My Next Phase: The Personality-Based Guide to Your Best Retirement [Hardcover]

Eric Sundstrom (Author), Randy Burnham (Author), Michael Burnham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2007

Too many people 'flunk' retirement--even after a lifetime of hard work. Why? Because they only plan on their financial needs, not their emotional ones as they move into the next phase of life.

The key to a successful retirement lies in your personality, NOT in your bank account. My Next Phase--featured in The New York Times, BusinessWeek, and The Washington Post--offers a revolutionary, step-by-step process to figure out your personal "Retirement Style" and creates a unique retirement plan based on who you are. Take the My Next Phase quizzes and find out:

WHAT'S YOUR SOCIAL STYLE? If you're outgoing, you'll need companionship through your days, whether you leave your job or keep working. If you're contemplative, you'll need solitude as well as social connection to find the fulfillment in the years ahead.

WHAT'S YOUR STRESS STYLE? If you're resilient, you'll push yourself to find challenge--and get bored without it. If you're responsive, you'll need to pace yourself. Either way, you'll need a passion that gives you a reason to get out of bed each day.

WHAT'S YOUR PLANNING STYLE? If you're structured, you'll prefer to schedule your time. If you're flexible, you'll want a freer, less scheduled life.

And many more questions (and answers) to ensure a happy, fulfilling 'next phase' of life.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The company My Next Phase has helped thousands of people planning for retirement develop a practical plan for this next stage of their lives. Co-founder Eric Sundstrom is an applied psychologist and a consultant for companies such as AT&T, Exxon, and PepsiCo. Co-founder Randy Burnham is a clinical psychologist. Founder Michael S. Burnham is the CEO of My Next Phase and an entrepreneur who has started several successful companies.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (September 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446581178
• ISBN-13: 978-0446581172
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Retirement 101, September 25, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Next Phase: The Personality-Based Guide to Your Best Retirement (Hardcover)

You just may "flunk retirement" without this book. The authors say there is more to preparing for retirement than just accumulating a nest egg. My Next Phase is a non-financial handbook that will guide you to a better retirement by addressing your psycho-social profile. The authors undertake to help you in the discovery of self-understanding that is critical to a successful retirement.

Seven short quizzes address 7 personality traits that tell you about you. Each one gives a score, tells what that score means, and the affect it will have on your retirement planning. You will find out things about yourself that may be surprising. It is these unknown traits that will trip up a happy retirement.

This book is aimed at the `baby boomers' but it will help those already in retirement to make beneficial changes. Even though this is a non-financial guide, the authors state that having a clear plan that considers all facets of a person, his life-style, needs and personality traits, will also have a favorable bearing on his financial future.

This is not a book to read quickly in a weekend but a handbook to take in slowly and give thought to the points being made. Each chapter with its self-discovery quizzes is a building block in your retirement planning. At the end of the book is a planning template to write goals for your retirement.

With lots of examples and cartoons scattered throughout, My Next Phase is easy to read and understand. There are over ten pages of Resources listed under subject headings such as Travel, Health, Mental Challenge and Work Support. These headings are also the headings in the template for goals in retirement.

Overall, this book is for the ready-to-retire to the already retired. It will make you think about areas of your life that you did not realize would be issues in retirement.

Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommended for a successful retirement.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who Will You Be in Retiurement, November 3, 2007

By 

John R. Trauth "Author" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Next Phase: The Personality-Based Guide to Your Best Retirement (Hardcover)

Looking within yourself and analyzing your personality is key to figuring out not just what you want to do in reitirement but who you want to be. This is what this book is all about. The authors have real-life experience with this subject, having helped many people through this difficult transition, and it comes through loud and clear in the various chapters. Too many books on retirement are full of platitudes. Not this one. Part II, "Understanding the seven personality traits that determine your best retirement" provides a good stgructure for meaningful self-analysis. As the suthors point out, too many people confuse retirement with a permanent vacation, and wind up miserable as a result. Anyone reading this book and doing the exercises will not make this mistake, and will be better prepared for their future life.
John Trauth, Author, Your Retirement, Your Way

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Happily Ever After?, June 10, 2009

By 

Jan Cullinane "Author, The New Retirement: Th... (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Next Phase: The Personality-Based Guide to Your Best Retirement (Hardcover)

Reading this book leads you to reflect upon your own personality (and that of a significant other if you have one) and helps you to be more successful in retirement. Thinking about roles in retirement (especially if you are part of a couple) is extremely important, as well as the lifestyle you want to lead after leaving a primary career.

As an expert and author on retirement myselfThe New Retirement: Revised and Updated: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life, and as a woman with a retired husband, I can assure you that this is an area that should be thought about and discussed prior to retirement.