#150 - Dealing With Failure By Seeing It As Feedback
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Dealing with failure is never an easy thing. We all have things we regret, wish we could do over, or would like to have never done in the first place. This episode of The Retirement Answer Man is filled with YOUR feedback to this show - over 220 responses you sent in at my request, responses to my annual listener survey. And you didn’t hold back! There was lots of great advice for making the show better and a few criticisms that I have to admit stung a bit. But I’m not going to take it personally - I’m making the choice to deal with the potential failures revealed in your feedback as exactly that - feedback. I’m going to use it to become better! I hope you listen in. The Retirement Answer Man 2016 Listener Survey - the results are in! 

I am one of the few podcasters I know who actually does a listener survey each year - and I do it for a very specific reason. I honestly feel that the podcast is about you. I want to talk about the things that YOU feel will be most helpful to you, so I need to hear how the things I’m doing are impacting you on a practical level. As a result of the excellent feedback I received this year, I have some changes to announce and some promises to make about the show going forward. If you want to know what’s coming on the RAM show in the next year, take a listen to this episode! Could you use some practical case studies of real-life retirement issues? 

Apparently, all of you who listen to The Retirement Answer Man show are a practical bunch. The listener survey reveals that you want me to do more case studies - you know, the practical stuff that helps you apply retirement strategies and principles to real-life situations. And because you asked for it, that’s exactly what I’m going to do in 2017. In addition to my annual “Retirement Plan Live” (which is coming up after the first of the year), I’m going to do a few more case studies of various sorts throughout the year. I want the show to be as helpful to you as possible, so thanks for letting me know what you want! Do you feel like a failure when it comes to your retirement planning? 

Many people wait far too long to start planning for a happy and healthy retirement. It takes time to build up the funds needed for a secure retirement and you know, time has a way of sneaking up on us all too quickly. If you’re feeling fearful about your retirement I want to encourage you that it’s never too late to start. There are some important things you can begin to do today to mitigate the damage of procrastination and get moving in the right direction. Don’t worry about what’s coming in the future. Start focusing on what you can do now to make your future better. These are the top fears people have when it comes to retirement. 

The 220 participants in my 2016 Listener survey were very clear and honest when it came to expressing their top fears relating to retirement. Would you like to hear what they said? Number one on their list of fears was the rising cost of healthcare. That makes complete sense because our senior years are often years of rising medical costs. A close second on the list is a related issue in a sense, and that is that they will run out of funds to live on before they run out of life! What can you do to offset your fear and ensure that they never come true? One thing you can do is listen to The Retirement Answer Man podcast. Each week I’m aiming at helping you prepare for the happy and healthy retirement of your dreams. You could learn a lot by listening. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN 

• [0:24] The quote I’ve learned to live by and how we need to think about failure and feedback.
• [1:15] A personal example of my first major failure: debate class.

HOT TOPIC SEGMENT 

• [3:20] The responses I received from 220 of you on my annual listener survey!
• [7:15] Your most enjoyed segments of the show!
• [8:31] The things you want to see more of on this podcast.
• [9:15] What excites you most about retirement - survey responses.
• [10:35] The things you are most worried about when retirement comes.
• [11:34] Your comments and ideas about how the show can become better.
• [15:51] The changes you can expect for the 2017 version of The Retirement Answer Man.

PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT 

• [21:20] The end of the road map personal planning option I’ve been providing and the advent of something new.
• [24:58] Book recommendations from listeners like you!
• [30:30] How you can leave a book review.

TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT 

• [30:43] Your 7 day goal for this week: Make a commitment to take a step back and not worry.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE BOOK: Bounce Back: Overcoming Setbacks in Business and Life)BOOK: Winning the Loser’s Game)BOOK: Outwitting the Devil)BOOK: Living Forward)Roger(at)wwkllc.com - reach out to Roger if you want to be on retirement plan live.www.RicherSoul.com) - Rocky’s site.Contact Roger: http://www.rogerwhitney.com/retirementanswers/)Roger’s retirement learning center: www.RogerWhitney.com/learn)The Retirement Answer Man Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/RetirementAnswerMan)