Latest / LIFE Podcast with Dr. C / Thriving in Retirement

Transcript

Thriving in Retirement · LIFE Podcast with Dr. C

• 0:05
  Dr C: Now, theory is one thing.
• 0:07
  Dr C: But real life is where our lessons are truly learned.
• 0:10
  Dr C: So I am so honored to welcome a guest who is the embodiment of today's topic.
• 0:16
  Dr C: Welcome to the live podcast, Luis Burgo.
• 0:19
  Dr C: Luis has had an incredible 32-year career with the city of Rochester, where he retired as the Commissioner of Recreation and Human Services.
• 0:30
  Dr C: He left the legacy of revitalized parks, rec centers, and youth programs that have such a conflict of lives.
• 0:37
  Dr C: But what's truly inspiring is that since retiring in 2014, 11 years ago, he hasn't slowed down.
• 0:45
  Dr C: He continues to serve our community on board of crucial organizations like Foodlink and the Seneca Park Zoological Society.
• 0:53
  Dr C: He is the perfect person to talk to about building a life of purpose after career.
• 1:00
  Dr C: Hola Louis, and thank you so much for being here today with me in the live podcast.
• 1:07
  Dr C: Welcome.
• 1:09
  Luis Burgos: Thank you.
• 1:10
  Luis Burgos: Glad to be here.
• 1:11
  Luis Burgos: Thank you for including me in this podcast.
• 1:14
  Dr C: Absolutely.
• 1:15
  Dr C: Absolutely.
• 1:16
  Dr C: So let's just dive right in.
• 1:17
  Dr C: Okay.
• 1:18
  Dr C: So after such a long and distinguished career shaping our community, what was the biggest surprise for you about your own wellness needs after you officially retired?
• 1:30
  Luis Burgos: So it, you know, I had, I had um I had prepared for the change um many years in advance of my retirement, uh, naturally, you know, financially, that was on the radar screen.
• 1:46
  Luis Burgos: I knew because of my position that whenever there's a new mayor, that they have the opportunity to create their own leadership team.
• 1:56
  Luis Burgos: So, you know, of course, I hoped that I would be included, but I always knew that that that was a distinct possibility that uh I may retire at that time.
• 2:07
  Luis Burgos: And and I knew that the timing was right in terms of the number of years of service and my age and all that for retirement benefits and the like.
• 2:18
  Luis Burgos: But when it actually happened, it it the surprise for me was the emotional impact, a sense of like a void, a sense of emptiness.
• 2:28
  Luis Burgos: You know, when you are in charge and in a leadership position for so many years, and you have 500 employees, 31 buildings, dozens of programs, and you you have that sense of leadership and ownership and responsibility, and all of a sudden, and like it's gone.
• 2:49
  Luis Burgos: There, there is a a huge void that I did not expect.
• 2:54
  Luis Burgos: Like literally the next morning, it it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, but at the same time, there was this deep sense of uh of of emptiness that that I did not anticipate.
• 3:09
  Dr C: Yeah, yeah, that's a that's a really interesting point, right?
• 3:12
  Dr C: Oh, so that's actually a great question, a great segue.
• 3:17
  Dr C: And that makes me think about intentionality, right?
• 3:20
  Dr C: So you're clearly you've clearly been very intentional about staying involved after your retirement.
• 3:28
  Dr C: Can you give me some concrete example of how you intentionally structured your time now to like invest in your well-being?
• 3:37
  Luis Burgos: Well, I I went through a bit of of transition.
• 3:41
  Luis Burgos: So immediately after, so I I used to have a personal assistant that did amazing things for me in terms of calendar and and and the like.
• 3:57
  Luis Burgos: So, you know, now all of a sudden I had to do that for myself.
• 4:01
  Luis Burgos: But again, as I mentioned earlier about that that sense of of void, I uh again, I I had planned financially, but I did not plan in terms of what I was going to be doing with my time, especially in the community.
• 4:15
  Luis Burgos: It it took a little while for me to kind of sort that out and settle in.
• 4:20
  Luis Burgos: And it it it also two days after I I retired, my dad passed away.
• 4:27
  Luis Burgos: Oh so you know, I immediately focused on that.
• 4:31
  Luis Burgos: That was my immediate focus on family and and kind of healing from that that loss.
• 4:37
  Luis Burgos: Then I you know, af after that, and it takes a while for for that to to heal.
• 4:45
  Luis Burgos: And and I'm sure that you and others who are who may be watching know what that process is.
• 4:50
  Luis Burgos: It can take weeks and months to really work through that and war to work through that.
• 4:55
  Luis Burgos: That spring, I retired at the end of 2013, the beginning of 2014.
• 5:01
  Luis Burgos: So that spring and summer and fall, I I basically became a tennis bum.
• 5:08
  Luis Burgos: You know, I it was like my escape.
• 5:11
  Luis Burgos: It's something that I loved to do, I hadn't done in a while.
• 5:15
  Luis Burgos: So I just took care, I I I I kind of went into this zone where I took care of my basic, you know, responsibilities for my pets, my grandson who was staying with me, who was still in high school, my mother who had, you know, just lost her husband.
• 5:29
  Luis Burgos: But I spent a lot of time, you know, on the tennis court.
• 5:33
  Luis Burgos: And it was it was actually about a year, almost exactly a year later, that I received a phone call that really it was a transition for me.
• 5:44
  Luis Burgos: And I had served on the board of directors for Neighborworks Rochester uh for many, many years.
• 5:50
  Luis Burgos: And the the executive director, she had been hired as the CEO of the Western Region Neighborworks Organization, of which the local uh neighborworks office was a partner.
• 6:08
  Luis Burgos: And she reached out to me and said, Would you be interested in you know serving uh as the executive director?
• 6:16
  Luis Burgos: And that came out of left field.
• 6:19
  Luis Burgos: And I really it it was so sudden and unexpected.
• 6:23
  Luis Burgos: I I I really didn't, you know, react that well.
• 6:27
  Luis Burgos: I was I I I wasn't ready for that.
• 6:29
  Luis Burgos: So we we went back and forth and decided, okay, I I at least I can, you know, I know the board, I know the programs, I know the staff, I can come in and be an interim and tell you you guys go ahead and find somebody that wants to do that.
• 6:43
  Luis Burgos: And I went in there, worked there for for five months, had a great time there.
• 6:49
  Luis Burgos: I felt that I had a really good impact there.
• 6:52
  Luis Burgos: But word got out that I was working.
• 6:56
  Luis Burgos: And you know, being doing that work instead of playing tennis all the time, it it kind of like got the gears moving a little bit, and and I reconnected, you know, with with folk in the community and with the city.
• 7:14
  Luis Burgos: And like I said, word got out.
• 7:16
  Luis Burgos: And next thing you know, I'm getting, you know, text messages, phone calls, and you know, opportunities were coming out of the woodwork.
• 7:25
  Luis Burgos: Yeah, people people just assumed that, yeah, you know, Luis is not working anymore.
• 7:31
  Luis Burgos: He's a tennis bum.
• 7:32
  Luis Burgos: Leave him alone.
• 7:33
  Luis Burgos: You know, he's not interested.
• 7:35
  Luis Burgos: And the fact is that they didn't, I I think people just didn't realize or didn't think that, you know, I I hadn't figured things out.
• 7:43
  Luis Burgos: And that that I I would be open to, you know, some some opportunities.
• 7:50
  Dr C: Beautiful.
• 7:51
  Dr C: So it sounds like that spirit of public service is still a core driver for you.
• 7:56
  Dr C: Would you say that's accurate?
• 8:00
  Luis Burgos: Absolutely.
• 8:01
  Dr C: So let's talk about that idea of purpose.
• 8:03
  Dr C: Because I think that one of the things that you mentioned early on is, you know, kind of how do you repurpose your time for things that you're passionate about?
• 8:14
  Dr C: Because now you have an opportunity to be selective.
• 8:17
  Dr C: Correct.
• 8:18
  Dr C: So I know you've moved from may you move from a major leadership role to now serving on boards.
• 8:24
  Dr C: So, how did you navigate finding and redefining your sense of purpose outside of that demanding career?
• 8:33
  Luis Burgos: So, you know, after first of all, I should mention that after it was after I left neighborworks, then it was I don't remember six, seven, eight months or so that ibero reached out to me.
• 8:48
  Dr C: I remember we connected when you were working at ibero.
• 8:52
  Luis Burgos: Exactly, exactly.
• 8:53
  Luis Burgos: And I had heard so much about you because I I do a lot of I've I've always done a lot of mentoring, and a few of my mentees and one in particular knew you and just you know thought so highly of you.
• 9:06
  Luis Burgos: And so I I went to Ibero and they they they reached out to me because their youth services department was really floundering.
• 9:17
  Luis Burgos: And so I went in there and it was a lot of work, a lot of work.
• 9:21
  Luis Burgos: You know, when I was with the city, you know, we had a law department, we had a finance department, I had uh assistants and you know, administrators, whatever, and uh I had to wear all the hats as director of theirs.
• 9:35
  Luis Burgos: But over the course of three years, I was able to rebuild that that department and triple the budget, triple the staff, wow, you know, refocused it, you know, our partnerships and programs and services.
• 9:50
  Luis Burgos: And and so, and in doing so, again, it was like another level of engagement within the community with the school district, with the city of Rochester, and and and it again taking it to another level in terms of the awareness in the community that I was really there, you know, working and and as you said, uh, but I was doing something, you know, it was it was it was something that that that that I decided to do.
• 10:21
  Luis Burgos: It wasn't an assignment, you know.
• 10:24
  Luis Burgos: Like when I was at the city, I had a great career, but but they were like I was assigned to do things.
• 10:29
  Luis Burgos: This was something that I chose to do.
• 10:31
  Luis Burgos: It was my purpose.
• 10:33
  Luis Burgos: And and then, you know, organizations would reach out to me and and inquiring about board service.
• 10:40
  Luis Burgos: So that's when I I was contacted by the the Zoological Society, a friend of mine in the community, Orlando Ortiz, who I worked very closely with at the Puerto Rican Festival for many years, reached out to me about an opportunity at Food Link.
• 10:56
  Luis Burgos: Rena Golden, who established the Black Box Theater, reached out to me.
• 11:03
  Luis Burgos: And and and I and there were other organizations that reached out to me as well.
• 11:08
  Luis Burgos: But I was able to, you know, look at all those opportunities and and and and and decide which ones I wanted.
• 11:16
  Luis Burgos: So those were the three that I selected for myself.
• 11:19
  Luis Burgos: And and and and I've you know had a wonderful time, and I feel like I've had had you know you know a positive impact in each of those organizations.
• 11:28
  Luis Burgos: It's fulfilling for me as well as for them, I I hope.
• 11:32
  Dr C: Well, I'm I'm sure you've had positive influence.
• 11:35
  Dr C: It's what you do, and it's amazing, right, how you're shifting your focus, but you're still it can still be so fulfilling.
• 11:42
  Dr C: And so some would say, Yeah, maybe someone who's listening would say, You're cheating.
• 11:48
  Dr C: You haven't really retired, right?
• 11:50
  Dr C: So how can you say, how can you be on this episode talking about retirement when you're still working?
• 11:55
  Dr C: But one of the things that I want to put, I I want to emphasize is that you said you got to choose, right?
• 12:02
  Dr C: So it wasn't an assignment that was given to you, which is traditional work.
• 12:06
  Dr C: You decided I'm still very passionate about serving my community, and I am going to be selective on how I pour into it now that I'm retired.
• 12:15
  Dr C: Is that accurate?
• 12:18
  Luis Burgos: Exactly.
• 12:19
  Luis Burgos: Yeah, absolutely.
• 12:20
  Dr C: Beautiful.
• 12:20
  Dr C: And so, how how do you, and I know I this wasn't one of the questions, but now I I have a I do have a question for you.
• 12:27
  Dr C: How do you manage your time?
• 12:30
  Dr C: Because it could be very easy to fill up your time with a bunch of projects that you're passionate about and then kind of creep into that traditional type of work style.
• 12:41
  Dr C: So, how do you manage your time and have some strong boundaries so that you're not now you're not filling 60 hours worth worth of work?
• 12:53
  Luis Burgos: Right.
• 12:53
  Luis Burgos: So I I I I keep a calendar now that I don't have a personal assistant anymore.
• 13:01
  Luis Burgos: I've learned to do that, and and I I have some some fixed, you know, schedules and obligations for for my family, for myself, and and and and those are kind of hard and fast.
• 13:19
  Luis Burgos: They it so I'm in a position now in in in in there there are times like for example, like on Thursdays at at noontime, you know, I I visit my my parents at the mausoleum, you know, and that's sacred.
• 13:34
  Luis Burgos: It's sacred to me.
• 13:35
  Dr C: Yeah.
• 13:36
  Luis Burgos: So if somebody wanted to meet with me on Thursday at noontime, I'm I'll say, no, I'm sorry, I'm not available for that, you know.
• 13:42
  Luis Burgos: Yeah.
• 13:43
  Luis Burgos: And and and that's just one example.
• 13:45
  Luis Burgos: But I I I spend a lot of quality time with with families, with members and and close friends.
• 13:52
  Luis Burgos: And you know, I own a home and I have a lot of projects.
• 13:55
  Luis Burgos: I had a a long list of projects that have been deferred.
• 14:01
  Luis Burgos: I make time and I schedule time for all those things.
• 14:05
  Luis Burgos: I've made a lot of progress on my house uh and garden over the over the past 10 years.
• 14:11
  Luis Burgos: And and and I'm able to just you know work around it.
• 14:14
  Luis Burgos: And I I don't I don't feel bad.
• 14:17
  Luis Burgos: And and and and folk that I work with are are very understanding and accommodating with that.
• 14:23
  Luis Burgos: They, you know, they understand that I, you know, I'm a busy person and I have other responsibilities, and they're very respectful of that.
• 14:31
  Dr C: You know, that's so thank you for that, because I think having that strategy of not feeling guilty, but having some real strongholds on your on your time.
• 14:40
  Dr C: And in retirement, you have that flexibility to be able to say, these are the things that are important to me, and I'm going to hold that time sacred, and then I'm going to give the rest of my time to the community, right?
• 14:54
  Dr C: So I really appreciate you distinguishing right how you prioritize when you are, how you prioritize your time in your calendar and and really think about how that's part of your criteria when accepting new projects, right?
• 15:10
  Dr C: And I know you have an amazing garden in your backyard.
• 15:13
  Dr C: I have only seen pictures, but I know it's an amazing garden.
• 15:16
  Dr C: And I know that you also take a lot of time, not a lot of time, but you also take time to make sure that you're enjoying your garden.
• 15:24
  Dr C: Can you tell us a little bit about how you intentionally enjoy your garden?
• 15:30
  Luis Burgos: I have a 16-year-old chihuahua, Momo.
• 15:34
  Luis Burgos: And my my daily routine almost every day, sometimes something will come up early in the morning, but 99% of the time it's it's a cup of coffee.
• 15:48
  Luis Burgos: And I go and sit weather, you know, if the weather's cooperating, I I go and sit in the garden with him.
• 15:56
  Luis Burgos: He walks around and does his business, and then he'll sit on my lap, and I just enjoy a cup of coffee and listen to some music.
• 16:03
  Luis Burgos: And then this this past summer, I I did a completed a project that I've that's been on the drawing boards for many years.
• 16:10
  Luis Burgos: In the back of my garage, there was a a tool shed that I really didn't use because I I don't park my car in my garage.
• 16:18
  Luis Burgos: So the main garage had all that equipment and all that.
• 16:21
  Luis Burgos: So this is a small room that's about six feet wide and ten feet long.
• 16:27
  Luis Burgos: And I renovated into what I call the casita.
• 16:31
  Luis Burgos: And it has um, you know, a couple of chairs and and the high table, and it's painted, it has a rug in there, it has lamps and art, and it's a peaceful little place.
• 16:45
  Luis Burgos: And I'll go anywhere if it's very hot, and and it's my garage is brick, so it's very cool in the summer.
• 16:52
  Dr C: Oh, nice.
• 16:53
  Luis Burgos: And it's a very peaceful little place.
• 16:55
  Luis Burgos: And sometimes in the evening, friends will come by and and once they've discovered my casita, they I have a nice house, but they want to go in the casita.
• 17:05
  Luis Burgos: I'm like, why don't you go in this room?
• 17:07
  Luis Burgos: It's just it's it's just very, very cozy, cute little place.
• 17:11
  Dr C: Yeah, so it looks like your creativity has taken center stage, right?
• 17:16
  Dr C: After your retirement.
• 17:17
  Luis Burgos: Yeah, that's amazing.
• 17:21
  Dr C: Amazing.
• 17:22
  Dr C: So let's touch on a topic that can be stressful for some or for all, right?
• 17:27
  Dr C: Financial wellness.
• 17:28
  Dr C: Without getting too personal, how has your relationship with money and budgeting changed since retiring?
• 17:34
  Dr C: And what's one tip you have for managing it without constant worry?
• 17:40
  Luis Burgos: Well, I I I I think that so me personally, I've always lived below my means.
• 17:46
  Luis Burgos: I I've always been a very good aggressive saver.
• 17:50
  Luis Burgos: I very early in life, I I purchased a home.
• 17:54
  Luis Burgos: I was in like my mid-20s when I purchased a home, and I still live in that same home.
• 17:59
  Luis Burgos: It's been 42 years, I think.
• 18:01
  Luis Burgos: So that was paid off, you know, many years ago.
• 18:05
  Luis Burgos: And I I would say, you know, there are a lot of things about my financial situation, which is which is comfortable.
• 18:13
  Luis Burgos: It's not worrisome for me.
• 18:15
  Luis Burgos: But there are a lot of things that are unique about my personal situation.
• 18:19
  Luis Burgos: I worked for 32 years for the city, so I I benefit, you know, from a pension.
• 18:25
  Luis Burgos: And then, you know, recently with the addition of Social Security, but I had significant savings that is was the result of just a very you know modest lifestyle.
• 18:40
  Luis Burgos: Um and I've I'm known to be amongst my family and the community of being a very generous person.
• 18:47
  Luis Burgos: And that generosity and that comfort, you know, comes from the fact that you know, I don't live a luxurious lifestyle.
• 18:55
  Luis Burgos: I've lived in the same home.
• 18:57
  Luis Burgos: And you know, I've just been able to save that way and and and have a nice you know competition, so to speak.
• 19:07
  Luis Burgos: Yeah.
• 19:08
  Dr C: So very practical, right?
• 19:10
  Dr C: Traditional almost planning for your retirement, saving and ensuring that you have what you need when you do retire.
• 19:18
  Dr C: And you said something living below your means.
• 19:21
  Dr C: You know, everything's becoming so expensive these days, and a lot of uh uncertainty around Social Security and what will actually happen to it.
• 19:31
  Dr C: So I can imagine that there are a lot of individuals that are planning retirement and feeling, you know, apprehensive, right?
• 19:39
  Dr C: Of what's actually going to happen to them.
• 19:41
  Dr C: So what would you say?
• 19:43
  Dr C: Last question.
• 19:44
  Dr C: What would you if you could give one single piece of advice to someone who is maybe a year or two away from their retirement, what would it be?
• 19:57
  Luis Burgos: I would say to prioritize meaningful and sustainable social engagement.
• 20:04
  Luis Burgos: And so, you know, my story as I've related to you from the start of this conversation, was that, you know, in the beginning I I kind of retreated and was isolated in in many ways.
• 20:20
  Luis Burgos: And, you know, in some ways, all the tennis playing was great for me physically, for my physical health, but it wasn't it wasn't the best thing socially, uh, emotionally, and you know even financially, because I I have to add, you know, backtracking a little bit to the financial part is that you know, I did do some work after I retired from the city, you know, and that was kind of like frosting on the cake, but nevertheless, you know, it did it did add to my uh level of of comfort, right?
• 20:57
  Luis Burgos: Financially.
• 20:58
  Luis Burgos: But I think when when you prioritize social engagement, what happens is that you it'll naturally need lead to many opportunities for you know your physical health, your your your mental health, financial opportunities, jobs, projects, you know, and the like, you know, if you have, you know, when you retire, you you you have you know many, many years of experience and expertise.
• 21:26
  Luis Burgos: You have, you know, you have networks and and and you can put that to your advantage.
• 21:33
  Luis Burgos: But but I I think the key is is social engagement.
• 21:38
  Luis Burgos: So when you when you remain socially engaged, all of those those opportunities come to the forefront, and they're to your benefit.
• 21:48
  Luis Burgos: Your physical health, your emotional health, your sense of of relevance and stability and purpose.
• 21:56
  Luis Burgos: They I think they all derive and and and come from from that social engagement.
• 22:02
  Dr C: Yeah, thank you so much.
• 22:04
  Dr C: Louis, this has been incredibly helpful, and I know our listeners are taking notes.
• 22:09
  Dr C: So thank you so much for sharing your time and wisdom with us today.
• 22:13
  Dr C: I really appreciate you being transparent and helping others understand how to plan appropriately for their well being after retirement.
• 22:22
  Dr C: Thank you so much for being on the live podcast.
• 22:25
  Luis Burgos: It's been a pleasure.