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Discovering the Golden Years |
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This is the first sunrise of the New Millennium.
Accelerate into RetirementIt is normal to think of your retirement date like a football
goal line, you dive over the line, TD!!! You have won the game, your fans
carry you off the field. You’ve made it, catch the next bus for a tropical
island. Kick back and relax. Throw away the alarm clock. Avoid commuters
stay off the beltway, sleep in until at least noon. Have a nice brunch and
then plan your nap for the day. Check out the TIVO for sports recordings,
maybe get a seasons pass for the local baseball team. Hey your one of the
boys of summer now, tanning in the bleachers. Relax and enjoy yourself. Maybe play golf or tennis, on
second thought that requires too much energy. Maybe read the newspaper at
least the comics aren’t too taxing. Frank and Ernest is the intellectual
high point of the day, over stimulation should be avoided by all means. Collapsing just beyond the finish line isn’t a good way
initiate a successful retirement. I understand having worked several
decades and being tired of working, but I think it is much more positive to
accelerate into retirement. Retirement is the prize at the end of the race.
It is your reward and you should use it positively. You are free to do what
you want. Think carefully how you want to spend this valuable reward don’t
squander it. One way to help appreciate the value of this time is to put an
hourly rate on it. No matter what you earned on an hourly rate while
employed, your retirement time should be worth at least ten times as much.
So if you were making $100/hour, then in retirement your minimum should
start at $1000/hour. I also think that as you age you should get
increasingly larger cost of living increases. The fewer hours you have left
the more you should charge. This time is valuable, treasure it. Have a plan! Have goals! Know what you want to do the first
day, the first week and the first month. Maybe travel is one of your
retirement objectives; then schedule the trip, buy the tickets and leave
the first day of your retirement. Travel will instantly put you in a
different context. Instead of being in commuter traffic you will be on a
South Seas Island or walking the streets of Rome. It is this kind of
discontinuity that I think is the best possible way to start. You should be
able to know when you wake up that a change has occurred. You are out of
the blocks and off to a good start for retirement. If a vacation isn’t possible then how about hiking the
Appalachian Trail, leave the first day of retirement. As you stroll along
you will have plenty of time to think of other things that you want to do.
You will also instantly be on track to improving you physical condition.
When you are hiking about 20 miles a day you are burning calories and
improving muscle tone and stamina. On the trail you will also meet
interesting people; they all have a story that they want to share with you. Maybe you want to start painting. Then on your first day of
retirement go to the art store and buy supplies – paints, brushes, and
canvas. Take the supplies home, open the paint and put the first paint on
the canvas. I suggest that you set up a mirror and do a self-portrait. It
is particularly important to have a painting of yourself on the first date
of your retirement. As you improve your painting skills you can do a
self-portrait every year so as you improve you will look better and better
every year. Imagine after ten or twenty years you could have your portraits
displayed in your family room, wow! Alternately I don’t recommend painting
your spouse. That would be a bad way to start your retirement and much
could go wrong, especially at the start of your retirement. I’ve give three examples to illustrate what I mean by
accelerating into retirement. Each of you can of course apply this approach
to your own goals. Don’t dawdle get started the first day, make a statement
by your actions. If you haven’t picked a primary focus for your retirement,
then maybe you should make a list of possible foci. If you only get that
done on your first day; I think you have made a positive statement. But you
must convert that list into action. So as soon as your list is done, make a
start take action. The idea of accelerating into retirement is a very important
step. If you don’t do it the first day, chances are you won’t do it the
second day or probably ever. |
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