Portfolio Life: The Book
Portfolio Life: The New Path to Work Purpose and Passion after 50
AMERICANS AGE 50 AND UP are not only living longer and in good health. They are tackling a life stage that did not exist twenty-five years ago—a new arena that could last three or four decades after initial careers have ended. In this groundbreaking book, David Corbett, a thought leader on life transitions for executives and professionals, offers a compelling alternative to traditional retirement. Portfolio Life shows how to adopt a new way of thinking and living in extended middle age. This time was once relegated to winding down. Now it holds the promise of our most significant and passionate years, when we can be ourselves and contribute to others. Corbett describes a “life portfolio”—a balanced mix of work, learning, leisure, family time, and giving back that individuals tailor to their personality, needs and sense of mission. Using compelling personal examples, the book shows how to allocate one’s time and energy among competing needs and personal dreams. The author, the founder of New Directions, Inc., in Boston, give clear advice and action steps on the discovery of our callings, the entrepreneurial spirit, spirituality, the role of legacy, and more. Portfolio Life, written with Richard Higgins, views the end of old-style retirement as a challenge to our nation to tap into the social capital that America’s longevity boom is producing. Corbett urges business leaders to respond more creatively to the major changes reshaping career patterns and the human lifespan, which include the increasing readiness of Baby Boomers to shift out of the full-time workforce. The book offers special encouragement to the growing number of Americans who want to turn their success into significance, telling the stories of many who have done just that. Corbett elaborates on a disciplined, step-by-step process for creating a life portfolio. He explores long- and short-term portfolio planning, offering practical suggestions and exercises. He also shows how to deal with the pockets of emotional turbulence that are inevitable as people make the transitions. Portfolio Life is a guide not to surviving but to flourishing after careers end. Corbett makes the inspiring case that a life portfolio touches on those things that are really worth living for—those goals and purposes we should call to mind all along life’s journey. Portfolio Life makes the case that people should begin thinking about their Life Portfolios as early in their careers as possible. The author is David Corbett, the founder of New Directions, Inc., a Boston-based company offering career and life planning services to senior-level executives and professionals. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, The New York Times, Kiplinger's, CFO magazine and more. The book was written with Richard Higgins, a writer and developmental editor. A former longtime Boston Globe staff reporter, he is the editor of three books and has published articles in a variety of national publications.
From the Publisher
From Publishers Weekly
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Portfolio Life is New Directions founder David Corbett’s book about a new approach to work and life to get the most out of the many years after primary careers end. It was published in 2007 by Jossey-Bass of San Francisco.
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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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