December 11, 2025 • 37 mins
In this soulful and scenic episode, recorded amidst mountain winds coming off of Lake McLeod in the Eastern Sierra, host Bob Preston sits down with longtime friend and nature photographer Alan Kassan. In retirement, Alan traded his career and office life for wide-open skies, rugged alpine trails, and a custom Sprinter van built for adventure.
Together, they explore what it means to retire with intention and purpose —not away from something, but boldly toward a life filled with passion, creativity, and connection to the natural world. From the Sierra Nevada to Yosemite to the eastern edge of Highway 395, Alan shares how the road became his teacher, his retreat, photography studio, and his canvas.
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Themes:
1. Retiring Toward Something Meaningful
Alan’s journey illustrates the mindset shift that makes retirement transformative: choosing purpose over pause, exploration over stagnation, and curiosity over comfort.
2. Roaming with a Purpose:
Alan dives into nature while traveling in his customized Sprinter van—off-grid camping, favorite routes along Highway 395, the challenges behind the scenic Instagram moments, and the incredible payoff of waking up exactly where inspiration strikes.
4. Photography as a Passion
Photography became more than a hobby—it became a new identity that gave Alan structure, creativity, and personal meaning in retirement. He shares how being behind the camera helped him slow down, pay attention, and live more mindfully.
5. Beginning a Creative Journey at Any Age:
For listeners dreaming about writing, painting, photographing, or building something new, Alan offers grounded, heartfelt advice: Start small. Start messy. Just start.
Key Takeaway:
Retirement Is a Beginning, Not an Ending:
Letting go of a career opens space for reinvention, self-discovery, and ambitious personal adventures.
Call to Action:
If this episode inspires you, take an intentional step toward something that sparks curiosity or joy. Whether it’s a creative pursuit, a new outdoor habit, or simply exploring a passion you’ve put off—start today.
👉 Check out Alan’s photography:
https://www.aklightplay.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Alan Kassan (00:00):
I walked around the pond and I found some ice on
the edge of the pond, and I tookthis picture, which I gave it
the name, Pond's Edge, I thinkis what I called it.
And it's really cool.
You have the water, you havesome ice, and you have some
color of some the I guess it'sthe grass in the in the pond.
It's just a really neatpicture.
It's a simple picture that Inever would have come upon.
Bob (00:28):
Welcome to the Retired Mindset Podcast, where soul
meets body.
Hosted by me, Bob Preston.
Embrace the retirement journeyof transformative insights,
inspiring conversations, withnew episodes produced weekly.
This episode of the RetiredMindset is brought to you by
(00:49):
Find the Good, a cool lifestyleclothing brand that celebrates
exactly what retirement is allabout.
Being in the moment, presence,optimism, gratitude, and
choosing to live fully whereveryou happen to be in your
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I love this brand so muchbecause it perfectly matches
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Slowing down, noticing beautyaround you.
(01:10):
I've got one of their coolsweatshirts on now, getting
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So head to findthegood.com,grab something that speaks to
(01:57):
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Back to our episode.
Hi, Mindsetters, Bobby P herewith a new full episode of The
Retired Mindset.
I'm here at beautiful TwinLakes near Mammoth, California.
Today's episode is such aspecial one because it's the
perfect example of what happenswhen someone steps into
(02:18):
retirement with intention and awhole lot of heart.
My long-term friend Alan Castonspent decades as a respected
attorney in Los Angeles, guidingclients through some of life's
biggest challenges by assistingthem in collecting insurance
funds that they were due to themfrom their policies to move
forward when the unthinkabletragedies and things happened in
(02:42):
their lives.
But when it came time for hisnext chapter in retirement, he
made a very bold choice.
He traded litigation forspending more time with his
amazing family, canvassingnature through his camera lens
in the Sierra Nevada, touringaround, looking for interesting
scenery to shoot in his sprintervan, and truly reinventing
(03:06):
himself fully into somethingthat's always lit him up: nature
photography.
In retirement for Alan, thatpassion has become his purpose.
His images from Yosemite, BigSur, The Desert, the Eastern
Sierra, and beyond truly speakfor themselves.
You can see his work ataKLightplay.com.
That's the letters AK followedby lightplay.com.
(03:30):
I'll put that in my episodenotes.
So today on the RetiredMindset, we dive into how Alan
reinvented his life throughcreativity, photography,
adventure, and following thelight, literally.
This episode is called Roamingwith Purpose, featuring my good
friend, photographer AlanCassen.
I think you're going to enjoyit.
So have a listen.
(03:51):
Alan, welcome to the RetiredMindset.
Hey Bob, thanks for watching.
How are you doing?
Yep, but we are.
We just hiked about a mile toget up here.
Forgive us if we're a littleout of breath.
What's the name of the lake?
McLeod Lake.
In Mammoth, California.
Spectacular.
The ski mountains right here.
We got, you know, thisbeautiful mountain structure
behind us, still some snow outthere.
Let's not go in the water,though.
It'll be freezing.
Alan Kassan (04:11):
Yeah, a little too cold.
So it's probably 50, 45 degreesright now.
I know.
We're kind of freezing here.
We're a little out of breath.
Bob (04:17):
So anyway, hey, you and I have known each other for gosh,
probably 50 years, I think.
Yeah, just about pushing 50.
And I know you really wellbefore our listeners.
I'm hoping that you'llintroduce yourself, tell us a
little bit about yourbackground, your career, your
family, the things you're doingin retirement.
Just bring us up to speed.
You want to roll with that?
How much time do you have?
Alan Kassan (04:36):
Love it.
Yeah, okay.
I'll I'll do as best I can asquickly as I can.
So Bobby and I went to UC SantaBarbara together.
We were both experimentalpsychology majors, took a couple
classes together, one inparticular, seated on our
memory, but we won't go intothat.
You can tell the story.
No, you can tell the storylater.
Bob (04:52):
Oh no, we were we had a rat.
We had a rat we were given foran experiment and it died.
And we got in a lot of trouble,almost fucked the class, but
the teacher didn't.
Alan Kassan (05:00):
Bobby blamed it on me.
I blamed my hands.
Anyway, long story.
Reasonable doubt.
Yeah.
So anyway, after after college,uh I wasn't sure that a career
in psychology was really what Iwant to do.
So I went to law school in SanDiego.
I practiced law in San Diegofor a little while with a large
firm, mostly businesslitigation.
(05:20):
And then I moved up to LosAngeles where my family, my
brothers, moved, where I grewup, cousins in the valley.
Yes, I've met Valley.
And uh practiced law there.
Uh, continued doing businessand real estate law for another,
I don't know, 15 years.
And then, sort of randomly, agood friend of mine who
(05:42):
practiced a completely differentarea of law was going in,
creating his own newpartnership, and asked me to
join him.
And so it was a complete segue.
What he did and what I did forthe last 20 plus years of my
career is it was reallygratifying.
What we did is we suedinsurance companies when they
did not pay people'shealth-related insurance
benefits.
So health insurance, lifeinsurance, disability insurance,
(06:06):
and long-term care insurance.
Bob (06:08):
Housing and their house insurance, right?
We're seeing a lot of that.
Alan Kassan (06:13):
We got some, but we mostly did health related.
And people, and I really likedthe the life insurance because
it was the most interesting.
And people always say, Why isthere litigation over life
insurance?
Somebody dies and then they getpaid.
My husband dies, I want to Iwant to.
But it's crazy.
Insurance companies lovecollecting premiums and they
hate paying claims.
So they find loopholes in thosecontracts, they find reasons,
(06:36):
exclusions, whatever they canthey can hang a hat on, they'll
find a reason not to paybenefits, and we we make them
pay.
Okay.
Yeah.
So that was great.
And and and then a couple yearsago, I decided it was time to
segue into not working, or atleast not working as much.
I still do a little bit withone of my ex-partners, but most
(06:56):
of the time I'm out here doingthings I enjoy and call it
semi-retir.
Bob (07:01):
Alan is one of the best family men I know, so you gotta
tell us about your family,right?
I know you got a lot of kids, alot of grandkids.
Alan Kassan (07:08):
Yeah, so I um I raised four sons, and I now have
three amazing daughters-in-law,and hopefully soon we'll have a
fourth.
And those three that aremarried have produced six
grandchildren, four girls andtwo little boys from ages seven
to two almost.
And another one on the way, soseven pretty soon.
(07:30):
And I'm hoping my third songets married and has some more
kids.
So I'm looking at nine, tengrandkids.
Bob (07:36):
Oh my god, yeah, I've got four, and I think that's a lot.
Now, our sons, I always they'reall J names.
My oldest son, Jason.
Jason, okay, I was gonna sayJared, and I always get them
mixed up, so sorry about that.
But they were in the Sigma Kaihouse together at UCSP for
pre-right.
Jason was a little older.
Before they got kicked, thatwas the last pledge bus, and
they got kicked off.
They got kicked off, right?
Right.
Oh my god.
Yeah.
(07:56):
Okay, that's fantastic.
Well, okay, take us back tothat moment where you decided,
hey, it's time for me to stepaway from working and step into
retirement.
You know, how did you startthat chapter?
What was involved?
Tell us about that.
Alan Kassan (08:10):
You know, it's obviously something you start
thinking about when you get intoyour 60s.
And and I think what thecatalyst for me was I I lost my
parents and my mother-in-law thelast couple years.
And uh I've even lost a couplereally good friends, some a
little older, some a littleyounger than me.
And it seemed like mortalitywas kind of slapping me in the
(08:33):
face.
The the real catalyst though, Ithink was my mom took ill in
early 2024, and she washospitalized, and we weren't
sure she was gonna make it, andsadly she didn't.
And I just kind of said tomyself at that point, you know,
it's time.
It's time to start putting morelife in my ears, and and made
(08:56):
the decision to step away fromwork.
Bob (08:58):
You know, those tragic moments in one's life, if
there's a silver lining, it'sthe wake-up call.
Yeah, right?
Yeah.
That reminds us that life isshort.
It could happen.
Alan Kassan (09:09):
That's exactly right.
I you know, you don't know howmany more years you have.
Right.
So I just want to cram as muchactivity and enjoyment and and
fun in the years I have and uhdo what I love doing.
And I'm I I'm a really curiousguy.
I have lots of hobbies.
Obviously, big family, I Iwhich is number one, I like to
spend a lot of time with them.
So no no loss for things to do.
(09:30):
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah.
I mean, what the one of thefunniest things is people uh
when I started talking aboutretiring, people say, What are
you gonna do?
What do you do?
Bob (09:40):
I get that all I still get that all my time.
Alan Kassan (09:41):
My response to every single one of them, you
it's not what am I gonna do,it's what am I gonna do first?
You know, there's so manythings I wanted to do.
So I'm having a lot of fun.
Bob (09:49):
I'm busier now in retirement than I ever was even
when I was working.
Yeah.
Okay, so this is really fun.
And you dropped by, I got thisrandom call from you on a
Saturday morning, I think, andyou dropped by my house in Del
Mar.
What was that, a couple monthsago?
Three months ago?
Yeah, a couple months ago,yeah.
And it was like we had nevermissed a beat.
Yeah.
If I hadn't seen you.
Isn't that crazy?
Alan Kassan (10:09):
I love I love that there's a bond that's created,
and you can step right back intothat moment.
Yeah.
I mean, we after college, wedid spend a little bit of time
together.
Our families, we we went toyour place in Wilson with kids.
And you were in San Diego, youwere in San Diego together.
And we were in San Diegotogether for a while.
So we we but then you know,things happen, life happens, and
we didn't see each other for along time.
Yeah.
And every time one of my sonslives in San Diego now, and
(10:30):
every time I went down there,and my brother has now moved
down there, I Bobby's down heresomewhere.
I gotta find him.
And I found myself at DogBeach, I knew you were close,
and boom.
Boom.
Bob (10:39):
That was so fun, and it was great to catch up.
And it was like, yeah, like youknow, we just saw each other
the day before.
But one of the things we talkedabout, and you've touched on
this a little bit, is that youknow, retirement's not just an
ending, it's actually kind of abeginning in a lot of ways.
Oh, for sure.
Right?
And so, what did the transitionfeel like for you?
Like when you made thatdecision, it sounded like you
sound like you hit the groundrunning in retirement, which I
(11:01):
absolutely love.
But what were those first fewmonths like?
Alan Kassan (11:04):
Yeah, it it was pretty easy for me because I I
had a list of things I wanted todo.
Bob (11:09):
I love it, yeah.
I had a list.
Alan Kassan (11:10):
Or like I mean, I there's so many things I love
doing.
I, you know, I I I like flyfishing, I love mountain bike
riding, I I I bought atelescope, so I'm getting into
astronomy with my grandkids.
I want them to enjoy nature, soI figured a good way to do that
might be to rock collect.
And I bought a rock polisher,so I'm now they find rocks and
we're gonna make you jewelry,you're gonna give you jewelry.
So we find rocks and we makethem really shiny, and they go,
(11:33):
wow, that turned into somethingreally cool.
So, and and eventually I hopeto get them looking up in the
sky.
Yeah, traveling, you know, inthe US, I like traveling abroad
if I had the opportunity to dothat.
There's other things I can'teven think of right now.
So, yeah, there was a lot ofthings, but in terms of the
transition, I think the if therewas a hard part, it was
(11:55):
stepping away from somethingthat I really loved, yeah, that
was really gratifying.
The the practice of law that Iwas involved in was something
where you there was a true senseof helping people.
I mean, it was in in many caseswe were changing people's lives
because they depended on theselife insurance benefits or these
disability benefits, andwithout them, life would be
(12:16):
impossible in some cases.
So it was just reallyfulfilling, gratifying practice.
And and stepping away fromthat, I kind of missed that.
And I think I miss I lovewriting and researching, and I I
miss that a little bit,although I still do that.
And with the advent of AI, I'mhaving a lot of fun just playing
with it.
That's awesome.
And and researching a lot ofthings involved with my
photography, which we're gonnaget into in a few minutes.
(12:37):
So so I there was a transition,moving away from those things
into the you know, finding abeat, you know, uh a cadence
with my the activities that Iwanted to get more involved
with.
Uh, but I'm there.
And uh and I think I'm doing itand I'm getting better at it.
Bob (12:55):
Yeah, you know, our careers are part of our identity and
our structure and our routine.
And when you lose thatovernight, it becomes this you
know, almost like a loss ofwell, you know, that's that's
true.
Alan Kassan (13:07):
I think a lot of people have a really hard time
with that because that is whoyou are.
That's how people know you.
People knew me as a lawyer,they don't think of me as a
photographer, is what I kind ofcall myself now.
Bob (13:17):
Yeah.
Alan Kassan (13:18):
And and and being a lawyer, you know, that's a
pretty important thing to somepeople.
So, but I did it long enough,you know, 40 plus years, and
it's like I don't need thatanymore.
I want to just, like I saidbefore, live and enjoy my family
and enjoy the outdoors and hookup with old, connect with
reconnect with old friends.
That's what it's all about.
And that's also reallyfulfilling.
(13:38):
Yeah, for sure.
Bob (13:39):
Okay, so in that transition, what role did your
family, grandkids, the outdoors?
I know you you and I share thislove for the Sierra Nevada.
You have a lot of interest, andwhat I guess did those things
and places that call to yourheart, you know, what did they
play in making your decision?
To retire?
Yeah.
Alan Kassan (14:00):
Well, they made the whole difference.
It was it was my desire.
First and foremost, my desirewas to spend more time with my
kids and their families, mygrandkids, and their their
wives, because uh, you know,we're all working and and we all
have schedules, and so it wasit was kind of hard.
It's at the holidays and eventsand birthdays and things.
And we we do a pretty good jobgetting together.
Bob (14:22):
Oh, you guys are amazing.
I mean, you're like Ubergrandparents too.
Alan Kassan (14:25):
Yeah, and so so I wanted to spend more time with
the grandkids.
So I I just want I want to makean impression on their lives,
and and mainly when I say that,make an impression, I I want
them to appreciate and be ableto enjoy the things that I've
come to learn are worthappreciating and enjoying, like
being in places like this.
(14:45):
And I I've read, you know, I'vebeen reading a lot about about
artistic expression and as itrelates to photography, and how
less and less young people insociety are spending time
outdoors.
They're they're more urban andthey're less inclined to venture
out.
I mean it's not true for all.
(15:05):
There's a lot of YouTubers andInstagrammers that are out there
doing crazy things, but for themost part part of it's on from
the bedroom, right?
For kids for teenagers.
Yeah, yeah.
For the most part, kids aren'tgetting out there, and and I
want my grandkids to be able touh enjoy and appreciate the
things that I've been able toenjoy a good part of my life.
So that was important.
And and then from there, thenext big one was my photography.
(15:28):
I I've I've been a photographersince high school, which is
where I learned aboutphotography, fell in love with
it.
But after high school wascollege, and after college was
work, and after college and workwere family and kids, so I kind
of had to step away from thephotography a little bit, always
in the background, always doinga little bit, but not to the to
(15:48):
the extent and as as seriouslyas I I've now been able to do.
And so back when the kids gotolder, uh around 2010, 11, 12,
sometime around there, I starteddoing it more seriously.
And and now, and I okay, Istarted doing it more seriously,
but not as seriously as Ireally wanted to do it.
Uh not traveling as as much andexploring as much and and being
(16:13):
off grid as much.
So I was really looking forwardto that, and that that helped.
That's incredible.
Bob (16:19):
You know, I I talk about this a lot on the show, and just
to people that I meet all thetime, and that's that, you know,
during my working life, I lostlittle pieces of myself along my
journey, along my trail.
Yeah, you know, not because Iwanted to, but because it just
kind of happened.
We're working our butts off,we're you know, supporting a
family, we're putting kidsthrough college, whatever the
(16:39):
case may be, trying to hold ourcompanies together.
And for like some of thesethings like photography for you
and other things for me, theyjust sort of get set aside for a
while.
So rediscovering those inretirement, I think, is one of
the biggest joys that I've foundsince making the decision.
Alan Kassan (16:53):
No, I agree wholeheartedly.
Bob (16:54):
Okay, so I have to ask now, because I know you're here, you
just you just photographed inYosemite, and you seem to have a
passion mainly forphotographing nature.
Am I am I right about that?
Alan Kassan (17:05):
Yeah, it the outdoors.
Bob (17:07):
Okay.
Yeah.
All right, because I see someof your pictures and they're
incredible.
We're gonna talk about whereyou can find them in a little
bit here.
But, you know, Sierra Sky,stars, you know, and I just
think to myself, now that's adream.
And then I find out you've gota sprinter van, you know, and
you jump in your van and youtake off and you pull off on
these random roads and campovernight and take a shot, you
know, the Milky Way in themiddle of the night when there's
(17:28):
no, I mean, it's justincredible stuff.
So look, how did you design itand your sprinter van for
chasing your passion forphotography?
Is there anything special aboutthe van?
What you know, tell us tell uswhat's inside your van.
Well, okay.
I've never seen inside.
Okay, well, it's that's that'sgonna change the knife, by the
way.
Yeah, yeah.
Alan Kassan (17:45):
Okay, well, it's it's uh it's it's a relatively
short story.
I I you know, I mentioned thatI picked up photography 10, 15
years ago, and when I had theopportunity to venture off, take
time off, I would come up toYosemite, go out to Death
Valley, sometimes out to Utah,and sometimes I found myself
sleeping in the car, which wasnot very comfortable.
(18:07):
So maybe 18, 19, 20, 20,somewhere around there, I
started thinking, I'm gonna getone of these vans one of these
days.
So I started thinking about itand researching it.
My wife would say I wasobsessed, she'd be right.
And uh and when I when Istopped working, I can't
remember if it was right beforeor right after I stopped
(18:27):
working, I started discussingbuilding a van with custom van
builders.
And uh I quickly learned thatthere are a million things you
can do.
Bob (18:37):
Oh yeah, a million options, and it can get really pricey.
Alan Kassan (18:40):
Well, it's pricey no matter what you do.
True, true.
No matter what you do.
So so I I it the the dealbreaker for me wasn't s as much
the pricing, but was the delay.
It's good.
I learned because of the year,right?
Six to twelve months.
Yeah.
And so then I started lookingto see if I could find a van
from the pre-built, so there'ssome pre-built companies, and
(19:04):
see if I could find a van thatmet most of the criteria that I
had set.
And and you don't really evenknow what your criteria are
because you've never done itbefore.
Yeah.
So you're not sure that youeven if you build a van to your
specs at that moment, you mightspend a month in the van and go,
oh crap, I didn't think ofthis, I didn't do that.
Yeah, kind of your first house.
So I so I for that reason andand and for the main reason that
(19:27):
I could pick the van up thenext day if I found one that I I
liked, I decided to look at thepre-books.
Then I was looking all over thecountry really for a van that
fit the specifications that Ineeded.
I I I narrowed down the companythat I wanted pretty much, and
then I found one fairly close tohome, Thousand Oaks, and talked
to the guy, and it wasavailable, and I went and I
(19:49):
picked it up.
So cool.
I'm so jealous.
I mean, I'm gonna get one oneof these.
So, what's on the inside?
You see, those really quickly.
It's okay, it's uh it's goteverything I need to be off grid
for a good period of time.
I've I have There's a littlemini shower in there.
There's a microwave.
There's a beautiful bed, stove,or stove top, uh, industrial
stuff.
It is kind of a camper van.
There's a refrigerator.
Camper van.
There's a there's a cassettetoilet.
(20:10):
I mean, you got everything youneed.
And the the the best thingabout it is I have, I think it's
over eight kilowatts of lithiumbattery power and uh a
high-speed alternator thatcharges the battery.
So that that battery pack willkeep the air conditioning, the
heating, the stove, it'll keepit all going for three or four
(20:32):
or five days off-grid.
And if I need to recharge, Ijust idle the motor for an hour
and it's back up.
So it it I can be off-grid fora good time.
Bob (20:39):
Okay, I'm sold.
I want to go on one of yourtrips sometime soon.
By the way, we were kind ofjoking when I saw Alan today.
He goes, Well, you're gonnatalk about my van.
Just I just want to make clearthat I don't live out of my van.
So he doesn't live in a vandown by the river.
Just gonna make that clear.
So when you're out on the roadthen, and you're gonna pick a
place, do you just like randomlydecide this is the place, or do
(21:03):
you have a plan in mind?
I mean, do you like let's getget me into that mindset a
little bit?
Alan Kassan (21:07):
Well, you that's actually a really good question.
It's funny because so lastweek, I spent last week in
Yosemite with two friends that Ireconnected with, from one from
elementary school, one frommiddle school, both
photographers, and we spent theweek in Yosemite, and we kind of
had a pretty good menu ofplaces we wanted to visit,
things we wanted to see.
(21:27):
So what happens is you you youknow where you're going, but on
the way, you find things thatyou're interested in.
Bob (21:35):
The creative mind takes over.
Alan Kassan (21:37):
Yeah, and you're so so you know it's it's a
10-minute walk, but you don'tget there for an hour because
you stop to take a picture ofdifferent things along the way.
So, yeah, that's what happenedin Yosemite.
They had to take off and gohome, and then I slowly made my
way from Yosemite over the TyogaPass to the east side here at
Mammoth.
And in that instance, I reallydidn't have a specific location.
(22:00):
I probably stopped 20 times onthe on the 395 where I passed a
pond or a creek or trees orsomething that looked
interesting, and spent 10, 15minutes, a half an hour, maybe
an hour, just taking pictures,fortuitously found something
that was interesting.
Like a perfect example isthere's a there's a little pond
(22:21):
near a place called May Lake.
I was gonna go to May Lake andand sleep up there, although
it's probably not legal, and butthe road was closed, so I
couldn't I couldn't do that.
But I found a place to stay,and then the next morning I got
up and I walked around May Pond,and even though there was no
snow on the road, it snowed acouple days earlier.
(22:43):
I walked around the pond and Ifound some ice on the edge of
the pond, and I took thispicture, which I gave it the
name, Pond's Edge, I think iswhat I called it.
And it's really cool.
You have the water, you havesome ice, and you have some some
color of from the from the Iguess it's the grass in the in
the pond.
It's just a really neatpicture.
It's a simple picture that Inever would have come upon had I
(23:04):
not stopped.
Bob (23:05):
You know what I love about it too is you're out there, you
know, both, you know, soul,mind, right?
Yeah, and body.
You're you're getting both, andthe two are so intertwined.
Alan Kassan (23:13):
It's it's you know that that's a big thing now, um
mindfulness.
And and I think thatmindfulness, I I don't know a
lot about mindfulness, but Ithink I I understand that it's
it's trying to really calm yourmind and focus on simple things.
And photography does thatbecause I find it's a form of
(23:33):
meditation for me.
I said that you find a thingand you just look at it from
every angle and you examine it,and you and you you take
pictures and look at them, andit's just it's just a neat,
peaceful, calming enterprise.
And it's it's it's exhilaratingat the same time because when
you take the picture and youlook at it on your computer and
it looks really good, it'sexciting.
(23:54):
Wow, look what I created out ofthis little this little ice
creation on the side of a pond.
So yeah.
Bob (24:00):
Well, it's funny because I think you remember this.
I was a beekeeper for a while.
Oh, yeah.
That was like my Zen space.
I'd go out in the backyard andI'd pull out my girls, you know,
they're all right.
You know, and it's just like,oh my god, it was so meditative
and interesting.
And that just got it got to betoo hard.
By the way, do you have any ofthe honey left at once?
You know, Bobby's bees, right?
That's pretty funny.
Okay, so real quickly, anysecret spots, any favorite
(24:21):
camping spots along the waywhere you like to go?
Or I guess, yeah, I guessyou're camping.
Alan Kassan (24:25):
Well, okay, so yeah, that's an interesting
question because camping is adifferent enterprise.
When you go to camp, uh, youknow, I've camped with my kids
and my brothers.
You want to find a campgroundthat's fun to hang out.
You can cook, you can build afire and do things.
Can it just be the side of theroad or something?
Well, well, you can't, yeah,but I'm talking about camping.
Camping, yeah, camp.
I'm not really camping.
(24:46):
I'm I'm finding a place tosleep because I don't spend any
time where I camp.
I I It's your crash pad.
It's a crash pad.
I find a place where I can parkthe van because there's some
place I want to hike to, whetherit's a mile or 10 miles away.
The van's just there, and I cancome back, I can sleep, I can
eat, I can cook, I can bathroom,I can do whatever I need.
It's a crash pad.
So it's not only camping, it'sit's just my home base for that
(25:09):
moment wherever I am.
Right.
Bob (25:10):
That's so that's so amazing.
Alan Kassan (25:11):
But I will say, but I will say so favorite places.
So quick story.
Oh, yeah, we've that's what'sthe question.
Yeah, I might have mentionedthis to you.
So I went up to the ancientBristlecombe Pine Forest.
Have you been there?
I love it there, yes, yes.
So I'd been to the main grove.
I forget the name of the maingrove, but I wanted to go to, I
think it's called the PatriarchGrove, which is about 25 miles.
(25:32):
Methusa, right?
Methusa is in the main grove.
Bob (25:35):
Okay.
Alan Kassan (25:35):
But the I now I can't remember the name.
There's another tree.
Yeah.
Or there was.
But it's about 25 miles on adirt, uh, a rocky dirt road.
I'd never been there.
So I figured I got my van, I'mgonna go up there and you know,
whatever.
So I take the van and I first Ido the four-mile trail in the
lower grove, and then I drive upand at like 23 miles, 23 miles,
(25:59):
and a snowbank just covered theroad, and there's no way for me
to get around it.
I get out of the van, I lookaround, I'm surrounded by snow
and trees and mountains, and Ican see the Sierras.
I'm going, this is Nirvanaright here.
I don't have to go anymore.
Yeah, I love it.
I was so excited, so I and I Ijust I'll sleep right here on
(26:20):
the road because you knowthere's nowhere to go.
I was so excited, I videotapedit, I I and I have internet in
my van, so I I videotape it andor call my kids and and and
video showed them the videowhere I was.
It was awesome.
Bob (26:32):
Oh man, that's so great.
So I'm gonna skip around here alittle bit.
I want to talk about your art,okay?
So let's let's get into that.
Okay, get off the road, out ofthe van a little bit, and get
into your art.
And I guess for our listenerswho dream of doing what you do,
or maybe it could be you knowpicking up painting.
We we hear a lot about peoplethat do that.
It could be knitting.
I, you know, I whatever.
(26:53):
For me, it's living in theoutdoors too.
It could be riding.
What advice would you giveabout taking that leap and just
you know kicking it into gearand starting to follow a
passion?
Alan Kassan (27:03):
Yeah, okay.
It's funny you asked thatbecause I'm reading a book right
now called Your Brain on Art.
And there's an interestingstudy.
I have a lot left to read, butthere's an interesting study in
the book that said somethinglike, they've determined, pretty
conclusively, because withmodern science they can examine
your brain while you're doingthings, that people engaging in
(27:27):
any kind of an artfulenterprise, whether it's drawing
at any skill level, observingart, looking at beautiful
photographs or beautifulpictures or sculpture, spending
20 minutes doing that canactually improve brain function
and improve your mood and relaxyou and make you happier.
So art is a form of therapy inthat sense, and a form of calm
(27:49):
and and uh you know calminducement.
So photography obviously isrelated to art, but but a lot of
people are intimidated becausethey don't they they don't feel
like they have an artistic side,they can't draw, they can't
paint, they don't know how totake pictures.
But you don't even have to doit at a particular skill level.
(28:10):
You can do it at any level.
So I think you said what's theadvice, and the advice is just
do it.
You know, grab your iPhone oryour whatever smartphone you
have is so capable of takingreally good pictures.
I also blogged about that, thedifference between iPhone
photography and cameraphotography, but it's so
capable, it can make anybodylook like an amazing
(28:31):
photographer, and it's fun andit's relaxing, and it's
calm-inducing, and it'sgratifying.
You take, I know uh probablypeople watching this video will
have had this experience ofhaving taken a picture and
looked at it and go, oh, nobodyhas, even kids, you know.
Oh my god, this is a greatpicture.
It's it makes you feel reallygood.
It's it's exhilarating and anduh it gives you a little bit of
(28:54):
self-confidence and it makes youfeel good about yourself and
about where you were or what youdo what you've done.
So you can you can exercisethat muscle by being more
intentional about it.
Usually it's random, you'reyou're out with friends or
you're going someplace and youjust take a picture.
But I would say as a form ofadvice, be more intentional.
Think of something that youwant to try to take a picture of
(29:15):
or a place you want to go,yeah, and and try to take a
picture of it in a way thatmaybe you haven't seen.
I another thing I'm I'm I'm Ioften say about my philosophy
with this is I like to go placeswhere people have been, but see
things that people haven't seenat those places.
I love that.
That's awesome.
So I'm always looking forsomething that people might not
(29:37):
have noticed or might not haveseen, and that's what I'm aiming
to take pictures of.
Bob (29:40):
That's so cool.
I love that.
Okay, your favorite shots.
I know we're laughing aboutthis one too, because it's like
naming your favorite child.
Right?
Yeah, but come on, spill thebeans here.
I want to hear your favoritephotographs, maybe the story
behind it, where you were, andwhat it felt like in that
moment.
You took it, and then when yousaw the results later.
Okay, well, and since I havefour children, I'm gonna give
(30:03):
you four pictures.
One of the pictures is I wassaying Joshua Tree.
Uh no, I'm kidding, the Jthing.
No, I'm kidding.
Alan Kassan (30:10):
Uh one of the pictures was in a place called
the Palouse in the southeastpart of Washington State, and I
took it several years, manyyears ago.
It was a rainy, wet, stormyday, and I was with a couple
other people, and we came uponthis old abandoned farmhouse,
and the rain stopped, and it waskind of cloudy with a little
bit of broken sun shiningthrough, but still a little bit
(30:32):
of drizzle in the air.
And I had my my uh camera andmy wide-angled lens, and I
positioned the camera in justthe right position.
I did never expect thephotograph to come out as great
as it did, but it is it's anit's it's I call it the spooky
police.
It's this abandoned farmhousein the stormy weather with this
green grass growing, it's likelike children of the corn or the
(30:54):
cornfield, whatever you like.
It's a cool picture.
I'll send it to you, and youcan put it online.
Yeah, I want to I want to Iwant to get some of your photos
for the podcast.
Another one that that is one ofmy favorites is on the coast of
Big Sur.
Big Sur is one of my happyspots.
Oh my god, it's so it'samazing.
Yeah, I love it there.
I've been there probably threetimes this year already, and and
it's a it's a it's a aphotograph looking down the
(31:16):
coast from a particular lookoutspot, and you see the the
coastline kind of jutting out,and there's a a little bit of
fog or haze in there, and it'sit was in the afternoon, so it's
sort of a blue hour.
It's a really it's a reallycool shot.
I'll send you that one also.
All right.
And then the other two thatcome to mind are two very recent
ones.
(31:36):
I guess I think last month Iwas at Mono Lake, and I decided
I wanted to take a picture.
There's a technique called startrails, and what you do is you
you take either a single longexposure or a number of short
exposures and sandwich themtogether while the earth is
turning.
(31:56):
And you have a device thatrotates with the earth?
No, no, if it if I had thedevice that rotates, you would
see just the sky.
The sky would be normal.
But in this case, what happensis the camera is fixed, it's uh
on a tripod, and and the shutteris is watching as the earth
turns.
Oh, right.
As the earth spins.
And so you're you're you'reyou're aimed toward the north
(32:18):
star, and the earth is rotatingon its axis, and so the stars
create these arcs, these circlesaround the north the north
star.
You'll see it, it's prettycool.
And I might have seen it.
You might have seen it.
And the and and you have thethe tufas of mono lake in the in
the background, or I guess theforeground really, because the
sky, it's it's in a it's anight, I mean it's dark, but I
(32:39):
started in the right aftersunset to get a little bit of
horizon.
So it's a great picture.
And the last one is a picture Ijust took the other morning in
Yosemite.
We were on our way to I thinktake a picture of the Three
Brothers, which is a mountainformation in Yosemite Valley.
And on the way, uh the MercedRiver flows through Yosemite
(32:59):
Valley.
We found a really calm spot inthe river, and I looked across
the river and I just saw I'malways looking for shapes and
and lines and symmetry,symmetry, and asymmetry, and
whatever contrast and color.
So I look across and there'sthis perfect reflection of these
colorful trees and and bushesin the river, and the river's
(33:24):
pretty calm.
So I took a bunch of picturesand I I processed one the other
night, and I it was fantastic.
And I I put it on my Instagram.
Can't wait to see it.
I'll send you that one too.
Yeah, so those four.
Bob (33:36):
Was that three or four?
Was that three, four?
I think that was four.
Okay, cool.
All right.
Alan Kassan (33:40):
That was four.
Bob (33:40):
Hey, listen, I just love talking to you, man.
I mean, I I love you so much,and you're just such a good
friend.
But I, you know, in theinterest of time, we've got to
kind of wrap it up.
Alan Kassan (33:47):
Yeah, yeah.
I guess I told you, I told youI could talk about this.
I know.
Bob (33:50):
We're freezing our ass off here, and it's gonna the sun's
gonna go down a bit.
So I would end with somethingfun if you're down for a
comment, kind of like a gamewe're gonna play.
It's called Speed Ground.
Okay, speed ground.
Okay, yeah, I'm down.
Okay, all right.
Sunrise or sunset?
Alan Kassan (34:03):
Also, a hard question.
I'm gonna go sunset forpictures, sunrise for call.
Bob (34:10):
Sunset for me, but yeah, okay.
Favorite stretch of the Highway395.
Alan Kassan (34:14):
Oh god, the other hard question.
That's along the EasternSierra, by the way.
Yeah, I'm gonna say it dependson the on the season and the
weather and what's happening,but I'm gonna say from Bishop to
Mammoth or from Lee Viney toBridgeport.
Bob (34:26):
Right on.
Desert, coastline, or Alpi.
Oh, impossible.
All the above.
Okay, all right.
I just coffee spot in Mammoth.
I'm a tea guy.
Don't drink coffee.
Oh my god.
Yeah, ruined my high.
Okay, all right.
One piece of camera gear thatyou cancel without.
Alan Kassan (34:49):
Okay, well, my cameras, of course, but I'd
probably say my 14mm right anglelens, my favorite lens.
Awesome.
It gives me a really goodpanorama or or picture of the
landscape.
Bob (35:03):
Yeah, mine's my telescopic, but hey, you know, it teaches
that.
Favorite place to camp when youwant total solitude.
Alan Kassan (35:10):
Any place that's off a road, quiet, it has a view
even better, and I like it whenit's flat.
Nice, yeah.
No mountains.
Well, you like mountains, butyeah, I get it.
Yeah, yeah, in the mountains,but the site's flat, so I can
have a comfortable night'ssleep.
Your dream photo that you stillwant to capture.
That's pretty easy, actually.
There's a place called the Wavein northern Utah, uh, northern
(35:34):
Arizona, right on the border ofuh southern Utah.
And it's this amazing formationof earth, of red and or red and
and and sandstone earth thatthat looks like it was melted
and bent like taffy.
You you it's all over theinternet.
And it's beautiful, but it'simpossible to get there because
(35:56):
they issue permits and peoplefrom all over the world want to
go there to take pictures.
And it's really I've triedendlessly to get a permit.
I can't get a permit.
Bob (36:06):
Oh man.
But one day I'll go.
One day, okay.
Well, that might be the one Icome along with.
Yeah.
Alan, it's so inspiring to hearyour story, and you just didn't
step away, you stepped intosomething, which is clearly a
passion.
And I I love that, you know,just how excited you get when
you start telling these stories.
It's so fun to listen to, andit truly fills your soul.
(36:26):
And, you know, you remind usthat retirement's an open
canvas.
There's a lot of art toexplore, whatever your passion
is, get out there and find it.
Never too late to followcuriosity.
I mean, you're one of the mostcurious people I've ever met,
and I just love that about you.
And take that wherever itleads.
It could be a dirt road in thetears, right?
You pull off and you find yourjoy.
But for our listeners, here'swhat I'm taking away today.
(36:48):
Retire to something tangibleand exciting.
Have a plan when you go in.
Don't just let it happen toyou, but you make it happen.
Create a life that lets youwake up where the trail begins.
Purpose often hides behindthings that make us feel the
most alive, right?
So listen, if you love thisconversation, check out Alan's
photography at his website andInstagram.
(37:09):
Why don't you tell us?
Alan Kassan (37:10):
Oh, okay.
My my my website is a KLightplay,
L-I-G-H-T-P-L-A-Y.com, a KLightplay.
And my Instagram is the same,just AK Lightplay.
Wonderful.
Bob (37:21):
All right, all right, people.
Alan Kassan (37:23):
Thanks for having me, buddy.
Yeah, for sure.
Bob (37:24):
Thanks for tuning in, mindsetters.
Until next time, keep your eyeson the horizon, your heart in
the present, and your spiritroaming.
And remember when soul meetsbody.
Thank you very much.
What a great episode.
Look how pretty it is here.
That was awesome today.
A quick plug to please pay itforward by sharing this episode
with a friend.
(37:44):
And if you like what you heard,please subscribe to get access
to all of our future episodes.
And always remember that inretirement, soul meets body.
I walked around the pond and I found some ice on
the edge of the pond, and I tookthis picture, which I gave it
the name, Pond's Edge, I thinkis what I called it.
And it's really cool.
You have the water, you havesome ice, and you have some
color of some the I guess it'sthe grass in the in the pond.
It's just a really neatpicture.
It's a simple picture that Inever would have come upon.
Bob (00:28):
Welcome to the Retired Mindset Podcast, where soul
meets body.
Hosted by me, Bob Preston.
Embrace the retirement journeyof transformative insights,
inspiring conversations, withnew episodes produced weekly.
This episode of the RetiredMindset is brought to you by
(00:49):
Find the Good, a cool lifestyleclothing brand that celebrates
exactly what retirement is allabout.
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I love this brand so muchbecause it perfectly matches
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Slowing down, noticing beautyaround you.
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your journey, and wear themessage proudly for FindTheGo.
Back to our episode.
Hi, Mindsetters, Bobby P herewith a new full episode of The
Retired Mindset.
I'm here at beautiful TwinLakes near Mammoth, California.
Today's episode is such aspecial one because it's the
perfect example of what happenswhen someone steps into
(02:18):
retirement with intention and awhole lot of heart.
My long-term friend Alan Castonspent decades as a respected
attorney in Los Angeles, guidingclients through some of life's
biggest challenges by assistingthem in collecting insurance
funds that they were due to themfrom their policies to move
forward when the unthinkabletragedies and things happened in
(02:42):
their lives.
But when it came time for hisnext chapter in retirement, he
made a very bold choice.
He traded litigation forspending more time with his
amazing family, canvassingnature through his camera lens
in the Sierra Nevada, touringaround, looking for interesting
scenery to shoot in his sprintervan, and truly reinventing
(03:06):
himself fully into somethingthat's always lit him up: nature
photography.
In retirement for Alan, thatpassion has become his purpose.
His images from Yosemite, BigSur, The Desert, the Eastern
Sierra, and beyond truly speakfor themselves.
You can see his work ataKLightplay.com.
That's the letters AK followedby lightplay.com.
(03:30):
I'll put that in my episodenotes.
So today on the RetiredMindset, we dive into how Alan
reinvented his life throughcreativity, photography,
adventure, and following thelight, literally.
This episode is called Roamingwith Purpose, featuring my good
friend, photographer AlanCassen.
I think you're going to enjoyit.
So have a listen.
(03:51):
Alan, welcome to the RetiredMindset.
Hey Bob, thanks for watching.
How are you doing?
Yep, but we are.
We just hiked about a mile toget up here.
Forgive us if we're a littleout of breath.
What's the name of the lake?
McLeod Lake.
In Mammoth, California.
Spectacular.
The ski mountains right here.
We got, you know, thisbeautiful mountain structure
behind us, still some snow outthere.
Let's not go in the water,though.
It'll be freezing.
Alan Kassan (04:11):
Yeah, a little too cold.
So it's probably 50, 45 degreesright now.
I know.
We're kind of freezing here.
We're a little out of breath.
Bob (04:17):
So anyway, hey, you and I have known each other for gosh,
probably 50 years, I think.
Yeah, just about pushing 50.
And I know you really wellbefore our listeners.
I'm hoping that you'llintroduce yourself, tell us a
little bit about yourbackground, your career, your
family, the things you're doingin retirement.
Just bring us up to speed.
You want to roll with that?
How much time do you have?
Alan Kassan (04:36):
Love it.
Yeah, okay.
I'll I'll do as best I can asquickly as I can.
So Bobby and I went to UC SantaBarbara together.
We were both experimentalpsychology majors, took a couple
classes together, one inparticular, seated on our
memory, but we won't go intothat.
You can tell the story.
No, you can tell the storylater.
Bob (04:52):
Oh no, we were we had a rat.
We had a rat we were given foran experiment and it died.
And we got in a lot of trouble,almost fucked the class, but
the teacher didn't.
Alan Kassan (05:00):
Bobby blamed it on me.
I blamed my hands.
Anyway, long story.
Reasonable doubt.
Yeah.
So anyway, after after college,uh I wasn't sure that a career
in psychology was really what Iwant to do.
So I went to law school in SanDiego.
I practiced law in San Diegofor a little while with a large
firm, mostly businesslitigation.
(05:20):
And then I moved up to LosAngeles where my family, my
brothers, moved, where I grewup, cousins in the valley.
Yes, I've met Valley.
And uh practiced law there.
Uh, continued doing businessand real estate law for another,
I don't know, 15 years.
And then, sort of randomly, agood friend of mine who
(05:42):
practiced a completely differentarea of law was going in,
creating his own newpartnership, and asked me to
join him.
And so it was a complete segue.
What he did and what I did forthe last 20 plus years of my
career is it was reallygratifying.
What we did is we suedinsurance companies when they
did not pay people'shealth-related insurance
benefits.
So health insurance, lifeinsurance, disability insurance,
(06:06):
and long-term care insurance.
Bob (06:08):
Housing and their house insurance, right?
We're seeing a lot of that.
Alan Kassan (06:13):
We got some, but we mostly did health related.
And people, and I really likedthe the life insurance because
it was the most interesting.
And people always say, Why isthere litigation over life
insurance?
Somebody dies and then they getpaid.
My husband dies, I want to Iwant to.
But it's crazy.
Insurance companies lovecollecting premiums and they
hate paying claims.
So they find loopholes in thosecontracts, they find reasons,
(06:36):
exclusions, whatever they canthey can hang a hat on, they'll
find a reason not to paybenefits, and we we make them
pay.
Okay.
Yeah.
So that was great.
And and and then a couple yearsago, I decided it was time to
segue into not working, or atleast not working as much.
I still do a little bit withone of my ex-partners, but most
(06:56):
of the time I'm out here doingthings I enjoy and call it
semi-retir.
Bob (07:01):
Alan is one of the best family men I know, so you gotta
tell us about your family,right?
I know you got a lot of kids, alot of grandkids.
Alan Kassan (07:08):
Yeah, so I um I raised four sons, and I now have
three amazing daughters-in-law,and hopefully soon we'll have a
fourth.
And those three that aremarried have produced six
grandchildren, four girls andtwo little boys from ages seven
to two almost.
And another one on the way, soseven pretty soon.
(07:30):
And I'm hoping my third songets married and has some more
kids.
So I'm looking at nine, tengrandkids.
Bob (07:36):
Oh my god, yeah, I've got four, and I think that's a lot.
Now, our sons, I always they'reall J names.
My oldest son, Jason.
Jason, okay, I was gonna sayJared, and I always get them
mixed up, so sorry about that.
But they were in the Sigma Kaihouse together at UCSP for
pre-right.
Jason was a little older.
Before they got kicked, thatwas the last pledge bus, and
they got kicked off.
They got kicked off, right?
Right.
Oh my god.
Yeah.
(07:56):
Okay, that's fantastic.
Well, okay, take us back tothat moment where you decided,
hey, it's time for me to stepaway from working and step into
retirement.
You know, how did you startthat chapter?
What was involved?
Tell us about that.
Alan Kassan (08:10):
You know, it's obviously something you start
thinking about when you get intoyour 60s.
And and I think what thecatalyst for me was I I lost my
parents and my mother-in-law thelast couple years.
And uh I've even lost a couplereally good friends, some a
little older, some a littleyounger than me.
And it seemed like mortalitywas kind of slapping me in the
(08:33):
face.
The the real catalyst though, Ithink was my mom took ill in
early 2024, and she washospitalized, and we weren't
sure she was gonna make it, andsadly she didn't.
And I just kind of said tomyself at that point, you know,
it's time.
It's time to start putting morelife in my ears, and and made
(08:56):
the decision to step away fromwork.
Bob (08:58):
You know, those tragic moments in one's life, if
there's a silver lining, it'sthe wake-up call.
Yeah, right?
Yeah.
That reminds us that life isshort.
It could happen.
Alan Kassan (09:09):
That's exactly right.
I you know, you don't know howmany more years you have.
Right.
So I just want to cram as muchactivity and enjoyment and and
fun in the years I have and uhdo what I love doing.
And I'm I I'm a really curiousguy.
I have lots of hobbies.
Obviously, big family, I Iwhich is number one, I like to
spend a lot of time with them.
So no no loss for things to do.
(09:30):
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah.
I mean, what the one of thefunniest things is people uh
when I started talking aboutretiring, people say, What are
you gonna do?
What do you do?
Bob (09:40):
I get that all I still get that all my time.
Alan Kassan (09:41):
My response to every single one of them, you
it's not what am I gonna do,it's what am I gonna do first?
You know, there's so manythings I wanted to do.
So I'm having a lot of fun.
Bob (09:49):
I'm busier now in retirement than I ever was even
when I was working.
Yeah.
Okay, so this is really fun.
And you dropped by, I got thisrandom call from you on a
Saturday morning, I think, andyou dropped by my house in Del
Mar.
What was that, a couple monthsago?
Three months ago?
Yeah, a couple months ago,yeah.
And it was like we had nevermissed a beat.
Yeah.
If I hadn't seen you.
Isn't that crazy?
Alan Kassan (10:09):
I love I love that there's a bond that's created,
and you can step right back intothat moment.
Yeah.
I mean, we after college, wedid spend a little bit of time
together.
Our families, we we went toyour place in Wilson with kids.
And you were in San Diego, youwere in San Diego together.
And we were in San Diegotogether for a while.
So we we but then you know,things happen, life happens, and
we didn't see each other for along time.
Yeah.
And every time one of my sonslives in San Diego now, and
(10:30):
every time I went down there,and my brother has now moved
down there, I Bobby's down heresomewhere.
I gotta find him.
And I found myself at DogBeach, I knew you were close,
and boom.
Boom.
Bob (10:39):
That was so fun, and it was great to catch up.
And it was like, yeah, like youknow, we just saw each other
the day before.
But one of the things we talkedabout, and you've touched on
this a little bit, is that youknow, retirement's not just an
ending, it's actually kind of abeginning in a lot of ways.
Oh, for sure.
Right?
And so, what did the transitionfeel like for you?
Like when you made thatdecision, it sounded like you
sound like you hit the groundrunning in retirement, which I
(11:01):
absolutely love.
But what were those first fewmonths like?
Alan Kassan (11:04):
Yeah, it it was pretty easy for me because I I
had a list of things I wanted todo.
Bob (11:09):
I love it, yeah.
I had a list.
Alan Kassan (11:10):
Or like I mean, I there's so many things I love
doing.
I, you know, I I I like flyfishing, I love mountain bike
riding, I I I bought atelescope, so I'm getting into
astronomy with my grandkids.
I want them to enjoy nature, soI figured a good way to do that
might be to rock collect.
And I bought a rock polisher,so I'm now they find rocks and
we're gonna make you jewelry,you're gonna give you jewelry.
So we find rocks and we makethem really shiny, and they go,
(11:33):
wow, that turned into somethingreally cool.
So, and and eventually I hopeto get them looking up in the
sky.
Yeah, traveling, you know, inthe US, I like traveling abroad
if I had the opportunity to dothat.
There's other things I can'teven think of right now.
So, yeah, there was a lot ofthings, but in terms of the
transition, I think the if therewas a hard part, it was
(11:55):
stepping away from somethingthat I really loved, yeah, that
was really gratifying.
The the practice of law that Iwas involved in was something
where you there was a true senseof helping people.
I mean, it was in in many caseswe were changing people's lives
because they depended on theselife insurance benefits or these
disability benefits, andwithout them, life would be
(12:16):
impossible in some cases.
So it was just reallyfulfilling, gratifying practice.
And and stepping away fromthat, I kind of missed that.
And I think I miss I lovewriting and researching, and I I
miss that a little bit,although I still do that.
And with the advent of AI, I'mhaving a lot of fun just playing
with it.
That's awesome.
And and researching a lot ofthings involved with my
photography, which we're gonnaget into in a few minutes.
(12:37):
So so I there was a transition,moving away from those things
into the you know, finding abeat, you know, uh a cadence
with my the activities that Iwanted to get more involved
with.
Uh, but I'm there.
And uh and I think I'm doing itand I'm getting better at it.
Bob (12:55):
Yeah, you know, our careers are part of our identity and
our structure and our routine.
And when you lose thatovernight, it becomes this you
know, almost like a loss ofwell, you know, that's that's
true.
Alan Kassan (13:07):
I think a lot of people have a really hard time
with that because that is whoyou are.
That's how people know you.
People knew me as a lawyer,they don't think of me as a
photographer, is what I kind ofcall myself now.
Bob (13:17):
Yeah.
Alan Kassan (13:18):
And and and being a lawyer, you know, that's a
pretty important thing to somepeople.
So, but I did it long enough,you know, 40 plus years, and
it's like I don't need thatanymore.
I want to just, like I saidbefore, live and enjoy my family
and enjoy the outdoors and hookup with old, connect with
reconnect with old friends.
That's what it's all about.
And that's also reallyfulfilling.
(13:38):
Yeah, for sure.
Bob (13:39):
Okay, so in that transition, what role did your
family, grandkids, the outdoors?
I know you you and I share thislove for the Sierra Nevada.
You have a lot of interest, andwhat I guess did those things
and places that call to yourheart, you know, what did they
play in making your decision?
To retire?
Yeah.
Alan Kassan (14:00):
Well, they made the whole difference.
It was it was my desire.
First and foremost, my desirewas to spend more time with my
kids and their families, mygrandkids, and their their
wives, because uh, you know,we're all working and and we all
have schedules, and so it wasit was kind of hard.
It's at the holidays and eventsand birthdays and things.
And we we do a pretty good jobgetting together.
Bob (14:22):
Oh, you guys are amazing.
I mean, you're like Ubergrandparents too.
Alan Kassan (14:25):
Yeah, and so so I wanted to spend more time with
the grandkids.
So I I just want I want to makean impression on their lives,
and and mainly when I say that,make an impression, I I want
them to appreciate and be ableto enjoy the things that I've
come to learn are worthappreciating and enjoying, like
being in places like this.
(14:45):
And I I've read, you know, I'vebeen reading a lot about about
artistic expression and as itrelates to photography, and how
less and less young people insociety are spending time
outdoors.
They're they're more urban andthey're less inclined to venture
out.
I mean it's not true for all.
(15:05):
There's a lot of YouTubers andInstagrammers that are out there
doing crazy things, but for themost part part of it's on from
the bedroom, right?
For kids for teenagers.
Yeah, yeah.
For the most part, kids aren'tgetting out there, and and I
want my grandkids to be able touh enjoy and appreciate the
things that I've been able toenjoy a good part of my life.
So that was important.
And and then from there, thenext big one was my photography.
(15:28):
I I've I've been a photographersince high school, which is
where I learned aboutphotography, fell in love with
it.
But after high school wascollege, and after college was
work, and after college and workwere family and kids, so I kind
of had to step away from thephotography a little bit, always
in the background, always doinga little bit, but not to the to
(15:48):
the extent and as as seriouslyas I I've now been able to do.
And so back when the kids gotolder, uh around 2010, 11, 12,
sometime around there, I starteddoing it more seriously.
And and now, and I okay, Istarted doing it more seriously,
but not as seriously as Ireally wanted to do it.
Uh not traveling as as much andexploring as much and and being
(16:13):
off grid as much.
So I was really looking forwardto that, and that that helped.
That's incredible.
Bob (16:19):
You know, I I talk about this a lot on the show, and just
to people that I meet all thetime, and that's that, you know,
during my working life, I lostlittle pieces of myself along my
journey, along my trail.
Yeah, you know, not because Iwanted to, but because it just
kind of happened.
We're working our butts off,we're you know, supporting a
family, we're putting kidsthrough college, whatever the
(16:39):
case may be, trying to hold ourcompanies together.
And for like some of thesethings like photography for you
and other things for me, theyjust sort of get set aside for a
while.
So rediscovering those inretirement, I think, is one of
the biggest joys that I've foundsince making the decision.
Alan Kassan (16:53):
No, I agree wholeheartedly.
Bob (16:54):
Okay, so I have to ask now, because I know you're here, you
just you just photographed inYosemite, and you seem to have a
passion mainly forphotographing nature.
Am I am I right about that?
Alan Kassan (17:05):
Yeah, it the outdoors.
Bob (17:07):
Okay.
Yeah.
All right, because I see someof your pictures and they're
incredible.
We're gonna talk about whereyou can find them in a little
bit here.
But, you know, Sierra Sky,stars, you know, and I just
think to myself, now that's adream.
And then I find out you've gota sprinter van, you know, and
you jump in your van and youtake off and you pull off on
these random roads and campovernight and take a shot, you
know, the Milky Way in themiddle of the night when there's
(17:28):
no, I mean, it's justincredible stuff.
So look, how did you design itand your sprinter van for
chasing your passion forphotography?
Is there anything special aboutthe van?
What you know, tell us tell uswhat's inside your van.
Well, okay.
I've never seen inside.
Okay, well, it's that's that'sgonna change the knife, by the
way.
Yeah, yeah.
Alan Kassan (17:45):
Okay, well, it's it's uh it's it's a relatively
short story.
I I you know, I mentioned thatI picked up photography 10, 15
years ago, and when I had theopportunity to venture off, take
time off, I would come up toYosemite, go out to Death
Valley, sometimes out to Utah,and sometimes I found myself
sleeping in the car, which wasnot very comfortable.
(18:07):
So maybe 18, 19, 20, 20,somewhere around there, I
started thinking, I'm gonna getone of these vans one of these
days.
So I started thinking about itand researching it.
My wife would say I wasobsessed, she'd be right.
And uh and when I when Istopped working, I can't
remember if it was right beforeor right after I stopped
(18:27):
working, I started discussingbuilding a van with custom van
builders.
And uh I quickly learned thatthere are a million things you
can do.
Bob (18:37):
Oh yeah, a million options, and it can get really pricey.
Alan Kassan (18:40):
Well, it's pricey no matter what you do.
True, true.
No matter what you do.
So so I I it the the dealbreaker for me wasn't s as much
the pricing, but was the delay.
It's good.
I learned because of the year,right?
Six to twelve months.
Yeah.
And so then I started lookingto see if I could find a van
from the pre-built, so there'ssome pre-built companies, and
(19:04):
see if I could find a van thatmet most of the criteria that I
had set.
And and you don't really evenknow what your criteria are
because you've never done itbefore.
Yeah.
So you're not sure that youeven if you build a van to your
specs at that moment, you mightspend a month in the van and go,
oh crap, I didn't think ofthis, I didn't do that.
Yeah, kind of your first house.
So I so I for that reason andand and for the main reason that
(19:27):
I could pick the van up thenext day if I found one that I I
liked, I decided to look at thepre-books.
Then I was looking all over thecountry really for a van that
fit the specifications that Ineeded.
I I I narrowed down the companythat I wanted pretty much, and
then I found one fairly close tohome, Thousand Oaks, and talked
to the guy, and it wasavailable, and I went and I
(19:49):
picked it up.
So cool.
I'm so jealous.
I mean, I'm gonna get one oneof these.
So, what's on the inside?
You see, those really quickly.
It's okay, it's uh it's goteverything I need to be off grid
for a good period of time.
I've I have There's a littlemini shower in there.
There's a microwave.
There's a beautiful bed, stove,or stove top, uh, industrial
stuff.
It is kind of a camper van.
There's a refrigerator.
Camper van.
There's a there's a cassettetoilet.
(20:10):
I mean, you got everything youneed.
And the the the best thingabout it is I have, I think it's
over eight kilowatts of lithiumbattery power and uh a
high-speed alternator thatcharges the battery.
So that that battery pack willkeep the air conditioning, the
heating, the stove, it'll keepit all going for three or four
(20:32):
or five days off-grid.
And if I need to recharge, Ijust idle the motor for an hour
and it's back up.
So it it I can be off-grid fora good time.
Bob (20:39):
Okay, I'm sold.
I want to go on one of yourtrips sometime soon.
By the way, we were kind ofjoking when I saw Alan today.
He goes, Well, you're gonnatalk about my van.
Just I just want to make clearthat I don't live out of my van.
So he doesn't live in a vandown by the river.
Just gonna make that clear.
So when you're out on the roadthen, and you're gonna pick a
place, do you just like randomlydecide this is the place, or do
(21:03):
you have a plan in mind?
I mean, do you like let's getget me into that mindset a
little bit?
Alan Kassan (21:07):
Well, you that's actually a really good question.
It's funny because so lastweek, I spent last week in
Yosemite with two friends that Ireconnected with, from one from
elementary school, one frommiddle school, both
photographers, and we spent theweek in Yosemite, and we kind of
had a pretty good menu ofplaces we wanted to visit,
things we wanted to see.
(21:27):
So what happens is you you youknow where you're going, but on
the way, you find things thatyou're interested in.
Bob (21:35):
The creative mind takes over.
Alan Kassan (21:37):
Yeah, and you're so so you know it's it's a
10-minute walk, but you don'tget there for an hour because
you stop to take a picture ofdifferent things along the way.
So, yeah, that's what happenedin Yosemite.
They had to take off and gohome, and then I slowly made my
way from Yosemite over the TyogaPass to the east side here at
Mammoth.
And in that instance, I reallydidn't have a specific location.
(22:00):
I probably stopped 20 times onthe on the 395 where I passed a
pond or a creek or trees orsomething that looked
interesting, and spent 10, 15minutes, a half an hour, maybe
an hour, just taking pictures,fortuitously found something
that was interesting.
Like a perfect example isthere's a there's a little pond
(22:21):
near a place called May Lake.
I was gonna go to May Lake andand sleep up there, although
it's probably not legal, and butthe road was closed, so I
couldn't I couldn't do that.
But I found a place to stay,and then the next morning I got
up and I walked around May Pond,and even though there was no
snow on the road, it snowed acouple days earlier.
(22:43):
I walked around the pond and Ifound some ice on the edge of
the pond, and I took thispicture, which I gave it the
name, Pond's Edge, I think iswhat I called it.
And it's really cool.
You have the water, you havesome ice, and you have some some
color of from the from the Iguess it's the grass in the in
the pond.
It's just a really neatpicture.
It's a simple picture that Inever would have come upon had I
(23:04):
not stopped.
Bob (23:05):
You know what I love about it too is you're out there, you
know, both, you know, soul,mind, right?
Yeah, and body.
You're you're getting both, andthe two are so intertwined.
Alan Kassan (23:13):
It's it's you know that that's a big thing now, um
mindfulness.
And and I think thatmindfulness, I I don't know a
lot about mindfulness, but Ithink I I understand that it's
it's trying to really calm yourmind and focus on simple things.
And photography does thatbecause I find it's a form of
(23:33):
meditation for me.
I said that you find a thingand you just look at it from
every angle and you examine it,and you and you you take
pictures and look at them, andit's just it's just a neat,
peaceful, calming enterprise.
And it's it's it's exhilaratingat the same time because when
you take the picture and youlook at it on your computer and
it looks really good, it'sexciting.
(23:54):
Wow, look what I created out ofthis little this little ice
creation on the side of a pond.
So yeah.
Bob (24:00):
Well, it's funny because I think you remember this.
I was a beekeeper for a while.
Oh, yeah.
That was like my Zen space.
I'd go out in the backyard andI'd pull out my girls, you know,
they're all right.
You know, and it's just like,oh my god, it was so meditative
and interesting.
And that just got it got to betoo hard.
By the way, do you have any ofthe honey left at once?
You know, Bobby's bees, right?
That's pretty funny.
Okay, so real quickly, anysecret spots, any favorite
(24:21):
camping spots along the waywhere you like to go?
Or I guess, yeah, I guessyou're camping.
Alan Kassan (24:25):
Well, okay, so yeah, that's an interesting
question because camping is adifferent enterprise.
When you go to camp, uh, youknow, I've camped with my kids
and my brothers.
You want to find a campgroundthat's fun to hang out.
You can cook, you can build afire and do things.
Can it just be the side of theroad or something?
Well, well, you can't, yeah,but I'm talking about camping.
Camping, yeah, camp.
I'm not really camping.
(24:46):
I'm I'm finding a place tosleep because I don't spend any
time where I camp.
I I It's your crash pad.
It's a crash pad.
I find a place where I can parkthe van because there's some
place I want to hike to, whetherit's a mile or 10 miles away.
The van's just there, and I cancome back, I can sleep, I can
eat, I can cook, I can bathroom,I can do whatever I need.
It's a crash pad.
So it's not only camping, it'sit's just my home base for that
(25:09):
moment wherever I am.
Right.
Bob (25:10):
That's so that's so amazing.
Alan Kassan (25:11):
But I will say, but I will say so favorite places.
So quick story.
Oh, yeah, we've that's what'sthe question.
Yeah, I might have mentionedthis to you.
So I went up to the ancientBristlecombe Pine Forest.
Have you been there?
I love it there, yes, yes.
So I'd been to the main grove.
I forget the name of the maingrove, but I wanted to go to, I
think it's called the PatriarchGrove, which is about 25 miles.
(25:32):
Methusa, right?
Methusa is in the main grove.
Bob (25:35):
Okay.
Alan Kassan (25:35):
But the I now I can't remember the name.
There's another tree.
Yeah.
Or there was.
But it's about 25 miles on adirt, uh, a rocky dirt road.
I'd never been there.
So I figured I got my van, I'mgonna go up there and you know,
whatever.
So I take the van and I first Ido the four-mile trail in the
lower grove, and then I drive upand at like 23 miles, 23 miles,
(25:59):
and a snowbank just covered theroad, and there's no way for me
to get around it.
I get out of the van, I lookaround, I'm surrounded by snow
and trees and mountains, and Ican see the Sierras.
I'm going, this is Nirvanaright here.
I don't have to go anymore.
Yeah, I love it.
I was so excited, so I and I Ijust I'll sleep right here on
(26:20):
the road because you knowthere's nowhere to go.
I was so excited, I videotapedit, I I and I have internet in
my van, so I I videotape it andor call my kids and and and
video showed them the videowhere I was.
It was awesome.
Bob (26:32):
Oh man, that's so great.
So I'm gonna skip around here alittle bit.
I want to talk about your art,okay?
So let's let's get into that.
Okay, get off the road, out ofthe van a little bit, and get
into your art.
And I guess for our listenerswho dream of doing what you do,
or maybe it could be you knowpicking up painting.
We we hear a lot about peoplethat do that.
It could be knitting.
I, you know, I whatever.
(26:53):
For me, it's living in theoutdoors too.
It could be riding.
What advice would you giveabout taking that leap and just
you know kicking it into gearand starting to follow a
passion?
Alan Kassan (27:03):
Yeah, okay.
It's funny you asked thatbecause I'm reading a book right
now called Your Brain on Art.
And there's an interestingstudy.
I have a lot left to read, butthere's an interesting study in
the book that said somethinglike, they've determined, pretty
conclusively, because withmodern science they can examine
your brain while you're doingthings, that people engaging in
(27:27):
any kind of an artfulenterprise, whether it's drawing
at any skill level, observingart, looking at beautiful
photographs or beautifulpictures or sculpture, spending
20 minutes doing that canactually improve brain function
and improve your mood and relaxyou and make you happier.
So art is a form of therapy inthat sense, and a form of calm
(27:49):
and and uh you know calminducement.
So photography obviously isrelated to art, but but a lot of
people are intimidated becausethey don't they they don't feel
like they have an artistic side,they can't draw, they can't
paint, they don't know how totake pictures.
But you don't even have to doit at a particular skill level.
(28:10):
You can do it at any level.
So I think you said what's theadvice, and the advice is just
do it.
You know, grab your iPhone oryour whatever smartphone you
have is so capable of takingreally good pictures.
I also blogged about that, thedifference between iPhone
photography and cameraphotography, but it's so
capable, it can make anybodylook like an amazing
(28:31):
photographer, and it's fun andit's relaxing, and it's
calm-inducing, and it'sgratifying.
You take, I know uh probablypeople watching this video will
have had this experience ofhaving taken a picture and
looked at it and go, oh, nobodyhas, even kids, you know.
Oh my god, this is a greatpicture.
It's it makes you feel reallygood.
It's it's exhilarating and anduh it gives you a little bit of
(28:54):
self-confidence and it makes youfeel good about yourself and
about where you were or what youdo what you've done.
So you can you can exercisethat muscle by being more
intentional about it.
Usually it's random, you'reyou're out with friends or
you're going someplace and youjust take a picture.
But I would say as a form ofadvice, be more intentional.
Think of something that youwant to try to take a picture of
(29:15):
or a place you want to go,yeah, and and try to take a
picture of it in a way thatmaybe you haven't seen.
I another thing I'm I'm I'm Ioften say about my philosophy
with this is I like to go placeswhere people have been, but see
things that people haven't seenat those places.
I love that.
That's awesome.
So I'm always looking forsomething that people might not
(29:37):
have noticed or might not haveseen, and that's what I'm aiming
to take pictures of.
Bob (29:40):
That's so cool.
I love that.
Okay, your favorite shots.
I know we're laughing aboutthis one too, because it's like
naming your favorite child.
Right?
Yeah, but come on, spill thebeans here.
I want to hear your favoritephotographs, maybe the story
behind it, where you were, andwhat it felt like in that
moment.
You took it, and then when yousaw the results later.
Okay, well, and since I havefour children, I'm gonna give
(30:03):
you four pictures.
One of the pictures is I wassaying Joshua Tree.
Uh no, I'm kidding, the Jthing.
No, I'm kidding.
Alan Kassan (30:10):
Uh one of the pictures was in a place called
the Palouse in the southeastpart of Washington State, and I
took it several years, manyyears ago.
It was a rainy, wet, stormyday, and I was with a couple
other people, and we came uponthis old abandoned farmhouse,
and the rain stopped, and it waskind of cloudy with a little
bit of broken sun shiningthrough, but still a little bit
(30:32):
of drizzle in the air.
And I had my my uh camera andmy wide-angled lens, and I
positioned the camera in justthe right position.
I did never expect thephotograph to come out as great
as it did, but it is it's anit's it's I call it the spooky
police.
It's this abandoned farmhousein the stormy weather with this
green grass growing, it's likelike children of the corn or the
(30:54):
cornfield, whatever you like.
It's a cool picture.
I'll send it to you, and youcan put it online.
Yeah, I want to I want to Iwant to get some of your photos
for the podcast.
Another one that that is one ofmy favorites is on the coast of
Big Sur.
Big Sur is one of my happyspots.
Oh my god, it's so it'samazing.
Yeah, I love it there.
I've been there probably threetimes this year already, and and
it's a it's a it's a aphotograph looking down the
(31:16):
coast from a particular lookoutspot, and you see the the
coastline kind of jutting out,and there's a a little bit of
fog or haze in there, and it'sit was in the afternoon, so it's
sort of a blue hour.
It's a really it's a reallycool shot.
I'll send you that one also.
All right.
And then the other two thatcome to mind are two very recent
ones.
(31:36):
I guess I think last month Iwas at Mono Lake, and I decided
I wanted to take a picture.
There's a technique called startrails, and what you do is you
you take either a single longexposure or a number of short
exposures and sandwich themtogether while the earth is
turning.
(31:56):
And you have a device thatrotates with the earth?
No, no, if it if I had thedevice that rotates, you would
see just the sky.
The sky would be normal.
But in this case, what happensis the camera is fixed, it's uh
on a tripod, and and the shutteris is watching as the earth
turns.
Oh, right.
As the earth spins.
And so you're you're you'reyou're aimed toward the north
(32:18):
star, and the earth is rotatingon its axis, and so the stars
create these arcs, these circlesaround the north the north
star.
You'll see it, it's prettycool.
And I might have seen it.
You might have seen it.
And the and and you have thethe tufas of mono lake in the in
the background, or I guess theforeground really, because the
sky, it's it's in a it's anight, I mean it's dark, but I
(32:39):
started in the right aftersunset to get a little bit of
horizon.
So it's a great picture.
And the last one is a picture Ijust took the other morning in
Yosemite.
We were on our way to I thinktake a picture of the Three
Brothers, which is a mountainformation in Yosemite Valley.
And on the way, uh the MercedRiver flows through Yosemite
(32:59):
Valley.
We found a really calm spot inthe river, and I looked across
the river and I just saw I'malways looking for shapes and
and lines and symmetry,symmetry, and asymmetry, and
whatever contrast and color.
So I look across and there'sthis perfect reflection of these
colorful trees and and bushesin the river, and the river's
(33:24):
pretty calm.
So I took a bunch of picturesand I I processed one the other
night, and I it was fantastic.
And I I put it on my Instagram.
Can't wait to see it.
I'll send you that one too.
Yeah, so those four.
Bob (33:36):
Was that three or four?
Was that three, four?
I think that was four.
Okay, cool.
All right.
Alan Kassan (33:40):
That was four.
Bob (33:40):
Hey, listen, I just love talking to you, man.
I mean, I I love you so much,and you're just such a good
friend.
But I, you know, in theinterest of time, we've got to
kind of wrap it up.
Alan Kassan (33:47):
Yeah, yeah.
I guess I told you, I told youI could talk about this.
I know.
Bob (33:50):
We're freezing our ass off here, and it's gonna the sun's
gonna go down a bit.
So I would end with somethingfun if you're down for a
comment, kind of like a gamewe're gonna play.
It's called Speed Ground.
Okay, speed ground.
Okay, yeah, I'm down.
Okay, all right.
Sunrise or sunset?
Alan Kassan (34:03):
Also, a hard question.
I'm gonna go sunset forpictures, sunrise for call.
Bob (34:10):
Sunset for me, but yeah, okay.
Favorite stretch of the Highway395.
Alan Kassan (34:14):
Oh god, the other hard question.
That's along the EasternSierra, by the way.
Yeah, I'm gonna say it dependson the on the season and the
weather and what's happening,but I'm gonna say from Bishop to
Mammoth or from Lee Viney toBridgeport.
Bob (34:26):
Right on.
Desert, coastline, or Alpi.
Oh, impossible.
All the above.
Okay, all right.
I just coffee spot in Mammoth.
I'm a tea guy.
Don't drink coffee.
Oh my god.
Yeah, ruined my high.
Okay, all right.
One piece of camera gear thatyou cancel without.
Alan Kassan (34:49):
Okay, well, my cameras, of course, but I'd
probably say my 14mm right anglelens, my favorite lens.
Awesome.
It gives me a really goodpanorama or or picture of the
landscape.
Bob (35:03):
Yeah, mine's my telescopic, but hey, you know, it teaches
that.
Favorite place to camp when youwant total solitude.
Alan Kassan (35:10):
Any place that's off a road, quiet, it has a view
even better, and I like it whenit's flat.
Nice, yeah.
No mountains.
Well, you like mountains, butyeah, I get it.
Yeah, yeah, in the mountains,but the site's flat, so I can
have a comfortable night'ssleep.
Your dream photo that you stillwant to capture.
That's pretty easy, actually.
There's a place called the Wavein northern Utah, uh, northern
(35:34):
Arizona, right on the border ofuh southern Utah.
And it's this amazing formationof earth, of red and or red and
and and sandstone earth thatthat looks like it was melted
and bent like taffy.
You you it's all over theinternet.
And it's beautiful, but it'simpossible to get there because
(35:56):
they issue permits and peoplefrom all over the world want to
go there to take pictures.
And it's really I've triedendlessly to get a permit.
I can't get a permit.
Bob (36:06):
Oh man.
But one day I'll go.
One day, okay.
Well, that might be the one Icome along with.
Yeah.
Alan, it's so inspiring to hearyour story, and you just didn't
step away, you stepped intosomething, which is clearly a
passion.
And I I love that, you know,just how excited you get when
you start telling these stories.
It's so fun to listen to, andit truly fills your soul.
(36:26):
And, you know, you remind usthat retirement's an open
canvas.
There's a lot of art toexplore, whatever your passion
is, get out there and find it.
Never too late to followcuriosity.
I mean, you're one of the mostcurious people I've ever met,
and I just love that about you.
And take that wherever itleads.
It could be a dirt road in thetears, right?
You pull off and you find yourjoy.
But for our listeners, here'swhat I'm taking away today.
(36:48):
Retire to something tangibleand exciting.
Have a plan when you go in.
Don't just let it happen toyou, but you make it happen.
Create a life that lets youwake up where the trail begins.
Purpose often hides behindthings that make us feel the
most alive, right?
So listen, if you love thisconversation, check out Alan's
photography at his website andInstagram.
(37:09):
Why don't you tell us?
Alan Kassan (37:10):
Oh, okay.
My my my website is a KLightplay,
L-I-G-H-T-P-L-A-Y.com, a KLightplay.
And my Instagram is the same,just AK Lightplay.
Wonderful.
Bob (37:21):
All right, all right, people.
Alan Kassan (37:23):
Thanks for having me, buddy.
Yeah, for sure.
Bob (37:24):
Thanks for tuning in, mindsetters.
Until next time, keep your eyeson the horizon, your heart in
the present, and your spiritroaming.
And remember when soul meetsbody.
Thank you very much.
What a great episode.
Look how pretty it is here.
That was awesome today.
A quick plug to please pay itforward by sharing this episode
with a friend.
(37:44):
And if you like what you heard,please subscribe to get access
to all of our future episodes.
And always remember that inretirement, soul meets body.
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