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Retirement Is a Terrible Time to Slow Down; Advice from a Retired Communications Director

What happens when you retire after 21 years in a demanding career? If you're Janet Kacskos, apparently you get even busier!

After retiring as Director of Communications at Millersville University, Janet had big plans to play golf, work out, and enjoy a little more free time. Instead, she started her own communications business, became a volunteer advocate for children, joined two golf leagues, and discovered that retirement can be a whole new adventure.

In this episode of Unexpected Advice, Esther sits down with her neighbor Janet to talk about knowing when it's time to retire, trusting your gut, and finding purpose beyond your career.

Along the way, they explore the importance of making new friends, spending time with people of different generations, and staying curious and connected as life changes. Plus, there's a little talk about neighborhood dogs, because sometimes that's the best way to meet your neighbors!

Janet's advice is a refreshing reminder that retirement isn't necessarily about slowing down. It's about having the freedom to choose what keeps you moving.

🎧 Whether retirement is decades away, right around the corner, or already underway, this conversation might just change how you think about your next chapter.

You can learn more about Unexpected Advice by visiting https://insightfullycurious.com/unexpected-advice-podcast

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What happens when you stop trying to map out every step of your life and start paying attention to what inspires you?

In this episode of Unexpected Advice, Esther sits down with supply chain leader Amy Beck for a wide-ranging conversation about careers, identity, family, leadership, and the experiences that shape who we become. Amy’s own path has been anything but predictable: studying art history and organic chemistry, working in fashion in New York, moving into aerospace, and eventually finding her way to biotech and work that has a very personal connection to her family story.

They talk about the women who influence us, the importance of finding and using your voice, and what it means to carry pieces of the people who came before us into the work we do today. Amy also shares her experience becoming a mother later in life, maintaining a strong sense of self and career through that transition, and finding a workplace whose culture and leadership aligned with what she valued.

Along the way, the conversation touches on everything from liberal arts and creative problem-solving to supply chain, workplace culture, mentorship, community, relationships, motherhood, and why great leaders should be working themselves out of a job.

Amy’s advice? Pay attention to the wind. Notice what interests you. Stay open to where it might lead. And don’t be too quick to pigeonhole yourself into a title, a career path, or someone else’s definition of what your life is supposed to look like.

You can learn more about Unexpected Advice by visiting https://insightfullycurious.com/unexpected-advice-podcast

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What are you waiting for before you start living the life you want?

Pete Moore spent nearly four decades building a career in sales, including 35 years with one small, family-owned company. Along the way, he learned that success isn’t always about chasing the next title, making the most money, or being the cheapest option. Sometimes it’s about knowing what you’re good at, taking care of your customers, and recognizing what “enough” looks like for you.

Now retired, Pete is putting another lesson into practice: enjoy life while you’re able to enjoy it.

In this episode of Unexpected Advice, Pete and Esther talk about planning for retirement without waiting for retirement to live, the daily habit that helped Pete transform his health, why staying active matters, and how something as simple as walking around your neighborhood can help build a real community.

They also get into the lessons Pete learned from a lifetime in sales—including why being the cheapest isn’t always a winning strategy and why working for a small company sometimes means that even the vice president grabs a snow shovel.

It’s a conversation about work, retirement, health, neighbors, grandkids, and making sure you’re actually enjoying the life you’ve worked so hard to build.

You can learn more about Unexpected Advice by visiting https://insightfullycurious.com/unexpected-advice-podcast