Derek Coburn
Derek Coburn is a financial advisor with more than 25 years of experience and the founder of CADRE, a professional community for CEOs and entrepreneursrobertglazer.com. He is the bestselling author of Networking Is Not Working and his latest book Let’s Retire Retirement, which challenges outdated assumptions about when and how we should stop workingrobertglazer.com. Through his books and his work with CADRE, Derek is changing the way people think about lifestyle design and intentional networkingrobertglazer.com.
In this conversation, Derek recounts his journey from building a successful wealth‑management practice to selling it and launching CADRE, an exclusive mastermind community. He explains why traditional networking events rarely create meaningful connections and how curated communities deliver far greater ROI for entrepreneurs. Brendan and Derek dive into the core thesis of Let’s Retire Retirement: the retirement age of 60–65 is a relic of 19th‑century social programs and doesn’t reflect modern longevity or flexibility. Derek demonstrates how working a few more years, say to 70 or 75 can drastically reduce the monthly savings required to achieve financial independence and free up resources to invest in growth or quality of life. They discuss practical examples of how SME owners can reallocate savings pressure, the psychological risks of tying identity to a future exit, and why deferring joy often leads to emptiness. Derek shares his “time‑machine exercise” for valuing moments with loved ones, his framework for exploring passion‑adjacent ventures, and his critique of traditional pension and tax strategies. He offers habits and routines to maintain energy and purpose, strategies for balancing business and family, and insights on why “unretirement” is becoming the norm. The episode ends with Derek’s timeless takeaways and a challenge to design a life so fulfilling you never want to retire from it.