This week on Five Minute Friday, we’re taking on a big cultural myth — one that desperately needs a modern-day reboot.
You’ve heard the phrase “The Golden Years” your whole life, right? That overly sentimental term that sounds like it was pulled straight from a 1970s retirement brochure — smiling couple, pastel sweaters, beach walk, soft-focus camera lens… maybe a gentle flute solo in the background?
Yeah. That phrase.
Here’s the problem: “Golden Years” unintentionally suggests winding down. It paints retirement as a mellow, static stage meant for rocking chairs, sunset-watching, and slow-motion pancake flipping. Nice, but… not exactly inspiring.
And let’s be honest — gold doesn’t bend.
It’s inflexible.
Exactly the mindset we do not want heading into retirement.
In this episode, Bob challenges the whole idea and makes the case for a full-on rebrand:
- Retirement isn’t a final act — it’s an encore. And not a quiet one. Think pyrotechnics, laser lights, a guitar solo, and a crowd screaming for more.
- These aren’t years to coast — they’re years to level up.
- Instead of “Golden Years,” maybe it’s time to call them:
- The Prime Time Years
- The Bonus Round
- The Heck Yeah Years
Bob shares his own journey — how he initially fell into the “slow down” mindset after retiring… before quickly realizing he wasn’t built for that. Launching this podcast, exploring new passions, learning new things — this stage of life didn’t shrink him. It expanded him.
And the invitation to listeners?
Define this era for yourself. Boldly. Loudly. Honestly.
If someone says, “Enjoy those Golden Years,” feel free to reply:
“Nope — these are my Shining Years. My Bold Years. My Heck-Yeah-I’m-Still-Here Years.”
Because retirement isn’t the end of the road.
It’s the off-ramp to everything you finally have time to do, pursue, build, and become.
Life doesn’t fade after 60 — it gets brighter. And remember, in retirement, Soul Meets Body.
Join us as we post new episodes weekly!
Connect with Bob: BobbyP@theretiredmindset.com, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, TheRetiredMindset.com.
Episode Transcript
Hey mindsetters, Bob Prestonhere, and welcome to another
5-Minute Friday.
Your quick burst of insight,laughter, and a little kick in
the pants for living your bestlife in retirement over the
weekend.
Well, I'm here today on thefront steps of my mountain home
(00:30):
in Mammoth Lakes, California.
I'm also recording this late.
Sorry about that, as I missed aFriday post because I had a
super chaotic Thursday andFriday, thanks to my retirement
gig, working as a supervisor onthe mountain ski resort safety
team in Mammoth.
Such an amazing thing for me tobe doing in retirement.
(00:53):
Going out on skis each day tohelp anyone having trouble on
the slopes, out of their skis,injured, whatever it might be.
And our opening day wasThursday, and the second day of
the season was Friday.
So it's been really busy forme, but so fun.
Helping our guests launch fortheir 2025-26 ski season at
Mammoth Mountain.
(01:14):
So here are a few clips ofthat, so vibrant and full of
energy.
Hopefully you understand whereI'm coming from.
But I thought this was a greatopportunity to, I guess, take a
segue to today's topic.
And oh yeah, it's a juicy one,right?
And we're talking about whyit's time, long past time
actually, to ditch the phrasegolden years.
(01:37):
I have had it with that phrase.
And you know it, right?
The one that sounds like itcame straight from a 1970s
retirement brochure with asmiling couple and matching
pastel sweaters, walking hand inhand on the beach.
Yeah, that one.
Every time I hear the termgolden years, I picture a
soft-focused TV commercial wheresomeone's flipping pancakes in
(02:00):
slow motion, smiling way toohard, and there's this gentle
flute solo playing in thebackground, you know, maybe
retiring over to their rockingchairs or something like that.
But here's the thing (02:11):
the phrase drips with this weird mix
of nostalgia and decline.
It's like saying, Hey,congratulations on making it
this far.
Now grab your rocking chair,enjoy the sunset because you've
earned it.
No, no, no, no, no.
These years aren't the finalact.
They're the encore, and I'm nottalking about one of those
(02:31):
quiet acoustic encores either.
I'm talking about fullpyrotechnics, laser lights,
guitar solo, crowd on their feetscreaming for more and more.
And here's what bugs me mostabout the phrase golden.
It implies we've hit somemellow, static phase where we're
supposed to just chill andcoast.
But life doesn't come withcruise control button.
(02:53):
At least in my life it doesn't,right?
We finally have time, wisdom,and freedom, and that's when the
real living can begin.
So I ask, why label it likeit's some trophy for surviving
middle age?
I mean, let's face it, there'sa reason gold doesn't bend.
It's inflexible, right?
(03:13):
And that's exactly the mindsetwe should be avoiding in
retirement, okay?
You see, I say it's time for arebrand.
Forget golden years.
Let's call this era somethingdifferent, like way more honest,
fun, and energizing.
You could pick your term, Iguess.
How about primetime years?
Finally free to do what weactually want to do, or bonus
(03:36):
round, like a video game whenyou've earned extra lives and
all the points really startracking up.
Or maybe just, I don't know,freedom years?
I don't know.
You could probably come up withone that labels your life.
That's got a nice ring to itthough, doesn't it?
The freedom years where we getto design our days on a regular
basis instead of just fillingthem.
(03:56):
When I first retired, I'll admitI thought I'd slow down.
I don't know, maybe nap alittle extra.
No, I'm just kidding.
I realized very early on thatthat's not who I am.
And I didn't want to fade intoa recliner and watching TV.
No, no, no.
I wanted to level up, right?
I wanted to bring it up anotch.
So I started exploring.
(04:18):
I started creating, learning,launching this podcast, for
example.
And guess what?
I feel more alive and morecurious and more driven than I
did in my 40s.
Okay, sure, my knees ache alittle bit more now when they go
downstairs, but hey, they stillwork and pretty damn good, I'm
not gonna lie.
And that's a win in my book.
(04:40):
So here's my challenge to you,mindsetters.
Next time someone says, ah,you're in the golden years, just
smile and say, Nope, these aremy shining years, my bold years,
my hell yeah, I'm still goingyears.
Because retirement isn't theend of the road.
It's just the off-ramp toeverything you never had time
for before.
At least that's how I like toview it, and I hope you agree
(05:02):
with that, and you'll view itthat way too.
Come on now, let's make itretirement, life beyond the
ordinary, where soul meets body.
Because we're out thereshining, growing, experimenting,
and living out loud.
All right, that's it for thisfive-minute Friday.
If this episode made you laugh,think, or roll your eyes,
(05:23):
whatever, just a little.
Hey, do me a favor, like,share, subscribe, or leave a
review to help spread the word.
And remember, life doesn't fadeafter 60, it gets brighter.
And so I'll see you next Friday.
Until then, keep your mindsetretired, but your spirit fired
up.
And just remember inretirement, soul meets body.
(05:44):
Hey, thanks for joining metoday on another Five Minute
Friday.
We'll see you next week.
The retired mindset, fiveminute Friday.
Short episodes in five minutesor less.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.