The current financial crisis reminds me of a cartoon I saw years ago in Paris. A bungee jumper is worried about taking the jump off the bridge, so he checks his harness. Fine. He checks its connection to the bungee cord. Fine. He checks the cord itself. Fine. He checks the connection of the cord to the bridge. Fine. Reassured, he jumps and the bridge breaks!
The financial bridge...
Retirement is easy, right? You just stop working and everything else will be fine. I call this the "Homer Simpson Myth." Doh! It just doesn't work that way, Homer. With life spans extending 20 to 30+ years after traditional retirement age, and retirement representing one of the most difficult of life's transitions, it makes sense to spend some time getting "fit" so that you can enjoy your...
When we speak about retirement, we usually refer, consciously or not, to a period of withdrawal. This may be tinged in Technicolor, with images of grandchildren, travel, and other things we dreamed of but didn't have time for during our employment phase, but rarely does the concept include commitment, leveraging our personal resources to impact a world view, or connecting to our community in a...
Do I have enough money to retire? That is a question that 77 million baby boomers are asking themselves. Many do not retire simply because they don't know the answer. And they are right to be fearful. Studies have shown that, based on their current savings, 60% of Americans will not be able to sustain their present lifestyle in retirement!
The most common advice you will hear from the...
Why do we call "retirement" an art? After all, as many believe, you simply stop working. The answer is that, for many of us, this period of life is the first time we actually have the opportunity to create the life we want! There is no model for this period, no Uncle George or Aunt Josie to tell you which is the best school to go to or what is the best place to work with the best benefits. It...
Most athletes are born competitors. Since our early years, we have been conditioned to think in terms of "how many," "how much" and "how fast." The cruel twist of fate parallels the wisdom of age with the slowing of the fast-twitch muscles. The athlete who wishes to retain enjoyment in his older years needs cunning as well as brawn to do well, feel well, and be well!
Our primal instincts...
Retiring is a life-changing event, no question about it. As we anticipate it, the word we most associate it to is "freedom!" The end of day-to-day responsibilities, the opportunity to do all the things we have dreamed about doing, the beginning of "me" time and "us" time.
The allure of freedom is powerful, but the truth is that freedom for one member of a couple may feel like servitude to...
Part of the joy of retiring is spreading our wings, trying new things. Sometimes that can include trying our skills in a new industry. But how do we go about the business of convincing others we are a resource?
The key element in finding the work you want is converting yourself into a
resource for the industry you have selected.
To do this well, you need to do some homework. First,...
Before you retired, remember how you dreamed about what your life would be like after you stopped working? All the places you would go? All the things you would do with all your new-found extra time? How wonderful life was going to be? How long ago was that?
Now here you are, months or years later. Your life is not what you envisioned. You are not doing the things you thought you would...
What is so hard about retirement? Many people have asked themselves this question. Well, if it is so easy, then why are 41% of retirees five years out depressed and say retirement was the most difficult transition of their life? Now they are unhappy and tell us their life was better when they were working!
You can avoid this fate. To learn how, you need to understand the difficulties...
