Ya gotta love what you do
March 22nd, 2006 by Larry D. Burton
I hit 51 this past February and it has me thinking about retirement. Not so much because I want to retire, just because I’m getting to the age when you start considering it. When I was in my thirties I couldn’t imagine myself wanting to retire. To be honest, I’m not so sure I will want to when I hit my sixties. I like what I’m doing and I don’t really want to quit.
That’s why this story about Arthur Winston inspires me. He retired recently on his 100th birthday. You know that man had to love what he was doing and that says something. Too many people just burn out on their job but feel they have too much time invested in the job to change to something else. This man didn’t burn out.
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I always said my retirement plan was to work until I dropped dead. Didn’t work out that way. Some are born to retirement, some achieve retirement, and some have retirement thrust upon them. I am looking for something else to do. Mr. Winston was infinitely more successful at continuing to work. Good on him.
I was amused that the linked article included advertising for a book on succeeding at being a Section 8 landlord, since Section 8 is where I spent 17 years trying to make a difference to the wretched refuse of our society. With spotty results.
BTW, I see that you have revamped your blog, including an update to WordPress 2.02, two revisions later than mine. I still haven’t figured out all the bells and whistles on 2.0.
Felix, it isn’t too late to go back to work. The important thing is that you only go back to work doing something you like.
John D. MacDonald wrote some books with a hero named Travis McGee who was taking his retirement in installments. That is actually my goal.
Here in another year or so I’d like to be in a position to take another couple couple of months of my retirement. The problem with this plan is going back to work when your current installment of retirement is up.
Ah, Travis McGee, and Meyer. I loved those books. McDonald could spin a tale and get across points about Florida, development and attendant corruption. Yes, the installment retirement of McGee was very appealing. Like you, I wondered how easy it would be to re-enter the work force after a self-imposed temporary retirement. I recall the interview process I conducted for all the folks I hired over the years. Large gaps in their employment records worried me, even though I found McGee’s retirement philosophy tempting.
For my present situation, I need some money, but not a large amount, and my goal is finding a job I can enjoy moderately, and leave it at the workplace come quitting time each day.
“The important thing is that you only go back to work doing something you like.”
I’m pretty much hosed.