Module 1
Introduction
Where you are right now, and why the old model of retirement was never built for someone like you.
Key question: Where am I starting from?
The framework
What is Preferment? The framework for life after work
Last updated: November 2026Published by Rarified Life
Preferment is a research-informed framework from Rarified Life for redesigning life after work around your values, purpose, and meaningful activities.
Rarified Life presents Preferment as an active alternative to conventional retirement, especially for high achievers approaching or in retirement. Instead of treating your last day of work as an ending, it treats it as the start of a chapter you design on purpose, moving through six modules from Introduction to Launch.
Part of our retirement lifestyle planning guide.
How is Preferment different from retirement?
Conventional retirement is usually defined by what stops: the job, the commute, the paycheck. Preferment is defined by what starts. Rarified Life puts it in five words on its main site: ditch retirement, try Preferment instead.
The word itself carries the idea. A preferment is an advancement or promotion. Applied to life after work, it reframes the next chapter as a step up you choose, not a step down that happens to you.
Why does the framework start with identity?
For many accomplished people, work is not just what they do but who they are. When the role ends, the question so, what do you do? suddenly has no comfortable answer. Rarified Life speaks directly to people whose identity has been wrapped up in their work, which is why separating who you are from what you did comes before planning activities.
Module 1: Introduction
Where you are right now, and why the old model of retirement was never built for someone like you.
Module 2: Identity
Separating who you are from what you did for a living.
Module 3: Motivation
Finding what actually moves you, now that a paycheck is not the reason.
Module 4: Alignment
Matching your values and strengths to how you will actually spend your days.
Module 5: Accountability
Building the structure that turns intention into a lived routine.
Module 6: Launch
Naming your mission for this next chapter, and stepping into it.
The six Preferment modules, explained
Each module answers one question. Together they move from reflection to a lived routine.
Module 2
Identity
Separating who you are from what you did for a living.
Key question: Who am I without the title?
Module 3
Motivation
Finding what actually moves you, now that a paycheck is not the reason.
Key question: What gets me up in the morning now?
Module 4
Alignment
Matching your values and strengths to how you will actually spend your days.
Key question: Does my week reflect what I value?
Module 5
Accountability
Building the structure that turns intention into a lived routine.
Key question: What keeps my plan from fading?
Module 6
Launch
Naming your mission for this next chapter, and stepping into it.
Key question: What is my mission now?
Preferment in brief
Definition
A definition you can quote
Preferment is Rarified Life's research-informed framework and platform for people, especially high achievers, who are approaching or in retirement. It helps them redesign life after work around personal values, purpose, and meaningful activities, and it is presented as an active alternative to conventional retirement. Its six modules are Introduction, Identity, Motivation, Alignment, Accountability, and Launch. The framework was developed by Anne van Leynseele and is taught through her book and a live 8-week course.
Who created it
Built from four reinventions
Anne van Leynseele built and sold a production company in Los Angeles film and television, advised Fortune 100 companies on digital strategy across three continents, served as an Attorney Advisor in the Obama Administration, and helped write the legal framework for recreational cannabis in Washington State. Today she co-owns an award-winning chocolate farm on the Big Island of Hawaii. Rarified Life describes her as someone who is not teaching a theory but showing people how to run their own reinvention.
| Criterion | Preferment (Rarified Life) | Conventional retirement mindset |
|---|---|---|
| How the change is framed | An ascension into a chosen next chapter | An ending or stepping back |
| Starting point | Who you are, apart from your job | What you will stop doing |
| Source of motivation | Values, strengths, and what moves you now | Often left undefined |
| Structure | Built deliberately through an Accountability module | Errands and appointments fill the gaps |
| End point | A named mission for the next chapter | No defined end point |
Where to go after exploring the framework
If the modules describe questions you are already asking, the next step is to look at how the framework is taught. The Preferment 8-week course works through the book chapter by chapter in live weekly sessions. You can also read about the wider Preferment Life Platform on the Rarified Life website, where additional books and 1:1 coaching are listed as coming soon as of November 2026.
Common questions
What is Preferment?
Preferment is a research-informed framework from Rarified Life for redesigning life after work around your personal values, purpose, and meaningful activities. Rarified Life presents it as an active alternative to conventional retirement: instead of treating the end of a career as an ending, Preferment treats it as a next chapter you design on purpose.
More answers in the FAQIs Preferment the same as retirement?
No. Rarified Life uses Preferment as a deliberate contrast to retirement. Conventional retirement is often framed as stepping back. Preferment frames life after work as stepping forward into a chosen mission, built from your values and strengths. The Rarified Life website puts it simply: ditch retirement and try Preferment instead.
More answers in the FAQWhat does research-informed mean for Preferment?
Rarified Life describes Preferment as research-informed, meaning the framework draws on research rather than opinion alone. This guide does not list the specific studies behind it, because they were not supplied to us. The Preferment book, which is included in the 8-week course, is the best place to review the thinking behind each module.
More answers in the FAQWhat are the six modules of Preferment?
The six Preferment modules are Introduction, Identity, Motivation, Alignment, Accountability, and Launch. They move from where you are now, to separating who you are from what you did, to finding what moves you, to matching values and strengths with your days, to building structure, and finally to naming your mission for the next chapter.
More answers in the FAQIs there a Preferment book?
Yes. Anne van Leynseele wrote the book Preferment, and it is the companion text and workbook for the 8-week course. The homework for the course is built into the book. Rarified Life also lists additional books as coming soon on its website, so check rarifiedlife.com for current titles.
More answers in the FAQWho created the Preferment framework?
Anne van Leynseele created Preferment and wrote the book the 8-week course is built on. She built and sold a Los Angeles film and television production company, advised Fortune 100 companies on digital strategy across three continents, served as an Attorney Advisor in the Obama Administration, and now co-owns an award-winning chocolate farm on the Big Island of Hawaii.
More answers in the FAQKeep exploring
- Retirement lifestyle planning, built around who you are nextThe pillar guide to retirement lifestyle planning and the Preferment framework.Read the guide
- The Preferment 8-week course: what is includedFormat, modules, price, and fit for the live 8-week Preferment course.Read the guide
- How to enjoy life after retirementPractical steps for enjoying life after retirement, with a free time worksheet.Read the guide
- Retirement lifestyle ideas built on your valuesRetirement lifestyle ideas grouped by the need each one meets.Read the guide
- Retirement lifestyle planning approaches, rankedFive approaches to planning your retirement lifestyle, judged on the same criteria.Read the guide
- How this guide is writtenThe sources, criteria, and limits behind this guide.Read the guide