Category Archives: Passion

Robert Redford is Right about Retirement

Passion, Retire Early, Retire Often

Robert Redford is Right about Retirement, well sort of. Redford was quoted in a Market Watch financial article today from his interview with The Wall Street Journal,

“I think retirement can lead to death, and that’s not for me.” The Market Watch article is titled Did Robert Redford get it wrong on retirement?

As someone who believes in living a lifestyle of retiring early and often I may be grouped with the Never Retire crowd and my agreeing for the most part with Robert Redford as no surprise. However I limit my being open to opportunities (paid-work) to only those I WANT to do that are aligned with my interests and passions. Otherwise I am one happy early retired Leisure Freak. Meaning I am not chasing after work and I am just living life on my terms enjoying my time and freedom. Just between me and you, Robert Redford is already retired, he just doesn’t know it.

I have non-traditional retirement beliefs

My definition of retirement breaks with the traditionalist. I believe retirement is leaving behind meaningless and soul sucking work but being perfectly open to paid work and still be considered living a retired life on my terms. I have also referred to my retiring early and often lifestyle in a couple of my site pages as somewhat like an actor’s lifestyle were I am always open to the right part, being choosy about any project I sign on to. I am only as good as my last gig in some cases to be able to continue catching the waves. The waves of opportunities that come my way.

So I see where Robert Redford is coming from because I use the same mindset-model. I am sure he is one picky SOB when it comes to the movie parts he agrees to do and the people he works with. His lifestyle off-stage is hardly working in the sense that the rest of the world endures either. It is probably closer to retirement between gigs than grinding it out in a nine to five situation. Even with his Sundance Film Festival and everything else he has his hands into. It is all exactly what he wants to be doing and any long hours are out of passion not dreaded grind. When he does work he works hard for as long as the gig lasts. Sounds a lot like what I and others are doing in our early retirements.

Retirement is Living Life on your Terms.

Successful actors and those who have always had the ability to work at their true passions and live life on their terms have always been retired, they just don’t care to realize it or call it that way. They retired long ago by retiring to the life they WANTED to live, a life they never need to retire from. Walking away from a lifestyle you love would probably lead to death.

Robert Redford is Right about Retirement Leading to Death

Robert Redford is Right about RetirementThe Market Watch article states many study results that both support and reject Robert Redford’s retirement leading to death comment. The mixed results support for my mind and others who are living their lives on their terms that it all depends on what work you are doing. Obviously for someone in heavy labor careers in construction and the like will not be able to physically “never retire” even if they loved doing it.

I truly believe that if I had stayed in my first Telecom Engineering career that the stress and soul sucking environment would have certainly caused my early death. But if someone in those laborious or stressful fields have outside interests and passions that they could turn into paid opportunities then they will agree with Mr. Redford and maybe say they will never retire under the traditional definition.

Living with purpose

Living with purpose is the reason why anyone who has plans to continue working at some capacity in their retirement will agree with Robert Redford.

We have to strive for something that is important to us, something we enjoy doing. Something that we love doing or love to support. If there is nothing that we want to be involved with or do then what would we do in retirement? Sit on the couch and watch TV all day long, complain about politics with the other old geezer down the street or your spouse? That is the real path to a short life. The sweet long life is all about what we retire to.

We have to have a reason to want to get up and move our asses and dance in this life. Stay curious, keep learning, keep growing, and know you have value, not retired and sent out to pasture. It doesn’t HAVE to be paid work but we should never be closed to it being paid work just because of the word and label “retired”.

In Closing

I love articles like this from Market Watch where something can be said and people come out and add all their negative comments at the bottom. Obviously Robert Redford is talking from his life experience, passions and opportunities not from the view of a ditch digger. He knows just as I do as a Leisure Freak doing my “retire early and often” thing that as we age the waves of opportunities may slow and eventually end and we will have to support our passions and purpose in another way.

Maybe there would be no question if he had simply said retirement from acting and film, my passion and purpose can lead to death then it would have been accepted 100% with all easily agreeing that Robert Redford is Right about Retirement. There would have been nobody giving a second thought and a whole different Market Watch article written about Robert Redford and retirement. We all will die someday but as long as I am still moving my ass and dancing it won’t be because of my retirement.

What is your view of YOUR retirement? Will it lead to your death?

Are Successful Threshold Earners Early Retirees?

Passion, Retire Early

Are Successful Threshold Earners Early Retirees? I use the word “successful” because I am talking about people we are on their own. They limit their work to earning just enough income to pay the bills. They want to earn nothing more so that they will have more free time to pursue their passions.

The reason I decided to write this particular post and begin it with the question is I just finished reading a post by brokeGIRLrich titled: The Guilt of Not Working Enough. She is enjoying a Summer of less work. She was thinking about guilt for enjoying herself so much after hearing of presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s comments. He spoke about how Americans who want to make more should work harder. Or in other words work longer hours if you want to get ahead.

After reading her post I just had to comment:

“Now in early retirement #2 I am not working at all now and have no guilt about it. As to those who choose to work less regardless of FI status, I say more power to them if they can make it work financially.

I always admired the successful Threshold Earner who worked at what they wanted for only as much as they needed and then did the things that really mattered to them. My Nephew currently works at a T-Shirt shop in Venice Beach so he can be there to surf all he wants to.

Some say slacker, I say he has his priorities where his should be, it is his life. A guy I met here in CO works as a ranch hand when needed. He is super educated and smart. He loves animals, the ranching/farming lifestyle/culture, and spends his free time Mountain Biking and training for Mountain Bike races. Who is to lay out any guilt on living a free life except those who benefit from a person’s full 40+ workweek of employment slavery. I am actually proud to be what some politicians think of me and my frugal early retired ways, a drag on the (their) economy.”

We Are Not All The Same

Not everyone wants to devote a majority of their life to a career, work mega hours, save, budget, invest, and then retire when they finally reach financial independence. Just so they can then pursue their life’s passions. In some ways I envy those who can create a lifestyle that they never have to retire from. A life which would include living their life as threshold earner, or what others might call slacker lifestyle.

To me they are a true early retiree. They actually do everything folks like myself that went the career route did to get to early retirement. But they do it in real-time while living what I will call a retirement lifestyle. It isn’t exactly as I do now, retire early and often. But it seems to me to be a passion driven lifestyle as much as mine is. I am cool with looking at this as another form of early retirement.

Are Successful Threshold Earners Early Retirees? Supporting Argument

Budget–

Being a Threshold Earner who limits work and income to have more time to pursue their passions must live within their means to stay successful. Running low on money means working more hours which ultimately takes time from their pursuits.

Saving–

Threshold Earners have to pay bills and save at least a little money to go towards their passions. Nothing is absolutely free because there will always be things required to do it, classes to take, travel required, etc.

Frugality–

Living as a Threshold Earner certainly takes a minimalist approach to life. You probably can’t make a mortgage payment on a McMansion or payments on a Mercedes living a Threshold Earner lifestyle. Money is spent with purpose.

Goals and Plans–

Although my commented example of my surfing loving nephew may look like he is just living for today and maybe he is, his living what I am calling in this post an Early Retiree lifestyle today working and surfing doesn’t require much more than short-term planning but hopefully he has gained the financial skills to extend goals and plans longer-term as his passions change, his needs increase and he grows older.

Getting Ahead- What’s That?

Perhaps if Jeb Bush and most others saw “getting ahead” and “making more” as being more than just about money then we may all plan and set goals to find a way to get that dream lifestyle that we strive for. It shouldn’t have to come at the end of 20 to 40 years working “more hours” which isn’t for everyone and a very long road to travel. There is more than one way to freedom and a purpose/passion lived life.

That said, threshold earning as early retirement is probably more of an anomaly and only works in theory because life has a way of getting more complicated as time goes on. I have to think that at some point making more than you just need to get by and catching waves every day will come and my nephew will have to get serious about saving for emergencies and investing something for old age.

It works for a while when young and would definitely work after you have put in some career time and are at least near financial independence when deciding to go the threshold earner as early retiree route.

But what do I know? Maybe that is just my hang-up, needing to have a bank account with extra cash to be a chill dude and live life free of materialistic trappings from a young age through old age. I do envy those like my nephew who can pull it off and not have to dwell many years in corporate hell as I did.

In Closing

Living as a Threshold Earner isn’t for everyone but then again that is what the journey to financial independence and early retirement is all about. It is different for everyone and specific to their unique situation and goals. For some that means threshold earning through life to surf, ski, mountain bike, travel the world, etc. making just enough to get by and a life you don’t have to retire from, and for others it is working and saving enough to reach our financial independence goals and then pursuing our passions early enough in life to enjoy it.

So what do you think? Are Successful Threshold Earners Early Retirees?

Numbers Support Partial Retirement

Passion, Retire Early, Retire Often

If you feel like you are never going to be able to save enough money to fund an early retirement or retirement in general, then you may be happy to know that the Numbers Support Partial Retirement as a perfect consideration. Partial Retirement fits in nicely with my Retire Early and Often lifestyle. I am totally open to it. Partial Retirement is usually defined as retiring from a full-time and possibly stressful career to work part-time. Or at least to work where you have more flexibility. Hopefully doing something that is more aligned with your passions and interest. This could be a job as an employee or your own business. Obviously for most this means you are of adequate health to continue working your dream partial retirement gig.

A New Retirement Mindset and the Numbers

For a successful retirement we should always be retiring TO something not just FROM something. We create a vision of what that will be so we save and invest to make that visualized lifestyle happen. Obviously the less needed to fund that dream retirement lifestyle means less money will be necessary in your retirement portfolio to support it. It may take even less in your portfolio if you change your retirement mindset to consider Partial Retirement. Think about it, retiring from a full-time career to working part-time doing something you love to do.

Look at it this way, if you were to make $10,000 a year as a Golf Pro or Fly Fishing Instructor then that is the same as having an added $250,000 in your portfolio using the classic 4% rule withdrawal strategy. Make $20,000 and it is like an extra $500,000 in retirement portfolio assets.

When your work is aligned with your interests and passions then what do you need to retire from? NOTHING.

What Partial Retirement does is give you a way to retire early when your career’s salary wasn’t high enough to have a super-sized portfolio even with all your debt elimination and frugal lifestyle.

Numbers Support Partial Retirement, Here’s what’s Required

  • You have to have interest in doing something and be someone who is ready and willing to chase their own adventure.
  • Identify your interests and passions based on your past career and personal life. Include hobbies and experiences and then look at the skills you have developed and where they overlap with your favorite activities.
  • Always have an open mind and open eyes to opportunity and adventure.
  • Utilize your network and the relationships you built over the years.
  • Figure it all out before you retire. Start doing it part-time or start doing it as a side hustle. If you need certification to become the Scuba Instructor you have always dreamed of being then get it.
To Conclude

Not everyone has adventure sized dreams to turn into a partial retirement. Your interests and passions may be as simple as you want to be social and love working with or helping people. You may have a personality that just attracts people and you can sell fire to the devil. The point of this post is that the traditional retirement may be out of reach to many. Out of reach due to lower-income or a late savings start.

But instead of suffering through a career or job that you feel is slowly killing you 40 hours a week. Instead of working until you are age 70 for increased Social Security. Instead consider the partial retirement. It may just be the alternative retirement that will get you to your visualized lifestyle much sooner. Even if you do have the portfolio to support your retirement lifestyle. Being open to part-time opportunities that align with your interest and passions will only add to your retirement. It is an adventure.

Would you consider partial retirement or do you know someone who is living the partial retirement lifestyle?

Embrace Failure as Necessary for Success

Career, Passion, Retire Early, Retire Often

Here is a key to reaching and exceeding your goals: Embrace Failure as Necessary for Success. I have known my fair share of failures on my financial independence journey and my ongoing quest to live a passion-driven lifestyle. Let’s face it, failing at something you put great effort into feels like crap. You can’t help but feeling like you let yourself and maybe others down in your failure.

I don’t know about you but when I think about my failures they are seared into my brain. I learned more from them than many of my successes. The funny thing is I wasn’t depressed, hurt, or feeling discouraged when I started thinking about the importance of failure today. I was feeling happy and was counting my blessings. It came to me that many of my blessing are because of failing at trying something while pushing myself.

  • I am blessed that I can bounce-back from failure and negative feedback.  I do this by being able to change course and continue on. Realizing any feelings of embarrassment or of being hurt were just feelings and would soon pass. If the challenge or quest was worth doing and I experienced a failure it doesn’t necessarily mean the challenge or quest should be killed. Just adjust and keep moving forward.
  • I am blessed to have failed and allowed to fix things myself so that I could learn from my failures. Nobody rushed in to save me. I felt abandoned when it occurred but I am stronger for it. It is now one of my strengths that I don’t ever look for a rescuer.
  • I am blessed to be able to recognize that failure is always a possibility in anything that I attempt of greatness so that I consider all contingencies before going forward. To reach great success I know I have to take risks and accept failure, not be frozen to inaction because of a fear of failure.

In order to reach success I believe you have to challenge yourself and go beyond your comfort zone but do so leveraging your strengths.

I have lived my retire early and often passion-driven lifestyle for five years now and there have been a few failures that I learned immensely from. Not failures in the plan or quest but in the way I handled some things. It is something that makes me wonder about destiny and fate. Had I not had failures my life would have taken a totally different direction. That is what makes this all an adventure.

Five Tips to Embrace Failure as Necessary for Success

  1. Be an optimist and surround yourself with like-minded people. Keep people around you who can be honest and push you to focus on lessons learned from any failures instead of dwelling on the failure itself.
  2. Be a root-cause failure analyst. If you experience a failure then something went wrong somewhere. Figure out where that was and make adjustments or corrections, then move forward.
  3. Set goal timelines and reflect on successes, failures, and all of your lessons learned. I like bi-annual quest reviews but consider what works best for you whether monthly, quarterly, etc. Recognize the effort and any pain experienced. Recognize and mentally celebrate your personal growth.
  4. Document your failures. Not to dwell on them but to acknowledge what didn’t work or what errors were made. I recall reading somewhere that all of Edison’s light bulb failures were considered successes in how not to do it. Think the same way.
  5. Embrace Failure as Necessary for Success. Nobody goes through life without failure so accept that mistakes will be made and learned from. It is an important part of our personal growth.

Whether it is advancing your career, making a career change, starting a business, retiring early, reaching financial independence or any life challenging quest, there will be failures.

Have you encountered and bounced back from failures on your own journey?

Early Retirement Side Hustle Still Thrills

Career, Passion, Retire Often

My early retirement side hustle still thrills and this sweet little two and half month gig is quickly coming to its conclusion. Realistically I have about two weeks maximum left to deliver the finished product so that the client has time to review and ask for any changes before funding ends.

The work result is a comprehensive documentation of this large Cable and Telecommunication Company’s billing mediation code. the code that their billing system uses for inter-exchange access billing. The code grew and got more complicated over the years with the implementation of Local Number Portability. It seems that the software developers who would program the code changes and additions didn’t do the best job of documenting anything.

I am sure this project comes as a big snooze to my readers. But I can honestly say that this has been the best gig I have had in many years. It hits on what I love to do best. The time has really flown and I have learned a lot of new skills. But more importantly I also learned more about what it is I really enjoy working on. Also how I prefer to do things and what makes for a rewarding and interesting way to earn some extra money. Aside from the actual project itself I have found a few added factors that really sets this gig apart from anything I have done before.

Why this early retirement side hustle still thrills

Flexibility.

I have for the most part enjoyed going into the office. After being retired for a while I wondered if I would have a case of the “Mondays” all week-long even though I loved the project. I think the biggest pain for the working person is commuting to the office. Nothing starts your day off in the dumper like spending an unreasonable amount of time in traffic.

This gig allowed me the flexibility to offset my hours slightly to avoid the morning crush. This is probably the first time I have been allowed to do this to the extent I have now. It does make a huge difference. If I ever take another side hustle or start another career, guess what I will be negotiating for. Yep, a flexible start time.

Going Solo.

I am pretty much on my own. There is a support team working the day-to-day operations. I can ask them questions of or get advice but it is seldom needed. I do enjoy the social aspect of the office setting. But this is the first time I have been able to sit at a desk and just do my thing on a dedicated project. Work all day without meetings after meetings about everything and anything. Or having to stop to do another emergency project. I went in, sat down, and could get to work and stay on task pretty much all day except for a weekly thirty-minute staff meeting and a bi-weekly thirty-minute project status meeting.

I always wondered what it would be like to not have a bunch of daily meetings or multiple priority-competing projects to be responsible for. Now I know and it is being more productive and is far more enjoyable.

Totally Relaxed.

Since this is an early retirement side hustle and not a ladder-climbing career. I was able to relax and just chill out. I go in every day having a good time and not taking myself so seriously. I don’t have the stress of thinking I need to perform at super-employee levels. No trying to impress my leadership so that I can get that bonus, raise, or promotion. I am an early retired Leisure Freak working when I want to work. Only working on what I want to work on. Financial independence ROCKS! I have actually had this skill-to-chill mastered since my first early retirement but this time it feels even better.

What’s Next?

At this time I don’t know if there will be an offer to extend the contract for a few more months. I do feel great having been totally honest with them when I was being rationally unreasonable. Setting my boundaries for accepting an extension. If it comes then great. If not even better. I can then return to my early retirement and look forward to whatever comes next. It is an adventure.

The wonderful thing about my “retire early and often” journey is getting paid while learning new skills and being able to do things I am interested in and passionate about. I also learn more and more about what it is that really makes me tick which will help me be better at recognizing the best passion-driven opportunities when they do come around.

This early retirement side hustle still thrills me and I have to say that I am not too surprised by that. I am picky before accepting going back to work. Have you thought about what it is that you love most about your job, career, or business?

Or, have you thought about what it would take for you to call your early retirement as over to start an encore career or as I just did, do an early retirement side hustle?

Being Rationally Unreasonable

Career, Passion, Retire Early, Retire Often

I was just told that I was being unreasonable. I love being called that because I have attained freedom and financial gain by being rationally unreasonable. I have posted previously that I am on an early retirement side hustle. I have the perfect project to work. Of which is funded directly by an internal company client separate from the department my short-term gig is in.

This project is funded until the end of the year. The funding client insists that I concentrate solely on this work. That allows me to stay outside of the company’s day to day operational issues. That is totally awesome for me. I am really enjoying this gig and looking forward to completing it.

However I was just asked whether I would consider a contract extension into next year after I finish this project. I basically said only if….

I then laid down my boundaries of what I would be willing to do if I were to accept a contract extension.

I am not working here because I have to but because I wanted to based on this project. Why wouldn’t I be picky about the conditions that I would find acceptable to stay longer?

When others found out how selective I was about what I considered acceptable and the limitations I had laid out I was called unreasonable. Although I counter that I am being totally rational.

Being rationally unreasonable is what Leisure Freak Tommy is all about

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” George Bernard Shaw.

I unreasonably challenge the definition of retirement and many other things. I wasn’t always this unreasonable. I use to toe-the-line and take my fair share of misery and crap. Many times more than my fair share of crap because the world is like a big machine with all its moving parts and someone must toil to keep everything moving. Not everyone, but someone.

If you are always reasonable then you end up being that “someone” because it is easy for those who rule and don’t want to deal with it to have you do it. That is the prevalent world of the career-driven. I have made the rational decision to be unreasonable when it comes to the way I want to live my passion-driven life.

Within Reason

The opposite of being unreasonable is being “within reason”. I have often been cautioned with that limiting phrase when I started preaching my retiring early and often lifestyle plans long before my first retirement.

  • People would tell me it was OK to set my early retirement goals but make sure my goals are “within reason”.
  • Go ahead and embrace living a passion-driven lifestyle pursuing my passions and interests but do it “within reason”.
  • It is fine being picky about the opportunities I am willing to accept retiring early and often but you are getting older and less hirable so scrutinize any opportunities “within reason”.

The list can go on and on, but what is “within reason” really saying?

  • Within reason says don’t take too big of risks.
  • Within reason says go ahead and do what you plan but make sure you play it safe.
  • Within reason says don’t expect too much, ask for too much, or dream too big.

Within reason basically means just be part of the normal masses, chained to tradition and the definitions laid out years and years ago. Get a job, go into debt buying crap, buy a big expensive house, save for a retirement that should be delayed until age 70, never question authority and always do what the “experts” claim as the normal thing to do. Now that is what I call being irrational and unreasonable.

Push Yourself Being Unreasonable

To really succeed with financial independence and early retirement you have to go way farther than safe or within reason. You have to make a rational decision to be unreasonable. To unreasonably break from the norm and push your thresholds by testing the waters of risk and discovery.

This is about being rationally unreasonable about your own plans and expectations for your participation with the world.

This is about asking for what you really want and challenging the norms.

This is about being rationally unreasonable anytime you have the choice to question and go in the opposite direction than how everyone else does things.

Father and Son at the coffee shop- We are rationally unreasonable
Father and Son at the coffee shop

I want to dedicate this post to my son whose birthday is this week and would have turned 34. He was a musician, artist and painted cars for his money and definitely lived his short life being rationally unreasonable.

His passing changed me and taught me that life is too short to live under the rule of others who benefit from the reasonable stuck-in-the-rut people. I prefer being a freak who loves being rationally unreasonable.

Do you consider yourself rationally unreasonable?

Challenging the Norm and Reaping Rewards

Career, Passion, Retire Early, Retire Often

I have got away with challenging the norm and reaping rewards for many years now. Some that know me just think I have a problem that goes way back with questioning authority. Religious, Legal, Corporate, you name it.

I definitely got into trouble questioning too much in Church and Seminary as a young man and the final response that I need to pray more didn’t answer my questions completely. I would let them know that I wasn’t satisfied with the answers I was getting. That sure didn’t win me any friends in the Church.

I have had a few encounters with law enforcement where they were way out of line and I just couldn’t follow stupid orders. I have been nearly arrested for contempt of Cop a couple of times. Fortunately I always stayed calm in my disobedience and they were just over-reacting and emotional and not corrupt because they could have made up any unprovable charge but didn’t.

I was never one to enjoy corporate politics and the bull shit that goes with it. I was once nearly fired for being the only person who could answer why something had failed. I was asked by a senior VP what I thought, I answered, I was right, I was the only one who understood even though it wasn’t in an area of my responsibility, and I ended up embarrassing those who should have understood who were politically special. Another SR VP intervened and I was given a little talk. Basically just keep my mouth shut even if asked.

I think it was all the part of my personality that helped me be the Leisure Freak I am. I recognized that there was little happiness in following the consumerist herd and I sought after financial independence for the freedom of early retirement. Not my grandfather’s or even my father’s retirement but one I redefined to include pursuing opportunities of pay that I could be passionate about doing. That is where my challenging the norm and reaping the rewards really shines. It wasn’t easy, it took time, and my retiring early was and perhaps  is still risky. But with great risk comes great rewards.

Why I believe I am challenging the norm and reaping rewards

People called me crazy.

When I retired early the first time at age 51 I was at the top of my game, well-respected, a leader and innovator in a large telecommunications company but I had a different dream for my future. It was the end of 2009 and with a rotten economy, recession, stock market still in a shambles, high unemployment and a lot of people scratching their heads at my decision to pull the plug. I loved it! When everyone goes one way I am more motivated to go the other, taking the risk and adventure over sitting safe and bored. But I wasn’t crazy. I had a plan and the financial independence to live life on my terms.

Nothing happens if nothing moves.

I was ready for a change in a big way. It was just not the same there for me. I lost my passion for it and was coasting along. It was sucking the life out of my soul but also in a way comfortable and would have been easy to just stay and sleep-walk through many more years. But that is what other people do because it’s the easy way. I wanted to see more, be more, and believed with it would come personal and financial rewards. If I didn’t make the move to a “retire early and often lifestyle” I would always wonder what could have been. If I failed it wasn’t for lack of planning, preparation and financial backing. It just came down to if I didn’t make a move then nothing different will happen.

We all have choices to make and some are more risky than others. Stepping out of the conformist line and doing your own thing against the norms may label you crazy. There are worse things. Here are 4 important steps to get you started to be that crazy person challenging the norm and reaping rewards.

Understand how you will deal with any fear you might have

Also deal with any excuses and distractions that your insecure side might use to stop you from this new adventure. Be clear and believe in your journey so that you can overcome any doubt that will come your way and take necessary actions to stay on course.

Know that your new adventure won’t be easy

This is the time to be fully committed to your plan. Your plan will need to have defined what you consider success but also what you are passionate about and what really makes you happy. Commit to it because you are doing this for YOU.

Learn to accept mistakes and to learn from them.

Your journey won’t be a perfect line from point A to point Z and all points in the middle. That is a fact of life regardless of all the planning in the world. Concentrate on your goals and don’t worry about what anyone else is doing with their life. Do not compare yourself to others. Stay focused on your plan, your passions, and your progress. You had the courage to jump head first out of your comfort zone so believe in yourself.

Lastly enjoy the ride.

For me it took a while longer than I thought it would for my post-retirement plan to advance but I was moving closer and closer to my goals. Soon it picked up a momentum of its own. Be happy, keep pursuing your passions, and be in the moment. Be gracious and grateful that you are able to make this move.

In Conclusion

It is totally cliché but life is too short to feel like you are living a life of mediocrity. If you have a dream and plan, prepare, and can risk the move then do it. I retired early, started a second career and retired again. Now I’m on an early retirement side hustle gig that is amazing and I am certainly happy with my decision to take my leap of faith challenging the norm and reaping rewards.

Have you taken or planning to take a leap of faith to pursue your dreams even though it’s considered risky?

The Absence of Needing to Work Defines Retirement

Passion, Retire Early, Retire Often

A friend of mine pointed me toward this recent finance-retirement article because he thought this is exactly what I have preached for years: The absence of needing to work defines retirement, not the absence of working. It’s totally aligned with my talking about retiring early and often. A retirement lifestyle where we can pursue paying opportunities that we are passionate about doing and have high interest in doing. Working because we want to, when we want to, not have to.

The article provided by Libby Kane of the Business Insider is titled Everyone Should Adopt This Alternative Definition Of ‘Retirement’. The short article is about Eric D. Brotman, author of “Retire Wealthy: The Tools You Need To Help Build Lasting Wealth — On Your Own Or With Your Financial Adviser“.

He says it this way:

“When you have achieved enough financial wherewithal to eschew any and all income-producing activities other than those you want to pursue, in my mind you are “retired.” In other words, it is the absence of needing to work, not the absence of working that defines retirement.”

This is of course the beauty of reaching financial independence. It provides the freedom to live life on your terms. Retirement is not the end of a long life of working and saving. It is the beginning of what should be many adventures and if you decide to, the beginning of new careers or just following your passions doing what you want to do.

Now I have taken a lot of crap from people for my “retire early and often” attitude. They are people who just won’t budge from their grandfather’s rocking chair retirement definition. Maybe if everyone just drops the word “retirement” and instead we replace it with “financial independence” it would be easier for people to accept the message.

The article states:

“Brotman’s definition is brilliant because it positions retirement as a state of freedom, not an impending deadline you must hustle to accommodate. Wouldn’t it be nice not to need to work?”

I can definitely answer that question. Absolutely Yes! Face it, it’s not easy to live a smart frugal life and save consistently for financial independence or retirement. It also doesn’t come quickly. But it’s a worthy commitment and goal.

“Viewing post-career years as an opportunity to revel in financial freedom is much more motivational than making a mad rush to squirrel away every possible cent before meekly bowing out of the workforce.”

Who wants to meekly bow out? Not me but it takes more than saving money to continue pursuing opportunities you don’t HAVE to do but WANT to do.

Realistic Plan

You have to have a realistic plan of what you want to target. Obviously the easiest way is to list your passions and leverage your skills and experience to fine-tune your plan. Take into consideration where you live, your health, skills, qualifications and physical capabilities.

Skills

If you don’t have all the necessary skills or qualifications then do whatever you can to get them. Whether it is going back to school or getting a job or volunteering in your target area to gain the skills you need to add to your background.

Practice

If you are learning something new, practice your new skills until you are good at it.

Network

You need to maintain your network of professional connections and keep adding to them. The easiest way to a new career or position is by leveraging all the good work you have done.

Patience

It may take time to make your goals happen. You must have the patience to stay on plan. You also should always remember how blessed you are to be in this position. Most people only dream about reaching financial independence.

All of this looks like the same advice you would get for advancing your career. There really is no difference except for one. With financial independence and the kind of early retirement I am talking about here you have retired from a must do career-driven mindset to a want to passion-driven mindset. That mind-shift makes the things you need to do feel like they are accomplished much easier.

What do you think about the absence of needing to work defines retirement, not the absence of working? Once you reach financial independence and this alternative definition of retirement as are you planning to pursue new opportunities of interest?

Passion through a Child’s Eyes

Passion

I have been away for ten days vacationing with my daughter and her small but growing family. I was able to once again see Passion through a Child’s Eyes. My wife and I had planned since March for a September vacation to Southern California. Back in May my daughter, who is expecting to deliver my grandson in December said they wish they could take a vacation before the baby comes. So we decided to bring them along. I am very proud of my daughters.

This one daughter in particular lives a frugal and balanced life so that she only has to work part-time. She will be a 100% stay at home mom once baby number two comes. So my daughter, her husband and my two and half year-old granddaughter joined us for a ten-day road trip. A trip that took us through a couple of other cities on the way there and back. We added some end-of-year visits to extended family to our beach and Disneyland vacation.

Family Comes First

Whenever I mentioned that I was taking to the road with a toddler and visiting Disneyland the general response was you poor bugger. But they were so very wrong about that.

One of the things I held highest when I retired early was to put family first and enjoy every minute. When we are too busy with careers, earning money and paying off debt we can let family turn more into a frustration instead of enjoying the moments with them.

When raising our kids I know I was concerned about teaching them, protecting them, and taking care of them. Then there is all the demands of our careers and finances. All important but as we are so busy doing that we forget to see things through their eyes. We forget to take the time to marvel at their little personalities. At how they experience the world.

Feeling Passion through a Child’s Eyes

I have spent a lot of time visiting extended family this summer and this trip was the perfect cap on a great vacationing season. As an early retiree and having the time to spend with family I can assure you that being a grandparent is something I am passionate about. I believe most retirees with grandchildren are too. Passion through a Child's Eyes - being In the moment

I was driven near to tears a few times as I watched my granddaughter get excited about things we were doing.

The first time she saw the ocean. When the waves moved up past her tiny feet while holding hands with her parents. When a wave came in over her knees.

The first moment she entered Disneyland and Ariel (Little Mermaid) was right there for her to see. Then her dad getting a high-five from her favorite Disney character. This little girl would get so excited that she couldn’t contain herself and many times would break into what I can only describe as running in a little circle as fast as she could. All the while chattering away like some uncontrollable happiness, passion and energy release. What a crack-up.

Saving Money When We Can

The trip was not cheap. Finding good deals was a little difficult to come by. I did score a lower cost for our Best Western Plus hotel rooms because I booked way early saving about $20 a night per room. This was for both our Beach location and across the street from Disneyland. The hotels do sell out even in September after school starts and the traditional vacation period has ended so they start raising the rates. I have a Best Western reward account so I did rack up some good points toward free rooms and paid for everything with a reward credit card.

We were able to get our Disney Park Hopper passes at a slight discount when buying a multi-day pass at our participating hotel. Anyone who wonders what a two and a half year old would like to ride at Disneyland and the Disney California Adventure Park let me tell you.

Two and a Half Year Old’s Disneyland Ride List

Little Mermaid – 7 times

Fantasy Land Carousel – 8 times

CA Adventure Carousel – 1 time

Winnie the Pooh – 8 times

Jungle Cruise – 3 times

Tea Cups – 4 times

Peter Pan – 1 time

Mr. Toads Wild Ride – 2 times

Snow White – 1 time

Pinocchio – 1 time

Small World – 1 time

Pirates of the Caribbean – 1 time (she hated it)

I am sure I am forgetting some.

It Wasn’t Limited to Amusement Rides

There was also plenty of running through all the character houses in Toon Town. We were able to join her as she experienced these childhood pleasures on most of these rides. We only broke loose a few times to do more grownup rides but we have been to Disneyland many times and weren’t concerned about hitting everything.

Passion through a Child’s Eyes- Disneyland late Sept, No crowdsBeing only two and a half there was no cost for her to enter the park. They start charging at age three. For the rest of us it was expensive but this is a perfect time of year to go to get your money’s worth. Most of the time we only had to stand in line about 15 minutes. Some less and a couple (Peter Pan/Pirates) a little more.

Since it has been many years since I was around small kids for extended periods of time on a road-trip there were a few things to get use to again.

When Traveling With Small Kids – Prepare For:

  • Lots of extra stops to change diapers. Sometimes you can’t find a place to stop fast enough to relieve your senses. My daughter was waiting to start potty training after this road trip.
  • Kids waking from a nap in a car seat must feel like crap and results in some cranky crying and when in traffic can be distracting for me the driver. I stayed calm repeating to myself, there were two qualified and skilled mothers in the car to handle things.
  • The car’s back seat is trashed within 5 minutes with whatever food or drink the little-one is given or comes into contact with.
  • The car radio seems to always be too loud for everyone but me, the DRIVER. Could it be that my musical taste for Classic Rock and Grunge isn’t appreciated?
  • There are as many opinions about the correct interior temperature as there are people in the car.
  • When you are truly living in the moment enjoying what you are sharing with people you love, there is never enough time on the video camera SD card to capture everything you are experiencing together.
I learned a lot of other things too.

Watching the extreme joy of your grandchild is worth any extra cost for a once in a lifetime vacation (she will only be 2 once). I will have to make up the budget over-run with money from the slush fund but I am at a point of financial independence where I don’t worry too much about the little things like that anymore. It’s not going to be a spending habit so it is easily accounted for.

Whenever I would bring up Disneyland or the Beach on our long travel home my granddaughter would light up all over again and start chattering in her own version of English of which 75% I understood as she would re-live a moment and I could once again see passion through a child’s eyes.

For Some, Their Special Moments Were Missed

While we were at Disneyland I witnessed more than a few occasions where the parents were not able to fully enjoy their kids. Parents upset and arguing with each other or yelling at their kids for doing what kids do when they are overly excited and not paying attention. Too many times parents dragging their little ones from ride to ride or waiting in line glued to their smart phones. I wish they all could disconnect from their frustrations and their always connected technology because kids grow up so fast.

How about you, do you take the opportunity to really slow down to be in the moment and see things through your child’s or grandchild’s eyes?

Failing the Passion Test

Passion, Retire Often

Sometimes you believe you are about to start something fantastic. But then you have to call it quits because it is Failing the Passion Test. I was presented with this opportunity to get back into something I used to do. Something that I thought would be a lot of fun. It was definitely something I was passionate about in the past. Since it was a great experience I thought that my passion for it would rekindle like it had never ended. But I was wrong. Allow me to start from the beginning.

Resurrecting a Long Dead Side Hustle

Back In what seems like an earlier life I had a side-hustle in the income tax world. I went to the H&R Block School back then and paid the $90 tuition. I passed the class and then took their enormous 8 hour test to be an employee. I worked for them for 4 years and completing each years advanced classes every fall. After those 4 years I left H&R Block and started my Income Tax practice. By word of mouth my practice grew to over 100 good-clients. That lasted a few years and I was as busy as I wanted to be. I was making some very good side money and loving every minute of it. That all came to an end when my engineering job was relocated out of state. I had to sell my tax practice. I was way too busy after the move and never took it up again.

Fast forward through many years to a couple of months ago. I was attending one of the many free events of the summer where there were many vendors present. One was H&R Block giving out bottled water. I struck up a conversation with the young woman there and mentioned to her my distant past work with them. She then offered me their 2014 tax class for free and said they are always looking for tax professionals. She asked for my email address and I then went off to enjoy the rest of the event and the day thinking what a nice place this is to be in. This really just dropped into my lap and maybe this could be a fun little winter gig in the income tax game again.

Classes Begin

Failing the Passion Test- Being aTax professionalI have gone to the class twice a week now for a few weeks. There have been plenty of tax code changes but all in all it was coming back to me. I was easily and accurately completing the test cases and exams. My instructor even told me if I complete the course and exams a job offer is all but certain if I want it. There was even talk about the pay. Wow, a slam dunk, or was it? When talk about compensation came up it was like my eyes just opened because it bothered me. I thought that the pay was less than it was 20 years ago and that was the trigger to finally alert me.

Pay Shouldn’t Be Part of the Passion Driven Equation

My whole new life living with a passion-driven mindset is if I am passionate about something I don’t care what it pays. I then saw that the entire time I have attended class I was doing it but I just didn’t feel the spark that I use to feel. I was just being carried by my enthusiasm. This is something I used to do and was very good at it. I was able to grasp complex tax situations, do the research and perform at a high level. I was really into it. Now I am sitting there doing it very well again but I was just going through the motions.

Our passions aren’t something we find but something we create from all of our experiences. I experienced being a tax professional and was passionate about it but it seems I can’t recreate that old passion. What I think it comes down to is we change over time as we age. I used to love doing a lot of things I don’t anymore so there was no surprise when I realized that trying to rekindle Leisure Freak Tommy’s income tax past was Failing the Passion Test.

Final Comments

This is where my financial independence and passion-driven lifestyle comes into play. I have no interest in just going through the motions anymore so today I resigned from the course. Just because I can do it doesn’t mean I should do it.  I met some very nice people in that class and I wish them well. In my resignation-email I thanked them for the opportunity and the free class but it just wasn’t going to work out. My being open to opportunity allowed me to investigate this and now mark it down as another experience in my “retire early and often” adventure.

Have you ever started to do something you thought you would love to do and then soon after realized it wasn’t for you?