When you’re in the cockpit on final approach and suddenly have to abort your landing and try again, it’s called a “go-around.” It can be a little scary at first, but with a little planning and some patience, it is painless. The same is true for your career after age 50. You’re all set to glide into retirement when from out of nowhere, you’re forced to change course professionally. I know the feeling better than most people because it happened to me.
Ever since childhood, I’ve been fascinated with airplanes. I was lucky enough to make flying my career as a private jet captain for nearly 30 years. My career took me to more than 40 countries on five continents, and I loved every minute of it. Then, I began to experience intense pain that made sitting for long periods of time impossible, and I soon started having serious health problems that threatened both my pilot status and my life.