In the season finale, I tear up the traditional retirement rulebook and replace it with a bold, human, and rebellious manifesto for the second half of life. The old rules — work 40 years, aim for "enough," play it safe, slow down — were never designed for modern retirees who want meaning, energy, experiences, connection, and agency.

This episode lays out The New Rules of Retirement — ten powerful principles for anyone who refuses to drift through retirement and instead wants to design it boldly, live it fully, and leave a legacy that's felt as much as it's funded. This is your encore… so make it loud.

• Why the old retirement rules are outdated, limiting, and designed for a different era

• Ten modern, human-first principles for living boldly after work

• Why retirement isn't the end — it's the starting line

• How to prioritise time, meaning, purpose, and memory dividends over fear and preservation

• Why confidence comes before clarity, and flexibility beats perfection

• The truth about retirement as an emotional journey, not just a financial event

• How to shape a legacy through impact, stories, and how you live — not just what you leave

👉 Write your own new retirement rule.
Just one. Something that becomes a north star for how you want to live the next chapter.

Examples:

• "I spend without guilt when it brings me joy."

• "My time is my greatest asset."

• "I will not shrink my life to fit someone else's expectations."

• "I choose connection over busyness."

• "The second half of my life will be better than the first."

Write it. Repeat it. Live it.

• The New Rules of Retirement — Dan's Season 6 manifesto

• Episode references:

  • Episode 4: Time Isn't What You Think It Is

  • Episode 9: The Retirement Reinvention Curve

  • Episode 10: Modern Software, Ancient Hardware

  • Episode 11: The Retirement Focus Ratio

• My sketches, book, and newsletter

This episode wraps Season 6, a season dedicated to human-first retirement, emotional truth, and challenging the defaults. If these conversations have sparked anything in you, share them with someone who needs a more rebellious, honest, and liberating view of retirement.

Most financial planning conversations in retirement are 90% about money, but most retirees spend 90% of their time thinking about life. That's the Retirement Focus Ratio, and it's completely out of sync.

In this episode, I challenge the industry obsession with spreadsheets and show why the real success of retirement isn't built in Excel, but in how you live, spend, and find meaning after work. You'll discover how to rebalance your focus from money to life, and why the best retirement plans aren't about preserving wealth; they're about unleashing it to create joy, connection, and purpose.

• Why retirement planning often solves the wrong problem

• The disconnect between financial advice and emotional reality

• How to flip your Retirement Focus Ratio from 90% money / 10% life to 50/50 (or better)

• The key steps to building a life-led retirement plan

• How money becomes more meaningful when it supports purpose

• Why you can't measure joy in basis points, but you can design for it

👉 Audit your own Retirement Focus Ratio.

Ask yourself:

• How much of my energy is focused on money vs life?

• What would go in my "Retirement Life Plan"?

• What's one step I could take to shift the balance?

Then take action:

• Book a call to talk about legacy

• Write your ideal week

• Start a "Life List" — not a bucket list

The goal isn't to ignore THE money. It's to elevate THE life.

Coming up in Episode 12 — the grand finale of Season 6:
The New Rules of Retirement (For Rebels Only)

A bold manifesto for those who refuse to drift through retirement, and want to design, live, and leave a legacy on their own terms.

Retirement is a modern invention, but your brain didn't get the upgrade. In this episode, I unpack why so many retirees feel restless, guilty, or underwhelmed, even when life looks "perfect on paper." It's not because something is wrong with you, it's because you're trying to run a 21st-century life on Stone Age wiring.

I explore the mismatch between modern retirement and ancient survival instincts, why you struggle to relax, why doing nothing feels uncomfortable, why spending feels risky, and why your brain craves purpose, progress and tribe. Most importantly, I share how to retrain your mind for this new chapter, without fighting your biology.

• Why retirement feels unsettling (and why it's not your fault)

• The clash between modern freedom and caveman brain wiring

• How dopamine, productivity and survival instincts mess with your retirement mindset

• Why your brain resists rest, spending and stillness

• Five ways to "upgrade the software" — from micro-missions to novelty, contribution and healthy discomfort

• How to feel useful, alive and excited again in retirement

👉 Pick one "Brain Upgrade" and try it for 7 days:

• Set a Micro Mission (e.g. walk 10k steps daily, plan a trip, finish a book)

• Add Novelty — try something new for 30 minutes a day

• Create Contribution — teach, help, give or mentor someone

• Introduce Healthy Discomfort — cold shower, tech-free evening, social challenge

At the end of the week ask:
How did it feel? What did it teach me about what my brain needs?

• Micro Missions, Contribution Loops & Novelty Windows — My behavioural retirement tools

Episode 11 — The Retirement Focus Ratio: Are You Solving the Wrong Problem?
Why most retirement plans are 90% about money… but most retiree worries are 90% about life. And how to fix the imbalance.