From the Bottom of the Bucket

September  2016

          “I’m just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round

          I just Love to watch them roll…….”   John Lennon

 

As I write this first blog, I am entering my ninth month as “retired”.  I have always been fascinated with that word.  It is a child of the Industrial Revolution and is an evolvement from the creation of Social Security and company pension plans. 

Madison Avenue and Wall Street have always portrayed this period as one of leisure, care-free time spent with loving family and friends.  You know the spin; we still see commercials, even today.  My experience is that the real thing is much different.

When you enter the workforce you agree to exchange your time and vigor for an income and benefits.  Over the years we have watched corporate America, whittle the benefits portion down.  When you no longer need to participate in such an arrangement, you have become financially independent.  This may or may not involve “retirement”.  The thing is, since we are such poor savers, most of us are older when (or if) that occurs, but not always (think Bill Gates, etc.).The point is that retirement is not just for “old people”. 

I look at “retirement” planning as making a choice to change your life’s focus to a more self-directed experience.  I also think that process starts the day you enter the workforce.  The key is you take ownership of what you can control until you have reached the point where you control as much as possible in your life.   That will take resources; the most important are: Health, Time and Financial, in that order. So the first order of business is to prioritize your use of those resources and make daily choices that support the Goals (see The System below) that you have set for yourself.

Circles are a prominent geometric symbol in almost every culture.  The distinguishing characteristic is the figure has no beginning and  thus no end. To quote John Lennon “they just go round and round”.  Why is it that our brains insist on seeing life as a linear event when real experience shows us otherwise?  Many of the illustrations referred to in this blog are circles.  That is because real life always involves continuous beginnings and ends across the full span of life’s experience.

When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, I thought it was the end of my life plan.  It turns out it was the beginning.  It forced me to “walk the walk” and take action.  That process led me to realize that I had no bucket list and that recognition was a huge source of solace to me.  I was unclear what the future held for me, but I was ready to face it with confidence and since I had lived “in the bucket” I had a rich balance of resources to support my efforts to move forward.

Now, five years later, I find that my health has improved, my Parkinson’s has not progressed and I am able to invest more Vigor in my other Roles more than ever before.  I also passed on my successful planning practice to a qualified advisor, who is taking the services provided to our clients to a new level.  We have only had one client leave us. So I met my promises and kept my respectability.

I have often said we are one moment away from having our supposed life plan altered, sometimes radically.  Are you making sure that you are ready for that moment?  If not, why?

Or perhaps you will be lucky enough to “just sit and watch the wheels (circles) go round and round”, but I assure you that day will never come if you don’t prepare for it.

Until next month, I wish you fulfillment.

Bob