What do you do if you're a public speaker unsure about retiring or continuing in your late career?

It is very good to assess your needs when you’re considering retiring in your career. Assess yourself to find out if you’ve reached your goals, if your finances are intact so that you’re not a burden when you retire. Make sure that everything is in the right place. If you’ve not reached your goals you should consider working on it. Living a lasting impact before you say goodbye

I think assessing your needs is vital when contemplating retirement. Consider what drives your public speaking—is it passion, financial needs, or both? Evaluate your financial stability and how much continuing to speak contributes to your lifestyle. Reflecting on these aspects is key to making a well-informed choice about stepping back or remaining active on the public speaking scene.

I've had friends who retired, and their situations varied night and day. Having enough financial means to live comfortably after retirement is one of the top predictors of having comfortable years ahead. Another need to assess is purpose. A lack of purpose after retirement, caused by not engaging in other meaningful activities, can deteriorate health and motivation to live a wonderful retirement life.

I had two different conversations with two dear friends who work in unrelated areas, and they mentioned something important. They are already past due for retirement, but they are still active. They do consider slowing down the number of hours they put into their respective work, but neither of them told me that they wanted to stop working completely. They expressed their intentions to continue as mentors and consultants because both have accumulated years of valuable experience that could serve younger professionals. Always keep your options open. Mentoring might be a good place to share your contribution.

Change is inevitable. Adaptability, one's ability to embrace change, is a vital tool in maximising opportunities as times evolve. Adaptability helps you remain relevant through changing times and seasons, and is important in making a decision to either stop speaking or not.

Take some time to consider what’s important to you over the short, medium and long term and what options could be aligned to what you’re doing now. You may find that you’re able to take a sideways step with other options to keep speaking, or to teach others to do the same, without you having to retire completely.

Planning will help you save last-minute confusion and anxiety. You have to decide when you want to retire as a public speaker and plan what you have to achieve before your retirement. You must have savings and announce the retirement prior sometime. Setting goals and maintaining strategies will help you maintain engagement with your audience.