Success Stories 

Some SHiFT members have used their experiences in SHiFT programs to create fresh perspectives on life and work — or to launch new careers and vocations that represent more of who they are, or want to be.

Do you know someone who's made a transition?  Have you made one yourself?  Share the story with our readers.  Contact Jay McManus.


Irene Moriarty — Consorting with Risk Takers
by Laura French

Irene Moriarty understands the value of planning ahead. Last year, she embarked on a period of "fake" retirement. In addition to optimizing her health (losing 75 pounds, among other things), Moriarty says she "broke the illusions of what it’s like to face an expanse of time."

Now, she has gone back to work as a project manager (although she has made a shift to working as an independent contractor through her own company). She continues to explore options for her "real" retirement, six to eight years out.

In the Company of Risk Takers
Moriarty was introduced to SHiFT by Dennis Acrea, then co-owner of Dunn Brothers in Loring Park, which Moriarty sometimes jokingly refers to as her 'living room.' "SHiFT is an amazing group of people," she says. "They are healthy, uplifting and congenial."  For someone committed to living a creative life, she says, SHiFT is "a place to go and feel normal. SHiFT is full of people taking risks."

The Gift of Giving and Receiving Support
In times of transition, Moriarty says, "support is the critical intangible. It’s what makes the transition possible." Public speaking and teaching are skills that Moriarty wants to develop. An October SHiFT meeting, where she presented Barbara Sher’s Wishcraft framework, provided both a welcoming audience for her presentation skills and an opportunity for her to give back to the organization from which she's derived "energy, ideas, contacts and support."

Moriarty calls SHiFT co-founders Jan Hively and David Buck "a real inspiration. They staked into a great unknown based on principles and values. What has evolved is a jewel."

— Laura French is principal of Words Into Action, Inc, and a freelance writer from Roseville.

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Linda Bardes — Possibility Thinking
by Laura French

Linda Bardes was introduced to SHiFT in the winter of 2008 at a time when she was “looking for the next step in my life.” She had retired and moved back to Minnesota two years before. At the first meeting, she recalls, “I heard new people presenting new ideas.
I got involved because of that energy.”

Let's Do It — the Birth of SHiFT Storm
Having long believed that “you get a whole lot more out of an organization when you get involved,” she tried a couple of different committees before finding her fit in the program committee. At one of the committee meetings, she presented a concept for an event that would allow members to present new ideas and get structured feedback. “The next thing I knew, I got a call and they said, ‘Let’s do it,’” Bardes recalls. That was the birth of the SHiFT Storm, which has had three successful outings.

Making Meaningful Wedding Vows
Soon Bardes was firming up a vision for her own next step: Speaking, teaching, and writing about a unique approach to vows for weddings and commitment ceremonies. Through workshops and an e-book, Bardes helps couples to create meaningful vows, written in shared conversation, that incorporate a strong dream for the marriage. Her approach makes the couple’s vows the blueprint for building a successful long-term relationship,

“I presented the idea in a SHiFT Storm, and I had resources coming out of the woodwork to help me,” she said. SHiFT member Barb Smith is helping her with a business plan-“that’s never been my long suit,” Bardes says. “I have better direction, more discipline-and courage. There are a lot of big thinkers in SHiFT.”

The Power of Possibility
Bardes calls SHiFT a “possibility organization. Anything goes. There is never a time when anyone says, ‘that idea isn’t going to work.’ Instead, they ask, ‘How are you going to take that idea and make it work?”

— Laura French is principal of Words Into Action, Inc, and a freelance writer from Roseville.

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Karen Wendt —The Company of Kindred Spirits
by Laura French

When Karen Wendt turned 65 in August 2008, she “had a little meltdown about what am I going to do with the rest of my life—call it a ‘third-quarter crisis’” she says. She looked for support from a number of organizations, but what they offered was workshops on how to write a resume or how to handle a job interview, which was not what she had in mind.

Finally a contact at one of the organizations referred her to SHiFT. “I read every word on the website and said, ‘This is just exactly what I’m looking for!’” Wendt recalls. “I can’t tell you how excited I was — I didn’t feel alone anymore.”

Feed the Spirit
Wendt attended the very next SHiFT Forum, signed up for a SHiFT Circle and joined the TimeBank. “With every SHiFT event I’ve attended, I’ve been impressed. I really like the positive energy. I like the mixture of people, other ‘seekers’ who want to be productive until they draw their last breath.” she says.

Interestingly, her interactions with SHiFT have convinced her that, for now, she’ll keep her current full-time job. “My financial advisor suggests I will need some income into my seventies,” Wendt says. “The brainstorming of ideas is what I'm so enthusiastic about with SHiFT Connections, Circles and Forums. My SHiFT participation will likely spark an interest I didn't even know existed in me.”

Wendt has volunteered as a Time Bank coordinator but thinks perhaps the SHiFT Ambassador program might be a better fit. “I did a SHiFT ‘commercial’ and handed out SHiFT bookmarks at a recent Employee Assistance Program meeting on Stress and Change,” she says. “Having a cause I believe in gives me a chance to practice making connections.”

A Balanced Equation: Giving and Receiving
“Service to others is what ultimately makes me happiest. That’s why SHiFT appeals to me,” Wendt concludes. “It’s a group of socially responsible people — kindred spirits.”

— Laura French is principal of Words Into Action, Inc, and a freelance writer from Roseville.

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Jay McManus — From Molt to Motion
by Laura French

“Molting.” That’s how Jay McManus describes the two years of his life before he connected with SHIFT.

Raised in Massachusetts, McManus began his career as a journalist, then spent 15 years in marketing communications in the high tech industry in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He moved to St. Paul in 2000 at the suggestion of friends who had settled here.

Fresh Opportunities Open, Then Close
New opportunities immediately opened up with the Minnesota Facilitators Network and River’s Edge Playback Theater. Six years later, he recalls, “I woke up one morning and realized as much as I loved Playback Theater and MFN, I didn’t have a passion for the work anymore.” He resigned from both organizations and went into his self-described “molt.”

After attending a couple of SHiFT Forums, McManus volunteered to work on the Membership and Marketing Committees. “I believe passionately in what SHiFT is trying to do,” he says. “It’s at the forefront of a huge transition, from one version of how we want to live to a very different version. There’s been a long, underground wave that is finally coming to the surface.”

Do What You Love to Do
When the SHiFT webmaster resigned just a month later, McManus picked up those duties. Then he offered to start a newsletter. Taking on those responsibilities required “a huge leap of faith. You don’t know what will come out of doing what you love to do. But you know the results of not doing what you love to do, or doing what you have to do that you don’t love.”

What makes the SHiFT network special, McManus says, is that members are “idealists with common sense and world experience.” They turn to SHiFT because “they’re becoming weary of doing what they think they should do,” he says. “They want to do work that is important and of value-to them. SHiFT supports that. We appeal to people from all kinds of different backgrounds, ages and situations. But when they come to a SHiFT Forum, they all report the same thing: positive, uplifting energy fills the room.”

McManus concludes, “Quite simply I’ve joined a network of seekers, and I’m a seeker myself. That never stops no matter what I’m doing. I’m having a great time.”

— Laura French is principal of Words Into Action, Inc, and a freelance writer from Roseville.

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Sandy Beach — No Regrets
By Sandy Beach

As I write this, I am on a flight home from Seattle, where I spent the weekend in a master class, which culminated in recording my professional demo for my next career in voice over (VO) acting. I celebrated my 53^rd birthday on Sunday. Doing VO work is a dream I have nurtured for many years. I always found excuses, some of them quite compelling, for not making it happen. 

The Path of Letting Go
Last March, I left an administrative position that I had been in for nearly six years, to take care of my 100 year old grandmother. She had spent the latter half of her life  bitter, unhappy and quite vocal about it. At summer’s end, she passed away. Part of my grieving process was a realization that if I didn’t change, I saw myself going down that same road. My new mantra became, “No regrets”.

This January, I was hired to research and edit business journal articles at The Opus College of Business at St. Thomas. This gives me the security and income I need while I begin to grow my VO business. My ultimate goal is to support myself (and my poetry habit) without a "regular day job".

Looking for Something More in Life
I’m certain it was no coincidence that I found Shift during my personal and vocational transition. I’m certainly grateful that I did. Perfect timing, as I was half-heartedly job hunting and yet seeking “something more”. The visionary thinkers at SHiFT were drinking coffee at Dunn Brothers and stirring up changes in the way society views “mid-lifers” 

One concept that grabbed me was, Find meaning in your life. Shouldn’t that be mandatory, I thought? As I attended meetings of varying topics and formats, I was impressed with the range of ideas and ideals coming together in a room of interesting, lively, and engaged people forming a sort of convergence of information, support, and resources. SHiFT energy was palpable and contagious.

Hanging out with SHiFTers made me realize that it’s not too late to make my dream happen, contribute, perhaps make a difference, and truly live with, “No regrets”.

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Got Story?

Has your association with SHiFT inspired you in some way?  Got a story about it that you're willing to share?  Contact Jay McManus for an interview by telephone.  Know that your story could inspire someone who reads it.  Just as what you heard stirred you to to start rethinking your notions of what's possible.  Thanks!

Testimonials
Here are some brief testimonials recorded at various SHiFT events.

"SHiFT is pioneering a novel approach to supporting midlife career transitions. There is nowhere else in the community where I can hear the candid, inspiring and courageous stories of others who have created meaningful work for themselves." 

"What I see in SHiFT is a shift in consciousness that is taking place in our community, which is inspiring to finally see!" 

"Without SHiFT, I would not have been ready to say yes to the temporary executive director position I accepted — which has now opened a whole new set of doors for me.”

"I am consistently impressed with the high level of speakers and programming SHiFT puts out for its Forum Series." 

"My association with SHiFT helped me find a job that I can take with me to Mexico. Now that's networking!"