Retire?

Was talking to an old friend the other day and retirement came up.

Though he's been self employed and has grown his business to huge proportions, he says he'll not retire. Says he can't afford to retire.

Now I'm sure if he sold his business or sold off all his equipment, he could easily retire. This guy gets up around four AM every day then works until late in the evening. Then has dinner and goes out and does some farming.

That is the kind of schedule you have to keep to run a really successful business though. Like I've said before, it's more of a life style.

Your vacations become mixed in with business. When you go out of town to a place you want to visit, you spend a few days or a week and visit. All the while business is running through your head.

But as we were talking we came to the conclusion, there is no point in retiring. What does a person do when they retire but wait to die...

Maybe for some having nothing to do and all day to do it seems good. For me, when I gave up the business, I turned my full time and attention to my hobby. Farming.

Will I ever truly retire in the sense most people look at retirement?

Probably not!

Waking up each and every day and having something that needs done gives life meaning.

I can take a few days off if I want after the busy seasons are over. When I manage to get ahead I can take a day or week to make a fishing trip. I can leave others take care of things while I'm away.

Somewhere over the years I learned that work is adult play. My work has always been my playground. I didn't feel like work was some dreaded thing I had to force myself to get out of bed for. I actually looked forward to the new challenges of each day.

The important thing is, you have to find what you enjoy doing and do that for your work. Yes, you may have to take a job your not crazy about at times. Yet there is nothing cementing you to that job forever.

If you learn to live within your means, you can always find time to start something new. It's the people who live deep in debt that are forced to stay in a job they despise. They owe so much they can't afford to take a chance. The have all the doodads, all the trinkets, all the bells and whistles. But they are trapped by what they owe money for.

I'm lucky that I learned that very early in this life. It hasn't been a problem I've had to face since my twenties. If I couldn't afford it, I didn't need it.

Yes, I carry a few credit cards. But they are for emergencies. I do my darnedest to pay them in full every month. I do use them to keep my credit rating up. Yet I also try not to pay interest.

So I am not a slave to owing someone. If you are, then maybe you need to quit buying stuff and pay off your debt. Then you too can work because you want to work and not because you have to.

That alone makes smiling every day a whole lot easier.