Episode 2: Trail Angels

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome to the Retired Mindset Podcast, where soul meets body. Hosted by me, BobPreston. Embrace the retirement journey of transformative insights, inspiring conversations, with new episodes produced weekly.

(00:48):
Wow, look at where I am today.
This is pretty cool, eh?
For those listening on audioonly, I'm actually hanging out
and broadcasting today from mybackyard.
In fact, moving forward, I'mhoping to record all my episodes
on location, including in manycases from the location where my
guest is.
So how fun will that be,right?

(01:09):
It will spice things up a bitbecause I'll be popping up in
all these kooky crazy differentplaces every single week.
And it's going to be a completesurprise where I pop up.
Today it's my backyard, but itmay be at the beach, on a
mountaintop, or maybe even in acoffee shop.
Who knows?
Each episode location will be asurprise.

(01:29):
And that's what makes this sospecial.
Now, I'm not really sure yet; there may be an occasional studio or Zoom session. But if that's the only way I can connect with my guests, then I'm going to do it that way. Someday, you know, we'll do it over Zoom and split the screen, and we'll at least be in locations somewhere. That'd be pretty cool too.
I'm also going to start postingthis Friday some bonus shorts.

(01:53):
They're sort of mini episodes,if you will, called Five Minute
Fridays.
I'll be broadcasting from allkinds of spots to capture my
adventure spirit.
This is more about fun andenergy, kind of a quick watch,
but it'll all be within fiveminutes or less, so it won't
take up a lot of your time.
More on that this Friday, whenthe first FMF is published.

(02:14):
So hey, stay tuned forIt 'sgoingtobeathat.
lot of fun.
Now,today I'm going to be flying solo again, like I did in episode one. And we will start bringing guests on the show next week for episode three in all my full-length episodes. FMF will still be flying solo, just myself. And why did I want to do another solo episode?Well, today I'm talking about something very special to me. And I call this episode Trail Angels. And my decision to make another solo episode is really to provide you with more details about my decision to retire and the inspirational people I've met along the way who have helped me to get where I am today.

(02:58):
I feel like honestly, I'm theonly one who can explain this
and tell this story andcommunicate properly what this
is all about.
So here we go again.
Today you get me.
Next week I'll have a guest, Ipromise.
Now, if you've ever hiked orbackpacked a long distance
trail, take the John Muir Trail,you've probably heard the term

(03:19):
before - trail angels.
I've hiked many segments of theJMT, but not its entirety.
That whole thing is still onmy bucket list.
But you know, the JMT is about211 miles of rugged beauty.
So you got to have a lot oftime and a lot of stamina and a
lot of patience.
There are granite peaks,turquoise lakes, meadows that

(03:39):
look like paintings.
Oh my God, it's so beautiful,and most of it's above the tree
line.
But anyone who's hiked it willtell you what really keeps you
going out there isn'tnecessarily the scenery.
It's the people that you meetalong the way, the kindness, the
connection over what you wereboth experiencing.
Trail angels are thekind-hearted people who offer

(04:00):
their last drop of water, theygive you food, or maybe it's
just a smile at the rightmoment.
When you are the mostvulnerable on your trek,
sometimes they pop up out ofnowhere when you're tired, sore,
wondering if you should haveever laced up your boots in the
first place.
But without a thought, they maypull out their map and compass,
share some insights andguidance on the trail ahead,

(04:22):
offer you, like I said, water ora granola bar or something, you
know, without even a clue aboutthe impact they are making on
your journey.

But here's the thing (04:31):
trail angels aren't just found in the
wilderness.
They're everywhere and in ourdaily lives, in unexpected acts
of kindness and in the peoplewho show up just when you need
them the most.
I've adopted the term trailangel now as a metaphor for the
friends, strangers, and mentorswho suddenly came into my life,

(04:54):
people who arrived at just theright time with just the right
kindness or words ofencouragement to keep me moving
forward towards retirement.
So today we're going to exploretrail angels in two different
ways.
All right.
The literal trail angels thathikers meet on the trail, and
also the metaphorical trailangels who show up along our

(05:16):
journey in life.
This is a very personal andheartwarming episode for me.
Like I said, I may get a littleemotional for parts of this.
So I hope you enjoy it.
I hope I make it through it.
Okay, part one, the literaltrail angels.
Let's start with the trailsthemselves.
Okay?

(05:36):
So picture this.
You've been hiking for days.
Your pack might be a littlelighter now than it was when you
started, but your spirit isheavy.
You've just come down a steeppass, your legs are jelly from
climbing the other side, andyou're dreaming of anything
other than freeze-dried food,you're taking it out of your
backpack and boiling in hotwater.
Your water bottle is bone dry,and you're down to the last

(05:59):
crumbs in your food bag.
Then suddenly you come around acorner, around a bend, and there
is a smiling person randomlypulled off to the side, cheering
for you, waving at you.
They know that the slightestkindness, like a cold drink or
warm smile, can make a miraclewhen you're struggling.
I once heard a hiker say, trailangels restore your faith in

(06:22):
humanity.
And I think that's kind oftrue.
On long trails where you'restripped of comfort and
convenience, maybe you knowyou're getting a little ripe,
who knows?
It's these moments ofgenerosity that remind you, hey,
we're all in this together.
Part two.
Here we go.
The metaphorical trail angels.
This part's gonna be really,really fun.

(06:44):
Now, we're gonna step off thetrail, off the dirt path, and
onto the trails of our everydaylives.
Okay?
In my case, my everyday life isa journey into retirement.
I wasn't sure at first, but Iwas stressed out and it seemed
exciting.
You know, freedom, time to dowhat I wanted to do, but there
were also moments of extremeuncertainty and self-doubt.

(07:06):
Who am I without the identityand structure of my work?
What's my purpose going to benow?
These are all questions I askmyself every day while I was
struggling with making thisdecision.
So, who are the trail angelshere in this metaphorical sense?
Well, great question, right?
I'm sure you're dying to findout.
They, in many cases, werefriends who encouraged me to

(07:30):
embrace new projects and moveforward in some new direction.
In some cases, they were familymembers who reminded me that
slowing down isn't the same asstepping away.
In some cases, colleagues whoinspired me to share my voice
through things like thispodcast.
And it could be even books,mentors, or conversations that I
had with strangers, but it allfelt like trail magic.

(07:54):
Nudges, it came at just theright moment, helping me
navigate this new stretch of thejourney.
Now, let me be clear, trailangels are rare.
There have only been a few, forme, a handful of amazing people
who have appeared in my life tohelp me gain clarity.
I've learned that trail angelsin retirement don't always look

(08:15):
like people handing you food.
Sometimes they can be momentsof clarity, maybe a sunrise,
reminding you that you're alive,a child's laughter that
recenters your priorities, or itcould be a conversation that
you have with somebody thatsparks a new idea or
encouragement to take a newdirection.
So, in many ways, just like onthe JMT, they appear when you

(08:37):
need them the most.
Maybe your trail angel was ateacher who saw potential in you
when no one else did.
Or maybe your trail angel was amentor who guided you through a
tough career decision.
Maybe it was a stranger whoplanted the seed of an idea
during a random conversation.
Offered a smile, said exactlywhat you needed to hear at

(08:59):
precisely the right time.
Trail angels aren't alwaysapparent in the moment either.
Sometimes you may not realizeyou spoke to one of your trail
angels until later that someonenudged you in the right
direction and you're nowstarting to recognize that this
could be days, weeks later.
Or gave you enoughencouragement to take that next

(09:20):
step.
And here's a twist.
Not all trail angels look likeangels either.
They may show up as obstaclesor bad influences in your life.
And I refer to these typesmetaphorically as trail demons.
Not that these are bad or meanpeople, you know what I'm saying
here, but you know thatdirection that they're going is

(09:43):
not right for you.
Nope.
You know, if you're going thatway, then I'm going this way.
In your career, maybe it's theinterviewer who didn't give you
that job, who turned you off andthe job you know you didn't
get.
Or maybe a relationship thatended, or a failure that felt
crushing in the moment.
But looking back, thosechallenges are what shaped you,

(10:05):
nudging you onto a differentpath, one you might never have
chosen otherwise.
But today, it's the right oneand you know it.
And it was all because of thatincident.
So again, I'm sharing some verypersonal stuff here, but in 2020
through 2023, things werepretty tough for me, I'm not
gonna lie.
It was not the best version ofmyself.

(10:26):
It was during the pandemic.
I was working long ass days,struggling to keep my business
afloat and surviving, right,during the COVID-19 outbreak,
carrying the burden of keepingmy staff employed and retaining
clients.
I felt like Atlas at times,honestly.
I was stressed out under a lotof pressure all the time.
I put on, you know, thequintessential quarantine 15

(10:49):
pounds, that is, and probablythen some.
Now, coming out of thepandemic, my business was
thriving and was stronger thanever.
The pressure from gettingthrough it, however, had taken
its toll.
There was also a noticeableshift occurring in the property
management industry in which Ihad my business.
Kind of like the show Survivor,there were alliances starting

(11:10):
to form, and several privateequity-backed companies started
popping up and consolidatingregional property management
companies like mine in SanDiego.
One such company, Pure PropertyManagement, was cherry-picking
the best companies throughoutall of California.
I kind of knew that this wasgoing on.
I'm kind of like, well, what'swrong with my company?
Maybe I should take a look atthat.
Well, eventually, you knowwhat?
Pure and I connected and weworked out a deal.

(11:33):
My company at the time, NorthCounty Property Group, was a
perfect match for Pure, and theyoffered me a great valuation
along with the opportunity for aliquidity event with the
business.
And while the prospect ofselling the company was
exhilarating for six months, itwas like jumping out of the
frying pan, the stress of thepandemic, into the fire, the

(11:55):
exhaustive M&A due diligenceprocess that incurred doing this
transition.
The acquisition was completedflawlessly.
The outcome was amazing, amid-seven-figure transaction for
me, but not until after anintense period of transition for
me and my team.
And again, this had kind oftaken its toll.

(12:17):
So I actually got to stay onwith Pure in a senior management
position for about a year,maybe a little longer, but
something was just not rightwith me.
I was missing some of the lifepurpose, didn't feel like an
entrepreneur anymore.
And I kind of felt like I wasback, you know, working for the
man instead of running my ownenterprise.

(12:38):
So after about a year at Pure,I realized that I had to retire.
I mean, I'm telling you, I hadto.
I needed to press the restartbutton on my life, make
significant changes in my dailyroutine, and establish some
atomic habits that would bringme new clarity to get healthier
and find myself again, honestly.
So in June of 2023, after along and painful thought

(13:02):
process, I took the leap offaith into retirement.
It was at that point, though,that the magic started to
happen.
I began to be more open to newexperiences and events.
I put myself out there againsocially, working harder to
connect and make new friendsalong the way.

(13:23):
As I manifested positivity,more positive things started to
happen.
The change was subtle, butalmost immediate.
And to be honest, I wasn't evensure at the time that it had
started.
But that's when I met my firsttrail angel, my first
metaphorical trail angel, thatis.

(13:44):
Now, this person knows who theyare, so I'm not going to
mention any names.
Don't worry if you're watching.
That is between the two of us.
However, I will tell you thatover the next two years, there
were several more.
And the cool part, I've beenable to reconnect with most of
the amazing people I'veidentified as trail angels
during my retirement journey,and express my gratitude for

(14:06):
what they meant to me duringthis transition.
Almost every time they've beensurprised, genuinely surprised
that what felt to them like asmall conversation or a normal
day, you know, just a simplesuggestion or even a passing
moment had played such asignificant role in shaping my
two-year journey.
And then once the surprisefaded, sometimes there was this

(14:27):
look of wonder on their face,almost amazement, that they had
unknowingly been a part of mytrail magic.
Now, I've discovered anotherthing about trail angels.
They often don't know they'reangels at all.
They're just people beingthemselves.
That's part of their dailylife, showing others kindness.
Now, as I've walked thisretirement trail, these angels

(14:50):
have helped me learn somepowerful lessons.
So here we go.
I'm going to rattle them offone at a time.
Okay, so it's kind of a list.
I apologize for that.
But it's really importantstuff.
Number one, the trail provides.
Just like the JMT, where youturn a corner and suddenly find
water or food, retirement has away of offering up exactly what

(15:11):
you need.
This is at least in my case, ifyou stay open to it.
A conversation.
Maybe it's a new opportunity, anew idea that you have, a fresh
perspective, the ability tohelp on something perhaps that
you're passionate about thatyou'd never considered before.
You get these nudges to go in adifferent direction.
Okay, number two, travel light,baby, because out on the trail,

(15:34):
carrying too much in your packweighs you down.
In retirement, it's the sameway.
Worries, regrets, oldexpectations.
Letting go of that mentalbaggage creates room for your
joy and discovery in retirement.
Number three, pay it forward.
Okay, don't just take it, yougotta continue it.
Every trail angel I've met onthe trail doesn't expect

(15:56):
repayment.
They just know kindness, andthat keeps the trail alive.
In retirement, I've learned thesame thing.
Sharing time, wisdom, andencouragement can be its own
kind of trail magic to otherpeople that maybe you meet in
random situations.
Number four, say thank you whileyou can.
I found that taking the time totell someone they mattered, to

(16:21):
show them they were a trailangel, or I guess to tell them
in my story, is as meaningful tothem as it is to me.
Gratitude creates a kind oftrail magic all of its own.
And I'm going to say fromexperience that doing so is not
easy, especially for men, right?
But, you know, one of the bestparts of my trail angel

(16:44):
experience was having thecourage to feel vulnerable and
risk expressing gratitude tothese amazing people, some of
whom I know weren't expectingit.
This was really, really hard.
A couple of times it just kindof happened randomly,
spontaneously, just kind ofhanging out with a person.
And then, you know, some switchflipped in me, and I decided it

(17:04):
was worth taking the risk toexpress my gratitude.
Just like communication on thetrail, it's one of the joys of
making new friends andexpressing how much you
appreciate them.
Okay, we're headed into thefinal chapter of this episode,
and it's called Becoming a TrailAngel Yourself.
Here's the best part.

(17:24):
Any one of us can be a trailangel.
You don't need to live near atrailhead or carry a cooler full
of water.
You just need to notice whensomeone's struggling, maybe
curious, be curious, and thenoffer what you can.
It might be a smile, a kindword, a small act of service,
maybe just, you know, take timeto listen.
It doesn't take much becauselife and retirement in many ways

(17:47):
is a trail, right?
It's sometimes rocky.
Sometimes it can bebreathtakingly beautiful.
And while each one of us walksit in our own two shoes, none of
us are walking it alone.
So whether you're climbingswitchbacks on the JMT in the
high Sierra or navigating thewinding trail of retirement,

(18:08):
keep your eyes open for trailangels.
Learn from them, appreciatethem, and when you can, be one
yourself.
Because when you're oneyourself, that's where the real
trail magic is.
Thanks for joining me today onthe Retired Mindset.
Gosh, I made it through thatwithout getting too emotional.

(18:30):
If you've met a trail angel outin the wilderness or in life,
I'd love to hear your story.
And maybe that will inspiresomeone else to keep walking
their own path.
You can email me, BobbyP at theretiredmindset.com, or better
yet, join the community on ourwebsite and social media and
tell the story yourself with apost.

(18:52):
Until next time, keep movingforward on that trail, keep
noticing, and remember there'salways a little trail magic just
around the bend where soulmeets body.
Hey, thanks so much for joiningme today.
It's been a great episode.

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