1st Edition
Designing Your Second Act How to Create Meaning and Confidence Beyond Full-Time Work
Table of Contents
Preface
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Introduction
Chapter 1: Reimagining Retirement: A Second Act Mindset
Chapter 2: Designing Your Second Act: From Dreams to Possibilities
Chapter 3: Building Your Foundations and Introducing the IDEA Cycle
Chapter 4: The Ground You Stand On
Chapter 5: Designing Your Second Act
Chapter 6: Living Your Second Act
Chapter 7: Thriving in Your Second Act
Chapter 8: Legacy, Impact and the Ripple Effect
Chapter 9: The Organizational Challenge: Designing Better Endings at Work
Chapter 10: The Ripple Effect: Designing Beyond Yourself
Chapter 11: The Power of Choosing What’s Next
Conclusion
Epilogue – Beyond the Exit: Designing What Comes Next
Reader Reflection and Discussion guide
Appendix A: Life Design Purpose Wheel Exercise
Appendix B: The IDEA Cycle Worksheet
Appendix C: Foundations Readiness Check
Appendix D: Life Design Playbook Template
Appendix E: Finding Your Life Design Sweet Spot
Appendix F: Further Reading
Biography
Tammy Martins is a senior executive, Lean practitioner, and coach with more than 27 years of experience helping individuals and organizations navigate meaningful transitions. She is a Certified Lean Leader through John Black & Associates, a Six Sigma Black Belt through Maple Leaf Foods, and a Six Sigma Green Belt through General Electric. She was also one of Saskatchewan’s first Kaizen Fellows, completing a two-year, learn-by-doing program that shaped her human-centered, experiment-driven approach to change.
Tammy currently serves as Chief Experience & Operations Officer at Affinity Credit Union, where she leads enterprise strategies in operational excellence, service design, and organizational transformation. Her work blends design thinking, Lean continuous improvement, and coaching to help people navigate transitions with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
Alongside her executive leadership, Tammy is building a life-design coaching and workshop platform, Next Chapter Life Design, that supports mid-career professionals who want to intentionally design their second act. Her writing and coaching draw on hundreds of conversations, structured methodologies, and a deep commitment to helping people create lives grounded in meaning, contribution, and well-being.
Learning and growth take place throughout our lives. That is the way to make sure that each of us fulfills our unique purpose! Retirement isn't the end; it's just another stage in which we can make the most of our talents in our precious time. Thanks, Tammy, for writing this fabulous guide to help people build a bridge to their best future!
— Karyn Ross, leadership coach and founder, Love and Kindness Project Foundation
