Financial planning author cites real life examples, gives advice.

by Mike Kravinsky

It's not difficult to get Kerry Hannon to talk about second acts. Hannon, a financial planning expert and author of "What's Next? Follow Your Passion and Find Your Dream Job," admits that when she discusses the subject of professional reinvention, she gets energized. "I just find it really inspiring, and that's what I try to do with this book."  The book covers not only the excitement of starting something new; but also, more importantly to Hannon, the nuts and bolts of it.

Hannon spent two years interviewing people who left successful careers to begin again. "The people I've included in the book were sort of pushed to make a change in their life because of a personal crisis of some sort. It was either a health issue or they lost someone that was close to them. 9-11 was huge for a lot of people."  But they all did it prudently. "All of them succeeded because they didn't act impulsively," Hannon emphasized, "They had a flexible time horizon. They knew they wanted to do something, but they didn't just react out of fear to impulsively start something."

She found that the people who succeeded had done their research. "They apprenticed, they volunteered, they reached out to their network,"  she noted.  One example she highlighted from her book was that of Tim Sheerer, who went from earning $500,000 a year as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch to opening a small restaurant in Pittsburgh. His motivation was the shock of 9-11.  Resisting the knee jerk reaction of simply opening a restaurant, he first took all the jobs that are needed to explore the restaurant industry - busboy, dishwasher, sauteing.  That way, he could make sure this was something he could or would like to do, rather than some sort of idealized romantic notion.

Hannon found that especially for older people, money was not the motivator for most who went on to a second act. "Sure, a lot of people needed to continue to make money; certainly it's important," she observed, "But for so many of them, as long as they're getting up every morning and loving what they do and feeling like they're giving back... there's this sort of magic that money doesn't provide." That's a good thing, because she notes that if you pursue your second dream, you'll probably take a pay cut.  Therefore, it is important to downsize.  "A huge piece of starting over in a new field, a new career; is to be able to manage living on less, at least initially," she said.

Quitting a longtime secure position to follow a passion is daunting and scary. Many think that they have to start from scratch and as a result get paralyzed by the process of reinvention. Hannon notes that often, a second act can draw on life experiences that one has already learned. It's just a matter of redirecting them. A lot of people worry that they have to go back to school and learn all these new things. Not so much, says Hannon.

"What's Next? Follow Your Passion and Find Your Dream Job" covers a lot of success stories as well as some unusual life transitions. Examples include transitions from the navy to the circus, cop to Nashville music agent, Fannie Mae employee to acupuncture specialist. The stories of professional reinvention cover everything from finding a new job to starting a business or non profit. They are inspiring stories; but the hook for me was the question and answer section with each participant, as well as tips for those that are considering a major life change. "This may be your time to try something you really want to do," says Hannon,  "But don't jump off on these romantic notions. Do your homework. Talk to people...get out there to see what's it's really all about before you get committed."

Hannon discovered that the people who are success stories are working harder than they ever did in their old lives, but nobody regrets their second act. "They never looked back and there was this pure confidence. They have this inspiring spirit - sort of sense of possibility, not afraid of hard work, eyes on a goal."

Visit Kerry's Website: http://www.kerryhannon.com/

Here's an interview that Kerry did for AARP: