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What if retirement wasn’t the finish line, but rather the starting point of your most impactful season yet?
Today I am speaking with Bill Hennessy, a veteran pastor and missionary whose life has taken him from the plains of Nigeria and the villages of Zambia to rural churches in Missouri.
Now in his late 60s, Bill is far from slowing down. Instead, he’s leaning into a bold new calling helping people over 50 to discover fresh purpose. He is doing that through intentional coaching, community-building, and a powerful new book titled “Purposeful Retirement: Making the Next Season of Life Your Best.”
From helping to plant churches under the threat of Boko Haram to mentoring young leaders in Cape Town and launching a refugee center in Springfield, Mo., Bill shares deeply moving stories, hard-won wisdom, and a compelling vision for what life after 50 can look like when it’s driven by purpose, not just past accomplishments.
If you’ve ever wondered whether your best days are behind you, Bill is here to tell you they’re not. In fact, they might be just beginning.
Bill is a man whose life embodies what it means to move forward from 50 with clarity, conviction and compassion.
After four decades of serving as a pastor and missionary across Africa and the United States, Bill has transitioned into a new chapter. He has reimagined retirement as a launchpad for renewed impact through his leadership coaching practice, which he calls Clarify Focus.
Bill believes people over 50 carry a treasure trove of hard-earned wisdom. Rather than fading into the background, we should be stepping into roles as mentors, community builders and purpose-driven contributors.
He reminds us that isolation is one of the biggest threats to retirees, but the antidote is simple: get involved, give back, and build relationships.
Whether it’s helping a young adult learn to fish, teaching life skills to refugees, or just showing up to mentor someone struggling with life’s challenges, your experience has value – and the world needs it now more than ever.
If Bill’s story resonated with you, I encourage you to check out his new book, “Purposeful Retirement: Making the Next Season of Life Your Best.” It’s more than a guide, it’s a roadmap to rediscovering meaning, relevance, and joy in the second half of life.
The book is available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at ClarifyFocus.com. An audiobook version is coming later this summer.
As Bill so eloquently put it, “God’s purpose doesn’t have an expiration date.” Maybe your greatest chapter is still waiting to be written.
That’s all for this week’s show. If you’d like to start living a more meaningful life, I encourage you to download our free guide to finding purpose, which is available at www.forwardfrom50.com.
I’ll have another inspirational interview on the next episode of the Forward From 50 podcast. Thanks for listening. If you like this show, please consider leaving a review wherever you download the episodes.
If you order Bill’s book from a link above, Forward From 50 may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
After closing his business and enduring several painful years of uncertainty regarding what to do with his life, Greg founded Forward From 50 to help men and women over 50 to live more purposeful lives by pursuing things they are passionate about. A Wisconsin native, Greg currently lives in Arizona.