DoesKatie

look familiar toyou? Sheshouldaswesharedher silver story in our last issue Yet,wediscoveredduringour time together that shealsohasanentrepreneur journey that startedfromadecisiontoretire. Her journey inspiresthat thereismoretoretirement thanjust havinglazy daysaroundthepool! Enjoy

Silver Entrepreneur

I thought I wasdone.Not just retired,but ?stick afork inme? done After 33 yearsinmore classroomsthanI couldcount,I thought I?dgointoretirement quietly,destinedtotutor afew students,maybewalk some dogsat theshelter,andfloat aroundinmy pool Thejokewas onme! My retirement marked thebeginning

Now,I know what you?re thinking.There?stheold expressionabout lifeafter retirement Travel andseethe world.Enjoy makingdoctor?s appointmentsinthemiddleof theday Napif you?dlike! But that isnot what theuniversehadinstorefor me.In September of my 33rdyear of teaching,I became eligibletoretire Most don? t at 55 But something felt likeit waschanging.I couldn? t put my finger on it It wasn? t mylovefor teaching That wasstronger thanever It wasayear beforethepandemic,andI wasonthetopof my gameasaneducator.But there wasatugging,adefiniteknowingthat thiswasit AndI madeanappointment withmy superintendent thesecondweek of school and announcedthat thiswouldbemy last year Shewas stunned.Her initial responsewastoask about my health I remember explainingthat my healthwas ok,but lifehadtaught methat teachingdidn? t define me,andthat I wasmeant toliveabiglife.And althoughI lovedteaching,I knew it wasn? t the periodat theendof my sentence;it wasmorelikea semi-colon,thebeginning,but morewastocome Inthespringof 2020,I foundmyself nearing200lbs Nappingdaily becauseI wasexhausted,mindlessly eatinganddrinking,andfrightenedof my declining health I remember theday I almost quit onmyself I wastryingtoconvincemyself that I wouldhavea daughter gettingmarriedsoon,andI?deventually be agrandma Aren? t all grandmasfluffy andtired?And thenI saw afriend whohadlost alot of weight.But it wasn? t just theweight lossthat drew mein It was her confidence,her joy Andwithout givingmyself timetotalk myself out of it,I messagedher Wehada conversationabout change,not about weight Shespoketome about habits,not diets She offeredmesomehope.AndI took it

That decisiontochangeandget healthy haschangedmy entire life.Yes,I lost the57 lbsthat had beenprotectingmelikeasuit of armor But I alsobeganlearning about HOW I hadgottenthere, andmoreimportantly,how to NEVERgoback thereagain I begantobuildhabits,oneat a time,andbegantogaincontrol of my emotions,whichinturn helpedmemakehealthier decisionsandastheweight cameoff,I discovered someone.Myself.Andif creatinghealthy habitsand managingmy emotionscouldempower melikethis, I just knew I hadanobligationtoshareit withevery humanbeingwhoneededchange.THATfelt like what I wasput heretodo

Twoandahalf yearslater,I haveahealthand wellnesspracticewhereI helppeopleachievea higher level of healthandwellbeing.I alsohelp peoplebuildbusinessesfor themselvessothat they may createhealthof all kindsintheir ownlives h o t o c r e d s : L e f t T o p A m y C a r r P h o t g r a p h y R i g h t : A s h B a k e r P h o t o g r a p h y o t h e r p h o t o s p r o v i d e d b y C e l e b r a t e t e h G r a y C o l l e c t i v e

P h o t o C r e d i t K e i t h C o r n e l i u s P h o t o g r a p h y , S t y l i s t T r e n a A c k e r s