting roles, sketch comedy appearances on shows including the Lance Krall Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live, and professional narration work for a number of TV series and documentaries. She has risen to the top of the voiceover industry, le...
An Unlikely Mayor: A Retired Lawyer Enters Public Service
Second Act Stories - February 17, 2022 15:45 - 17 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsJosh Cohn worked as top, derivatives lawyer for a series of well-respected, law firms. He commuted by train to New York City everyday from the affluent suburb of Rye, NY. But at the age of 66, he was increasingly bored with the work and planned to retire from the legal field. He came home one ...
Tech Entrepreneur Brews a Plan to Reform Street Gangs
Second Act Stories - February 07, 2022 03:12 - 23 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsGeorge Taylor built a career as a serial tech entrepreneur, launching, growing and exiting from nine different companies. Five years ago, after settling in Wilmington, North Carolina, George was working at his latest tech startup, when a nearby gang-related drive-by shooting shook him to his cor...
Presto Chango: An Industrial Salesman’s Magical Transition
Second Act Stories - January 24, 2022 11:56 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsDavid Bowers worked as a salesman for the Columbia Rubber Company for 39 years. He spent his professional life selling conveyer belt hoses to quarries and heavy machinery operations. But since the age of ten, he always had a fascination with the world of magic. For a 50th birthday celebration,...
Best of 2021: A Suicide, A Mother's Grief And A Second Act
Second Act Stories - January 17, 2022 12:46 - 23 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsAs we start the new year, we’re pleased to share the episode named the "Best Of 2021." The episode features the amazing Anne Moss Rogers and is titled "Pain Turns To Purpose: A Suicide, A Mother's Grief And A Second Act." It is among the most inspiring tales we've shared since starting Second Ac...
From Paycheck To Purpose: A Conversation With Author Ken Coleman
Second Act Stories - January 10, 2022 03:24 - 30 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsKen Coleman is the #1 bestselling author of “The Proximity Principle” and host of the nationally syndicated radio show “The Ken Coleman Show.” As America’s Career Coach, he helps callers discover what they do best so they can do work they love and produce the results that matter most to them. ...
Told "Boys Don't Knit" At 7, Russell Opens A Yarn Shop At 51
Second Act Stories - December 15, 2021 12:28 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsRussell Brent learned how to knit from his mother at seven. But he put away his knitting needles at a young age after hearing the phrase "boys don't knit." In his mid thirties, Russell started knitting again -- making baby gifts for friends. And he found he really enjoyed it -- "it was easy......
Scott Weiss Traded Executive Pay For Purpose
Second Act Stories - November 29, 2021 12:35 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsDetroit native Scott Weiss grew up in a family that emphasized formal education, but by his own admission, he was not a particularly good student. Scott attended Michigan State University, which was more a means to make money than to gain an education. After graduating, Scott made his way to A...
Exit Stage Right: An Actress Shifts To Fashion
Second Act Stories - November 15, 2021 09:33 - 21 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsNita Novy grew up in the small town of Courtdale, Pennsylvania (population 400). But via a series of unusual events, she made her way to the Broadway stage at the age of eight acting alongside Ethel Merman in Gypsy. She was later cast in "The Sound of Music," appearing in the production's first ...
Not Your Average Joe: Math Teacher Trades Angles For Arias
Second Act Stories - November 01, 2021 00:07 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsFor 31 years, Joe Gladstone worked as a math teacher in Syosset, New York. "I loved teaching, loved the kids, loved math, loved Syosset High School, loved my department. We had a bunch of people that we all grew up together. We were a family. It was marvelous." But in 2001, things changed when...
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