(cool is not required, but it helps), and you like people — or at least you're willing to pretend for the right ones.
You spent decades being really good at something. And now you're standing at the edge of a season that looks different than anything you've navigated before.
You're not lost. You're just not decided yet.
but you can smell the change coming. Maybe you just handed in the keys and the quiet is louder than you expected.
You're the person who still has things to do, people to impact, and a life to build — you just want someone in your corner while you figure out what next looks like.
We leave well, eventually we settle in and we share our wisdom with others.
That's a Nexter.
And you are exactly who this community was built for.
Karen Grosz What's Next? Retirement!
Retirement looks like freedom from the outside. And it is. But it also arrives with a few questions nobody warned you about — the ones that show up on a Tuesday afternoon when the calendar is empty and the house is quiet.
You are not alone in that. Here are the six things we talk about most — because naming them is where the good work begins
There is no right way to do retirement. The only rule is that forward is forward — and every step counts. We applaud big bold moves. Change the world! Or, take a nap.
Your title is gone. Your calendar is wide open. This isn't a crisis. It's an opening. Let's walk through it together. Learn from community members how that formed a new identity.
The quiet struggle to simply enjoy this — without guilt. Consider this your official notice: it is okay. You've earned this.
Purpose doesn't arrive with the retirement party — it has to be built. We'll help you find the one that actually gets you out of bed.
We worry about going stagnate because drive doesn't retire — it just needs a new door. We'll help you find it before the dust settles.
Not goals. Not a to-do list. Just three words that describe what this season can actually feel like when you stop waiting and start living.
The Backyard BBQ and Getting Ready is always open — free, warm, and exactly what it sounds like. When you’re ready for more, there’s a paid tier that gets you the courses, and the live events. And when you want real, structured work on What’s Next — the coaching cohorts are there.
✓ The Backyard BBQ — open conversation, casual connection, Karen’s home base
✓The Bench- give and take neighborly advice
✓ GAWOOSH — Our signature course with a weird name is part of the Getting Ready course. It's our clarifying treat for you.
✓ Consistent community posts and announcements
✓ Everything in the free tier
✓ Two live community events per week
✓ Full course library — new courses added regularly
✓ Access to all community rooms (Rocket, Hammock, Harbor, Scenic Route, Studio)
Hold the Door - $650 for 6 week course on finding your purpose.
Tell Your Story- TBD
Getting Along - 4 week course on values, comments, relationships. -$250
So many more to come. Like you, we are just getting started!
If cost is a barrier, reach out. We’ll figure it out. Scholarships exist. No form. Karen’s discretion. Just ask.
This is a politics-free, finance-free, health-advice-free zone. Not because those things don't matter — they do. There are 10,000 places on the internet to talk about them.
There is only one place to talk about your Nexts. This is that place. We keep it that way on purpose.
If everything in your world is one of these things, this simply won't feel like your place. If your are open to new ideas, new experiences, new people, you will be a happy happy Nexter enjoying the clean air.
I've spent 62 years asking two questions: What do I need next? And what can I offer the world next?
I've never stopped asking. I'm not about to start now.
Founder of Canvas Creek Team Building — a mobile collaborative art studio that has put 90,000+ people into creative problem-solving. Author of seven books on goal setting and leadership. TEDx speaker. 2024 SBA Small Business Champion for Montana. And the very happy wife of Paul for 45 years and counting.
I've sat across the table from dozens of executives on the edge of a retirement transition they didn't quite have language for yet. And then I got there myself.
That's the thing nobody tells you — knowing the theory doesn't make the feeling easier. So I built Nexters because I couldn't find what I needed. And because I knew I wasn't the only one looking. And, like you, I was ready for a Next!
Welcome. I'm really glad you're here.
A word about the rest of the team.
Paul is my husband, newly retired carpenter, Alaska wilderness aficionado, and the man whose name tag almost always says Guest. He is neither a teddy bear nor a grizzly bear — though he has been known to appear as both. He keeps it real around here. I'm so glad he does.
Katmai is a small dark chocolate lab officially titled The Secretary — though personal trainer who does not tolerate laziness is closer to the truth. She bumps me with her nose at 5:00 a.m., thumps walls with her tail, and has strong opinions about when the day should begin. She is, without question, the most enthusiastic member of this operation.
They are probably at the park playing ball about now.
You spent decades becoming someone. Built the team. Held the title. Ran the meeting. And somewhere in all of that, the door started getting closer — and the question on the other side got bigger than you thought.
This book is not a financial guide. Not a list of hobbies. Not a soft landing. It's a real framework for the real question: who are you when the calendar clears, and what do you actually want to do with a life that still has runway?
Inside: the ten things that keep us up at night, the Gawoosh method for moving from overwhelm to action, 100 things to circle without apologizing, and honest conversations with people who have been exactly where you are.
Written in real time, as Karen contemplates her retirement, this book is not about slowing down. She is incapable of writing that book.
I started sobbing in chapter two. I felt so seen.
These are the questions I should have been asking before I retired.
I don't read, but once I started, I didn't put this down. You nailed it, Karen.