Remarkable People Podcast

Don't Retire from Purpose Chris Maduri on Identity, Faith & Your Second Act

Chris Maduri · August 13, 2026

Finance · Life Coach · Wellnessin

Interview with Chris Maduri

Podcast: Remarkable People Podcast

August 13, 2026 · 51 min

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Don't Retire from Purpose Chris Maduri on Identity, Faith & Your Second Act

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Key topicsWould You Live Differently If Your Family Depended on You?Most people would say they'd do anything for their family. But Chris challenges listeners to consider a harder question: are you actually living in a way that protects them? That means looking at health, longevity, financial decisions and the choices we make today that could affect our families decades from now. We all say we'd die for our families. But would we change how we live for them? Chris connects the emotional idea of family responsibility with practical financial and lifestyle decisions. His perspective is that protecting your family isn't only about what happens after you're gone - it's also about taking care of yourself while you're here.How Do You Pay for Long-Term Care When You Need It Now?When care is already needed, families don't have the luxury of putting off the financial conversation. Whether care is being provided at home, in assisted living, or in another setting, the immediate questions can feel overwhelming: What will this cost? Where can we turn for help? And what options do we still have? Chris can take listeners through the practical questions families should be asking once care has begun, where they may be able to look for resources, and what financial options may still be worth exploring. This is a timely, practical conversation for families who are already navigating care and need to understand their choices without getting lost in financial jargon.What If You Live to 100?Chris Maduri asks the retirement question most plans quietly skip: what if the money has to last to 100, and what will those extra years actually feel like? He describes retirement as the fourth quarter of life, with a little overtime if it goes well, and argues that longevity is now the real risk to plan for. He explains why energy and awareness end up mattering more than perfect plans as people age, and why spending early on health, movement and connection is part of the financial plan, not a distraction from it. Listeners come away with a way to plan for a longer life that is well funded and genuinely worth living, whatever age they are starting from.View all topics →

About Chris Maduri

Retirement & Life Transitions Expert

Nearly 20 years Helping people prepare for retirement4 Pillars of sustainable retirement planning3 Buckets in his wealth-building approachSales Director Named by Financial Marketing Group in 2013

Chris Maduri has spent nearly two decades helping people prepare for more than retirement - he helps them prepare for the life that comes after work.

Because retirement isn't simply the day the pay cheque stops.

It can change your identity, your marriage, your relationship with your time, your health, your family and your sense of purpose. And Chris believes that's the part of retirement planning most people don't talk about.

Chris began his career just before the 2008 Financial Crisis, an experience that fundamentally shaped how he thinks about risk. Watching carefully constructed plans come under pressure taught him that assumptions can fail - and that a retirement plan needs to work in the real world, not just on paper.

But after nearly two decades in the industry, Chris has come to see that financial preparation is only one part of the equation.

The bigger question is: What are you actually retiring to?

Chris describes retirement as the "fourth quarter of life" - and, if you've done things right, a little overtime.His work explores what it takes to make that chapter meaningful: having financial confidence, maintaining your health, protecting the people you love, staying connected to a sense of purpose and knowing how you want to spend the years you've worked so hard to create.

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Retirement should be the beginning of your next meaningful chapter—not the end of your purpose.

What happens when your career ends and the title, routine, responsibilities, and identity that shaped your life suddenly change? In this powerful episode of the Remarkable People Podcast, David Pasqualone sits down withChris Maduri, founder of Vibrant Retirement, to explore how to find purpose after retirement, rebuild your identity beyond work, deepen your faith, and create a meaningful second act.

Chris shares much more than retirement advice. He opens up about his own remarkable journey through adoption, struggles with identity, the devastating loss of his best friend, alcohol, divorce, multiple DUIs, jail, and the spiritual transformation that followed.

During one of the lowest seasons of his life, Chris began reading the Bible, slowing down, becoming still, and developing a deeper relationship with God. That process helped him begin seeing himself differently—not according to his failures, income, career, achievements, or the opinions of other people, but through a completely different understanding of identity, grace, responsibility, and purpose.

In this conversation, you’ll discover:

• Why financial preparation alone does not prepare you for retirement

• How career and achievement can become dangerously connected to identity

• Why you should begin designing your “second act” years before retirement

• How to balance work, family, health, faith, and enjoying life now

• Why stillness, prayer, listening, and self-awareness matter

• How Chris rebuilt his life after addiction, DUIs, divorce, and jail

• Why failure does not mean your life or purpose is over

• How small acts of service can reveal a much larger purpose

• Why purpose ultimately has to extend beyond yourself

• How to stop endlessly preparing and begin taking meaningful action

• Why you do not need to be perfect before you can add value to someone else’s life

One of Chris’s most powerful insights from the episode:

“If you’re looking for purpose, it has to be outside of you. No one’s purpose is to help themselves.”

Whether you are 25, 45, 65, approaching retirement, already retired, experiencing a major life transition, or simply wondering, “What does God want me to do next?”—this conversation is for you.

Your career may eventually end.

Your job title may change.

But if you are still here, your life still matters—and there is still good you can do.

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🎙️ CONNECT WITH CHRIS MADURI

Chris Maduri is the founder of Vibrant Retirement, where he helps people think beyond the financial side of retirement and ask better questions about identity, time, relationships, purpose, and their next chapter.

⏱️ EPISODE CHAPTERS

00:00 Retirement Doesn't Mean Retiring from God's Purpose

01:33 What You Can Expect to Gain from This Episode

02:08 Why Financial Retirement Planning Isn't Enough

03:27 Busyness, Midlife & “What Happened to My Life?”

05:56 Designing Your Second Act Before Retirement

07:30 Don't Wait Until Retirement to Start Living

08:52 Work-Life Balance & Escaping Hustle Culture

10:50 Chris Maduri's Story: Childhood, Adoption & Identity

14:02 Loss, Alcohol & the Beginning of a Downward Spiral

15:18 DUIs, Jail & the Turning Point

17:22 How Chris Found God While in Jail

18:15 The Bible, Identity & How God Uses Broken People

20:29 Redemption, Grace & Second Chances

22:39 Stop Living for Other People's Approval

24:55 Rebuilding Life, Marriage, Family & Faith

27:04 Leaving the Traditional Career Path

28:41 Feeling Lost? Start by Being Still

31:46 Prayer, Stillness & Meditation

33:17 Training Your Mind Like a Muscle

35:04 Physical Movement & Flexibility

36:20 Retirement Arrived—Now What?

36:46 Purpose Has to Be Outside of You

37:40 Finding Purpose Through Serving Others

38:20 Start Moving Before You Know the Destination

39:10 The Power of Saying Yes

39:30 The Men's Retreat That Changed Chris's Direction

41:00 Bible Study, Ministry & Service

41:52 Vibrant Retirement & Connecting with Chris

45:09 Final Lessons on Balance, Faith & Imperfection

45:52 Don't Apologize for Who You're Not

46:20 The Gifts Inside You Are Waiting to Come Out

46:48 Listen. Do. Repeat. For Life!

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If this conversation helped you, please LIKE the video, SUBSCRIBE to the channel, and SHARE this episode with one person who may be approaching retirement, questioning their purpose, rebuilding their life, or simply wondering what God has for them next.

Your share may be exactly what that person needs today.

#PurposeAfterRetirement #ChrisMaduri #RemarkablePeoplePodcast

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THE NOT-SO-FINE-PRINT DISCLAIMER:

While we are very thankful for all of our guests, please understand that we do not necessarily share or endorse the same beliefs, worldviews, or positions that they may hold. We respectfully agree to disagree in some areas, and thank God for the blessing and privilege of free will.

For more Remarkable Episodes, Inspiration, and Motivation, please visit https://davidpasqualone.com/remarkable-people-podcast/ now!

Guest: Chris Maduri