A year on, Serene Ong is probably busier than before, but in a good way.
Many women I speak to don’t dream of doing nothing when they eventually step away from corporate life. After years of building careers, raising families and being responsible for so many things, the harder question can be:
What would I actually want to do with my time if I had more choice over it?
That was what I wanted to explore when I caught up with Serene a year after our first conversation.
Back then, she shared how she made the decision to step away from senior corporate leadership at 43. It was a chance to realign, rediscover and redesign her life on her own terms.
If you haven’t read it yet, read Part 1: From Corporate Leadership to Empowered Living.
At the end of that conversation, she told me:
“Success is about choice. Financial independence lets you choose how to live, work, and give.”
Serene’s is one version of what I call hybrid retirement. For some people it means working part time or on a fractional basis. For others like her, it means leaving a corporate role but continuing to build, contribute or explore new interests.
A year on, I wanted to find out what that choice looks like in her life today.
When your time becomes yours again
After years in senior corporate roles, much of Serene’s calendar used to be shaped by the demands and responsibilities of the role.
Meetings. Business trips. Events. Calls. Deadlines.
Today, she has the choice over what she says yes to, who she spends time with, when she exercises, when she travels, and even when she simply does nothing.
She says she is probably busier now, but as Serene says, “in a good way!” 😂
Much of what fills her calendar today is there because she chose it.
PHOENIXUS – the network of senior women leaders that Serene founded when she left her corporate life, has continued to grow. She remains actively involved in bringing women together through its philosophy of Lead, Nurture & Give Back.
She continues to mentor, speak, serve on boards and create opportunities for women to connect and learn. She has also made more room for travel, fitness, family and friendships.
Living your best life
When I asked Serene what “living your best life” means to her now, she said it’s feeling alive rather than having the most exciting life or constantly doing more.
Being healthy enough to enjoy it, having people she loves around her, following her curiosity and doing things that have meaning. And most importantly, being present enough to experience the moments while they are happening.
Health has become a much bigger priority since her health scare a few years ago. She is now more conscious about strength, fitness, sleep and longevity, and her question stayed with me:
“What is the point of having financial freedom, career success or time freedom if your body doesn’t allow you to enjoy them?”
Stepping away doesn’t mean giving up ambition
One of the biggest surprises for Serene was discovering that stepping away from corporate didn’t mean stepping away from ambition.
“I still have ideas. Lots of them. 😂
I still love building things, learning, connecting people and creating opportunities. I’ve simply become more selective about what is worth my energy.”
I think this will ring true for many of the driven women I work with, who have spent decades building careers and families. For someone like that, the word “retirement” can sometimes sound less like freedom and more like an ending.
What would I do with my time? Would I still have a sense of purpose, or want to stop contributing?
Retirement as a chapter
Serene sees it as something different now:
“Retirement used to sound like an ending or not doing anything else but it’s really a chapter which is an opportunity to keep reinventing, experimenting, contributing and experiencing.”
She describes retirement as having enough financial security and autonomy to design her life around what matters to her, rather than having her life dictated entirely by income.
And she ended our conversation with this:
“I’m certainly not going to retire from life!”
Talking about retirement planning
Retirement planning can often become a conversation about numbers.
How much is enough? How much do I need? When can I retire?
These are important questions, and they are part of the work I do with clients.
But I think the bigger question is: “What kind of life do I want my finances to support?”
That’s why I always start with a conversation about your retirement vision, and then work out what that life would actually cost.
Some questions to consider:
- How would you spend your days, and where and how would you live?
- Would you still want to stay engaged in something, and what would that look like?
- Who would you spend your time with, and how would you feel?
That is the conversation I hope to have with more women in their 40s and 50s, early enough to shape the plan around the life they want. If you only answer one of those questions this week, give it ten minutes. Whatever comes up is a good place to start.
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Ready to think about your own next chapter?
Serene’s story is one example of what Hybrid Retirement can look like. Yours may be very different.
If it got you thinking about your own, start with the Hybrid Retirement Readiness Quiz to see where you are today.
When you’re ready to look at your own numbers, explore my Hybrid Retirement Planning service
