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Now you’re on your own. You don’t have all the time in the world to fulfill promises. You can’t coast and hope things will take care of themselves. It’s time to be intentional. But you’ve entered unknown territory. There’s no map, few models and little good advice. Even successful people need help at this juncture. New Directions provides it. We begin by sharing an encouraging thought: Your new mission is building on your personal values and dreams, discovering what matters to you and pursuing life on your terms. In fact, what lies ahead may be the most significant and satisfying part of your life. We have a process to help identify the best paths for you. That’s what our Life Portfolio Program® is about. It helps you develop a plan to integrate work, family and financial needs into a larger search for purpose and meaning. It’s an agenda for turning careers to callings. How it BeganNew Directions pioneered the concept in the mid 1990s. With people living longer and healthier lives than ever, the old notion of retirement as a complete withdrawal from work no longer made sense. New options were needed. And for people to take advantage of them, they had to shift from career planning to life planning. The Life Portfolio Program® was our answer. The core elements of a Life Portfolio are some income-producing work, ongoing learning, more rest and family time, often a regrounding in spirituality, and giving back. The goal is to create a balanced mix of activities that matter to you that gets you out of bed in the morning. It’s a design for living from the inside out: your life, your way. How it WorksThe Life Portfolio Program® is a process, not a one-time palm reading. We help clients prepare, mentally, for the transition by encouraging new attitudes. We begin by assigning an individual staff consultant to each client for one-on-one coaching. Clients also participate in peer groups, use our research library and receive an account on our private client website to access our extensive digital and networking resources. They also get a printed 66-page action plan workbook and a place to work. Access to resources at our offices is described in FACILITIES. The heart of the process is an assessment or personal inventory of personal interests, talents and skills, financial needs, values, motivations, and dreams. After evaluating the results, clients begin creating their Life Portfolios by setting goals and allocating priorities. We help them explore new opportunities and get feedback from trusted colleagues, friends and relatives. The involvement of spouses, partners or adult children in a Life Portfolio may be addressed. We point out potential minefields along the way, and we provide practical tips on sustaining and adjusting Life Portfolios as circumstances, needs or motivations change. The goal of this process is not a new you, but the real you. Instead of walking away from work years, talents and passions, the Life Portfolio approach is about building on them. What it MeansOne client entered the program after a long career as a sales manager. He did not want to retire but was uncertain what to do. He decided to start a business making custom cabinets and fine moldings. A few months later, he told us about a certain morning in his shop. As he turned a piece on his lathe, wood shavings all around, his felt again his early love of woodworking – and a new fire in his belly to pursue it.
At New Directions, you’ll enter a community of successful men and women who are relighting their pilot lights. People who want to continue leading lives of significance while taking time to rest, recharge and enjoy the fruits of their labor. And who are willing to ask, what will enable me to tell at journey’s end that I have not just visited this world but lived a full life? CostsIf you are interested in the Life Portfolio Program®, please call, email us or visit us at New Directions and we will be happy to go over it with you. Typical fees for the full program range from $10,000 to $30,000. Companies often sponsor individuals as Life Portfolio clients. For self-paying clients, the program offers slightly different levels of service, which are priced accordingly. OutcomesHere are some of the paths that Life Portfolio clients have created:
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A client came to us a year after leaving a 30-year career at a Fortune 200 company. An accomplished, can-do type, he was surprised that retirement was tougher than he expected. “You have to be original, which is hard,” he said. “There’s no falling back on what you’ve done. It’s all new, like learning how to play golf left handed when you’ve been a rightie all your life.”
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Success Stories
"With invaluable coaching at New Directions plus my own sense of mission, I was fortunate to be appointed head of a statewide agency devoted to improving the quality of life in Maine."
"After years of executive leadership posts, I can finally indulge my creative side, designing one-of-a-kind dresses. It feels risky but incredibly rewarding."
"After decades working for large companies, I love the independence of private ownership.
Through New Directions, I realized my life needed more balance and was inspired to embark down this wonderful path."
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