It may seem incongruous to include an article about retirement in a business journal dedicated to informing you of how to start, grow, protect, and nurture a business. But if you do all those things right, there may come a point in your life where you want to explore the reality of life beyond work, the luxury of time whilst unfettered by a job, the joy of retirement. I was reminded of this last fall, when I chanced upon a grafitto painted on an alleyway wall in Barga, Italy. “Do you believe in life after work?”
I do. I often have friends comment on how easy we make retirement look. But, as with many of life’s endeavors, it takes work to make it look easy. Prior to retirement I was as busy as the next person, sometimes busier. I had three paying jobs; I was Mayor of our city; I sat on five or six boards of for-profit and non-profit organizations; I was a frequent speaker and presenter of political and housing information at local, state and national events; and I traveled on average a week every month. My time was committed. Yet I walked away from it without a backward glance, fond memories but no regrets. Life after work.
How? By letting go. My identity was not tied to my jobs, my self-worth was not defined by my accolades, and my future is not dictated by my past. I have truly been unburdened from what has been.
But you have to plan for it, you have to be prepared, and you have to believe there’s life after work. There are numerous on-line self-help books and treatises on the process, including some excellent advice from Trinity College and others. Heck there’s even a new cottage industry revolving around teaching you the steps to successfully retirement. Why? Because we are primed our whole lives to be productive, to work, and to strive for that next level of accomplishment or income, but nowhere are we taught how, when, or why to let it go. And that’s a shame. Because for those prepared to deal with it, this last chapter of our lives can be as rewarding as what came before, if not more so.
No longer need we be the rocking-chair brigade unless it’s dandling a grandbaby on our knee or enjoying a libation overlooking nature. Our families are probably grown by this time so their daily demand on our time is reduced, yet we have more time to enjoy their lives and their friendship. If our career focus has not derailed our home life, we have more time to renew that relationship, to travel, explore and enjoy their company. In short, we have the ability to do all those things we want, the time to do them, and with whom. Providing you know what you want and you believe.
It means we can recommit to our own health and energy so we can regain or retain an active lifestyle. Sitting around the house, nagging the spouse, complaining about everything, is simply not how you want to spend those golden years. It will not enhance the experience and may actually hasten you demise – if boredom doesn’t kill you, your spouse just might.
Of course, some of this depends on your financial situation. Hopefully you’ve heeded the advice on the pages of this publication over the years and engaged a competent financial planner to prepare you for this day. Not having done so doesn’t mean you can’t retire – it just means you may have to adjust your goals to fit your reality. Time is now what you have in abundance, money is simply a variable on what you can fit into that time. You can still make the most of your time without spending the most of your money.
And if you don’t believe in life after work, that’s fine too. I have friends in business and politics who simply can’t see themselves in retirement, in a situation where they’re not involved, where they’re not ‘productive’, where they’re not making more money than they’ll ever be able to spend, or where the perception of their power and influence is not paramount. That’s great. You do you. It just means the places I go will be a little less crowded, and I’m OK with that.
For the rest of us, as that old expiration date looms closer, that realization of our own mortality, the understanding that there won’t be many ‘next chapters’ to our lives, we need to adequately plan to make the most of that time. For most of us, the trajectory of our adult life has been dictated by the needs of career and family, the things that are expected of us, the things we have to do. Retirement, the power of letting go, relieves us of those demands and is truly a freeing experience. Letting go will teach you the art of being soft and humble, yet powerful and free.
People who know me, know that I have long planned for this day. My life after work vision had me sitting in a rocking chair, on the porch of my cabin overlooking Trout Lake, a barrel of Jack Daniel’s in the corner with a long sipping straw, writing a book about all the characters that have enriched my life (i.e. all you SOB’s I’ve met along the way). I’m in the process of extending my porch closer to the lake, I’ve got some notes written about a few of you, and my only disappointment was discovering they don’t actually sell Jack by the barrel. I should have planned better. I hope you do too.
Believe in life after work. It’s real.