From the Bottom of the Bucket

The Golden Years

"The river gets deeper not shallow, the further you move down the stream" - Jimmy Buffet

First, a little history.  I paid my own college, started out in financial services in 1971, selling insurance door to door.   In 1984, I started one of the first "fee based" financial planning practices in my hometown.  That company is still in full operation as I sold it to an associate upon attaining "financial independence" .  My grandmothers had both passed before I was born and I hardly knew my grandfathers, as they lived away and  rarely visited.   In short, I am a self made man, with little or no background in advice from elders.

During my forty plus year career in advising, I faced all the challenges and accomplished most of the goals that any successful business person does.  Most days were filled with problem solving, responding to the chaos in the workplace, and the other typical things that people who are in the workforce deal with each day.  While "retirement" was the ultimate goal, it was far removed from my attention in the moment. it was an abstract nirvana, that we were working towards. Now, as I approach my fourth year in "retirement", I am still struggling with my path.

I am always struck with Madison Avenue's picture of retirement.   Mainly because it doesn't reflect my experience for both myself ad  the many clients I served.   The real experience seems to go like this.  First you have control over your time, so you can pick how you spend it.  Second, you devote a certain amount of resources to recreational activities that you always wanted to do, but never had the time, money, etc to do so.  Third, health issues begin to enter the picture.  Lastly, you realize that you have ten to fifteen years left in your life and you are challenged to decide how to spend them.  If you are fortunate, the health issues do not interfere with the final phase.

I embraced Life Planning in my advisory career, so I was able to  study these issues before my retirement.  But still, I had no experience, nor family culture to help bring those theories into practice.  Now, I am on the playing field, looking for solid direction to guide my actions.   I am coming along, but it has been plodding work.  In all fairness my two struggles with Parkinson's and melanoma have been distractions. but both are stable for the moment, so I can focus a bit more.

What I have learned so far is this: Giving is a BIG part of being an Elder (especially to younger people.). Relationships are one of your most important assets, and you must be purposeful in building them. That rest and recovery are  as  important as movement and activities.  Gratitude is not an abstract, but a habit to be learned through daily practice.  It is also a necessary component of keeping a positive attitude.  Finally, at this point, you should pay more attention to your instincts than anything else.  You have a wealth of experience, so use it.

If you want to live a fulfilling life, you might start to incorporate some of these points into you life now, because if  you wait  till retirement, you might waste valuable time with the learning process and time is the one  asset that we  can never measure how much we have.   

 

Until next month, I wish you fulfillment.

Bob