Joe Biden's Job Is Finished, Now What? Lessons and Cautionary Tales About Life After Power From Former Presidents.

With his historical determination to driblet retired of nan 2024 race, Joe Biden is now successful nan position of nan fewer who person travel earlier him — connected a hunt to find meaning and intent when, for illustration it aliases not, their clip down nan table of nan astir powerful agency successful nan world is over. "I've decided nan champion measurement guardant is to walk nan torch to a caller generation," he said successful his first address to nan federation since dropping retired of nan race.

So now nan large mobility for him: What comes next?

In his caller book Life After Power, New York Times bestselling writer Jared Cohen explores that mobility and really it was answered by those who antecedently held nan astir unsocial occupation successful nan world: President of nan United States.

Cohen says he was inspired to investigation and constitute this caller book aft spending a twelvemonth and a half walking nan world pinch Eric Schmidt, nan erstwhile CEO of Google. "He was CEO of Google for 14 years agone and I deliberation it's nan slightest absorbing point astir him because nan things that he opines connected coming are astatine this nexus of technology, geopolitics, and business," Cohen told me. "So I started to look astatine nan astir melodramatic status successful nan world, which is from nan presidency of nan United States, and wondered if there's thing we tin study from these seemingly unrelatable, stratospheric group erstwhile they travel backmost down to earth?"

Related: Sage Business Advice From America's Founding Fathers

Focusing connected 7 presidents who followed very different paths aft their position ended, Cohen recovered valuable lessons and cautionary tales that leaders successful each industries tin study from arsenic they contemplate nan adjacent stages of their master and individual lives.

The Lifelong Founder: Thomas Jefferson

The lesson: Purpose tin lead to longevity.

"Jefferson ever had nan thought to build a awesome arts and sciences assemblage successful America. He ever had this position that we needed a different benignant of institution for nan adjacent generation. Every business laminitis I've ever met has immoderate reservoir of ideas, but there's ever that Big Idea. And this was Jefferson's, and I judge his longevity — he lived to beryllium 82 — had a batch to do pinch wanting to do this. He yet opened nan doors of nan University of Virginia successful 1825 and it was what you'd telephone a bad launch. A bunch of students wearing masks rioted and chanted 'Down pinch European professors!' arsenic they threw bags of urine and vandalized nan assemblage that he personally designed. So he calls nan students earlier a disciplinary committee — which is him, James Madison, and James Monroe. A very intimidating committee to opportunity nan least! The students break down and confess their crimes and nan schoolhouse goes connected to beryllium 1 of nan astir prestigious successful nan country. So location are a fewer lessons from Jefferson: 1 is that it doesn't get immoderate easier arsenic you get older, and different is that this request to build, this request to recovered his dream task led to his longevity."

The Second Act: John Quincy Adams

The lesson: In a little station, you tin find a overmuch higher calling.

"There's an presumption that group who accomplished a awesome extremity person a short database of things that they've ever wanted to do to prime from. Well, John Quincy Adams had nary thought what he wanted to do next. His first enactment was architected for him by his sanction and his parents — he was expected to beryllium a awesome president. However, his presidency was a governmental stillborn because of a corrupt bargain betwixt him and Henry Clay. And truthful erstwhile he was defeated for re-election successful 1828, he didn't cognize what to do. And truthful aft a mates of years of emotion sorry for himself, trying to go a character husbandman and failing to constitute a memoir astir his father, he goes backmost to authorities and gets elected to nan House of Representatives. There he originates reference petitions from voters — immoderate of which abolitionists. And arsenic he publication them, location was a roaring guidance from nan Slaveocracy successful nan House wanting to soundlessness nan petitioners. Adams realized that they were violating a halfway American rule that Americans person nan correct to petition. This fueled him. He served 9 position fighting for nan correct to free reside which evolved into him mainstreaming what astatine nan clip was seen arsenic a fringe and extremist abolitionist movement. The instruction present is successful a overmuch little station, he recovered a overmuch higher calling — and it was a calling that recovered him alternatively than him searching for it. He achieved thing successful nan House of Representatives that he ne'er achieved arsenic president of nan United States, which is, that he became popular."

The Comeback: Grover Cleveland

The lesson: Getting backmost what you erstwhile had doesn't needfully make you happier.

"People look astatine Steve Jobs and they look astatine Michael Jordan, who are 2 of nan astir successful comebacks stories, but Grover Cleveland's comeback is simply a cautionary tale. It shows america that getting backmost what you erstwhile had doesn't needfully make you happier. In fact, it's apt to make you unhappier because circumstances change. He had entered nan White House arsenic a bachelor, sewage joined while president, and past for his re-election, he won nan celebrated ballot but mislaid nan Electoral College because he stood connected rule against nan precocious tariff. All he wanted was conscionable to discontinue pinch his beautiful woman and person children and food and bask nan remainder of his life. But he was drawn backmost retired of a consciousness of work to lick nan country's problems and was reelected for a 2nd word and near having mislaid nan 1 point that he erstwhile had: popularity. The infinitesimal he became president, 3 things that were retired of his power landed connected his desk: 1. A bunch of opportunistic American settlers decided to dethrone Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani, and de facto annex nan islands. 2. The Panic of 1893 was nan worst economical slump of nan century. 3. He feels a bump connected nan tile of his rima and realizes he whitethorn person terminal cancer. He had to hide nan crab to forestall further panic, which went against each rule that he had astir honesty. So erstwhile he leaves office, he spends nan remainder of his life miserable and depressed. So for anybody who wants to travel backmost and do what they did before, I deliberation it is really important to understand that it is almost ne'er arsenic glorious nan 2nd clip around.

Related: 7 Memorable Quotes from George H.W. Bush

The Dream Deferred: William Howard Taft

The lesson: Missed opportunities aren't mislaid forever.

"William Howard Taft was a man who revered nan courts and dreamed of being connected nan Supreme Court. But his woman and his brothers and Theodore Roosevelt wanted him to beryllium president. By astir accounts, Taft hated being president and it made him miserable. He served 1 word which ended successful 1913. But his passion for rule ne'er waivered and successful 1921, President Warren Harding nominated Taft, astatine nan property of 63, to beryllium Chief Justice of nan Supreme Court. So I would opportunity that nan instruction present is that you shouldn't springiness up connected a dream erstwhile things don't align. View it arsenic having deferred a dream, wherever pinch a small spot of luck, you whitethorn get it. Taft says nan happiest years of his life were spent serving arsenic Chief Justice of nan Supreme Court."

The Recovery: Herbert Hoover

The lesson: Your bequest tin beryllium recovered erstwhile you extremity focusing connected it.

"Before his presidency, Hoover was 1 of nan astir revered men successful nan world. He was an orphan who became a self-made millionaire and was known arsenic nan awesome humanitarian who fed nan world aft World War I. When nan Great Depression hit, it didn't conscionable termination nan economy, it killed Hoover's level and reputation. And by nan clip he near office, he was viewed arsenic a capitalist pig. And he began a agelong 32-year-long travel of betterment wherever he contemplates getting backmost into authorities but knows he has nary changeable successful nan era of FDR. But past erstwhile WWII was ending, Harry Truman resurrected Hoover because nan world was erstwhile again facing starvation, and he believed Hoover was nan only 1 who knew really to provender nan world. So he erstwhile again achieved nan position of a awesome executive and humanitarian. In his last enactment of service, Joe Kennedy, JFK's father, called connected him aft nan 1960 predetermination to reconcile Richard Nixon and JFK to show American unity since we were successful nan midst of nan Cold War. So erstwhile Hoover stopped focusing connected recovering his sanction and concentrated connected what he was bully at, he recovered his sanction successful his lifetime. He kept his mind ace engaged and wrote almost 10 books successful his past decade of life. He died a fulfilled person, serving nan world, serving nan country, and serving his mind."

Related: 10 Barack Obama Quotes connected Hard Work and Success

The Former: Jimmy Carter

The lesson: Unshackled from nan antagonistic aspects of a job, you tin ore connected those things that you genuinely attraction astir — and are bully at.

"Modern presidents thin to build family offices and foundations and truthful forth, which is very overmuch nan Jimmy Carter model. They create infrastructure astir them truthful that erstwhile they tin shed themselves of each nan things that they didn't for illustration doing successful nan occupation of president, they tin double down connected each nan things that they liked doing. Carter was opinionated astir a batch of things, but successful immoderate respects, authorities sewage successful nan measurement because he wasn't a very bully politician. And truthful unshackled from nan office, he created a post-presidency pinch an management that allowed him to attraction connected causes for illustration world wellness and predetermination monitoring and conflict resolution."

Related: 5 Marketing Lessons Learned From Donald Trump

George W. Bush

The lesson: Don't look back.

"When I looked astatine nan progressive surviving presidents, location is only 1 whose fame had doubled — aliases much than doubled — and that's George W. Bush. And he's nan only president of nan United States, of nan 45 men who served 46 times, who's managed to wholly abstracted himself from nan position. I've sat down pinch him for respective long-ranging interviews. He's not introspective astir his presidency, he doesn't deliberation astir it, overmuch to nan vexation of his critics. He describes bequest arsenic a soiled word, a selfish word. He said to me, "I publication 3 books astir George Washington past year. They're still penning books astir nan different George. By nan clip they get astir to me, I'm going to beryllium agelong dead, truthful why would I discarded my clip connected this?' He's benignant of amused by nan truth that he watches each these different group exert tremendous amounts of power and resources into trying to style their legacy. And it's almost ever counterproductive. Because erstwhile they build themselves up, they go highly susceptible to a takedown. But conscionable because he separates from his erstwhile occupation and his erstwhile chapter, doesn't mean he separates from nan things that he is opinionated about. He has an unmatched reverence for nan Washington rule (the conception of erstwhile presidents not criticizing their successors), and he cares profoundly astir veterans and nan American migration story. And he discovered a post-presidential sound done coating that allows him to beforehand those causes successful an apolitical way. So I deliberation that instruction is that you request to create a sound arsenic a CEO aliases a founder, and erstwhile you're done pinch it, you request to benignant of observe a caller voice."