On August 19, 2005, I retired.? I was 39 years old.? I had a very successful career in higher education at Harvard University, Boston University, Union College and finally at Siena College where students voted me the Administrator of the Year.? While my career was advancing, my reputation, as a career counselor was increasing in the larger community.? This encouraged me to start a small private practice on the side, Careers In Transition LLC.? Over the years, this part-time venture grew substantially.? In 2005, I made a critical decision that forever changed the course of both my professional and personal life.? I decided to ?retire? from higher education and leave the security of a good job at Siena for the freedom and flexibility of running my own private practice full-time.? Since that day, I can tell you I have never had so much fun.? I feel ?retired.?? Every weekday, I see clients in my thriving private practice, but in my mind this is retirement.
So what really is ?retirement??? Merriam-Webster?s dictionary defines ?retirement? as ?withdrawal from one?s position or occupation or from active working life.? I define retirement as the time in your life when you have the freedom to do what you want. Put simply, retirement is what you say it is.? Baby Boomers are redefining old models of retirement.? Not one client has told me they are going to Florida to play shuffle board.? Retirement has multiple options including: spending more time with family and friends, traveling, volunteering, going back to school, starting a consulting business, house projects, or doing things you always wanted to do, but never had the time.? Many of them want to continue to work either part-time or even full-time, but in work that is significant.? In ?retirement? you no longer trade time for dollars.
Often my clients say to me, ?I?ll never retire.? This response requires further exploration.? There is a huge difference between not wanting to retire from work and not being able to retire financially.?? The message I hear in my practice is, ?I want to stop doing this job and focus on the work that I really love to do.? Unfortunately, many people are not clear about what they love to do.? It?s important to get clarity on what you value and what you really want.? In retirement, you don?t have time to get it wrong.
What most Americans need is not a ?withdrawal from active working life.? What they need is a ?sabbatical.?? Retirement affords you the luxury to slow down a hurried life so you can rethink the next chapter.? This is a time to ?detoxify? and get back to the authentic you.? I have noticed that this time can sometimes range from a few weeks to several months.? After the ?retiree? has spent more time with family and friends, done house projects and come back from their travels, they need something more.? For example, after a mere month of retirement from public service, my friend Tom H. shared his enthusiasm for a job he was applying for.? I said, ?Tommy, you have been retired for one month!? Why are you doing this?? He told me that he was done puttzing around the house and watching daytime television.? He wanted to get serious about how he wanted to spend his time.? You have worked your whole life for these special days.? Think carefully and act deliberately on how you want to spend them.? Your retirement years are the most important of your life because you don?t have many of them left.
Sometimes, I ask myself, ?What the heck would I do if I was really retired.? My life now is not much different than what I hope for in retirement.? The answer is, I would spend more time with family and friends, travel and volunteer.? If I was retired, I?d go crazy staying at home on weekdays, so I would probably start a business where I could put all my years of experience to work.? Last year,? I took nine weeks off from work to spend with my family and friends.? I traveled to ten states and climbed Mt. Shasta.? I took Wednesdays off in the Winter so I could ice climb with friends.? I volunteered and raised money for some non-profits that are close to my heart.? Then I realized I had all these things, and so I must be ?retired.?? Seriously, when I reach 65, my plan is to work, four days a week.? When I reach 70, my plan is to work three days a week.? When I reach the age of 75, I can ski at Gore Mountain for free.? Retirement is just another chapter of your life, but you get to choose how you want to spend your limited time.
My advice is to imagine you have ?Retired First? in your mind.? The ?Retire First? mindset shifts our thinking beyond our narrow and limited situation.? It allows us to suspend reality and to think bigger.? Ask yourself, ?What work would I do if I didn?t need the money?? Get crystal clear clarity in your mind, and then get it out of your mind and onto paper.? This is critical.? Type out your specific and detailed definition of retirement.? Finish this sentence, ?Retirement means??? Your next step is to pursue an incremental course of action toward the work you were meant to do ? the work that allows you to live out your life purpose.? It?s essential to come up with a short-term and long-term plan.? Without a plan, you are planning to fail and you can not afford to get this wrong.
Some people don?t get to retire.? I recently read in the TU of two people that died at 43 and 49.? Please don?t wait until you retire to do what you love.? It might be too late.? You might not live that long to reach the ?age of retirement.?? Develop a plan to intentionally use the remaining time you have here productively.? Don?t pissing your time away!? Do the work you were meant to do.? Don?t postpone real and authentic living.
Being a career counselor is the work I was called to do. ?There?s an old expression, ?If you do what you love you will never work a day in your life.? I believe that if you do what you love you will be retired.? I have no intention of getting a J.O.B. (Just Over Broke).? Having a J.O.B. is just not that fun.? I hope you will ?Retire First? and then work yourself to death.? And now, you?ll have to excuse me, because I?m retired, and I have clients waiting for me at my office.
Dr. Tom?s Career Tip: ?We work to become, not to acquire.? ? Elbert Hubbard
Need Help or Need a Speaker?? (518) 366-8451
www.CareersInTransitionLLC.com
careersintransition@yahoo.com
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