A Year Gone By: Surviving Grad School

by Gina Plaitakis, Sunday, January 23, 2011

Gina Plaitakis is in graduate school to get a certificate for becoming an art teacher. After 18 months of juggling school and homework and motherhood, she’s finding a groove.

Wish Me Luck!

by Dennis Blank, Wednesday, October 20, 2010

D’blank hatches a plan and says, "so long" to his readers.

Left to Fend for Myself

by Dennis Blank, Monday, September 20, 2010

In the absence of Coach Lou, d’blank reflects on the last leg of his road trip.

Look Homeward Angel

by Dennis Blank, Thursday, September 9, 2010

D’blank reflects on his summer vacation. Coach Lou asks him to focus on the value and simplicity of these experiences as he moves forward with Life 3.0.

Another Way of Life

by Dennis Blank, Saturday, August 28, 2010

Coach Lou celebrates d’blank for living Life 3.0 and encourages him to look for more opportunities to do so while visiting his hometown.

A Journey to the Northeast Kingdom

by Dennis Blank, Monday, August 16, 2010

Coach Lou applauds d’blank for finding solitude with some like minds in the deep woods of Vermont.

Can You Really Never Go Home Again?

by Dennis Blank, Friday, August 6, 2010

D’blank and Coach Lou reminisce about d’blank’s hometown and try to come up with creative ways to lend a hand to its struggling community.

Maybe I Should Just Go with My Gut?

by Dennis Blank, Thursday, July 22, 2010

Coach Lou and d’blank discuss "Moby Dick," Malcolm Gladwell’s "Blink," and the value of taking time to consider your next move.

Gone Fishin'

by Dennis Blank, Monday, July 12, 2010

d’blank takes a vacation.

The Creativity of Daydreaming

by Dennis Blank, Friday, July 2, 2010

Coach Lou and D’blank celebrate day-dreaming as a tool for creative problem solving.

Nothing = Something?

by Dennis Blank, Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Couch Lou and D’blank discuss the value of staying present when looking for a path forward.

OK, I'm Starting to Get it Now

by Dennis Blank, Friday, June 11, 2010

D’blank and Couch Lou discuss the five components of well-being as well as d’blank’s search for Career Well-Being.

I Have a Vision -- Or Was It a Dream?

by Dennis Blank, Thursday, June 3, 2010

Coach Lou and D’blank discuss the discuss the difference between a dream and a visualization.

Inside Out and Backward

by Dennis Blank, Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Coach Lou and d'blank debate: When it come to setting goals, is it better to work from the outside in... or the inside out?

You Can't Have a Life Plan Without A Vision of the Future

by Dennis Blank, Monday, May 10, 2010

What Lewis Caroll said is true: "If you don’t know where you're going, any road will get you there..."

Back to school?

by Dennis Blank, Monday, May 3, 2010

Career transition blogger, dblank, considers the possibility of returning to school

The Blues Make You Feel So Good

by Dennis Blank, Friday, April 23, 2010

Blogger Dennis Blank continues his search for meaning listening to Delta blues and eating ribs for breakfast in Clarksdale Mississippi

Setting My Goal: Learning How to Write Prose

by Dennis Blank, Friday, April 16, 2010

Blogger Dennis Blank realizes that his unfulfilled ambition is learning how to tell stories as a writer, learning how to write prose.

Coach Lou Gets Tough

by Dennis Blank, Friday, April 9, 2010

Coach Lou gets tough, because planning Life 3.0 isn’t supposed to be as easy as it sounds.

Tackling My Life List

by Dennis Blank, Friday, April 2, 2010

d’blank makes a life list, covering his best skills and the ones he most wants to use in "Life 3.0."

Is This Going to Require Homework?

by Dennis Blank, Friday, March 26, 2010

Call it what you want, says Coach Lou, but reinventing a life does require real effort.

Do I Need a Plan for the Rest of My Life?

by Dennis Blank, Saturday, March 20, 2010

Every article or book on retirement says you must have one. So I was committed to staying at my job until I had a plan for the rest of my life. But then I began to see that I might be stuck at my desk at 75, still trying to come up with the plan.

Enlisting a Coach and Charting a New Course

by Dennis Blank, Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Blogger Dennis Blank, just retired from a 24-year career at "Jumbo Corp.," sets out to define "Life 3.0," enlisting a life coach to help chart his new course.

Time Well Spent

by Gina Plaitakis, Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Time Well Spent: After finishing her first semester of graduate school, art director-turned-mom-turned-aspiring art teacher Gina Plaitakis makes the most of the opportunity to catch her breath over winter break.

Finally, He Bought the Farm

by Joop Koopman, Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Once Barry Meinerth dreamed of being a veterinarian. He ended up a successful magazine executive, but after thirty years of producing magazines, he grabbed an opportunity and bought a farm. Now he produces alpaca wool, and self-fulfillment, instead.

Back to School

by Gina Plaitakis, Friday, August 28, 2009

As my daughter enters first grade, I too will be going back to school, for the first time in 20 years, to study for a master’s in fine arts education.

Substitute Teaching: Learning on the Job

by Gina Plaitakis, Thursday, June 25, 2009

Substitute teaching brings little pay or appreciation, but it represents a great avenue for aspiring teachers to gain on-the-job training.

Hammock Time

by Richard Lawton, Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Hammock time is a special time when just being where you are is enough.

Culinary School By the Numbers

by John Stephano, Monday, June 1, 2009

Going back to culinary school is hard in so many ways. But there are lots of reasons to stick with it.

Getting Certified to Teach in Public School

by Gina Plaitakis, Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Most states offer an “alternate route” to teacher certification. A key step to getting certified to teach in public school is passing the Praxis exam.

'Caretaking Practice'

by Richard Lawton, Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Outer change can be quick, but inner change takes time and patience.

Our New Life: Living in Italy

by John Genzale, Thursday, April 30, 2009

How I learned to stop hopping continents and savor a slower, simpler life, living in Italy.

Expat Diary: Living in Mexico

by Ken Layne, Thursday, April 30, 2009

Looking for a warmer climate, I found a second home—and more reasons for living in Mexico—in a small town outside Mazatlan.

Rookie on the Champions Tour

by Graham Banister, Sunday, April 26, 2009

After years of barely playing golf, Graham Banister rediscovered his game and earned a chance to play as a professional on the PGA Champions Tour.

The Rookie Plays on Sunday

by Graham Banister, Sunday, April 26, 2009

Making it to the final round in a PGA tour event: “You never really think you’re going to get there, and then you do”

Getting Paid to See The World

by Susan Crandell, Friday, April 10, 2009

Getting paid to see the world and experience exotic locations is a rare and priceless opportunity. But it can be done.

After the Earthquake

by Richard Lawton, Wednesday, April 8, 2009

News of an earthquake leads an executive to consider whether it’s time to change the course of his life.

Becoming an Art Teacher

by Gina Plaitakis, Wednesday, April 8, 2009

After signing on as a volunteer at her daughter’s school, Gina Plaitakis got a charge that has her excited about becoming an art teacher.

Chef School at 40: My First Day

by John Stephano, Wednesday, April 8, 2009

John Stephano nearly went to chef school when he was 20. Instead, he went into sales and then the investment business. Twenty years later, he’s stirring his passion at the Culinary Institute of America.