New Delhi, April 14 -- After three decades in journalism, Jim Lexa watched his salary plummet as print journalism faded. - until he walked away at 53 with no backup plan.

What followed was an unlikely reinvention! After working as a handyman for days, he then got a job awith the Postal Service. Today, he earns nearly three times his former salary - and clocks up to 40,000 steps a day on the job.

In an interview with Business Insider, Lexa said he didn't pick up journalism for money. But as he was caught the writing bug early, he was hired by a local newspaper in Lily Lake, Illinois, to cover sports, especially football.

Then after getting a journalism degree, he started working as a sports reporter for a regional newspaper group in Ama...