Everybody wants to retire early. However, not many people envision what they would do after the retirement. Many people think that entering early retirement will give them more time with the family and more things to do the way they wanted.
While there are some truths to them, the reality is far from a happy ending.
My father is still working. He is 70 years old. And no, he doesn’t have to work and he actually have already achieved the coveted financial freedom.
He keeps working for 40 hours a week because business negotiation, management and finances gives him “a life” – something to pursue and keep him busy with, while enjoying his hobby – orchids.
From many stories I heard from him and others, retirees are often not the happiest people on earth.
They often got sick and degraded in health, and they often meet their Creator a while after retirement.
Why? Some of the reasons I know includes the feeling of not being needed anymore, stress and depression, and the feeling of meaningless life.
All in all, the difficulty in coping with drastic changes from somebody into “nobody” is common among retirees, including early retirees.
Do what Bill Gates does
OK – You are probably not going to be happy with this case study, but I see what Bill Gates does is a ideal for many of us: Build a business empire, “retire” from it, and do social causes.
Or, maybe you are not as fortunate as Bill Gates, you still can aim to reach the top of your career, retire, and do whatever you want in your life that gives value, at least to yourself.
Whichever, whatever, the key is you have to know what you will do after your retirement. And a sound plan of it is needed.
“Playing golf” is not a sound plan for after-retirement activities – you can play any golf you want, but you need something that adds value to your life, to the least. “Run a consultancy business” is a sound business plan, as your tons of experience are needed badly by others.
My conclusion is, you have to enter entrepreneurship to a certain degree to prepare your after-retirement phase – sociopreneurship, ecopreneurship, franchising, mentorship and any other types of entrepreneurship-related activities are the best bet to allow you to have passive business ownership, where your active involvement in the business is optional.
Doing the above will give you two benefits: A business that can support your monthly budget, and a mean to keep you active and have a meaningful retirement.
Ivan Widjaya
Are you ready to retire early?
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I really don’t know what to say but retirement is a very important moment in our lives. And if we still have the power i guess it’s the moment to take advantages of our time. We work almost all our lives. Do we need to do this even when we are old?
Beside all these, they do have more time to spend with the family, but, the most of their family members(which are not retired yet) are at work, so, they spend more time alone. Sad, but true :(
Too many syntax errors! I just cannot digest this!How can anyone end up writing a story or a paragraph with so many errors- grammatical and spelling mistakes? The author I am sure can never clear TOEFL or GMAT!
Is it really that bad? Thanks for the TOEFL / GMAT thing :) Anyway, I don’t need those and yes, grammar is not my strong point :) So there’s there…
Note: “syntax error” is for programming – you may use “typo” to refer to my spelling mistakes.
Anca,
True – and they end up with a new-found problem – depression and the feeling of being left out. That’s why people need to stay active, especially after the life-changing retirement.
Anelly,
Yes – that what I thought about retirement in the past. But the fact is, as retirement gives you free time, you can never enjoy years after your retirement the same way you would enjoyed it in the first 2 weeks. Maybe you travel around the world to celebrate your retirement – the question is, what’s next?
I knew some of my relatives that drown in sorrow and depression within weeks after their retirement. Some of them are thinking about starting a business, some other are thinking about working part time, and some other are thinking about… dying.
So I guess what we are all need is not retirement, but a freedom to live your life the way you wanted, while doing work-related activities, like pursuing your life-long dreams.
I personally feel that retirement means-using your knowledge and skills do what you love and when you want to. We do not have to wait until a certain age to retire. Instead of treating like hard core business, it could be freelancing, consulting, writing books, conducting seminars, or even as an adviser. If money is not an issue, involving in charity projects will be the best.
Lalitha,
I fully agree – Yours reminds me of Tim Ferriss, the 4-hour Work Week author, that suggest for us to have mini-retirements instead of fully retire after 30 years of doing what you don’t like :) Yes, entrepreneurship offers freedom, and do what you said is, IMO, a desirable lifestyle.
Thanks for your insights :)