If you enjoyed our podcast episode with Rajesh Gangwani but prefer reading, here’s the full conversation transcribed for you. Dive into the insights, stories, and advice on finding purpose in the 50–65 life stage, now in a written format.

Host (Sanjay):
Hi everyone, and welcome to one more episode of What If You Live to Be 100. On this episode, we have a guest, my dear friend Rajesh Gangwani. Rajesh has been an advertising and branding professional for a long time—25 plus years—but a few years back, he decided to move out of the advertising industry completely and pursue a different space, a different field. He is now an eminent executive and leadership coach. I mean, he has trained for it, he has spent a fair amount of time actually getting the right training and credentials, and he coaches a large number of people for this life stage.
So there is a very interesting perspective because now, as he works closely with people and figures their life, what comes out essentially for all of them is the need to figure their purpose in life, right? It is one of the integral parts of coaching, I would believe, and I mean, he is the one who is going to tell us more.
But yes, coming back to the subject, as some of you who have been listening to this series might know from previous episodes, when I am talking about this phase of life, which is roughly the 50 to 65 years point of time, there are multiple facets that one needs to kind of take charge of or figure out in life. There is money, there is health, there are relationships, etc. But one of the most significant ones, as far as I am concerned, is figuring out purpose.
And the reason I feel it is most significant is that think about it this way: life so far—you have spent maybe your first 20 years getting education and ticking the boxes of school, college, post-grad, whatever it is. Then you got into work life, created a career, created some capital-building along the way. Simultaneously, maybe you got into the family way—you got married, you got kids, you have been busy with parenting. So those were very set tasks or asks of life, in a sense. And you finish that. By the time you are 50, 55, 60, you are more or less done with it.
And then you discover, thanks to longevity, that you have another 30-odd years ahead of you. But you are already done with the big tasks which life gives you or is supposed to take care of. So what now? And that is where figuring purpose becomes important. That is one of the typical challenges or blind spots for people at this age.
It is so important that we believe it requires the expertise of somebody who is living it—through coaching, working with people, as well as, of course, the advertising background, because there was so much consumer understanding that is part of the advertising field. Rajesh is absolutely the perfect person to give us some viewpoints and insights on this very important subject.
So with this rather long introduction, let me hand it over to Rajesh to give some opening thoughts around this idea of purpose. Right?

Guest (Rajesh Gangwani):
Thank you, thank you, Sanjay. Thank you for inviting me to this platform. We have had informal conversations on and off on this subject, so I am happy to come and chat with you on this today.
You mentioned, “So what now?” and I think that is such an important question. If I go back in life, even before I started—just at the cusp of finishing my engineering—believe it or not, people laugh when I say that I started life as a chemical engineer, and my first job was in a petroleum company.
So around one and a half years into this job, I had this moment of realization that my life was going in a completely wrong direction. This is not what I want to do. It may seem strange because I was very young then. I had probably not even heard the word “purpose,” but something within me told me that this is not what is meant for me. I had just drifted into it.
If you remember those days, if you were reasonably good in studies, you only had two options. Either you ended up getting into engineering or medicine, or if you were super bright, you would go and do civil services. So I became a chemical engineer, I got into this job, and like I said, I had a complete blank-out moment one day while I was sitting there, wearing my blue overalls and moving around in the refinery. I said, “Where have I come? This doesn’t look like the kind of place I would like to spend the rest of my life in.”
Then I spoke to people, and I figured out what I loved. I used to read this magazine called A&M. If you remember those days, there was a magazine called Advertising and Marketing. I would buy all the copies, I would highlight things, I loved leadership quotes, and I said, “This somewhere seems like a nice place to be.” This whole business of brands, advertising, communication.
Then I got into an MBA, and that led me to advertising as my first job. That was the first interview I ever did, and I got selected. I joined what was called Hindustan Thompson Associates then. And the whole journey, like you said—25 years plus—was a complete love affair with advertising, building brands.
If you ask me then, and I was reflecting while you were doing the introduction, that was my purpose. For me, that was it. I had decided to make a conscious move from what I had studied to what I really wanted to be. This whole world opened up for me—brands, stories, Virgin, Steve Jobs—it was fascinating.
What was really fascinating was how, through the power of communication, you could influence people’s decisions. You could make them do things, change their attitudes, make them buy. It was all very exciting.
What is funny is that in those days, I would never read a self-help book. Today, my library is full of all kinds of self-help books because what I do now is all about that. Back then, I wouldn’t even touch them. For me, it was more about reading case studies and looking at examples of people doing great work in building brands.
Something changed. And that is what I think is important as an opening remark. Purpose is not static. People think you are born with a purpose and everything is crystal clear. I think things evolve.
Something I resonate with even now at this stage of my life is that you don’t find purpose—purpose finds you. I had no idea when I passed out of college as a chemical engineer that I would get into the world of brands and advertising. It found me.
When I made the other big transition in my life—when I left advertising to get into this whole space of coaching—it came my way. There was no crystal-clear, 100 percent clarity. I knew what I didn’t want to do, but what I wanted to do evolved.
So I would say one has to trust that something is unfolding, and be open to receiving what is unfolding, and wait for it to blossom.

Host (Sanjay):
Very interesting. I think the significant line I hear is that you don’t necessarily find your purpose; your purpose finds you. It’s amazing. You get your calling. You are doing a bunch of things, and the one which completely relates to you, you say this is really good, is probably the thing.
Long back, I had read this very small and simple definition of what success or happiness is—one line. I can’t get simpler than this. It says, happiness is living the life you want to live. Like a very short sentence. Sometimes people write books about happiness and all, and it was like one sentence which explained it all.
But then, you know, from those days—and I heard this many, many years back—and it kind of stayed with me. The challenge I figured is that you don’t even know what is the life you want to live. So happiness is living the life you want to live, but most times, if you ask somebody to articulate what is the kind of life you want to live, it’s really hard. And it actually boils down to the same thing of figuring the purpose.
Now, what I can tell you about you is that it is very nice that, you know, very early in your work career, you could figure that what you were doing was not something you enjoyed, and then you found something which you did. Most people, or many people, carry on with life and work life especially for the need. I mean, you need to bring money home to run your family, and it’s not necessarily that everybody is so super thrilled about doing what they are doing.
So I would say that one is that you were clear and you made the shift, and maybe also fortunate to get the right breaks in the right kind of direction, whether it was the magazine which you had access to and which you liked. So that was then.
Of course, the journey to finding that next shift, which is into the area of coaching, how did that happen? Like you do mention that it came to you, but what was it like? I mean, because that’s more identifiable relatively from the age that we are talking about today. So after a long, successful career in advertising, you thought it was something—you want to do something else—and then it somewhere, at some point, led you to what you are doing now. How did that happen?

Guest (Rajesh Gangwani):
You know, something triggered when you mentioned about this whole happiness part, right, the quote that you shared. Recently, I saw a video of the NVIDIA chairman talking about happiness. He said, “I don’t believe that people are necessarily happy every day,” you know, you make this whole thing that you are driven by passion and every day you want to race to work. He said, “There are days when I am not happy at all. It’s tough. It’s a struggle. But yet there is something beyond.”
It’s not just the end point is always about happiness. It’s about saying, yes, there is something that I am taking a certain commitment to, and yes, there will be tough days. It’s about really showing up every day, being resilient, and not necessarily saying, wow, it was the happiest day in my life. That’s unreal, he said.
So I thought it made sense because we all make this whole—in between—there was passion, what is your passion project. A lot of people say, “I am still struggling to find what is my passion.” So some things, I think, evolve, and one has to have a slightly broader sense of, am I really on the right path.
Coming back to this question about moving from advertising, again, it was—I was working—I mean, it was a journey. I don’t think it happened suddenly. And I will tell you exactly, I still remember what was that one point that I reached where it became—I wouldn’t call it a crisis—but it was a moment of a deep sense of disconnect with what I was doing.
But the process had started in my mind even after I turned 50. And that is typically—there’s something about these milestone dates, ages. There was something stirring within me that I need to do more, need to do more to know myself. In all these years of going after roti, kapda aur makaan, and we are culturally conditioned, and I come from a middle-class background. My father was in the railways. I was the first person in the family who moved into a professionally qualified space as an engineer.
I had stepped out. I was so happy in my hometown, Nagpur. For me, moving to Bombay was a big thing. So a lot of cultural conditioning that first you need to take care of your requirements. So my entire journey was about being a dedicated worker, making sure that, you know, I got a house, I got a car eventually. Sab kuch theek tha. Bachchon ko achchi education dena hai.
So in all this, you are doing what you are supposed to do. You are not even thinking of words like purpose. This is what you have to do. You have to be a good worker, hard worker, do what you like, and I was. I really enjoyed what I was doing all these years.
But something happened in that period when I said I had crossed 50, and maybe a little more, two years later. There was a big pitch that we won. It was a hard-fought pitch. Many agencies, and we won it. And there was obviously celebration. You know how it is. There is teamwork, everybody is happy.
And I went to my room, and I was feeling completely empty. I was feeling—I said, what is wrong? What is going on? What is wrong with me? And why am I not happy? I mean, this is a pitch that we won. During the course, I was fully focused—ki jeetna hai, sab ke saath karna hai, kaam karna hai. But you are leaving drained out. Is this what it is?
And I said, something is not right now because I should be feeling happy, right? This is something that we all dream of—that we went in and defeated the top agencies in the country, we won this big piece of business. But on the other hand, I became much more intense. Every day, I would be thinking, there’s something missing. There’s a piece somewhere that I’m not able to put in this puzzle. Kuch toh missing hai.
And somewhere the answer came to me that, you know, what do I really enjoy doing now? And the last few years, even in advertising, what was I really, really enjoying? The parts of the business that I really enjoyed were when I was sitting and talking to people about their growth. Those feedback, my performance appraisal discussions with people—I would be really interested in where they were, how were they moving forward.
Informally, I was mentoring a lot of people. And I said, if there’s one element of my job today that I find a lot of joy in, it is this part. It’s not so much the creativity. You are there because you love the creative vibe around. But if you ask me, pin me down, and say what part of your job you truly enjoy, it is to do with people development.
And somewhere that thought was born in my head that if I had to choose something going forward, it could be in the space of developing people and seeing how I can help them grow to their full potential. That, I think, was probably the starting point.

Host (Sanjay):
Very interesting. So, you know, it’s a really good point. And when you think about your own case, the so-called purpose may not just come like that, and it won’t come with a label on it, like a super saying—purpose alert, purpose flashing. It doesn’t come.
But to find the cue like Rajesh did—that the most satisfying part of his work in an advertising agency at that stage—I suppose in the early years, creativity also was the one, but then this is what it was. And that somewhere led to a deeper question, like how can this become something I do more? And it kind of, in a sense, led him to what he’s doing now, which is coaching.
So look for those cues if it’s something which you are looking at. What is it that you really enjoy? And then figure that—is there something I can do with that part, that piece of what I like, as an ongoing, like a bigger thing in life?
But the other thing I want to look at at this point—so when we both, so definitely advertising and branding, etc., what you spent time with was as much something you liked, but it was also kind of—you can say it was where you earned money and built your life. And even in coaching now, of course, you are doing it as a professional, and you are obviously making money out of it.
But is purpose always connected to something which has a monetary angle to it? And I would assume that it’s not always that. So when we look for purpose, could we come up with something which may not have a money issue? And how would we sense something? It may not be for you or me at this point, but how would you think? Because I don’t want the viewer, the listeners, to think that, “Oh, I need to find the next thing where I make money.” It’s not necessarily so, right?

Guest (Rajesh Gangwani):
That’s a very, very powerful question, Sanjay. And I think there are no easy answers here. To each his own. You being a serial entrepreneur yourself, your sense of purpose could be, what could be the next wave I’m riding on, or what could be the new thing.
The KFC story—we all know—at the age of 60, the man decides to say, I can start a new enterprise, and makes a big success out of it. And there’s clearly a big monetary path to it. So I don’t think there is any black and white to say that it is driven out of—there could be a sense of adventure to start something, and money happens.
But yes, I am in the business of things, and I’ll talk about it in a while about coaching and the business side of it. But one of the ways to even define purpose is, what would you do if you are not getting paid for it? This is often the question that is confronted to people. If money was not the motivation, right, would you still go ahead and do this?
And that perhaps is an answer to the question you raised. If it is truly something so strong, you would still do that, because what it is giving you is beyond what financial rewards would do. It’s really something that is touching you at the heart of it—that this is what I want to do because this matters to me a lot.
Like I’ll give you an example. When I started—and transition to this was not the easiest—and I think a lot of people you may have spoken to, when you make a life-changing decision of moving away from what you were and disconnecting from what, like I did. It may seem on paper that everything is very good, but it is a big transition in life. And I learnt a lot of my lessons from that transition.
In the early days when I left, everybody was telling me, “But you should do something that is allied to your profession, right? You’ve been working on brands. You could be a brand consultant. You may not want to do advertising, but you could become a brand consultant. You could do other things.” There were so many things related to what I was.
But something told me that I want to do a clean break. I want to do something which I have not explored before. I’ve spent 30 years of my life doing the same thing. I want to see what does the world have to offer to me beyond what I already know.
So that made it a little tough for me initially. I would go and meet lots of people, and typically the conversation would end with, “What are you talking about teaching and coaching and other things? Why don’t you just come and become the sales head for us?” So many coaching companies were saying, “Why don’t you become a business head and go and get business for us?” And most conversations would end that way. “Why do you want to become a coach or a trainer? How much will you earn?” And then, “If you believe, you’ll have a share of profits.”
To your point, those are good conversations to have. It also gave me a realization that perhaps the cherry was on the other side. If I were to now become a business head for some of these companies and got them clients for their business, I would be in a better space.
The tough call to take at that point was, what do I want to do? And every time the answer would come to me: I want to not do the business side. I want to do the personal development side. That’s what I got into it in the first place.
So there was a financial compensation question. I had to take some hard calls to say, would it be the same level as what I was earning? And the answer was no, it was not. And that took some time to get my head around. But then there was a conviction. I would just keep getting the conviction—no, I just want to do what I want to do. I’m getting clearer.
So like I said, I did a train-the-trainer program, Sanjay. I forgot to mention this earlier. When I was towards the end of my career in advertising, I did a train-the-trainer program just to get myself prepared. I was warming myself up to see whether my initial hunch was just a figment of fancy or something real.
I realized the more I spent time with a diverse set of people who were all learning to become trainers and facilitators, I found resonance there. So I said, my initial hypothesis is good. This is really what I love and enjoy doing.
It was very funny because I was probably one of the most corporatist-type people there. There were housewives, there were artists, there were SME-type people. I was in a very diverse group. There was, in fact, a magician there also—a magician who wanted to be a trainer and a motivational speaker.
So I loved this world because I was not only with corporate people. Though people would always look up to me and say, “He’s from corporate,” I felt this seems like a nice place because now I’m seeing a certain diversity that I’ve not experienced.
But coming back to the point, that transition was challenging. And there was an element of asking myself, is this what I would do if money were removed from the equation? And that answer I had.

Host (Sanjay):
Interesting. Good.
So, you know, just a comment on this. Whenever we introduce ourselves to some new person, or somebody introduces us, unfortunately—and I say unfortunately because I feel there has to be a better way—most of the time we get introduced by our designation or company or something like that.
In that sense, our identity is too tied up to that thing, whereas actually all of us are very interesting human beings with different aspects of life, which may make for a better introduction.
I mean, that’s a very different identity-related thing, and it’s a little more philosophical, so we’ll not go too deep into that. But in context to what you just said—what am I doing to earn money is how I get introduced. “I’m the head of so-and-so,” or “I’m an executive leadership coach.”
But if I say, “I’m a person who loves the arts and goes and visits museums and admires art,” or “I’m a trekker,” why can’t that be a good identity of sorts?
Coming back to this point. When I’ve been meeting people, especially in this phase of my life, in terms of creating this content and trying to understand how people are looking at purpose, I’ve seen—especially at this age—three different areas where people seem to find the right connect and make it their purpose.
One is continuing to have a professional connect. In your case, the profession shifted, but it’s still a profession. Whether it’s consulting or teaching in a college, you stay close to your area of expertise.
The second is when people find a good vent to pursue a passion. Maybe all your life you’ve been an amateur singer, or you always wanted to pursue singing but never found the time because roti, kapda, makaan took priority. Now you say, okay, I have time. You get a teacher, you learn, and the whole focus is just on singing better. It’s not about performing on stage or winning Indian Idol. You just find satisfaction. Every morning, you want to do your riyaaz and become better.
The third is when people find a strong connect in pursuing social causes. They devote their life to it and find satisfaction in making a difference—whether it’s street children and education, cancer awareness, or working with patients. Whatever appeals to them.
I’ve found that if one zeros in on any of these three, they often find a next thing to devote time, energy, and mind to. The latter two, in particular, are not very commercially involved, and yet they become a meaningful pursuit of purpose.
This is probably the stage where money may not be the biggest need. Of course, if someone doesn’t have an adequate retirement corpus, they have to continue earning. But for others, they want to do something that really gives them that drive.
Any thoughts on this? I’ve found these three to be key areas where people seem to figure a next chapter.

Guest (Rajesh Gangwani):
Yeah, I think that’s a very powerful exploration to do.
For some people, for me, it was a profession, but it was a profession plus something beyond. It was more than just another job. I feel much closer to it now because I feel I’m doing something that is benefiting people.
Sometimes you get validation when you realize the kind of difference you make. People write back and say, “You’ve changed the way I was looking at things,” or “I’m feeling far more confident about who I am,” or “I have a sense of purpose in my own life.” When people say those things, you feel you’ve made a real, tangible difference.
It goes beyond the standard matrix of success. So for me, it’s work, but work with a lot of meaning attached to it. Not that what I did for 25 years didn’t have meaning—it had a lot of meaning then—but this is far more fulfilling and rewarding at this stage. I wouldn’t trade anything to go back to what I was doing earlier.
I completely agree with the three buckets you spoke about. Work-related, pure passion—I know, for instance, one of my ex-clients, one of my most loved clients, was a CEO of a denim company I worked with. Today, I find him on social media. He wants to start his own YouTube channel.
Even when we were working together, he always knew he was fond of music. Today, he’s out there, putting content. I don’t know what he wants to do with it eventually, but I can see something latent really blooming now. Same age as mine. There’s a lot of pride and a lot of joy.
For me, those words are very important even now. What can I do that gives me joy? What can I do that gives me ease in life—where I’m not constantly struggling, where resistance is gone?
People talk about hustle. Sometimes hustle is also struggle. I want to live a life of greater joy, greater ease, and create a sense of significance—that I’m making some meaningful contribution.
When I see somebody doing that, creating a YouTube channel and expressing something that truly matters to them, I feel that itself is a beautiful manifestation of purpose.
And he makes fun of it, you know, saying that even if five people see my music, it’s okay. I’m just doing it for the love of it. And he’s an R. D. Burman fan, so he plays all the R. D. Burman tracks.
So there’s lots of happiness there, evidently, in what he is doing, for somebody who’s had a very, very successful professional career.
The third part you said is the one that I think is still evolving, which is about giving back. And I feel it’s stirring within me. If you ask me my purpose, I think somewhere I will move in that direction.
I feel that life is incomplete if you are only focused on yourself, right? And it hits you and you say that, yeah, okay, I can enjoy, I can travel, I can have fun, I’ve managed my money well to live a good quality of life. But how long can you keep travelling in a year? How long can you keep bingeing on Netflix?
There is a point where you say, what is the meaning of what I’m doing? And that meaning cannot be inward-focused. Meaning is always about what difference am I making to the outside world.
And I think somewhere that piece is also now coming alive for people. One word that comes to my mind as I’m speaking to you is conscious decision-making.
I think when you reach the stage of 50, you start becoming more conscious of every aspect of your life, even to the extent of asking, who are the friends I want to be surrounded with? What is truly important?
For instance, family has always been my bedrock. It has given me strength. It has given me a solid platform. I am the most authentic when I’m with my family members.
The last few years, I’ve been around my father a lot. I literally saw my father take his last breath in front of me. I was there when he needed me. I am there when my mother needs me.
That gives me an enormous sense of purpose in life—that the people who were there for us when we were growing up, I’m there for them when they need me. That’s an important aspect of my life.
Choosing friends with whom I can truly be myself, whose company I really relish. I don’t need a big network. Networking just to meet more and more people and add more people to my life—if they really add richness to my experience, I’m happy to bring them into my life. Otherwise, I make a conscious choice.
So I think at this stage of our lives, Sanjay, we are being more conscious. We are not being anti-social or anything like that. We are saying, look, any decision that I take, I’m consciously taking it.
Whether I decide to be more frugal in my living, or I decide that I don’t want to live in a massive house, or I feel that minimalism appeals to me—I’m making a conscious choice.
I know a couple in another group who have decided to go off the grid and live in a small place. Highly successful corporates, both husband and wife. They’re living a life where they say our monthly expense is ten thousand rupees. They don’t use electricity at night.
They’re highly brilliant people, but they made a conscious choice. They don’t want to disturb the environment. Everything in their life is environment-friendly.
Now they’re going around talking about it, spreading these views, to see if there are more like-minded people. It’s a very extreme choice. Very few people at the top of their careers are saying that ten thousand rupees a month is enough to live. We cook on wood and all that.
So yeah, I think those three buckets that you mentioned—you’ve rightly identified them. One has a social angle to it. One has passion. People call it a passion project. And the other one, of course, is work-related.
There was an advertising line—you remember, Sanjay—main job se retire hua hoon, life se nahi.
And the value of that line now really hits me. You are always engaged with life. Kaam ka definition badal gaya hai. How you define work has changed, but your engagement with life is more important.
And identity, like you rightly said, for 30 years of my life, my identity was my work. I defined myself as ex-Hindustan Thompson, J. Walter Thompson, JWT. It was always about that.
To the extent—on a funny note—it’s embarrassing to admit, but I didn’t change my LinkedIn designation even three years after leaving my job. I was hanging on to that identity of managing partner, blah blah, because it gave me credibility in the world. Who is this person now?
It took a lot of courage one day to say, all that is over. Now I’m an executive coach. I’ve shed my earlier garb, and now I’m fully into this.
What you’re saying is true for so many people. I’m glad you’re articulating it because I think many of us have gone through the same thing—hanging on to identifiable labels so people know you’re still that person.
And that retirement line—you know, you can take a person out of advertising, but you can’t take advertising out of the person. You’re bound to hear some good copy lines when you talk to advertising folks.
So it had to happen.

Host (Sanjay):
But just to give a perspective, since you brought up my example as part of this conversation, for me, entrepreneurship is actually a secondary part.
I mean, somewhere this subject that I’ve now somehow found passion about is that, you know, as I’ve met people of my age, my friends, my classmates, I’ve realized that all of us are going through a certain interesting transition. And a lot of times, we are not in full control of the next few years.
One thing led to another, going deeper into conversations, and coming up with this piece of content or the event activity that I’m going to be doing in the form of Ananta Quest has come about as a consequence.
It didn’t start with, “Oh, I want to do my next venture, what should I do?” The drive has really been that this phase of life needs attention. And if I can do my bit in giving people, and myself, some direction, that’s what is actually motivating me.
But coming back to a slightly serious tone, I’ve seen that when life forces you to find the next thing, for instance, when you retire because your company had a rule of 60 years, and now that designation is gone, whether or not it was by choice, there’s a certain emptiness of what you used to do, and you need to fill it.
Not finding that answer in a reasonable time, and then going through life a little aimlessly, I’ve seen people go through fairly harsh mental health situations. Whether it’s depression, or loneliness, which sometimes comes because you were working in one city with a strong network, then you come back home and you haven’t built a similar circle there.
You had kids all your life, but now they’ve moved on to a different city or country. And now it’s just you and your spouse. Worst case, God forbid, you’re single or you’ve lost your spouse, which is even harder.
So on one side, there’s emptiness and a question mark of what next. You might try to get another job, and it’s not easy. At 50, 55, 60, it’s definitely not easy to get a job.
So if one doesn’t find purpose for a while, is there a downside? Is there a real risk of getting into mental health challenges and other issues?

Guest (Rajesh Gangwani):
Yeah. I think it’s very important. This is a really, really pertinent subject.
If I trace it back, reflection about where we are is not something we do often. The pace at which life moves today, especially with disruption becoming a normal part of our lives, means there’s so much change happening all the time.
You’re right. Jobs themselves are no longer something you do till 60 in one company. People today are preparing for the reality that even around 40, as they approach 50, they need to keep their options open.
Gone are the days of one job, one sector, one industry. We’re talking about multiple avenues. Who says you have to do only one thing? You could be doing three or four things, protecting yourself and building cushions.
As I coach senior leaders, one thing that keeps coming up is that we don’t spend enough time being aware of who we are and what we really want out of life. We’re so caught up in the pace and speed of life that we don’t sit back and reflect. And that catches up later, when you start asking, “Where am I? Where am I headed?”
In many coaching engagements, the first session starts with what’s called the Wheel of Life. Even if people come with a work-related issue, I remind them that life is much bigger than work.
You look at all the dimensions that matter: health, which is fundamental, because without health everything else is meaningless; wealth; passion; what you want to do; giving back. You rate where you are today on a scale of zero to ten, and where you want to be.
That opens up awareness. People realize, “I thought my life was only about this much, but actually I love doing this, I value that, I’ve ignored something important.”
For me too, when I made the transition, awareness played a big role. What do I really want now? Where am I today?
And yes, there were mental challenges. There were days when I would sit in front of my laptop and think, “I was in a buzzing office with 200 people, a secretary managing my life, and now I’m here.” Sometimes I just wanted to pick up the phone and talk to someone for intellectual stimulation. I wasn’t used to being alone.
Being lonely and being alone are different things. But it took time to adjust to this new rhythm of life, where you suddenly have a lot of hours in the day. What do you do with them? How do you stop them from slipping away?
Initially, there’s listlessness. You lie down, watch TV, go through loneliness. Over time, you find your equilibrium.
One way to counter this is building awareness of your life. It sounds like a big word, but sometimes you just need someone to talk to. Someone who helps you ask, “What do I really want?”
If you listen to your inner voice, you’ll get signals. That’s why people go on retreats, do Vipassana, or sit in silence. They shut out the noise and listen within. The universe has a way of giving you signals about what truly appeals to you.
And then comes courage. The courage to accept what’s coming up and act on it. It’s not easy.
I remember very clearly, on a personal note, I was at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. I was in that space of questioning, “Where do I want to go? Is this the right path?” I sat there, closed my eyes, sitting in front of…

Host (Sanjay):
I was sitting in front of the podium, and the words that came to me were three things: clarity, courage, and compassion. And somewhere, I said, this is what God, or the universe, or the higher powers are telling me—I need clarity and courage to do this, and I need compassion, because that, I believe, is what I am all about.
Some of those things come from going through that tough journey of coming closer to the truth, finding your inner truth, and then moving along that path. This is really very interesting. I think there’s so much useful insight in what Rajesh just talked about.
One is that you need to really analyze for yourself. Sometimes, when you’re having a busy calendar at work and then suddenly you step away, you may not have much on your calendar. You might fill it up with random stuff—Netflix, or something else—but it doesn’t give you real satisfaction. You feel something is missing.
That’s the time, as Rajesh explained, to introspect. Figure out what you like in work, what you like in passion, what you like in social causes, and so on. You might need a method, or sometimes a coach to guide you through the process, but it’s necessary to get to that point to find your calling and map out the next phase of your life.
I’m also amazed that Rajesh found clarity in the calm of the Golden Temple. It’s a phenomenal atmosphere. You could find it under a tree, or elsewhere, but sometimes the environment acts as a trigger. The key is having a clear mind—your head has to be uncluttered to allow new thoughts to come in.
Another segment I wanted to address is when we think about purpose. One common scenario is corporate people, like you and me, where there’s a fixed age for retirement. At some point, you need to find the next thing.
There are two other kinds of people I can think of. The first is professionals—doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants, or even small business owners or entrepreneurs. They are not constrained by retirement in the same way. They could continue their work for a long time. But even in their case, there’s often a sense that, “I’ve been doing this for 30–40 years, and while I can continue, I want something else in my life.”
It may not be a replacement—it could be an addition. They may reduce practice hours and add a new dimension to life to explore something different.
The other kind is homemakers. Perceptibly, nothing may have changed, but actually, a lot has. There was a time when years flew by, bringing up kids, managing the house while the spouse was working, handling domestic help, groceries, and everything else. Life whizzed by. Suddenly, there’s a sense of change—kids have moved out, and there’s an emptiness of that the spouse is perhaps spending more time at home or has a lighter schedule. There’s no rigor of day-to-day activities like tiffins and all that. But maybe she has been in a certain space for a long time. Can she also find an evolution to a new space in terms of her purpose?
So there are two different scenarios to consider, and they’re a little different from a typical corporate executive who has a defined retirement date. For corporates, there’s a kind of “best by” date—once you retire, you have to think about the next step. In other cases, there may be no end date, but there is still a need to find the next meaningful thing.

Guest (Rajesh Gangwani):
Yeah, two things come to mind. Anecdotally, my wife is a good example. She’s still active in her career, but we keep talking about “what next,” the original question. She keeps talking about music. Her mother, a traditional housewife, passed away a few years ago. But even as a housewife, she lived a very full life. She was part of the Lions Club, took music classes, and even got certified. She recorded her songs—she had purpose beyond the family.
So my wife keeps talking about her mother and says, “Even now, while I’m working and enjoying my career, I know I want to do different things outside of work.” There’s a yearning to explore more—life cannot be unidimensional. We’re here for more than just doing one thing.
Another close friend of mine, a former professional, consciously chose to focus on her children for 20 years. Once her children became independent, she asked herself, “What do I really want to contribute to the world?” She became a parenting coach, helping bridge the gap between parents and children.
And that’s not all—she’s also a talented singer. Every weekend, she records tracks in a studio. She reflected on the 20 years she dedicated to her family and realized she doesn’t regret it because it was a conscious choice. Now, her focus is on herself. At this stage—around 50—your own self becomes important. Who am I, beyond being a mother, wife, sister? There’s something about yourself you may not have recognized, and that ties back to self-awareness.

Host (Sanjay):
Absolutely. I want to give some perspective here. That person you referred to figured it out and managed to reclaim her space—coaching, singing, whatever it was. But for many homemakers, it’s been a long journey of raising kids, managing the house, and there’s inertia in stepping out to find a new space.
The key is to realize there are many years ahead, free from previous constraints. Finding the next thing may take effort, but there are plenty of cues and opportunities today—classes, groups, communities. You could go trekking, learn music, volunteer—whatever appeals to you. It’s important to fill your life with something meaningful, otherwise the next phase of life can feel empty.
We didn’t talk as much about professionals, like doctors, CAs, or small business owners. Their situation is slightly different—they don’t have a mandatory retirement date, so they can continue. But there’s often fatigue from doing the same thing for decades.

Guest (Rajesh Gangwani):
Yes, and then the question is, how do I shift my focus? Sometimes it’s about changing the way you do things. For example, a successful GP might be doing the same thing for years. Their children might introduce new ways of modernizing the practice, allowing them to step back and explore other interests.
Others find deeper meaning—spirituality, the Art of Living, or other personal growth paths. Even while continuing their professional work, they start exploring new dimensions of themselves.
We’re all meaning-making machines. What meaning can I create at this stage of life? Even someone who has a successful business or is still practicing as a doctor can find new purpose. Loyal old patients, continued consultations, or other engagements can provide fulfillment.

Host (Sanjay):
Absolutely. And travel has become another big source of relief and fulfillment. Indians are traveling all over the world, exploring new cultures, new experiences, which is also a part of discovering purpose and joy in this stage of life.
Today, our older parents—how will they go? There’s Kesari, and now they’re forming their own communities, their own groups, traveling and exploring the world. Yes, my own father-in-law loves to travel; he’s 84 and went on an Alaska cruise with his family, but he goes independently.
You mentioned someone losing a spouse. My father-in-law—my mother-in-law passed—he still wants to run a marathon. He was the first to book for the Standard Chartered Marathon and wants to do the 10-kilometer run. Life doesn’t come to a stop. That’s a fundamental shift for many people.
You start saying, “My life is now,” and suddenly it opens up a whole set of new opportunities you hadn’t considered before. That excitement is inspiring. You’ve seen viral videos—like Shabana’s 75th birthday activities all over Instagram. She’s achieved so much as an actress, received national honors, and yet she goes dancing, travels to places like Iceland with her friends, and throws parties for close people. That vibrancy and energy is what people aspire to.
Even for a CA or a doctor, it’s about finding something that energizes you.

Guest (Rajesh Gangwani):
Absolutely, completely agree. I’d just add one dimension. Speaking to many friends—professionals or small business owners—while they can potentially go on for long, there’s also the aspect of succession.
Say you’re a doctor and someone joins your practice—your child or another doctor. You’ve set up infrastructure, employees, maybe a hospital. You may be going strong, but if you slow down or something unexpected happens, how will things run? Same with a small business owner—liabilities, bank facilities, employees. While it’s great to keep going, it’s important to plan succession.
Alongside that, assuming your mental faculties and capabilities remain intact, can you find time to explore something else in life? Some doctor friends, for example, have created a music group and perform on stage while continuing their practice. It gives motivation, a break from routine, and a chance to give back in their own way.
So, finding the next purpose or side activity, whether in parallel or after your main work, is worth exploring. It’s about finding your own calling.

Host (Sanjay):
It’s been a really interesting discussion. Time flew by because the conversation was so engaging. I learned a lot from your sharing. Thank you so much. Do you have any final thoughts for our listeners and viewers?

Guest (Rajesh Gangwani):
No, thank you for inviting me, Sanjay. This subject is always present, something we discuss with close people. Today, having a detailed exploration really opened up my mind.
You mentioned the legacy aspect, which is important. For example, in India, many older people don’t have wills. There are cases where fortunes are left undefined, and families struggle to claim rightful money. I know someone, a successful executive, who started a company to help people create wills.
There are many other interventions possible—managing finances, avoiding scams, health planning. As people move into their later years, we can make their lives smoother and more fulfilling. Your zest for life is important, but we also need to account for health and practical aspects.
Purpose, planning, and awareness can make the journey more joyous and meaningful.

Host (Sanjay):
Fantastic closing thoughts. With that, we come to the end of this episode. We look forward to seeing you in the next one.

Thank you so much.

Guest (Rajesh Gangwani):
Thanks a lot.