Ready For Retirement
Episode: The Unexpected Exit at 55 — Finding Freedom, Purpose, and Identity
Host: James Conole, CFP®
Guest: Donovan Volk
Date: November 1, 2025
Episode Overview
This episode explores the psychological and practical realities of unexpectedly stepping into retirement at age 55. Donovan Volk, who was recently “exited” from his leadership role, shares his journey navigating identity, purpose, and financial readiness in early retirement. The discussion covers the four essential “buckets” of a fulfilling retirement, the emotional challenges of transitioning from work, and strategies for testing retirement before fully committing. The conversation is rich with actionable insights for those considering (or thrust into) early retirement.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Meaning of “Choice” in Retirement
[01:04]
- Donovan’s defining word: “Choice”
- “It was the ability to make the choice at the time and the choices that I made earlier on in my career and in my life plan, my financial plan, helped me be able to make that choice when the time came.” – Donovan
- Retirement readiness is the culmination of many small choices made over decades: saving early, living below means, career moves, and life partnerships.
2. Navigating the Transition: The Unexpected Exit
[05:26], [09:26]
- Donovan recounts his experience: after a family vacation, he returned to work only to learn his position was eliminated.
- He had been considering alternatives and thus saw his exit as an opportunity rather than a crisis.
- “Change is inevitable and it’s constant. Sometimes you choose the change and sometimes change is chosen for you or thrust upon you, we all have then the choice of how we’re going to deal with that change.” [10:14]
- Reflection and planning ahead (even hypothetically) mitigated the shock.
3. The Four Buckets of Retirement
[14:52], [29:10]
- Donovan’s buckets:
- Finances: Early, consistent saving and living within means are crucial.
- Health: Maintain well-being; “You can’t enjoy retirement if your body breaks down.”
- Relationships: Realize most work relationships are situational, invest in authentic, lasting friendships.
- Purpose: Retirement requires a plan for what you’re retiring TO, not just from.
- “Make sure that you’re retiring to something, that you have something in mind as to what you want to do, whether it’s a hobby or part time volunteering or part time work, whatever it is, have a purpose.” [14:52]
- A fifth “bucket” was mentioned: personal emotional health.
4. Identity, Purpose, and Ego
[17:11], [19:26], [29:10]
- The abrupt loss of professional identity is a significant psychological hurdle.
- “When you no longer are working in that kind of a role, all of that goes away. So if that was your sole identity and you had no other inputs…and way to feel good about yourself, I can imagine that somebody like that would struggle.” [17:21]
- Donovan finds new purpose in consulting, teaching, and sharing wisdom, focusing on impact rather than role.
- “For me, finding that new voice and being able to say, okay, well, this is still valuable, I can still have an opinion on things… I’m going to do that now in a different way.” [19:31]
5. Practicing Withdrawal Strategies: From Saver to Spender
[23:54], [25:26]
- Even when financially ready, shifting from saving to withdrawing is emotionally tough.
- “One of the hardest things is starting to pull money out when all you’ve ever done your entire life is put money in to save money.” [23:55]
- Donovan approaches spending as a skill, starting small to acclimate.
- Testing spending/budgeting in early years (“test years”) helps build confidence.
6. Dealing with Fear and the Unknown
[21:43], [39:24]
- Fear—especially of the unknown—often keeps people stuck in work even after financial readiness.
- Peer conversations, honest self-reflection, and professional advice can help break the inertia.
- “Sometimes people may not even know. Fear is one of the biggest things. Fear of the unknown is one of the biggest fears that people can have next to public speaking.” [21:43]
7. The Four Phases of Retirement
[34:07]
- Donovan describes retirement as a process with four emotional phases:
- Honeymoon/Vacation phase (“You get to go and do all the things…”)
- Sense of Loss phase (structure, purpose, identity, money)
- Experimentation phase (exploring new interests and communities)
- Steady State/Happy phase (new routine and settled happiness)
- “Knowing that those are the stages you’re going to go through… once you get to that fourth stage, then you find a new purpose, you find a new circle of friends, you find your steady state, and you will be happier.” [34:07]
8. Concrete Strategies for “Testing” Retirement
[40:25]
- Donovan advocates for “test driving” retirement when possible—dialing back work, experimenting with new roles or volunteering, before fully retiring.
- “Test it, test it out. That was my original plan…. For people who can make a choice and they're in a career, they enjoy the work that they do for the most part… if you have an opportunity, start having those conversations.” [40:25]
- Take incremental steps if possible: reduce work hours, add new activities, play out scenarios both mentally and practically.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On Choice:
- “Choice would be the defining element for my retirement journey.” — Donovan [01:04]
- On Preparing for Retirement:
- “It was just choices to continually save a little bit at a time, always with that goal of being able to provide myself the choice when I thought it might happen.” — Donovan [02:14]
- On Facing Sudden Change:
- “Sometimes you choose the change and sometimes change is chosen for you or thrust upon you, we all have then the choice of how we’re going to deal with that change.” — Donovan [10:14]
- On Loss of Professional Identity:
- “Your ego takes a hit… It’s then a question of how do you find that next purpose that’s going to give you both emotional and… an ego pat on the back for, hey, yeah, you’re still valuable, you still matter to people.” — Donovan [17:21]
- On Work Friendships:
- “If you think that your work friends were your friends, they’re not. For the vast majority of people, anyone who they meet through work are their work acquaintances and their work friends only as long as you’re working with them. Your true friends will be the people that still call you three months, six months, a year later…” — Donovan [32:20]
- On Emotional Honesty:
- “You need to recognize that some of these feelings that you have, they’re legitimate, sometimes they’re founded in reality, sometimes they’re just made up… So recognize, number one, recognize that they exist. And then… start talking about them.” — Donovan [34:07]
Key Timestamps
- 00:00–02:14: Framing the episode: choice and identity after a forced retirement
- 05:26–10:14: The story of Donovan’s job exit and his mental/emotional response
- 13:31–16:49: Advice from peers and four-bucket retirement framework
- 17:11–19:31: Grappling with loss of work identity, refinding purpose
- 21:43–23:25: The role of fear and the unknown in retirement decisions
- 23:54–25:26: Struggles with transitioning from saving to spending
- 29:10–34:07: Emotional/psychological aspects and best practices for working through retirement’s “big questions”
- 34:07–39:24: Four emotional phases of retirement; happiness trends over the life cycle
- 40:25–43:40: How to “test” retirement and ease into the new lifestyle
Actionable Takeaways
- Start early with financial habits: Compound interest and steady savings build the foundation of choice later.
- Contemplate the “four buckets”—finances, health, relationships, purpose—for holistic retirement planning.
- Do the emotional work: Acknowledge and talk through fears and identity shifts.
- Test a retirement lifestyle: Reduce hours, try new activities, or ease into new routines before making the leap.
- Don’t expect work friends to fill all social needs in retirement; invest in deeper relationships.
- Understand the phases of retirement—and that initial discomfort can eventually yield to new happiness and fulfillment.
Where to Connect with Guest
- Donovan Volk on LinkedIn: Shares thoughts on leadership, management, sales, and business
- Page: "The Good Capitalist"
This thoughtful episode is a must-listen for anyone approaching (or worried about) an unexpected or early retirement. Donovan’s candid, practical perspective brings clarity to what’s often an emotionally fraught subject.