The Case of Rachel Humphrey: Trial Attorney Turned Women’s Leadership Champion
Second Act Stories
by Andy Levine
3d ago
Rachel Humphrey was a trial attorney who was certain she would spend her entire career in front of judges and juries and eventually retire in a courtroom. After relocating from Virginia to Atlanta with her husband, she took a job at a firm where she represented clients in the hospitality industry, and that sparked a passion she didn’t know she had. The hospitality industry was interesting to her, and she thought that becoming involved with the associations that help the industry might be a great next step, but she had no real business experience at all. Prompted by the unexpected departure of ..read more
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Retired Banker Helps Others Avoid "Retirement Shock"
Second Act Stories
by Andy Levine
3w ago
Mike Drak worked as a banker in Toronto for his entire professional career. When he was laid off at the age of 59, he  received a sizeable severance from his employer. Telling his spouse "Contessa, we hit the lottery," he was initially ecstatic to be retired. But he quickly faced "Retirement Shock," a term that he coined to describe how tremendously unhappy he was in the year that followed. He missed helping people and the structure/routine of working at the bank. And he felt a loss of purpose. "Before my purpose was to go to work, get paid and then use the money to support my family. And ..read more
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Stuckey’s Gamble: Stephanie Stuckey Cashes in Her Future to Revive Her Family’s Iconic Roadside Brand
Second Act Stories
by Andy Levine
1M ago
Stuckey’s is a legendary and iconic thread in the fabric of Americana. Founded in Eastman, Georgia in 1937 by WS “Sylvester” Stuckey, Sr., Stuckey’s grew into a roadside empire by the 1970s, with 368 stores in more than 30 states. Part of the charm that made Stuckey’s so iconic were its ubiquitous billboards, more than 4,000 of them, which were dotted along U.S. highways. Stuckey’s was an inextricable part of what became known as “The Great American Road Trip.” Fast forward to 2019, Stuckey’s was on life support. The brand had gone through hard times, and its former stand-alone locations, stil ..read more
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Best of 2023 Audience Pick: Brian "Q" Quinn's Impractical Career Shift: Fireman to Funny Man
Second Act Stories
by Andy Levine
1M ago
Surprise, Second Act Stories fans! We have one more “Best of 2023” episode to share with you. It's the episode you picked as your favorite of the year: our interview with Brian “Q” Quinn, who's best known as one of the four stars of the smash hit TV show "Impractical Jokers." Currently in its 10th season on truTV, Q and lifelong friends Sal Vulcano and James “Murr” Murray (a fourth friend and member of the show, Joe Gatto, departed from the show last year) “compete to embarrass each other,” with hilarious results. It’s wildly popular because it doesn’t force you to think, and it’s guaranteed t ..read more
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Best of 2023: Sweeter Days Ahead: How Baking Transformed Janie Deegan's Life
Second Act Stories
by Andy Levine
2M ago
Second Act Stories annual “Best of” episodes give us an opportunity to re-share remarkable stories, and welcome new listeners by giving them a good taste of what we do here: profile people who have made major life and career changes to pursue a more rewarding life in a second act career. We’re selecting two “Best of 2023” episodes to share with you. Andy Levine selected his favorite interview conducted by co-host Scott Merritt in the past year,  and Scott is reciprocating this week. Scott's pick for 2023 is “Sweeter Days Ahead: How Baking Transformed Janie Deegan's Life.” In 2009, Janie D ..read more
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Best of 2023: The Unlikely Launch of a 54-Year-Old, YouTube Star
Second Act Stories
by Andy Levine
2M ago
Second Act Stories annual, “best of” episode gives us an opportunity to re-share a remarkable story, and welcome new listeners by giving them a good taste of what we do here: profile people who have made major life and career changes to pursue a more rewarding life in a second act career. We’re selecting two “Best of 2023” episodes to share with you. Andy Levine gets to select his favorite interview conducted by co-host Scott Merritt in the past year. And Scott gets to reciprocate next week. Andy’s selection for 2023 is “Everything Rick Beato: The Unlikely Launch of a 54-Year-Old YouTube Star ..read more
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Act II: Dynamic CEO Pens New Role As Playwright
Second Act Stories
by Andy Levine
3M ago
Donald Loftus had a difficult upbringing in Cleveland, Ohio. His father left him and his two sisters at a young age. His mother worked at Sears and struggled to make ends meet. From grades 1-8, he was a C student. But in 9th grade, his world changed when a class trip brought him to New York City. His class saw four Broadway plays that weekend and it completely changed his life. He graduated from Cleveland State University with a degree in theatre and business. Following a first job at The May Department Store Company, he rose up the ranks of the luxury beauty industry eventually serving as the ..read more
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Empowering Moms: She Left Corporate Real Estate to Launch A Breast Pumping Startup
Second Act Stories
by Andy Levine
4M ago
Patrice Meagher had a lucrative career in real estate. For 15 years, she worked in New York City as an Executive Vice President at CBRE, one of the world's largest, corporate real estate firms. But like other working parents, she struggled with the challenge of balancing her work life and raising a family of four children. A specific pain point in her career -- returning to work after maternity leave and breast pumping milk for her new child. Like many new mothers, she was told to pump in the bathroom which she describes as unhygienic, embarrassing and not sustainable. "For me, breast pumping ..read more
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School's Out, Laughs Are In: Retired Teacher Patty Forehand Becomes a Standup Comic
Second Act Stories
by Andy Levine
5M ago
The moment Patty Forehand opens her mouth, you know she’s from the deep south. And with that comes a certain set of preconceived notions. If she opens her mouth in front of a microphone on a comedy club stage, those notions are immediately blown away, and the results are hilarious. It’s funny once the F-bombs start flying and you realize she’s not the stereotypical, retirement-age, “proper southern lady” society expects when they see her, but it’s even funnier when you hear that her material is funny. Really funny. It gets even more interesting when you realize that she’s relatively new to com ..read more
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Lawyer to Clown to Children’s Musician: Robert’s Unusual Journey
Second Act Stories
by Andy Levine
6M ago
Robert Markowitz was a criminal defense attorney in Palo Alto, California. But the work caused him a great deal of stress and he started developing all sorts of physical ailments. So he quit and headed to Mexico to escape the job he hated. When he finally returned to the United States, he was 37-years-old, broke and living with his mother back in his boyhood home in New York. Going through the help wanted section of The New York Times, he came across an advertisement for a company that would train you to be a clown. So he became "Bobo, The Clown" and he started performing at children's birthda ..read more
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