Ep. 68: Anne Van Leynseele on Why Retirement Is Broken and What to Do Instead
Anne Van Leynseele packed everything into a tiny orange Volkswagen Bug at 19, drove to Hollywood knowing exactly one person, and that was just her first act. Five careers, two continents, a law degree, a Hawaii coffee farm, and a gold award-winning cacao orchard later, she is here to tell you that the second half of life is not a slowdown. It is a reclamation.
Anne Van Leynseele is a five-time career reinventor, three-time author, former Hollywood producer, Fortune 100 consultant, and Obama administration attorney advisor. But what makes her story magnetic is not the resume. It is the way she has moved through every chapter with clarity, self-trust, and an almost alarming lack of second-guessing. She did not stumble into reinvention. She chose it, every single time, because she knew when something had stopped fitting.
The thread running through all of it leads to Preferment, Anne's research-backed framework and workbook designed as a real alternative to traditional retirement. After watching people deteriorate quickly once they stopped working, and after realizing that retirement as a concept was built in 1935 when the average age of death was 61, Anne decided the model was broken. Preferment starts with identity, not finances, and it asks the question: who do you want to become now that you finally have the wisdom, time, and resources to do it fully?
What You'll Hear
✔️Anne explains why she used only her initials on every consulting report in Australia, and what happened the moment a client asked her to fetch him coffee.
✔️She breaks down how she went from four unhappy, unprofitable people to a team of thirty and eight million dollars in revenue in her first year as production manager.
✔️Anne shares the story of buying a six-acre, neglected Hawaii coffee farm she had never seen before, with parents in tow, that eventually produced the 2019 gold award-winning cacao in the Pacific region.
✔️She unpacks the Preferment Framework, why retirement as we know it is ninety-one years out of date, and why identity planning must come before financial planning.
"Remember, it's all within you. You can make this happen."
-- Anne Van Leynseele
Ready to stop performing a life that stopped fitting? Book a free 20-minute clarity call and find out what is actually possible: https://leadintactwithlaura.as.me/free-clarity-call
Start here with the Heart-Aligned Career Transition Starter: https://www.leadintact.com/freebies/heart-aligned-career
Links and Resources
Anne Van Leynseele's website: https://www.rarifiedlife.com
Preferment workbook by Anne Van Leynseele, available on Amazon and major online booksellers
Perferment Life on Facebook, Tuesday live events at 6pm Pacific, Ask Anne Almost Anything About Retirement: https://www.facebook.com/p/Rarified-Life-61571705751546/
Anne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-van-leynseele-6b14b12/
Free Clarity Call with Laura: https://www.leadintact.com/freeclaritycall
The Pivot Point Podcast: https://www.leadintact.com/the-pivot-point-podcast
Lead Intact on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@leadintact
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You made the move, or maybe you're about to, or maybe you're still in it, showing up, performing, delivering, while something quiet in the background keeps saying, "This is not it." Either way, something has shifted, and you can't unknow it. Here's what nobody tells you. The landing strip is a little rocky once you come down from the high of accomplishment.
There are moments of real excitement, real clarity, like, "Yes, this is exactly where I'm supposed to be." And then night comes, and the anxiety rolls in. The what ifs, the what am I actually doing? Not because you made the wrong choice, by the way, but because you're standing in the space between who you were and who you're becoming.
Done pretending this is enough, done pushing through, done ignoring the thing that keeps pulling at you. That's exactly where this podcast lives. I'm Laura [00:01:00] Dionisio, founder of Lead Intact, and I've been exactly where you are. The corporate success that stopped feeling like success, the leap that was equal parts terrifying and necessary, the messy, non-linear process of building something that actually fits, and learning to trust yourself through all of it.
This is the pivot point. Real conversations about what's actually happening beneath the surface, and what it takes to build a life that feels as good as it looks. Not just the wins, the attempts, too. Because I'm not here to romanticize the journey. I'm here to show you what it's really like. Let's get into it.
Anne, welcome to the Pivot Point Podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today
I'm so thrilled to be here, Laura
I'm gonna go ahead and read your [00:02:00] bio so our listeners get to know you just a little bit before we go into the good stuff Anne Van Leynseele is a five-time career reinventor, three-time author, and creator of the Preferment Framework, a research-backed alternative to traditional requirement for accomplished women. former Hollywood producer, Fortune 100 consultant, and Obama administration attorney advisor. Anne speaks on reinvention, purpose, and designing a post-career life that matters. Welcome to the show,
Oh gosh.
you have three sentences, right? Or like two sentence bio. It's like one of the shortest ones I've read, and already, and this is what I shared with you, Anne, when we first connected,So where I would love to start is I love the, the phrase five time career reinventor, 'cause when I even...
when I look at what you have in your bio, former Hollywood producer, Fortune 100 consultant, Obama administration [00:03:00] attorney advisor, I'm just like, how? What is happening? So where I would love to start is at a high level, could you walk us through career pivots, and also what was the point or the moment that made you think I'm gonna pivot into this thing," even though it, tha- it, people are telling me, I don't know if people are, even though it makes no sense on paper?
Yeah.
love to hear about that
Yeah. There, there are some that make less sense to outsiders than, than others. But yes, sure.
So I launched to Hollywood when I was 19 years old in a Volkswagen,
Little orange Volkswagen bus, Bug, and everything I owned. And I knew one person in Hollywood, and I launched a career there that was the f- so much fun.
You know, I spent my 20s in the decade of excess in the city of excess just having fun. And, my pivot from [00:04:00] entertainment was the, the values were just not in alignment with me. And so I moved back to the Northwest and it was then I realized that everything was going digital. I had worked on a digital editing station called an Avid-
I'm so sorry. I- I'm already so fascinated by your story. Can we go a little bit backwards? Okay. You are 19.
Yes
You pack everything in a, in an orange Bug, which is tiny, for those listeners who don't know what that is. You knew one person.
Yes
I... Can you paint a picture of did you have any sort of or were there people around you showing dou- like, saying, are you doing?
You're moving to Hollywood?" Talk us through that moment, because there are some people, or otherwise, that are just like, "What do you mean you just decided to pack your life go an entertainment industry,
Yep
is not necessarily known for being an easy time, and you knew one [00:05:00] person?" And the reason, Anne, by the way, that I'm pausing you even here so early in your career is because a lot of my listeners would love the audacity, the determination, the like...
Just like even when you share the story, I could tell that you were, like, joyous thinking back into that moment. So
Ugh.
why I'm really honing in and slowing you down. I
definitely wanna hear more about the other pivots,
Sure
for this, if you could just walk us through.
Sure. I, you know, I l- I, I get asked this quite often, and I really believe firmly that there's nothing I c- no trouble I can get, can't get myself out of, you
know? I just, I have had this unfailing belief since I was a child that, well, I'm gonna try this thing, and if it doesn't work out so well, well, you know, what's the worst that could happen, you know?
I have a f- quite a few stitches in my past by stitching up little wounds from trying things that didn't work out [00:06:00] perfectly. And I did have parents that were always there for me, and I, credit that solid as a, the, you know, the Rock of Gibraltar that I launched from because they were very supportive.
They were adventurous people themselves. My mother grew up in Connecticut in a place where most people just stayed there, and she went to Stanford in the late '50s when women weren't very present at that level in the university. And you know, my father emigrated from Belgium because he wanted to be in aeronautics, and where it was happening was Southern California.
And they met and married and had four kids and raised us all to believe that, uh, two things: We could do what w- made us happy, and we needed to leave the [00:07:00] world a better place than when we came into it
I love that
for me, this was just, for me, going to LA, I had no idea that it was tough or dangerous or a real challenge or something that other people would shy away from or think twice about.
To me, it was just, we came from California. I was 10 when we moved to Seattle.
And, and why not go back and see it again?
so yes, it was very characteristic of me to jump in with both feet before I over-considered. I, I've never been a worrier. I do like to plan things, and I have, you know, plan A, B, C, and D usually.
Yes, I knew one person and I made a go of it. And again, when I opened my production company, it was because I was talking to film producers on the phone all the [00:08:00] time, and I thought, "Okay, I'm just as smart, if not smarter, than these people.
this, I can do this." And I was right, and I did.
I produced music videos, commercials, and i- industrials, which are company or corporate videos.
And then when I decided to leave Los Angeles, I kind of transitioned by getting a degree,
Computer animation and multimedia in the very early days. And upon graduation, I landed at the company that I had actually, uh, done an informational project with while I was in school.
And they wanted a production manager, and I took over as production manager there. And I took the team from four unhappy and unprofitable people to 30 and 8 million in the first year that I managed that [00:09:00] group.
Okay, so let's pause right there. Amazing. You started with four unhappy people to 30.
Yeah.
million? No,
No, 30 people, 8 million in the first year
Ooh, okay. Walk us through that. What were some of the things that... know what I'm really interested in, because a lot of my listeners also may be, they're team leaders, maybe they're managers. And you know what I hear, what I heard a lot when I was in corporate, Anne, is things like, "It's the people on my team.
I just, I can't." And sounds like you did not think that at all. So walk us through the process. How did you get from four unhappy to 30 people, and then $8 million
Well, I, I saw beyond typical hiring. 'Cause I'd worked in LA, and, uh, people are eccentric and exotic. And I hired people that other corporate events companies would not have touched, you know? The, the... I hired a young designer who was a [00:10:00] single mom, had never been married, and she was an incredible designer.
She did graffiti art and very modern styles, and I brought her in as a designer, and she shook things up in a very healthy way. It was so fresh, and she brought a perspective to the very typical cor- corporate design that set us apart from anyone in the Northwest area.
And you know, it-- You build your team one by one, and, but I can tell a story like that about each individual that I hired to this day, and that was 30 years ago.
I can still recall exactly who they were, what their characteristics were, how they fit together. I also really brought everyone together in social situations. I actually made a decision that surprised everyone, including the people [00:11:00] I worked for, the owners of the company, when I said, "We're going to outsource all of our coding."
Because there was an incredible shop, and we grew side by side, but they could do things we'd never dreamed of doing on the back end. We actually built the first app ever in the world on a Motorola PalmPilot. So we think of apps now as nothing, but this was a Herculean effort to get a Motorola PalmPilot to be as responsive as we needed it to be to do some automated systems within a PalmPilot.
And that was what was then called something entirely different. It was a custom program sequence, but now we would call it an app. And we did, um, what we believe is either the first or simultaneous live webcast for Porsche [00:12:00] USA in France for the, the Le Mans r- uh, car race.
So it's a cross-country road race, and car companies show off their latest whatever.
And, uh, we pitched the idea, and they went over the moon, and we said, "You know, this may fail. We don't know what the infrastructure is like in France." And we went early and set it up, and it worked, and it shocked the world. It was amazing. People could go online and watch the race. So fun things. Yeah
I just wanna reflect back the things that I heard for the listener, right? What I'm hearing is that you are somebody who has clarity of thought. You have vision, you're clear about it, and you're steady in terms of you... It sounds like you were unswayed other opinions. It sounds to me that you have a lot of values, because when you were talking about "I hired people [00:13:00] that others at that time wouldn't," and then you mentioned single mom, unmarried.
Now of course you can't discriminate based on that, but at the time you could. And what I love is what I mean you're steady, you're clar- you have clarity of thought about who you wanted on your team. You have values, and I can tell because you said earlier the reason you left entertainment is because values was misaligned.
And it sounds like even in the hiring process, you were like, "I'm not gonna do what other people do because I know who I want, and I'm gonna be steady in that." And unafraid of risk. And I love what you said earlier. You had a belief as, even as a child, "There is no trouble I can't get out of." And for the listener who may not have that yet, I encourage you, listener, to think about what is your version of that?
Like, how can you have that belief in yourself? If maybe they're not as brave as you and they don't have n- "I don't have any trouble I can't get out of." But what is your version?
And I do wanna ask you, Anne, 'cause I'm sure you've met [00:14:00] other people who were just like, I don't even know. I can't be the person who's a risk-taker like you."
What would you say to the listener does not yet have that belief as a child? What would you say in terms of how can they get started to have that kind of a belief about themselves?
it, it comes from self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is when you succeed once, you believe you'll be able to su- succeed another time. So I say start small. Take a small risk. I'll-- I'm gonna jump the gun. Don't, don't be surprised, but a- at the end of this program, I will share again that I plan to give you a link to a free booklet that I share with anyone that I can.
It's called 30 Days to Joy, and it is about taking little, tiny risks every day, uh, to put you in touch with your community and nature and the world around you. And it's-- it asks you to stretch a little so that you [00:15:00] enlarge the circle or the sphere of people that you feel y- you can trust and, and that are, are safe and okay to talk to.
You know, I encourage people to talk to someone in the coffee line or the grocery line and ask them, "What do you plan to do in your retirement?"
So,
and those are... How small the tasks are. That's a, a task you can do any day you happen to go to place where there are other people. But that, again, builds your confidence.
It does. It's very small. Um, but if you think back to things that we were encouraged to do as a child, like the first time you went and you had money and you purchased, like, a, a popsicle on your own, that built your ability to speak to a stranger, do a monetary transaction, say very loud and clear what you want.
[00:16:00] We forget those simple lessons as adults, and I think that those, those traits and those tasks are still valuable today. You still need to, in your work position or in your personal relationships, ask for what you want and be clear and understand that it may not be exactly what you want, but somebody may be able to give you close to what you want
I love that. I love the example of the first time you bought a popsicle on your own, because that is true. That just brought me back childhood memories. So I think we briefly talked about this, Anne, but I... my childhood was spent moving back and forth between the US and the Philippines, and so for me, there was, like, a language thing where, yes, I spoke English, but it wasn't natural for me, when I first moved to the US the first time around. And I love what you said about the small, simple lessons. So listener, think about what your equivalent of the popsicle on your own is and [00:17:00] how that felt. 'Cause I remember as a child rehearsing in English, "May I buy this popsicle?" I don't know if it was an actual popsicle, but I think it's so easy, to your point, to forget about that. But what I'm hearing you say is that same feeling can be transferred at work when you're asking for what you want.
Yes. A promotion, a raise, an office space, a change in your hours a flex for family purposes or family needs. There are a lot of things that we work ourselves up into fearing.
I was fortunate to take a class with Ken Kragen, who was a manager who organized Hands Across America and We Are the World,
Amazing musical talent.
Uh, there's a documentary right now called The Greatest Night in Rock 'n' Roll,
and Ken is throughout that entire documentary as a wonderful leader and initiator. [00:18:00] And, uh, he taught me that lesson at UCLA when I took an extensions class there that said, "You know, human beings most often like to say yes.
So, if you ask in a way that is feasible for them to say yes, you'll probably get what you want."
I like that. Ask in a way that's feasible for them to say yes. You know what I love about that too is when you start to think about how can I ask in a way that's feasible for the other person to say yes, it takes it it takes it away from being about you.
Yes
what I'm hearing you say is, like, when you do that, then there's no room really for I do this?
Am I allowed? Is this the right thing to do? 'Cause now you're like already said, "Yes, I want this thing," and now you're thinking, "How can I say it in a way that can be received well?" So
Yeah.
thinking about the other person instead of you and whatever hang-ups you might have. So love that
I mentor a lot of people as they're making life [00:19:00] transitions. I have you know, just socially and, and anecdotally and, uh, insistently that, that I say the mo- the biggest mistake people make in cover letters and in interviews is not focusing on what they can provide to the company. What the, what compa- what the benefit will be to the company about them joining their workforce.
And if you can articulate that, you'll, you'll win
I love it. Excuse me. I would love to continue on the story of, Because the thing is, I have so many questions. ' Cause I want... You know what? My, my hope, Anne, is that the listeners experience the same. I still remember our first meeting when I was just like, "You are fascinating." So if you would let's just at a high level, 'cause I do have even more questions
Yes. Yes
take us through again. You had this... where did you go? You went from entertainment to
digital media.
media, and then what happened?
And then I got an [00:20:00] opportunity that-- Well, I made an opportunity. I saw- Oh.
an opportunity
In triangulating what was going on within the company, the company, the digital media events company that I worked for, was purchased by a large company that had also purchased an office in Sydney, Australia. And I had always wanted to live in the host city of an Olympic Games, and the Sydney Olympics was marketing themselves as the digital games.
really planned on optimizing dig- digital technology for coverage and, uh, the engagement with the Olympics, and they did.
wanted to go to Sydney for the Olympics, the 2000 Olympics, and so I put my hand up and I said, "I'd like to go to the Sydney office." And the Sydney office said, "Well, based on Anne's track record, we'd love to have her here."
So I did. I got [00:21:00] on an airplane with a couple of boxes of, and some luggage, and I flew to Sydney, Australia. Um, and uh, yeah, I was there for two years through the Olympics, and it was an amazing experience. Living in a foreign country was very eye-opening, and working in a foreign country was very eye-opening
Yes. I would love for the listeners to take note is that, see what happens when you- what can happen when you ask for what you want? Because I have heard from past clients and even friends who are like, "I really wanna do this, but will they even say no?" And what I'm hearing from you is you didn't even question whether they would say yes or no.
You were like, "My only decision and action right now is to ask. It's none of my business if they say yes or no or whatever, that action is to ask." And what is it that you say? Ask in a way that's feasible to say yes. So wow, you just simplified... 'cause it, it feels so complicated sometimes when you're, "Should I?
Should I not?" [00:22:00] Whatever. But you're just like, "It's simple. Two steps. what you want, and ask in a way that's feasible to say yes."
Yes
there's no room for, "Oh, I gotta rehearse the conversation. I have to make a pros and cons list of wha-" it... I love the simplicity of that
Well, it took a lot of years to get down to that answer.
Know, I mean, it, it's, it-- I, I... If somebody asked me at the time, I was like, "Well, I don't know, it just makes sense." I, I just, it makes sense for me to go down there. The interesting thing, I was only at that company for three months because I accomplished what they needed.
I put processes and efficiency into play. I gave them some structure. I reorganized the teams. I clarified everybody's job description and their role in the company. And at three months, I said, "You really can't afford me anymore. I'm gonna go, I'm gonna take my own visa," 'cause they had sponsored my work visa.
"I'm gonna go take my own visa," which [00:23:00] I had to, "had to" go to New Zealand until it was processed. You have to leave the country to get your visa processed. And so I went to New Zealand, uh, and I stayed there for what turned out to be three and a half weeks
Oh my gosh. Anne, can we just pause right there? I love that you s- you just so casually say things. I don't think I'm like wait." Okay. said because you were ... Again, you were, you have clarity of thought. You were like, "They can't afford me. I've already accomplished what they wanted in three months."
Walk us through that conversation because there's a listener out there, maybe more, probably more than one, that's "Wait, I have felt that way, but have been doubting myself, and feel bad. I have some sort of weird loyalty." Walk us through that time, the, from the realization to the conversation
Oh, it was a matter of, I, I think it was a matter of two days when I had, you know, kind of implemented the last and had the last interview with the employee and kind of [00:24:00] helped them to understand that this is what management expected of them, and if they were willing to continue to do that, they could stay in this role.
And so it all worked out. And you, you have to understand the culture in Australia is not as work-obsessed as it is the United States.
Hmm.
sure having some of these conversations if the people were gonna say, "No, I, I don't think I care to stay." But they all stayed. But yes, I mean, I was aware of the overall budgets, and I know that I was a financial strain on the company, and it didn't make sense for me.
And I had already done the research about the visa before I went, because if this company has, had said no, I would have executed getting my own work visa and going there and figuring out a company to work for.
And so, but they did and, but so at the end of three [00:25:00] months I knew exactly what I need to do.
And remember, it, it's funny to say this, but this was before you could just ask Google anything. I had to actually go to the consulate and ask questions here in, in, uh, the, in Washington State and sort of say, "Okay, now, I, this is what I want to do. What do I need to do to get there?"
So,
when I went to New Zealand, uh, and then I went back to Australia, I started freelancing doing business management consulting.
I was offered a job with a company, and I said, "You know, again, it's probably better if I only work part-time for your company and, and you don't spend enough to keep me on full time." So, um, I had done a couple projects, and one of the clients was also a client of Ernst & Young, and so I kind of got folded into [00:26:00] Ernst & Young in Australia, and they started referring clients to me.
Mhm
it, I it was interesting. When I did work, this is a, a feminist moment. So being in Australia was like being in the, the United States in the 1950s as far as women's rights. And so all of my reports I used my first and middle initial, so A.M. Van Lanseal, so that they had no predisposition about gender.
it was very interesting to once meet a client face-to-face and he asked me to get him a cup of coffee
Ach
And so I was kind of like, "Okay, well let me walk you up." So I just walked him back to reception and I said, "Could you please get Mr. So-and-So a cup of coffee?" And the receptionist said, "Of course, Ms.
Endlane Seal." And he finally figured it out.
Just one of those [00:27:00] moments where I don't know if he learned, but at least it was an eye-opening experience for him,
That I was the person he was there to meet and-
a, I don't know if this is your personality, certainly mine. I just got this visual of you just raising your eyebrows and just letting him be embarrassed. I
Yep.
was
That
true.
exactly what happened. And in my mind I was like, "I am so double billing you."
Oh, yes. Oh, I love that, because I remember, 'cause my background's in, in STEM, right? And I a few times have been, like, the, the spotlight speaker for programs like Girls Who Code,
Yeah
in high school, that kind of thing. And interesting is I remember one of them asked me most of the questions were more like, "What's it like being in a male-dominated field?" one question was like, "What do you do with all the anger? Do you clap back," as the kids would say. And I'm like, "No, because there are more satisfying ways to address [00:28:00] it."
There are.
Yeah, because when you just smile and you just nod and you just let them realize that you're not biting, you're just like and how do you feel now?" It's
Yeah. And they know that you are going to s- you're going to take your moment when you decide to take it, and they live in fear. They do. Trust me.
Oh, love that.
Yeah. Yeah, it is. And
Sorry, go ahead.
no, no. The-
So I I wanna, because I, there's so much I wanna ask you.
So I wanna shift topics a little bit, because one of the things that I really found fascinating when first met is this whole idea of preferment framework. So let's talk about that. How did that came to be, and what is it exactly?
Okay, well I'll fast-forward. I went from Australia back to the United States, did some business management consulting, went back to school, got my law [00:29:00] degree, graduated into the 2008 recession. Some professors helped me get a job with the Obama administration. I went to DC not knowing what department I was even gonna work in, and I was assigned to the Social Security Administration as an attorney advisor.
And there I saw patterns of destructive results from the out-of-date retirement. Retirement was created in the United States in 1935, so 91 years ago. And I saw that people would age and deteriorate very quickly when they left their jobs
Say more about that
Well without structure, without an identity, without, goals and ambition, they sort of fell apart both emotionally, physically, and intellectually.
the, the downslide happened very, much more quickly than it should given modern [00:30:00] healthcare and, and longevity statistics. Because in 1935, the average age was the, of death was 61. And now we're living 20 to 30 years beyond retirement.
But I think the catch is that we need to do more than just financial planning for retirement, and I advocate between, between 10 and five years before retirement, we start preparing for who we want to become and how that will actualize.
So how are we going to execute our idea of our best self? Which is what we now have the wisdom, the time, and the resources to be the best person we can be. We don't have to, um, suppress some of our ideas or thoughts any [00:31:00] longer for a paycheck. We don't have to do tasks that we don't love because that's part of our job, and it's the perfect opportunity for us to become more than we ever imagined we could be.
Fulfill whatever it is that we envision is possible
for ourselves.
love that.
So what I'm hearing is aside from the financial planning, it sounds like you're advocating for also identity planning
Absolutely. Now identity-first design is where we begin in Perfirmant, but we go much deeper than that.
we go to having y- the y-y-you walk out of the experience with a mission statement,
list of ideas and inspirations that are already inside you. This all exists internally. It's not an external thing.
[00:32:00] You have to figure out internally what is going to be soul-satisfying or what do you want to try.
And the beauty of starting early, so I began my Perfirmant at age 48,
Just after I left the Social Security Administration, and I bought a, a house. It was the first house I've ever bought in my life. I've, I've been a gypsy.
I've been global, globe-trotting my whole life. And I bought the first house I have, w- was ever purchasing in a place I had never lived, and doing something, farming, that I had never done. I bought a six-acre farm with a, a coffee shack on it that needed a lot of work on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Look at that.
Yes.
And
so fun
so, and luckily, my parents were interested, so instead of renting it out, we went in [00:33:00] together on the house. The three of us bought the house together. Mom and I funded it, and Dad was just along for the ride. And not that, you know, he d- he just didn't... Yeah, anyway. And so, a-and we had our work cut out for us.
The farm was, in decay. It was, you know, it needed a lot of loving care to bring it back to fruition. There was a cacao, or a chocolate orchard, that had been neglected for seven years that had to be lovingly restored and rehabilitated, which was amazing. And that same orchard went on to produce the beans that won the 2019 Cacao of Excellence award, the gold award, for the Pacific region So lessons in life.
Lots of lessons in that. But I go back to I started looking for an alternative, and it didn't exist, so I built one. I [00:34:00] started with the basics, which is Erik Erikson, which is, the sort of name that everyone refers to in the stages of development, had this lovely five stages of development from... or eight stages of development from age zero to age 60.
And then at s- above s- I think he said above 60 or 65, y- you decline, look back, and, and evaluate your integrity of your life, and, you, you prepare for death. And I was like, "Okay, that doesn't work anymore. We have too much time to do that."
Imagine like you live to what's the, is it like 85
Yes, it's very close to, yeah. Yes
for 20 years you're declining and evaluating the integrity of your life. That I can see why you're like, "I don't know about that. No thank you."
Well, and [00:35:00] if that's all people do is take a rest. And, you know, it did make sense 91 years ago when
75% of the population worked in agriculture and manual labor. But now those numbers are reversed, and 25% of people work in manual labor and agriculture. And, you know, we, we work sedentary jobs mostly now. We don't need a rest.
We need to stay the big three, what I call the big three. We need to stay physically, intellectually, and emotionally engaged, and we need to place demands on ourselves for all three of those areas. Which is why I chose a farm, because a farm demands all three. You are constantly physically engaged, problem-solving, and you have to work in community with other people, and with your buyers, and with [00:36:00] your seed companies, and your, your orchard suppliers, and it takes a village to keep a farm running.
So it is the perfect solution for me. And I didn't even know that I would be passionate about this until I thought, "Yes, this is what I want."
I love that so much because, the sense that I get really is that you are, with Proferment, you are allowing folks to dream again and not just hang their hat, "Life is done." I, and I love that because typically what I've heard is, I don't know, "I'll just play golf all day," or, "I'll go on a cruise." But then that takes... I think we talked about this offline, like that takes how mu- not that much percentage of your
Ja.
time, so then it's like,
Ja
what else? So I love this idea of Proferment.
Now, if anyone out there, like the listeners, are like, "I just want to learn more about Proferment," they're like, "My parents or like somebody needs to hear this," or, "I just wanna talk to [00:37:00] Anne because this hour or whate- however long we've been talking wasn't enough to hear about her life story"...
I'm telling you, listener, there's more. I'm just being mindful of time. And they wanna connect with you, they want to get to know you better, what is the best way to connect with you?
Well, if you want to connect with me, actually I'm doing something brand new. Again, I like steep learning curves.
I am doing tonight at 6:00 PM Pacific Time, I'm doing a live event on Facebook,
And that is on the Perferment Life platform page on Facebook. It is a public event, and it's called Ask Anne Almost Anything About Retirement,
Okay.
and I'm answering questions
Now, are you planning to do more than one live event, which they will just... Or you don't know
I'm doing it every Tuesday night at 6:00 PM until further notice.
Okay.
There are a lot of questions, [00:38:00] and the topic for tonight is hearing and your brain, because these two things are very tightly connected
Okay. So follow Anne's Facebook, basically, Facebook page, which listener, don't worry, I'll put all of this, all the links in the notes so you don't have to be like, "Oh my God, I have to get my pen out." And then is that the best way to connect with you is through Facebook?
Yes. Oh, we-- you can also reach me at my website, which is Rarified Life, R-A-R-I-F-I-E-D L-I-F-E.com. And the book, Preferment, it's a workbook. It's designed like an elementary school workbook where you get to write in the answers. You get to write in a book. and the exercises are very, I call them challenges, and they're very short and to the point, but very illuminating and tied to very short chapters.
So it's not a [00:39:00] burdensome... I don't want, you know, hours and hours of soul-searching journaling.
get to the answers quickly and get on with figuring out the fun stuff about what you're gonna do, what you're gonna be, and how that's all gonna come together.
Okay,
So that's available on Amazon and other online booksellers
Great. Okay. Again, listener, if you're just like, "Ooh, I know what to gift so and I probably will get that gift for a few people. I will link all that in the show notes.
Now, Anne, I ask one last question to all of my guests.
I'm ready
If your life were a book, what chapter would you be on, and what would it be called?
Oh, I am on chapter 23, and I, my chapter right now would be called Spreading the Word
Spreading the word. Love it
Or starting a revolution.
Spreading the word and starting a
Yes.
Why not?
A prefirming [00:40:00] revolution
I love it. Anne, thank you so much
Thank you
time on here. I enjoyed this conversation. I hope you enjoyed this conversation, and I know and trust that the listeners enjoyed our conversation
Ah. Thank you all. And remember, it's all within you. You can make this happen
Thank you.
Big thanks to Anne Van Lanseel for being so open and so real in this conversation. This is exactly the kind of story I created this podcast for. Because when you hear someone else say the thing you've been feeling but couldn't quite name, something shifts. If this episode resonated, share it with someone who needs to hear it.
You probably already know exactly who that is. And if you're sitting with something after this conversation, that feeling that good enough stopped being good enough a long time ago, I want to talk. Book a free 20-minute clarity [00:41:00] call at leadintact.com/booking. That's where we figure out together what's actually going on and what your next step looks like.
All of Anne's details are in the show notes. Go show them some love. And with that, I'll see you next time