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- May 08 2007
- 158 Comments
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Last week I got a massage.
It was different than any massage I ever received (which is why I am telling you about it). It reminded me of a key distinction between my most successful clients and those that seem to continually struggle.
The masseuse (I’ll call her GP for short) discovered a big knot in my shoulder and asked me if I work in front of a computer. I said I did and I'd been spending a lot more time typing than I usually do. (The reason for my recent marathon typing sessions is the new report I'm working on. I'm sure it will open people’s eyes just like the Internet Business Manifesto did last year. More on that later...)
The conversation with GP drifted to how many hours a week I work, what I do, and what I do on the weekends.
When she heard how much time I took out of my schedule for fun and time with my family, she was surprised at how I'm able to squeeze in everything. Her response was not unusual at all. In fact, whenever I explain my schedule I'm always greeted with envy first, followed quickly by confusion, then wonder at how I'm able to live my life so well.
Being polite, I asked GP about her schedule. Her answer absolutely horrified me… GP had been working seven days a week for the past 6 months with no days off and no vacations. At first I thought I had misheard her, but I hadn’t. Six massages a day, day in and day out, for over 180 days straight.
She making six figures – but she’s living her "life" based on a faulty assumption I see entrepreneurs making far too often.
Look, even though I’m only 36 years old, I’ve already retired twice. Yet, today I am typing this note to you from my office surrounded by 12 exceptional employees. What happened?... Why the hell am I still working?
The reason I work today is: the whole concept of ‘Retirement’ is fundamentally flawed. The idea that you should sacrifice the best years of your life hoping to discover magical happiness in your later years doesn’t prove out at all. It’s just an old-fashioned theory you’ve been sold – and all you have to do is look around to prove to yourself how unrealistic it is.
In case you didn’t know… only a very small percentage of seniors can actually retire. Nowadays most are forced to work to supplement their income. And the trend is only getting worse. With the recent collapses of private pensions and the continual decrease in purchasing power of social security, many experts have come to the same conclusion…
“I don’t think were going to see another generation that’s going to fully retire. There's going to be a lot of people that are going to continue to work for the rest of their lives.” Doug Lockwood, Retirement Specialist, Harbor Lights Financial Group.
But what’s even worse is this sort of “hoping it will be better later” dramatically decreases the likelihood you’ll ever achieve the success you desire.
Soon I’ll tell you why this is. But for now you need to think about the answers to these two questions as you go through your day:
What if you could never retire?
What if the way you choose to work today would set the pattern you must continue until the day you die? What would you be doing differently?
Let me know your answers to these two vital questions by posting your comments here:
And if you think you know why this reduces your chances of overall success, tell me why.
Then be on the look out for another message from me… because I’m going to tell you how to dramatically increase your chances of success AND at the same time enjoy your life a whole lot more than you do now. Interested?... Stay Tuned….
To Higher Profits
Rich Schefren
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158 Comments to “Why Most People Die Without A Happy Ending”
Interesting Questions Rich!
I guess if I could never retire and I had to continue with my current schedule I would die an early death. What you are saying makes sense - I can see how this could even ruin my current productivity although I don’t know what the solution is. I am looking forward to your next post - I am really curious how you are going to answer this.
Wow Rich,
I know I wouldn’t want to be working like GP for the rest of my life if I couldn’t retire.
If I had to live the same pattern for the rest of my life, I would probably not want to work as much and work on something that I really enjoy doing. I would also probably take time off more often.
I think you make an interesting point about “hoping it will be better later” We spend too much time concerned about the future instead of creating the life we want now.
This concept does present itself in a very unique, yet ackward manner. For most of us to succeed, we either must work extremly hard and put in a lot of hours or else have a unique idea that we can sell to someone else, then walk away.
The issue is finding something that will allow us to be able to spend our time as we wish and desire. Having fun, spending quality time with our families and loved ones is certainly important to most of us. Yet it is not always practical, even for those of us who are able to have our own business. Working when and how we please and making a sufficient income to allow us the basic luxuries of life are difficul to attain.
I look forward to seeing other response to this question.
Hey Rich,
I live in a neighborhood where everyone is doing good by mainstream standards… nice house, BMW’s, 3 kids, couple of vacations each year…. the funny thing is, I was out in front of my house this morning at around 6am as I watched my neighbors all drive off to work… I live on Long Island - rush hour traffic is murder here… anyway… it’s funny you posted this today because my neighbors always marvel at the idea that I have a virtual business from my home and I go play golf during the day with the “retired” people - my wife works with me - so to most folks - it’s hard to understand how we do it.
Regarding the idea of being able to have free time… that’s the magic I learned from being in your course… currently I’m building my business virtually and have freed up a lot of time… everyday I have conversations with GP… all I want to do is help them, because retirement is so obviously an illusion…
Great Post Rich… keep’em coming
For the past 40 years (25 to 65), with the exception of a few days off during Christmas and a few days per year for camping trips, I’ve pretty much worked 12 - 14 hours per day 7 days per week.
It’s been an interesteing life being an electronics instructor, oceanographer, consulting engineer, author, publisher, lecturer, inventor, etc. but now, at 65, I hope that my intense interest in the internet coupled with my passion for writing will allow me to work less and have more time to enjoy life.
Besides the books already written (www.woodfoundations.com) and 4 more that are in the process of being written, I hope to establish a number of websites that will, hopefully, run mostly on ‘automatic pilot’, providing income for both my son and daughter (who also works with us).
I am blessed having a son that is a whiz IT guy (20 years experience) that can handle all the technical stuff while I spend my time on the writing.
At my present age, there is not a lot of ‘later’ left, but I hope to implement this plan soon so that I can pass on the wisdom that you have to my children so that they won’t make the same mistakes I’ve made.
Keep up the good work.
We all need your wisdom.
Looking forward to your next blog.
Very difficult questions to deal with Rich!
First response is I’d probably drop dead on the spot, at least
spiritually - the spark would literally go out. I hate what
I do for a living.
Time to really think on this.
Rich - I retired several times too - and found myself working long days again because I love what I do… so I get joy out of the way I spend my day and yes, I could be doing other fun “retirement” things - but really, they got boring too… so working and taking fun trips and just doing what I love is not work at all…
I would definitely do something that requires less hours per week than I currently do while maximizing the growth of my business. Basically, it goes hand-in-hand with what you’ve explained over the last year about the importance of systemitizing and automating what we do day to day. I think more people have to embrace the concept of enjoying a “retired-type” life now and not waiting until they are too old to really enjoy it. Creating a business that requires you to run it constantly is a long term recipe for burn out. I recommend anyone read the new book by Tim Ferriss called “The 4-Hour Work Week”. He has a lot of great ideas on how to create an autopilot business that uses systems, outsourcing, and automation to enable the business owner minimal involvement on a weekly basis. This creates the ability for people to design their business AROUND their preferred lifestyle and not the other way around- which is something you’ve also recommended.
Rich, thanks for the interesting post.
Kurt Hagemeister
Rich,
The answer is time effectiveness. You made that very clear in your recent webinar and it was a wake up call for me. Imagine–I teach this stuff all the time and had gotten away from using my time as effectively as I could myself!
Since I saw that webinar I’ve e-mailed the link to dozens of small and solo business clients who are all struggling with the same time issues, and I’ve gotten back on track.
You were 100% right–it’s not always the smartest person or the one with the coolest products that succeeds. It’s the one who is an expert at allocating their time effectively that ends up with more time to enjoy life.
Thanks for sharing your always-on-target insights.
All the best,
Janis Pettit
The concept of “work” can have many different meanings If you truly enjoy what you do to earn a living, it does not carry the same meaning of drudgery. Working 8 hours at a job you despise, can seem like 16 hours. Working 16 hours at a job you enjoy can seem like 2 hours!
Interesting that I chose today to come home early and read this particular email, because the questions you pose were running through my head.
I AM looking for something more fulfilling and less time consuming than what I am doing–besides the fact that the business I work for is failing and I’m likely a short-timer there anyway.
So, maybe this is my lucky day.
Looking forward to your next post.
Thanks.
Hi Rich,
Unfortunately, I also work 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week, since ….. four years !!
It’s not because I enjoy doing what I do, not at all. It’s because I am 55, unemployed, with no resource, and I am struggling very, very hard trying to make this internet thing to work.
Whith no success at this time.
I tried all that the gurus tell me, I tried everything that could be done and each time that a small success happens, it doesn’t last for a sufficient time to launch an other thing. So I have to redo it as the first time.
In that condition, I can’t actually automate anything, because each day I have to try an other thing, expecting it will works this time ?
The retirement is not even a dream for me. I have to work to make my day…
And I wonder how everybody else make millions on the net…
Wish you the best
Jeff
Rich,
you are making probably the best point ever. All we do is about a good life - NOW! Who knows if we are blessed with a TOMORROW.
I start EVERY DAY with a one hour walk with my wife in one of the most interesting parks of our town. This is so good for our health, relationship, feelings, mood … And guess what - the park is almost empty besides the Sundays. Who of all rich people is that rich that he can have a one hour walk every morning?
Good luck with all your projects, Rich!
JAn
Wow!
Your point hit me in the stomach!
I would definitely use my time at my business way much smarter, and spend much more time with my family, hobbies, friends, recreation…
I will.
Thanks Rich
ps.: I love module 2 - it’ll also help with this same thing
For me it comes down to a question of efforts vs. results. Your masseuse is forced to continually put in a certain amount of effort in order to maintain her income level. When she stops working, she stops making money. Her income is a direct function of the number of hours that she puts in.
In the same situation, I’d put my focus on decreasing my own effort while still maintaining the same results. For me that is a question of investing in my business in order to decrease the number of hours that I work while maintaining the same level of output, and income. That would naturally include leveraging the time of others. Although that initially decreases profit margins, it increases the value of my time and frees me up to focus on building my business.
Rather than ramble on any further, I’ll sum up my answer in a single sentence:
You don’t want to be another wheel in the machine, you want to be the guy (or girl) who pushes that big red start button
Rich, what’s your schedule like?
Here’s what I would choose for the rest of my life:
More time making a difference in people’s lives and less time messing around with petty details.
Ironically, I realize that the choice is mine, but it’s hard to break free of the familiar and seductive pull of the way I’ve always done things.
It’s just a matter of overcoming the inertia and blazing a new path.
Here’s the way I see it:
By the time you’re in your 60’s you should at least have enough money saved/invested that you only need to work a few hours a week. Or you should have some kind of passive income or enough income coming in where you only need to work part time hours every week. I think the notion of retiring and then not having to work is unhealthy. Think about it, other than working, what else will you do with all your free time? Sit on the couch like a vegetable all day, everyday watching TV? That just destroys the mind and body. You can’t play golf and fish all day everyday. That gets old afterawhile. You can’t travel non-stop. So some kind of work, on a part time basis will keep your mind sharp and your body in better condition than someone who doesn’t. That’s my two cents.
If you enjoy what you do, you really love it, you could work at it until the day you die.
How may people can say they love what they do. I don’t
Rich,
Your questions come 4 years after I was forced to make the life changing decision. Having toyed with the idea of “doing my own thing”, the corporate that I worked for dispensed with my services with no warning. The opportunity to grab life with both hands and run with it does not come often enough for most of us!
So at this time I am doing exactly what I want, when I want and for who I want. I have taken on the idea of helping others find their ideal customers, delivering these “ideal prospects” back to the client’s site and benefiing from a share in the revenue that is generated.
The concept of residual income without all the baggage that is usually attached in the form of someone else’s company.
Life couldn’t be better. Doing this for the rest of my life is exactly what I have planned.
I think I’d spend more time with my family and traveling — that’s the main thing I’d change. I don’t intend to retire because I enjoy doing my “work” so much.
Rich, I am curious if your schedule is consistent throughout the years, especially when you enter launches and things that tend to be more stressful. I find the hours are sucked away very quick during launch periods.
You asked “What if the way you choose to work today would set the pattern you must continue until the day you die? What would you be doing differently?”
Thats why I joined your program! The way I was working was not going to allow me to retire nor would I be able to keep that pace in my later years.
Although my initial plan drifted towards building a business that would be self sufficient and successful enough for resale, NOW my plan has a definite path to that goal.
What am I doing differently? I’m creating a business that will support me, not me support it. One that will continue to function even if I’m not there. I’m working smarter not harder. If I am still working in my retirement years its going to be because I want to NOT because I have to.
Thanks Rich
By the way - I took my Kolbe index test and based on the results, the careers of the people who have similar scores…. I’ve been a few of those already. I want to try something different (when I grow up!) LOL
Hi Rich.
Unlike proably most of your clients, I have a pretty unconventional ‘job’ - I would call it ‘calling’.
I understood the ‘myth of retirement’ from the day I finished school.
I am going to do the things I do till the day I die and I’m very happy with that. In fact, I don’t what to retire in the conventional sense. My most desired thing is not to stay home and watch tv and chat with neighbours and go for vacation. Ugh….
Hi Rich,
Intersting to me too that you should raise this topic now. It’s a topic that I’ve been thinking about for some time. Here in the uK it was announced recently that not only do the 50-60 year olds have little or no pension to take care of them in retirement (and therefore will have to work until they die) but that they have the second highest amount of debt of all age groups.
This is a terrible situation to happen. I think one of the biggest problems is that all of our lives we are encouraged to strive for more, to advance ourselves to provide a better standard of living for ourselves and our families (as Robert Kyosaki explains in his Rich Dad, Poor Dad books) in the promise that ‘one-day’ we will be able to reap the benefit and do all of those things we promise ourselves.
When you are young ‘one-day’ always seems so far ahead so there’s loads of time to build up that nest egg. Unfortunately, ‘one-day’ suddenly arrives right out of the blue, almost without warning that day is upon us and we realise that there may not be time to do all of the things we’ve been promising ourselves. There seem to be so many that we’ve put on hold.
Having recently reached 64 years of age I have to say that it came as quite a shock to me to realise that I was in my last year before ‘normal retirement’ age.
So what would I do if I had to work the way I am now for the rest of my life? Well to start with I don’t intend to. I will focus more and use my time much more effectively. I’ll eliminate the daily activities that eat up time, like reading email all day and acting as an unpaid coach and mentor to people who have no intentions of committing to turn their lives around and spend time with the genuine ones that do.
I look forward eagerly to your next post Rich.
I’m glad Kurt mentioned “The 4 Hour Work Week”. Very good book I am reading now. Love the author’s idea of mini-retirements and the mobility of the New Rich, although he says it doesn’t take as much money as you might think.
As to your question, what if you could never retire, I can only say why would you want to? I’ve watched my in-laws who were retired from the time I met them. Long hours in front of the TV. She with some craft project du jour and his daily meeting with cronies at the local coffee shop. As they got older and friends died off, my in-laws became more and more isolated and did less and less. Going out to lunch at a buffet became the highlight of their day. Yuck!
Having my druthers, I’d rather do the mini-retirements from “The 4 Hour Work Week.” Too bad I have a husband who loves his job and will probably work till they kick him out the door.
Funny how you have come up with a post addressing what I have been thinking about for some time now. “What would you do differently?” Yes, very thought provoking. I know it would entail more outsourcing and being more mobile. That requires a life style change. Hmmm, yes. Lots to think about.
I tried retirement and found my brain started to shrink and my waistline became bigger even though the stomach was receiving less.
OOch some drastic measures needed.
So here I am learning all about this internet lark
Who says we have to eek our retirement on a measly pittace.
I still want to change the furniture ect and need better funds to do it on.
Don,t we all.
Please do not pulish my mail address as i already have loads of e-mail
Rich,
It’s interesting you should pose these questions at exactly the same time I am trying to solve them myself. Having already “retired” from the conventional mainstream, I am hoping to build an online business that allows me to not only enjoy what I’m doing, earn some residual income, and help others at the same time by providing a workable pathway. I’m anxious to see what other jewels you come up with. We’re just getting started, and having fun doing it.
Retirement to me is doing exactly what you want when you want to, and that may well include working until the day you die. However, the important element is having the choice.
Retirement may mean different things to different people but to me it is having the choice to do what I want when I want, and if I dont like what I am doing then having the ability to change that is key.
If I could never retire and I had to continue working like this I would make my peace with it. What else you can do. I have decided to change that now and working on success day by day.I am sure it is on the way.
I will never retire as I don’t even understand the meaning of the word. I love what I do too much, but at the same time, I have goals set, plans laid and actions in place to teach other’s to slowly but surely take over from me……and at that point, my whole life begins again!
I never want to retire to be honest.
I love writing, learning and growing.
What if you could never retire?
That is the case for all anyway, you really never retire, just change where you place your energies. These questions are definitely great ones for it makes one look at their perspective about “work”. You can actually retire any day you decided to. You just have to decide by what standard of living will work for you.
Once you are “there” you have succeeded. You must select what is your standard not someone else idea of what it is.
What if the way you choose to work today would set the pattern you must continue until the day you die? What would you be doing differently?
I would continually ask questions about what am I achieving for myself. The only person I can control is me and the only circumstance I can control is…there is not any. I will continually make positive actions to bettering my lifestyle, the circumstance they may arise from those actions I can not control
And that is fine. What I strive to remember daily, is, this stuff we call life can end at any second. It is best somewhere in the birth to death journey one did things that they enjoyed. The good news is money, prestige, power, position does not dictate when or what you can enjoy, your perception does. You control you.
if you recognize and accept that fact, you can retire any moment you want to.
If the way I worked today set the pattern for the rest of my life, I’d spend the first two hours of the day with God and exercising, (rather than the 30 minutes I now alternate between the two) and then three hours in the evening with my sons.
Then, I would do what Rich did back in 2002 when he hired me to write his sales letters…leverage my time by paying for the services of another brilliant marketing mind.
After 30 years as administrator for various early childhood and manpower programs, I thought I had this whole time management issue whipped…
That is until I discovered a fascination with Internet Marketing. No need to
mention the problem with “distractions” on the Internet!
We need to remind ourselves of what our old buddy Confucious said:
“Man Who Chases Two Rabbits Catches Neither!” Focus.
In my glorious experience working as a drone in the grinding machine known as American capitalism, I have found that the demands placed on workers are often inhumane. If I wasn’t willing to work 90 hours per week for the peanuts they offered, then I could just step aside and let any one of ten million younger, healthier job applicants take my place. They were usually willing to work for half a peanut cuz they didn’t have kids yet.
Due to trying to keep up with these job demands, which I saw as the only way to keep a roof over my head, my health suffered BIG time and I was miserable. There’s got to be a better way than the wage slave mentality that our current economy encourages. You embody that Rich. Of course everybody wants that. who wants to work for the man? He’s a prick.
Hi Rich
I was a massage therapist for 6 years.
Haha! No one can bribe me to do that again!…Even
if they would pay me $500 per session every day.
Waaay too much work for even the toughest cookie.
Though it can be very ‘rewarding’ the worst
thing about it as any ‘career’ is that you…
ONLY GET PAID WHEN YOU WORK!
…What kind of sillyness is that?! LOL
If I knew I could never retire, I’d probably
stop working 15 hours a day trying to
launch my project online — Immediately!
I’d still invest all my passion into it…but I would
actually go outside more and enjoy my youth.
Also, what else would I do differently?
I’d STOP comparing myself to all the other online
stuff out there and thinking why my ideas aren’t “good
enough” or aren’t strategic enough, etc., etc. ..
Instead, I would simply just launch my idea online and focus
on connecting with and getting feedback from my target market
…then finding out how I can improve upon it.
And when my vision continues morphing and transforming
into new and other ventures…I would actually welcome it
because I’d know that I am here not to struggle, but to actually
ENJOY the process of making my online business dreams come true.
Speaking of retirement, for those of you that read and believe the Bible, retirement really isn’t something we are called to do. We can’t do the same thing later in life that we do now, but we can still serve others. It may be for free, it may just be a few hours a week, but we can always serve others. Perhaps we can counsel others on how to work from home and enjoy your family!
Well Rich
Life is short and I want to enjoy the time I have now with my kids, Don’t care if I retire as long as I am doing something I enjoy and am appreciated for, would like to apply more leverage in my life to earn more instead of trading time for money so I can enjoy more time with my family.
It seem as though if I continue the same pattern I am locked in today I will never have the time or the money to live the life I really want.
Hi Rich,
I have been a consultant to companies for the past 40 years and love it. I love the challenges that business face and helping them solve their issues. The creativity keeps me alert, and the friendship are priceless. So, retirement to me is just speaking of an age and I will never (I hope) reach that age.
Kevin
Sounds wonderful!
I didn’t realize my message would leave all
those smiley faces up there! haha. I kinda
got carried away.
I have yet to join Rich’s program. But I’d love
anyone else’s feedback on it. If I were to invest
in any online business strategy or marketing
information product…it would be something that
Rich taught. I’ve never felt such a profound “Online
Awakening” as I did when I read your 3 Manifestos.
I am only 27 and I spent the last several years
digesting everything I can about online marketing
and offline business building strategies. Retirement?
All that means to me really, is just FINALLY finding
my Vein of Gold (aka my Passion) and allowing it to
shape and transform my life everyday! I have been
an “Entrepreneur” since highschool so I don’t know
what its like to work a “normal” job longing for
retirement. I just know what it feels like to long for
a dream. And ‘working’ towards fulfilling it.
I’d love to learn from anyone on here that is truly living
their passion…like Rich!
Great post Rich, thanks for creating a thread that should provoke some people into thinking differently.
I’m going to answer the last one - what does it do to your success… It IS the reality - how you work today DOES create how you have to work in future. If you are working hard then you have thought you HAVE to work hard to succeed. As long as you’re thinking stays that way, nothing changes.
Creativity; the connection to the source is the key. Working too hard, or not enough are each as bad as each other. Find the balance, relax into the gap and do efficiently what you came here to do…
If you work for someone–especially a corporation–you have no choice. They own you. Your vacation time is very limited. You work long hours if you expect to advance, and then they screw you when it comes time to benefit from the retirement package. And it’s getting worse. The only ones with a chance to escape this are those who succeed in establishing a business of their own, or who are lucky enough to work for an exceptionally enlighted–and profitable–company. Those who are working for a company would be wise to prepare themselves for retirement, or even take an early retirement. By starting a business part-time, or by honing some skill and knowledge these people will be able to start a conulting and information sales business that will give them an income stream in their retirement age. They would also be wise to save at least 10% of their income, avoid debt and foolish consumer expenses, downsize their home and its expense, and invest their money in their business and in income property. In short, create income streams.
You’ve hit the nail on the head.
Just before reading your post I was thinking about the three stages, or levels of what defines our experience. Be, do and have. You have to be something different, to do something different, in order to have something different. I know if I carry on being and doing the same as I am, It aint gonna get better. Coincidence?
BRAVOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooo !!!! Rich
indeed, I am in situation described here by you, Bravo. I am teaching in almost 32 years of maltreatment. It seems that I am not profitable for me even in this trade and therefore I seek to convert me in the services and on my account this time.
I am in a hurry to discover your easy way….Still a faith, Rich CHEER ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
BRAVOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooo, Rich
En effet,je suis dans situation décrite ici par toi , Bravo. Je suis un enseignant dans presque 32 ans de sevice.Il semble que je ne suis pas rentable pour moi même dans ce metier et c’est pour cela que je cherche à me convertir dans les services et à mon propre compte cette fois.
j’ai hâte de découvrir ton astuce….Encore une foi , BRAVO Rich
Saluations
http://www.sitewizardseo.com/1269
Actually, I don’t plan on retiring. I plan to work the rest of my life because I choose to make a contribution to the world by doing what I love. I think it’s important to note, however, that by “work” I don’t mean the thing that people do in order to earn an income. I mean doing what I care passionately about, which means I probably earn money from it, but that’s not why I do it.
In order to achieve that lifestyle (I’m not quite there yet) I need to stay focused on the present moment — not living for someday. I would need to set up systems that allow me to earn more dollars for less hours — preferably residual income, where I create products once that I can re-sell over and over.
The reason why the “hoping it will be better later” idea never works is that it keeps us from creating systems right now that will make it better later.
Thanks for the brilliant questions, Rich.
Warm regards,
Sandra Winter
http://www.prosperityonabudget.com
Rich.
In Australia the government is encouraging people to keep working until age 75, albeit at a lesser rate than they would currently work at. I have friends who have retired early; some are bored some not so bored.
I’ve been self employed all of my life and for the past three to four years have established a successful online presence sharing and helping other people in an obscure and unusual hobby. The products I sell are “how to” ebooks I have written, which have sold in over forty-three countries around the world. And all of this started from an idea discussion session over a beer with a friend.
My online business will take me into retirement (whatever that is) but I already have a life where I get to choose the hours that I work. The big 60 year is approaching, and my only gripe is that I should have discovered computers and the Internet earlier in my life. The income opportunities on the Internet are endless. I would encourage any younger person out there to explore the Internet for what it can offer in the way of income opportunities.
I have worked over 100 hours/week for 2 years now. I am tired to say the least! If there is a way to continue to grow my corporation and not work the hours I have been working so that I can spend time with my family I am all ears. Thank you!
Rich,
I hear you, Buddy! I think that people think that vacation time “magically appears” without planning it. My wife, Janet, and I take 2-3 long vacations every year. Each one is 4 weeks minimum with the longest being 7 1/2 weeks (so far).
We’ve rode our Harleys across country, for 7 beautiful weeks, without planning a thing. We just rode until we got tired, or wanted to stay at one place longer (like the Grand Canyon).
Folks, plan to take vacations like this. Set goals, create “systems” like Rich says! You can all do this! Good luck, David Long
I can identify with so many of the comments posted here. As an Australian woman and a baby boomer, I was working when women weren’t encouraged to take out super. Believe me, it is difficult to Live as opposed to Exist on an aged pension. I’ve looked into various internet opportunities and have nibbled (and discarded) many. But being a bit of a control freak and wanting to control my own destiny - and accept responsibility for my own mistakes - I’ve settled on trading eminis on the US stockmrket. No enormous outlay of funds needed, self-discipline is required and oh, so satisfying. This leaves me lots of time to do the things I really enjoy.
Well, Let me get a massage and think more about this….. and get back to you. Hah!
Good Meditation, Blog today. I must ponder this answer. Hmmmmmm! I appreciate the opportunity to think this through. Eva Nash Broker http://www.EvaNashRealty.com Pompano Beach, Florida. Since where I live is Paradise Every single day feels like retirement even though I work every day. I can however lately appreciate the need for multiple streams of income and residuals which is a different mentality than working every day as well as building the business to be able to sell it. Thank you again for encouraging Creative “Epiphany” thinking. I Love Selling Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point, Ft Lauderdale and Deerfield Beach South Florida residential Real Estate so Much It some times does not feel like a job even though it has been my way of life to sell South Florida residential real estate for 21 years. I have the part down where you do what you love and I love being self employed, as that is a huge bonus I am so grateful and appreciative in my life.. Thank You Rich, good thinking material.
Rich,
I like you, do not believe in what most people consider retirement. My objective is to continue to do what I enjoy doing which includes working on and in my business so that it can prosper year in and year out, without me having to be concerned about the day to day operations. Of course, I would be available when needed.
Concerning leisure time… I believe I would spend more time with my adult children and grandchildren, and be available to them as needed and desired. Another joy for me would be to work with the Christian community of faith of which I thoroughly enjoy, and the non-profit and community organizations that make the community I live in such a joy to be a part of.
And finally, spend more time with friends and colleagues in creating new visions and possibilities that would make the lives of our family, friends and community much richer both in wealth and in joy. And of course, some time to travel, play some golf in all those places I’ve always dreamed of and just enjoying the reading of good book, laughter and fellowship with all those close to me.
And in the end in this time and physical space… my exhilarated ears would hear from the LORD… “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the LORD.”
And so it is
Rich, Thanks for making us think. I dont ever plan to retire. Why? Because I love what I do and have plenty of time to spend with family. I love living this life Right Now… Why the heck would I want to ‘retire’?
all the best Rich.
Knowing that only something like 3-5% of the people who reach “retirement age” actually can “retire,” I have always planned on at least doing something. In fact, though I have a decent investment portfolio that is doing well now, anything can change in the future. That said, I fully expect to work until I die - and i probably will continue to work like I do now. I truly enjoy what I do.
Don’t get me wrong, I fully expect I will be able to enjoy my life and do the things I want to do. My belief is that we should all contribute to society at any age. I just know that the things I do today will influence my ability to have choices in the future, so I have a plan, I work it every day and will continue to until I die. The most important part of the plan is the fact that I have the ability to generate a residual income. Do it once, get paid over and over again. I learned at a early age that if you trade time for money, you will never have enough of either.
A very intelligent man once told me that it is not what I do that will help make my journey through life one I will enjoy, it is WHY I want to do it that will keep me going. This will allow me to continue to enjoy working - yes even in the last years of my life - because I am focused on the reason I am working and not following a process that quite literally will never allow me to realize my dreams.
Talking a to a friend the other day about retiring. She is 45 and planning to retire. When challenged about the retirement bit she gave this reply. Retirement for me doesn’t mean stop working it means choosing what work I do and when I do it. So the concept of retirement as making choices rather than doing because of a mortgage etc makes good sense to me. Take that concept further it means that we never need to retire because we will make choices with what we do with our lives and be responsible for the consequences of those choices. Hopefully that is what we do with pre-retirement phases of our lives as well!!
“Retire” to what? Having meaningful projects that you choose to work on in your life is what can give it meaning. We should set up the rules of the game to win.
You’re right. We’re following our parents mode of living a good life and then retiring. What changed along the way for us? I just want to “retire” as such, which means changing the demands of my time each day. Not a obligation to show up for. Let’s redefine retirement.
Hello Rich,
I remember back in 1985, shareing a HOT-tub with a beautiful young girl. Now she was from New Zealand, and she told me that her company allowed her to
Borrow $20,000.00 to see the world. she was all of 20yrs old. Could that be
the way it should be done? maybe the best country in the world has it all backwards. If and when she gets old she’ll still have her memories!!
Rich, I’m a 60 year old male running out of time, each of us in our respective business must understand who we are, where we plan to get, What we plan to do, When we plan to complete that Task and Where our business stand in our life! If you have a relationship with the people, and share the benefits of the information/products, could we not make our life better, if you fail to take care of your health, you won’t be there to run your business, We must learn to work smarter Having more then one stream of income, learning to invest what monies
you do make. Having more Fun in our Life and Alway remember not live somebody elses dream.
Hi Rich,
I was visiting my doctor a few days ago… one of the downsides of living a Noosa lifestyle is the number of skin cancers to be removed every year… she made an offhand comment about the speed and efficacy of medical advances, especially in terms of delaying the aging process.
It’s bad enough to think about the point you raised about never being able to retire, but how on earth are we going to achieve quality of life when lifespans exceed 100 years or more? I guess it means more work.
I am self employed and reasonably comfortable financially. But when you spreadsheet out investments and income vs cost of living and adjust for inflation and interest, it works out to be a huge amount of $$s we’ll all need just to keep going. Or else, we work for more of our lives. It certainly won’t come from the Government.
Personally I think retirement is an outdated concept, a point you raise. I plan to gently slide from full time work to part time work, and eventually into full leisure. But the speed I do that must be governed by (i) life expectancy (ii) quality of life expectancy, and (iii) how much is in the kitty.
I think most people fail to understand how short life is and how time goes by so fast. So many people tend to think that what they do now is “temporary”, that in the future things will be different, but this future never comes, they never get to do what they really want, because the temporary slowly becomes permanent and they don’t even notice that (or even stop to think about it).
I’ve missed some of the biggest dreams I had when I was growing up and I knew I could conquer them, but somehow I didn’t realize that I had already grown up and I was still thinking that someday in the future I would have time to go after them.
Thankfully I woke up and turned some tables in my life, but those dreams I missed, they’re gone forever…
I have always been taught:
LIFE IS HARD, THEN WE DIE!
If there’s another way . . . we’re all ears. Part of the challenge with being successful in Internet business, it seems to me, is being able to cut through all the noise and hype and focus on daily activities that will truly make a difference. The path is anything but straight, clear, and obvious. It is overgrown and hidden to most of us and we wouldn’t know if we were on it or not. We newbies are in the middle of the deepest, thickest, overgrown jungle there is trying to find our way to sustainable profit.
Hey All,
Kurt and Sandra correctly recommended the book by Tim Ferriss, \”The Four-Day Work Week.\” Finished it in two sessions. It\’s a must read for this topic. Better yet, go to his website ( http://www.fourhourworkweek.com ). It\’s loaded. And be sure to see \”Outsourcing Your Life\” on the bottom right. It\’s a teaser that dramatically explains the new world of outsourcing, and how entrepreneurs are using it to liberate their personal and business lives.
Hey Rich, yes…I agree with you, yet I’ve never heard of the “goose that lays golden eggs” retiring. We’ve all been sold on one dream or another and the point is when you stop “working” you’re no longer contributing. Is that kind of lifestyle sustainable?
What a profound subject Rich has brought up. I enjoyed reading all the comments here. My heart really goes out to all who don’t presently enjoy their work. That has to be the worst! If you don’t work at something you love doing, how in the world do you eagerly get out of bed each morning? I don’t know. I’m 78 years young, and retired the first time at 35 – stayed home with my only child, an 8 yr-old daughter and we played, traveled, and thoroughly enjoyed a few years. Eventually became bored with that lifestyle. Found some work I enjoyed again, and in the process met my soul mate. He was an entrepreneur, as well, and we enjoyed over 30 years of doing “projects†– building real estate, selling real estate, dabbling in the movie industry, pursuing his talents at Western art and sculpting, and many other things. Later, we semi-retired to a Caribbean island to pursue yet another of his dreams. In the meantime, I had discovered my passion. I made the commitment to become an expert daytrader – and have put in the hours, and paid my dues, to do just that. I’ve been trading over 14 years. My darling husband died in the Caribbean at age 65, having lived most of his dreams. By then, I was trading currencies every day and making good income. I moved back to the States to live with my daughter, who needed me to be with her. After overcoming the grief of his loss, my trading actually helped get me back to normal. I do ENJOY it. I trade 4-5 hours each morning that I want to (which is most mornings), but since there is no one telling me I must, I can sleep in and have breakfast in bed if I choose. If you’re not passionate about what you spend the hours of your life doing, then do yourself a huge favor and make it a priority to look for something that makes your heart sing and keeps you alert, alive, excited, and growing! You’ll have NO further problem getting up — you’ll JUMP UP!
Hello, Rich
Good question. I’m 57 and owe way too much money to Uncle Sam. Just trying to figure out how to put it all together - before it’s too late.
I’m in the process of reading a fantastic book by Timothy Ferriss called “The 4 Hour Work Week” (www.fourhourworkweek.com). I think you and Tim do think alike about the concept of retirement.
Hi, Rich…
I am all set and ready to go… for the rest of my life. I am doing something I LOVE, at home, and it is something I can do as long as my hands can function. I love it so much that I had already decided I would never “retire”.
It was a leap of faith to get involved in my art and writing - but ever since I did life has been truly wonderful. I only “work” around four hours a day - and not EVERY day. I keep my schedule flexible to do whatever else I need or want. I am 52.
Retirement is a time when most of us think we’ll be able to do whatever we want. Unless you plan to be a millionaire, we will be looking for a job to supplement that measly retirement income. I already know my retired future income will not be enough, and I have a defined benefit plan from the state of California. I could move to another state, but I won’t be able to live here. So my plan is to learn what I do not know, stick to some goals, focus, and succeed with a new way of being paid. This way my new income will really make me a new way of living. I like the idea of retraining myself and becoming something I have always wanted to be, a creator, a producer, a developer. This is what I see. I have so much to learn though, and it is not easy to do while working a full time job, raising teenagers, and having to do the laundry and dishes.
Rich, this is something I have been working on for a couple of years. I have a great sales job but it requires way to many hours each week and prevents me from doing the things I want to do. I want to work the rest of my life but I want it to be with my terms, which includes spending time with family and friends and deciding when I work and when I play. I am making some progress but really can’t wait to hear what you have to say.
Some people just can’t afford to retire…
Love to read your comments and current situation. You are an inspiration from someone that is going for inspiration and smarter choices. From listening to you that is what it seems to be about.
I look forward like many to an consistent easlier time and free time And some days are. The process and clarity required is not always clear for my situation. Love to hear from you for the next step.
Hi Rich,
I often see that people are very surprised(or perhaps disturbed) when I speak of retiring.I am 23 years old, started my career couple of years back as a software engineer in one of the most reputed Companies in India.
They say I am too young to think of retiring.
Here in my country, all those who have better education DO get good paying jobs.
Is that enough?
They say it is…
Work hard, impress your company and get a salary hike.And then invest in retirement plans.
Oh.. then there is this inflation that kills..
So again, work hard, impress your company and get a salary hike.And then invest MORE in retirement plans.
We just get in to an infinite loop of working hard and getting the hike…
I understand that having a job is good, to START your journey towards financial independence.
But I want to retire YOUNG.
That doesn’t mean that I want to stop working .
I just want to stop working FOR MONEY.
That’s it. I want to work till I die, but never for money.
I want to work on my passions, my life(style), I want to learn to play Golf, meet more people, Travel places and that, can only be achieved by achieving a state where “My Money works for me”, as Robert Kiyosaki puts it.
Thanks for the great post Rich.
I am happy that you provided an opportunity where I could learn from you and from all those who posted here.
Rich,
I guess I too will work the rest of my life. Right now I have a website on buy and selling homes, because I know there is a way to make a living there, I just haven’t the means to support the advertising. Also I need investors, and buyers. I also enjoy helping others and I have a wonderful idea for an interactive museum/learning environment for children in a poor neighborhood. It’s a 20 million dollar project and since I don’t writ grants well I haven’t been able to move the project beyond nonprofit status. I feel that I have so much to give to the children but I do not have the finances as I have given so much already and have little to live on. Therefore, I can not stop working.
If only John Bars Fatipton really existed. I would have a great start for the final project of my life.
But to not final avail I resound myself to a lifetime of WORK.
If you have any suggestions I would certainly like to hear them.
Did I mention the biggest problem I have is my husband, buying into any Idea of making more than a salary.
MHP
At 43 the house is paid for the vehicles are paid for, we have no bills and bring in a little over $3,000 a month from Military retirement and other small residuals.
I’ve always loved and continue to play in real estate so I can see myself always pursuing a deal in real estate of some sort for the long-haul, what continues to confound and boggle my mind is having a real estate site with close to 3500 subscribers that can’t seem to generate a dime!
Anyone want half of the perpetual earnings your efforts can achieve by optimizing the monetization features of my site at http://www.magicbullets.com? Now here’s a challenge Rich!
I’ll be your poster child brother!
I’m one of those seniors who has to work. Not because I didn’t work hard, not because I didn’t plan and save. Life just hit me with one of those bulldozers it throws around from time to time so now I’m looking at work in a market that doesn’t value maturity.
Well so much for that. I’ve got my health and my brain and the perseverence to make it past that steep learning curve to web mastery. I’m developing a presence on the internet. Watch out! Here I come
Pat
Yep, the moment is now, Rich!
I could live a million days just like today.
I woke up with a slight HTML hangover and was delighted to see some action on my new website. Had coffee and mediatation in the sunshine. Walked my dog 3 times. Had three fabulous client sessions. I lunched with a friend, wrote an article and prepped for a class I’m teaching tomorrow.
I never have worked for money and can’t imagine giving up the pleasure of creative contribution.
If I’m going to spend the rest of my days just like today I might as well make friends with the rest of my electronics on the shelf. There’s no excuse for me not to talk into the digital recorder on the go and let the computer type it out when I get home from the beach!
Imagine the Possibilities!
Kristin Kopp
I “work” doing stuff that I love doing for about 25 hours a week during three days. The other four days are off to do other, different things that I enjoy doing, or to take care of the normal daily chores of living. Some people say I’m semi-retired, but the tax folks know that I make a six-figure income (not counting the cents - and not from investments). So I can’t complain. Life is good.
What would I do if I had to do this for the rest of my life? Probably “continue the march…” or maybe cut down my income a bit and “work” TWO days a week. Then I’d have 5 days to enjoy other stuff. But I would probably not want to stop doing my “work” altogether. I enjoy analysis, strategy development, quality improvement, problem solving, etc. too much. And then, there’s the rest of the week…
What is retirement anyway?
For some it may mean not going to work at the office anymore and just lounging around the house.
For others, it may mean being able to do the things you love, the work you love, not because you HAVE to but because you WANT to.
I went to Joel Bauer’s seminar last weekend and what I learned from him was that ‘retiring early’ means more time with the family and still make great passive / residual income doing the things you’re passionate about. That guy is one great speaker!
What if I could never retire?
It’d be okay. I work online, from home, doing the things I love and I love computers! Even if I could retire anytime, I probably won’t.
Lyna
I retired at age 40 and enjoyed myself tremendously the last 3 odd years. But I finally got bored and went back to work on a 2 month contract job to test the waters. I really enjoyed myself. I miss working life now and am looking at going back to work full time. After this mini retirement, I realise that we do need something to not only keep us occupied but some which will drive us to make use of all our faculties and keep us on our toes. So, I will continue to work even in my 60s or even 70s but its got to be on my terms and at my time! Something that will challenge me mentally but will not require me to work at it 8 hours a day, 5 days a week…
Hi, Rich!
Great post - you’re definitely in the Vanguard of a major societal upheaval that’s coming, and your post hits on a few key points of it. Teri & I had our own online ad, design & SEO agency from ‘96 til early 2004, when I had a major reframe in my life planning…
After reading one passage in a futurist’s book (think it was Frank Ogden), I had what almost amounted to an epiphany. He pointed out that:
a) There are more scientists alive and doing research today than in all human history combined, and their tools get faster every year, shortening the timeline on breakthroughs;
b) The human genetic code has been isolated and each gene is being studied, and
c) Our knowledge of medication, nutrition and wellness increases each year almost exponentially.
His conclusion, seemingly reasonable, is that our generation (early 50’s) will live to 120, while our children’s will live to 150. If true, suddenly age 60 is mid-life, not retirement age…
Extrapolate on that and you see the flaws in our current belief set. Most people ‘retiring’ now still need to work to support themselves. But what about 20 years from now, when the babyboomers have all retired, the massive 401K’s, RRSP’s etc have all been pulled out of the markets and the strain of an aging population is evident on the Health Care System? When this major worldwide population bubble is now collecting pension from the governments instead of paying today’s top tax rate? Add to that the prediction by people like Warren Buffet that a total collapse of the North American economy is imminent, and the result can only be a situation which will create a cusp in our society - one where our whole definition of the course of life will have to change.
To us, there appeared only one solution - we needed to be sure we were doing something we could continue with til an advanced age, something we loved doing and could do from anywhere in the world to allow for regional economic fluctuations - and we had to make enough doing it to be able to evolve as necessary to stay on top, move to wherever we needed to as time went on, and yet still enjoy each and every day.
Within two weeks we had fired our clients and closed the agency. We shifted our focus to the two things we were already involved in that could be built to match those criteria - Internet Marketing and Pro photography. It was rough for a bit, but has turned out to be the best decision we’ve ever made - we now love our lives, have enough funds to travel and really DO things, and are building a sustainable model for the anticipated future. With a little luck and some help from the creator, we’ll have another 30 or 40 years of doing this, followed by another 20 or 30 of watching people do it all for us