The Present - Spencer Johnson (The Gift that makes you Happy and Successful at Work and in Life)
Success is progressing toward whatever you think is important. It may be good grades in school, doing well in sports, having a good relationship with parents, getting a good part time job after school, and then getting a raise in job, enjoy life and appreciate what you have.
Success is something we all define for ourselves at different stages of our lives.
I feel good when I loved what I was doing and I keep focus on what I am doing.
The Present is a gift you give to yourself. Only you have the power to discover what it is. No one can find the Present for someone else.
In order to find The Present for yourself, think of the times when you were the happiest, and most successful.
The Present is not the Past and it is not the Future. The Present is The Present Moment! The Present is NOW!
Being in the Present means focusing on what is happening right now! It means appreciating the gifts you are offered every day. You are aware and focus on whatever you are doing. When you are in the Present, you feel happy and successful.
Even in the Most difficult situations, when you focus on what is Right. In the Present Moment, it makes you Happier, and gives you the Needed energy and confidence to deal with what is wrong.
Most situations are a mix of good and bad, right and wrong. It depends on how you look at them. The more you look at what is wrong, the less energy and confidence you have. That's why when you find yourself in a 'bad' situation, it is important to look for what is right, even if it is hard to find. Then appreciate it and build on it. The more you appreciate what is right at the moment, the happier you are. You become more relaxed, and it is easier then to stay in The Present.
What if the Present is very painful, like experiencing the loss of a loved one? Pain is the difference between what is, and what you want it to be. Pain in the Present, like everything else, is constantly changing. It will come and go. When you stay fully in the Present and have felt the pain, and feel drained by it, you can begin to look for what is right, and build on it.
It is important to experience painful situations and learn from them rather than try to distract yourself with something else. Even in difficult situations, I need to tune out the unimportant distractions that keep me from being in The Present.
In a relationship, you need to focus on the whole person. By being more aware of their 'good' or 'bad' qualities, you can address potential problems, instead of being side-tracked by them.
Focus on what is happening at the moment. Appreciate what is right about the situation, and build on it. Pay attention to what is important NOW.
It is Hard to Let go of the Past if you have not learned from the Past. As soon as you learn and let go, you improve the Present. You must not live in the Past but it is important to use the Past to learn from your mistakes.
Anytime you are unhappy in the Present or feeling unsuccessful, it is time to learn from the Past or Plan for the Future.
There are tow things can rob you of the joy of the Present: your negative thoughts about the Past, or your negative thoughts about the Future.
Learn from the Past:
- What happened in the past?
- What did I learn from it?
- What can I do differently now (to have better result)?
Use what you learn to improve the Present.
If you behave in the same way, you get the same results. But when you behave differently, you get different results. The more you learn from the Past, the fewer regrets you have. And the more time you have in the Present.
You cannot change the Past, but you can learn from it. When the same situation arises, you can do things differently and enjoy a more successful Present.
Living in the Future makes us anxious because we are not sure what will happen. The only way to make the Future better than the Present, other than to get lucky, is to plan for it. Planning for the Future reduces fear and uncertainty, because you are actively taking steps toward future success. You know what you are doing and why you are doing it. Once you have prepared for the Future, you can enjoy the Present with less anxiety.
Planning takes much of the guesswork out of what you need to do each day. You have a road map. It lets you focus on what you need to do in the Present to help bring about the Future you want.
No one can predict accurately or have a full control the Future. However, the more you Plan for what you want to see happen, the less anxious you are in the Present, and the more the Future is know to you. A lack of planning, both at work and in our lives, is the most common reason we fall short of our dreams and our goals.
3 best ways to think about the Future:
1. What would a wonderful future be like?
2. What are my plans to make it happen?
3. What am I doing today to make it happen?
The more you visualize your future, and believe it is possible to achieve, the easier it is for you to create your plan. And once you have a plan, you need to continually revise it as you gather more information and experience, so that the plan becomes more realistic. The next step is to do something every day to help make the wonderful future happen.
Living in the Present, learning from the Past, and planning for the Future. It is only when you Live with Purpose and respond to what's important about the Present, Past and Future, that it all has meaning.
Living with Purpose means not just knowing what to do, but why. Working and living with purpose is not some grand scheme or life plan. It is a practical approach for everyday life. It means rising each day and seeing what meaning it will hold for you and others as a result of your actions.
How you respond depends upon your Purpose (Value). When you want to be happy and more successful, it is time to be in the Present Moment. When you want the Present to be better than the Past, it is time to learn from the Past. When you want the Future to be better than the Present, it is time to plan for the Future.
When you live and work with Purpose, and respond to what is important NOW, you are more able to lead, manage, support, befriend and love.
Success is becoming who you are capable of being and progressing towards worthwhile goals. Each of us defines for ourselves what it means to be successful.
THREE WAYS TO USE YOUR PRESENT MOMENTS
Be in the Present
When you want to be happy and successful
Focus on what is right NOW
Use your Purpose to respond
to what is important NOW
Learn from the Past
when you want to make the present better than the Past
Look at what happened in the Past
Learn something valuable from it
Do things differently in the Present
Plan for the Future
when you want to make the Future better than the Present
See what a wonderful Future would look like
make Plans to help it happen
Put your plan into action in the Present.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Live well, Retire well
Live well, Retire well - Patricia Lovett-Reid
PATH is 4 step guide to a successful and financially predictable retirement:
1. Picture yourself in retirement
2. Arm yourself with the right financial and planning tools
3. Transition into retirement with style
4. Harmony: Put it all together and well balanced
PICTURE YOURSELF - Ask yourself questions:
1. How old will you be when you retire?
2. What kind of leisure activities do you see yourself doing?
3. What kind of, and how much travel do you see yourself doing?
4. How big a role will family activities play in your week-to-week activities?
5. How big a role will friends and social activities play in your week-to-week activities?
6. Do you see yourself mostly alone?
7. Do you see yourself and your spouse mostly alone?
8. Do you see a full slate of social activities?
9. What kind of work - volunteer or paid - do you see yourself doing?
10. Where do you see yourself doing all the above? Where you are now or in some other geographic location?
11. If you see yourself in some other place, where do you think it will be?
12. Will you live there full-time, part of the time, or will you try to evenly split your time between two or more places?
Your pre-retirement planning strategy
1. Attitude - Make sure you begin with a positive attitude; at the very least have an open mind. The more open you are in the process, the faster it will take hold and become easily achieveable in your mind.
2. Set realistic goals. Be specific about what you want to accomplish, whether it's keeping the exact same lifestyle you have now, downsizing or even upsizing.
3. Picture your retirement. Find a quiet place and begin a dream about what would make you and your spouse happy. Visualize the result over and over so it starts to feel like a comfortable reality. If you haven't talked to your spouse about your picture, or learned what his or her retirement picture is, now is most definitely the time.
4. Calculate your retirement number. Focus on the contribution number that makes the picture achievable.
5. Establish a strategy. Develop a financial and lifestyle plan to achieve the number
6. Arm yourself. Learn about your investment options and then choose the investment, savings and protection tools you need.
Your at-retirement strategy
1. Pre-planning. Cover all contingencies. Make the transition a smooth one.
2. Tax strategies. Convert RRSP and investment income to annuities and RRIFs.
3. Portfolio composition. Remember to apply the concepts of asset allocation and diversification.
4. Creative options. Reverse mortgages, part-time work, expectation adjustment, tax planning
5. Structure. Structure you days and weeks and make your attitude adjustment a reality
6. Close to home? Do you want to live close to friends and family or move to your dream location?
Your in-retirement strategy
1. Budgets. Simplify your life: Map out monthly budget that works for you
2. Integration of income. CPP, OAS, RRIFs, and so on.
3. Taxes. Not just income taxes but gifts and investments
4. Estate Planning. Leave a legacy without leaving half to the taxman
5. Work. To work or not to work
ARM YOURSELF WITH THE INVESTMENT KNOWLEDGE YOU NEED
Accumulate, grow, protect and enjoy
1. Pay yourself first - Saving for your investments (Accumulate)
2. Investments (Grow) - 4 Pillars to investing:
i) Risk
ii) Return
iii) Cost
iv) Time
3. Assets allocation and Diversification - Periodic rebalancing of portfolio
4. Insurance (Protect)
5. Understand the Tax implication (Optimize your return)
Top 10 investment mistakes:
1. Putting all eggs in one basket (Risk with diversification)
2. Putting all your money in safe, incoming-generating investments (Return to low)
3. Chasing performance
4. Procrastinating (Time to grow)
5. Failure to adopt asset allocation (Risk)
6. Misjudging your risk tolerance (Risk)
7. Timing the market (Time to grow)
8. Not knowing what you own (Knowledge)
9. Understanding the impact of compounding, taxes and inflation
10. Not setting quantifiable, realistic goals
10 Strategies to save tax dollars
1. "Buy and hold" - defer tax
2. Maximize RRSP - defer tax
3. Split your income with your family members - lower tax
4. Invest in your home - tax free
5. Dividends - lower tax rate
6. Borrow to invest - deductible tax expenses
7. Maximize RESP - tax at lower rate and receive grant from government
8. Maximize tax deduction - lower tax
9. Maximize employee benefit
10. Employ yourself - more tax deduction
TRANSITION TO RETIREMENT
Prepare a to-do list: travel, music, education, etc
1. Keep your option open - phased in retirement by doing less hours, part time work
2. Reinvent yourself - move to other job or work that is different
3. Take the plunge - start your own business
4. Open your mind - continue education, learn something you like to
5. Help those in need - volunteer to help people
6. Live it up - build a social network and meet new people
7. Delay retirement
HARMONY
1. Estate Planning - begins and ends in a Will
Life is an open road. It is the best story never told. Secret to a happy retirement is to make a big deal out of everything in your life.
To retire well,
1. Invest in making friends.
2. Invest in your health.
3. Invest in safe investment (minimize your risk)
The Rich are different from us
1. They save regularly
2. They live frugally
3. They know where their money is going
4. They avoid debt
5. They maximize income
6. They own appreciating assets
7. They get professional advice
PATH is 4 step guide to a successful and financially predictable retirement:
1. Picture yourself in retirement
2. Arm yourself with the right financial and planning tools
3. Transition into retirement with style
4. Harmony: Put it all together and well balanced
PICTURE YOURSELF - Ask yourself questions:
1. How old will you be when you retire?
2. What kind of leisure activities do you see yourself doing?
3. What kind of, and how much travel do you see yourself doing?
4. How big a role will family activities play in your week-to-week activities?
5. How big a role will friends and social activities play in your week-to-week activities?
6. Do you see yourself mostly alone?
7. Do you see yourself and your spouse mostly alone?
8. Do you see a full slate of social activities?
9. What kind of work - volunteer or paid - do you see yourself doing?
10. Where do you see yourself doing all the above? Where you are now or in some other geographic location?
11. If you see yourself in some other place, where do you think it will be?
12. Will you live there full-time, part of the time, or will you try to evenly split your time between two or more places?
Your pre-retirement planning strategy
1. Attitude - Make sure you begin with a positive attitude; at the very least have an open mind. The more open you are in the process, the faster it will take hold and become easily achieveable in your mind.
2. Set realistic goals. Be specific about what you want to accomplish, whether it's keeping the exact same lifestyle you have now, downsizing or even upsizing.
3. Picture your retirement. Find a quiet place and begin a dream about what would make you and your spouse happy. Visualize the result over and over so it starts to feel like a comfortable reality. If you haven't talked to your spouse about your picture, or learned what his or her retirement picture is, now is most definitely the time.
4. Calculate your retirement number. Focus on the contribution number that makes the picture achievable.
5. Establish a strategy. Develop a financial and lifestyle plan to achieve the number
6. Arm yourself. Learn about your investment options and then choose the investment, savings and protection tools you need.
Your at-retirement strategy
1. Pre-planning. Cover all contingencies. Make the transition a smooth one.
2. Tax strategies. Convert RRSP and investment income to annuities and RRIFs.
3. Portfolio composition. Remember to apply the concepts of asset allocation and diversification.
4. Creative options. Reverse mortgages, part-time work, expectation adjustment, tax planning
5. Structure. Structure you days and weeks and make your attitude adjustment a reality
6. Close to home? Do you want to live close to friends and family or move to your dream location?
Your in-retirement strategy
1. Budgets. Simplify your life: Map out monthly budget that works for you
2. Integration of income. CPP, OAS, RRIFs, and so on.
3. Taxes. Not just income taxes but gifts and investments
4. Estate Planning. Leave a legacy without leaving half to the taxman
5. Work. To work or not to work
ARM YOURSELF WITH THE INVESTMENT KNOWLEDGE YOU NEED
Accumulate, grow, protect and enjoy
1. Pay yourself first - Saving for your investments (Accumulate)
2. Investments (Grow) - 4 Pillars to investing:
i) Risk
ii) Return
iii) Cost
iv) Time
3. Assets allocation and Diversification - Periodic rebalancing of portfolio
4. Insurance (Protect)
5. Understand the Tax implication (Optimize your return)
Top 10 investment mistakes:
1. Putting all eggs in one basket (Risk with diversification)
2. Putting all your money in safe, incoming-generating investments (Return to low)
3. Chasing performance
4. Procrastinating (Time to grow)
5. Failure to adopt asset allocation (Risk)
6. Misjudging your risk tolerance (Risk)
7. Timing the market (Time to grow)
8. Not knowing what you own (Knowledge)
9. Understanding the impact of compounding, taxes and inflation
10. Not setting quantifiable, realistic goals
10 Strategies to save tax dollars
1. "Buy and hold" - defer tax
2. Maximize RRSP - defer tax
3. Split your income with your family members - lower tax
4. Invest in your home - tax free
5. Dividends - lower tax rate
6. Borrow to invest - deductible tax expenses
7. Maximize RESP - tax at lower rate and receive grant from government
8. Maximize tax deduction - lower tax
9. Maximize employee benefit
10. Employ yourself - more tax deduction
TRANSITION TO RETIREMENT
Prepare a to-do list: travel, music, education, etc
1. Keep your option open - phased in retirement by doing less hours, part time work
2. Reinvent yourself - move to other job or work that is different
3. Take the plunge - start your own business
4. Open your mind - continue education, learn something you like to
5. Help those in need - volunteer to help people
6. Live it up - build a social network and meet new people
7. Delay retirement
HARMONY
1. Estate Planning - begins and ends in a Will
Life is an open road. It is the best story never told. Secret to a happy retirement is to make a big deal out of everything in your life.
To retire well,
1. Invest in making friends.
2. Invest in your health.
3. Invest in safe investment (minimize your risk)
The Rich are different from us
1. They save regularly
2. They live frugally
3. They know where their money is going
4. They avoid debt
5. They maximize income
6. They own appreciating assets
7. They get professional advice
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The New Retire-Mentality
Planning Your Life and Living your Dreams ... at any age you want - Mitch Anthony
Traditional view of Retirement - we should do what we don't enjoy to accumulate the money we need someday do what we want.
"Once we become adults, we often lose track of life's simple pleasures and of our own personal goals. We take a wrong turn or two, then spend a good part of our lives doing things we'd rather not - while not doing many things we'd enjoy. While we may obsess about how unhappy we are, we don't focus clearly on what we can do to change the situation: on how we can invest our time, energy and, yes, our money to consciously create the life we want." - Marc Eisenson, author, Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets to a Rich Life.
But we should be living the life we want and don't put the money cart ahead of the life horse. Be creative and a new mind set, you can both find and fund the life you really want.
People think retirement is a spectator sport and watching from the sideline. Life is more exciting if you are in the game! Liberty is about do what you want when you want to. Because I value freedom so much, I exercise the necessary discipline to maintain it.
Traditional retirement is unnatural. Even if you can afford to retire, the worst thing you can do is withdraw completely from the race. People are happier if they are busy doing what they love. Rethink what Retirement mean to you.
Recent study conducted by Gallup and Paine Webber - Retirement Revisited reveals details of what investors want to do after they retire. 85% said they want to continue work in some for. Respondents' answer fell into the following 5 categories:
1. I want to work as long as I can (doing what I do now) - 15%
2. I want to become an entrepreneur - 26%
3. I want to find a new job - 34%
4. I want to find some balance between work and life - 10%
5. I want the "traditional" retirement - 15%
"Retirement is changing. Many individuals are retiring from their career professions only to take on new work. These changes point to the need for reshaping our ideas and institutions associated with retirement and developing new perspectives on the nature of work." - Dr. Phyllis Moen, Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center.
If there is no finish line, we will begin to focus on doing working today that capitalizes on our gifts and gives expression to our deepest-felt desire. Instead, we can begin to make choices that are not based on money but on doing work that brings us a sense of purpose and satisfaction.
Work may always be a part of your Life. Work provide great intangible rewards to our mind and spirit, etc.
How one ages successfully
"No one but me will define what my life will be" - Paige. An attitude to help to live longer.
A sense of Mastery to describe how individuals must believe in their ability to influence events and control their outcomes to be positive and productive in their later years. A person who takes a passive approach to life and lacks the ability to take action will experience a lack of productivity at any age. If people are willing to try new things in their mature years, their self-reliance and effectiveness can flourish to all-time highs.
"I've noticed an interesting phenomenon with my retired friends who have become ill and/or died a short time into their retirement. The physical malady almost always seemed to be preceded by a mental one - boredom. They are disengaged from the part of their being that gave them satisfaction their entire life. They'd try to fulfill themselves on the golf course or through some exotic travel but kept coming back to the same problem. They felt too young and useful to be 'goofing off' all the time. If they didn't respond to this problem with some meaningful pursuit, they just seemed to get sick, and sometimes they died. For these people, a life of ease was really one step from a life of disease." - Art, retired attorney, 70
"The only thing that has ever made me feel old is those few times where I allow myself to be predictable. Routine is death." - Carlos Santana.
"I am long on ideas but short on time. I expect to live to be only about a hundred" - Thomsas Edison
One way to keep these powerful internal forces alive in our life is to continue being engaged in work and activities that place a demand on our physical, mental, and creative resources.
It is only when we start looking backward and talking about life in the past tense that we know the process of old has begun in our life. "I don't ever look back; he might be gaining on me."
3 indicators of successful aging are:
1. Avoiding disease and disability
2. Maintaining mental and physical function
3. Continuing engagement with life.
First key to aging successfully is to take an interest in yourself. Those who succeed are self-respecting enough to keep their bodies fit, their minds challenged, and their hearts engaged. There are many paths one can :
1. Maintaining a social network of friends and associates
2. Continuing education and mental challenge
3. Exercising your body
4. Giving to others and being needed
Researchers concluded that new retirees need a social network more than they did when they are working.
"Much of whatwe think of as aging is really just a by-product of inactivity and poor nutrition, and it's not hard to change that." - Miriam Nelson
You don't have to be 65 do do what you want to do
" A wealthy businessesman was horrified to see a fisherman sitting beside his boat, playing with a small child. "Why aren't you out fishing?" asked the businessman. "Because I caught enough fish for one day," replied the fisherman. "Why don't you catch some more?" "What would I do with them?" "You could earn extra money," said the businessman, "then with the extra money, you could buy a bigger boat, go into deeper waters, and catch more fish. Then you would make enough money to buy nylon nets. With the nets, you could catch even more fish and make more money. With that money you could own two boats, may be three boats. Eventually you could have a whole fleet of boats and be rich like me." "Then what would I do?" asked the fisherman. "Then," said the businessman, "you could really enjoy life." The fisherman looked at the businessman quizzically and asked, "What do you think I am doing now?"
"It's not important to run on the fast track but on your track. Pretend you only have 6 months to live, and make 3 lists. Things you have to do, things you want to do, and things you neither have to do nor want to do. Then for the rest of your life, forget everything on the third list." - Robert Elliot
Boxes of Life
1. Up to age 22 or so - Education
2. Age 22 to 62 - Work
3. 62 to death - Leisure
The desired life course is one integrates all of these aspects of life into a balanced approach to everyday living. A great life is one in which we are constantly learning something new, engaging in work that challenges and fulfills us, and reserving time for rest and relaxation. It is a most unnatural life that tries to squeeze these 3 activities into one box of the lifeline. Happiness and fulfillment for a lifetime come when we learn to fluidly integrate all three.
"Fear not that your life will come to an end but that it will never have a beginning." - John Henry Newman.
"One day my daughter asked me to come out and play. I said, 'No, Honey, Dad's too busy.' My daughter said, 'You're always too busy' and went out to play. That night I kept turning it over in my head. Why do I work hard? Answer: to get freedom. Why do I want freedom? Answer: to spend time with those I love. When am I going to have this freedom or make getting it a priority? Answer: probably about the time my kids are gone. I realized I had put myself in a vicious cycle of motion and money and had everything turned upside down." - Ted
Meaningful life - a life full of meaning. There are many aspects of our life that give us a sense of fulfillment - family, achievement, exploration, freedom.
7 intangibles
1. Happiness is wanting what you already have - things won't make us happier. "Money won't make you happy, but neither will poverty." Happiness is a state of mind and not a state of material ownership.
2. Fulfillment is optimizing the use of your abilities - doing things that you love to do.
3. Balance is walking the tightrope between too much and not enough - work, family and leisure - when we get them in balance we enjoy life. There is a fine balance to be achieved in attending to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual sides of our being.
4. Satisfaction is improving the quality of our efforts and relationships - constantly striving to improve key relationships in our life, and if we are living in a thoughtful, self-examined life, we will feel a sense of satisfaction
5. Security is possessing the freedom to pursue our goals - a sense of security when we know we will have the freedom to continuing pursuing those goals in work, family and leisure.
6. Significance is making the best use of time - to feel they are making contribution that is signficant.
7. Success is the satisfaction of reaching our goals - a sense of success start with first having a goal.
Your life is not about making money - your money is about making a life. These 7 intangibles cannot be bought, but you can easily sell them out.
You can adjust your current situation to make a more balanced life. Being willing to shift circumstances if it can help you procure a more balanced lifestyle (trading the amount of money make to a balanced lifestyle). Living within or below your means to move faster to make it financially vitable. Forming a plan to use the money you have to purchase the life you want.
"I have come to the conclusion that more retirements will fail for non-financial reasons rather than for financial reasons" - Michael Stein, author, The Prosperous Retirement
The Prosperous retirement wheel - money is at the hub of Stein's wheel, but eight spokes come out from this center - physical health, mental health, diet, exercise, social relations, personal relations, intellectual stimulation, and spiritual balance.
"Many people are so occupied with getting out of a career trap that they seem to care little about what happens after they leave their jobs. Despite the fact they have planned other aspects of their lives, they seem to feel retirement will take care of itself. The opposite is often true." - Edwood Chapman
Future retirees need to be asking what they want to do with their life during retirement, and what the personal implications of retirement are for them. Baby boomers are looking for a meaningful role in their later adulthood. Money is important to them, but so is the quality of life in their retirement. People have to make plans to occupy their mind, time, and energies in retirement.
In all stages of our life, we need to understand what matters most to us and create strategies so we can concentrate most of our time in the areas we care about.
Traditional view of Retirement - we should do what we don't enjoy to accumulate the money we need someday do what we want.
"Once we become adults, we often lose track of life's simple pleasures and of our own personal goals. We take a wrong turn or two, then spend a good part of our lives doing things we'd rather not - while not doing many things we'd enjoy. While we may obsess about how unhappy we are, we don't focus clearly on what we can do to change the situation: on how we can invest our time, energy and, yes, our money to consciously create the life we want." - Marc Eisenson, author, Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets to a Rich Life.
But we should be living the life we want and don't put the money cart ahead of the life horse. Be creative and a new mind set, you can both find and fund the life you really want.
People think retirement is a spectator sport and watching from the sideline. Life is more exciting if you are in the game! Liberty is about do what you want when you want to. Because I value freedom so much, I exercise the necessary discipline to maintain it.
Traditional retirement is unnatural. Even if you can afford to retire, the worst thing you can do is withdraw completely from the race. People are happier if they are busy doing what they love. Rethink what Retirement mean to you.
Recent study conducted by Gallup and Paine Webber - Retirement Revisited reveals details of what investors want to do after they retire. 85% said they want to continue work in some for. Respondents' answer fell into the following 5 categories:
1. I want to work as long as I can (doing what I do now) - 15%
2. I want to become an entrepreneur - 26%
3. I want to find a new job - 34%
4. I want to find some balance between work and life - 10%
5. I want the "traditional" retirement - 15%
"Retirement is changing. Many individuals are retiring from their career professions only to take on new work. These changes point to the need for reshaping our ideas and institutions associated with retirement and developing new perspectives on the nature of work." - Dr. Phyllis Moen, Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center.
If there is no finish line, we will begin to focus on doing working today that capitalizes on our gifts and gives expression to our deepest-felt desire. Instead, we can begin to make choices that are not based on money but on doing work that brings us a sense of purpose and satisfaction.
Work may always be a part of your Life. Work provide great intangible rewards to our mind and spirit, etc.
How one ages successfully
"No one but me will define what my life will be" - Paige. An attitude to help to live longer.
A sense of Mastery to describe how individuals must believe in their ability to influence events and control their outcomes to be positive and productive in their later years. A person who takes a passive approach to life and lacks the ability to take action will experience a lack of productivity at any age. If people are willing to try new things in their mature years, their self-reliance and effectiveness can flourish to all-time highs.
"I've noticed an interesting phenomenon with my retired friends who have become ill and/or died a short time into their retirement. The physical malady almost always seemed to be preceded by a mental one - boredom. They are disengaged from the part of their being that gave them satisfaction their entire life. They'd try to fulfill themselves on the golf course or through some exotic travel but kept coming back to the same problem. They felt too young and useful to be 'goofing off' all the time. If they didn't respond to this problem with some meaningful pursuit, they just seemed to get sick, and sometimes they died. For these people, a life of ease was really one step from a life of disease." - Art, retired attorney, 70
"The only thing that has ever made me feel old is those few times where I allow myself to be predictable. Routine is death." - Carlos Santana.
"I am long on ideas but short on time. I expect to live to be only about a hundred" - Thomsas Edison
One way to keep these powerful internal forces alive in our life is to continue being engaged in work and activities that place a demand on our physical, mental, and creative resources.
It is only when we start looking backward and talking about life in the past tense that we know the process of old has begun in our life. "I don't ever look back; he might be gaining on me."
3 indicators of successful aging are:
1. Avoiding disease and disability
2. Maintaining mental and physical function
3. Continuing engagement with life.
First key to aging successfully is to take an interest in yourself. Those who succeed are self-respecting enough to keep their bodies fit, their minds challenged, and their hearts engaged. There are many paths one can :
1. Maintaining a social network of friends and associates
2. Continuing education and mental challenge
3. Exercising your body
4. Giving to others and being needed
Researchers concluded that new retirees need a social network more than they did when they are working.
"Much of whatwe think of as aging is really just a by-product of inactivity and poor nutrition, and it's not hard to change that." - Miriam Nelson
You don't have to be 65 do do what you want to do
" A wealthy businessesman was horrified to see a fisherman sitting beside his boat, playing with a small child. "Why aren't you out fishing?" asked the businessman. "Because I caught enough fish for one day," replied the fisherman. "Why don't you catch some more?" "What would I do with them?" "You could earn extra money," said the businessman, "then with the extra money, you could buy a bigger boat, go into deeper waters, and catch more fish. Then you would make enough money to buy nylon nets. With the nets, you could catch even more fish and make more money. With that money you could own two boats, may be three boats. Eventually you could have a whole fleet of boats and be rich like me." "Then what would I do?" asked the fisherman. "Then," said the businessman, "you could really enjoy life." The fisherman looked at the businessman quizzically and asked, "What do you think I am doing now?"
"It's not important to run on the fast track but on your track. Pretend you only have 6 months to live, and make 3 lists. Things you have to do, things you want to do, and things you neither have to do nor want to do. Then for the rest of your life, forget everything on the third list." - Robert Elliot
Boxes of Life
1. Up to age 22 or so - Education
2. Age 22 to 62 - Work
3. 62 to death - Leisure
The desired life course is one integrates all of these aspects of life into a balanced approach to everyday living. A great life is one in which we are constantly learning something new, engaging in work that challenges and fulfills us, and reserving time for rest and relaxation. It is a most unnatural life that tries to squeeze these 3 activities into one box of the lifeline. Happiness and fulfillment for a lifetime come when we learn to fluidly integrate all three.
"Fear not that your life will come to an end but that it will never have a beginning." - John Henry Newman.
"One day my daughter asked me to come out and play. I said, 'No, Honey, Dad's too busy.' My daughter said, 'You're always too busy' and went out to play. That night I kept turning it over in my head. Why do I work hard? Answer: to get freedom. Why do I want freedom? Answer: to spend time with those I love. When am I going to have this freedom or make getting it a priority? Answer: probably about the time my kids are gone. I realized I had put myself in a vicious cycle of motion and money and had everything turned upside down." - Ted
Meaningful life - a life full of meaning. There are many aspects of our life that give us a sense of fulfillment - family, achievement, exploration, freedom.
7 intangibles
1. Happiness is wanting what you already have - things won't make us happier. "Money won't make you happy, but neither will poverty." Happiness is a state of mind and not a state of material ownership.
2. Fulfillment is optimizing the use of your abilities - doing things that you love to do.
3. Balance is walking the tightrope between too much and not enough - work, family and leisure - when we get them in balance we enjoy life. There is a fine balance to be achieved in attending to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual sides of our being.
4. Satisfaction is improving the quality of our efforts and relationships - constantly striving to improve key relationships in our life, and if we are living in a thoughtful, self-examined life, we will feel a sense of satisfaction
5. Security is possessing the freedom to pursue our goals - a sense of security when we know we will have the freedom to continuing pursuing those goals in work, family and leisure.
6. Significance is making the best use of time - to feel they are making contribution that is signficant.
7. Success is the satisfaction of reaching our goals - a sense of success start with first having a goal.
Your life is not about making money - your money is about making a life. These 7 intangibles cannot be bought, but you can easily sell them out.
You can adjust your current situation to make a more balanced life. Being willing to shift circumstances if it can help you procure a more balanced lifestyle (trading the amount of money make to a balanced lifestyle). Living within or below your means to move faster to make it financially vitable. Forming a plan to use the money you have to purchase the life you want.
"I have come to the conclusion that more retirements will fail for non-financial reasons rather than for financial reasons" - Michael Stein, author, The Prosperous Retirement
The Prosperous retirement wheel - money is at the hub of Stein's wheel, but eight spokes come out from this center - physical health, mental health, diet, exercise, social relations, personal relations, intellectual stimulation, and spiritual balance.
"Many people are so occupied with getting out of a career trap that they seem to care little about what happens after they leave their jobs. Despite the fact they have planned other aspects of their lives, they seem to feel retirement will take care of itself. The opposite is often true." - Edwood Chapman
Future retirees need to be asking what they want to do with their life during retirement, and what the personal implications of retirement are for them. Baby boomers are looking for a meaningful role in their later adulthood. Money is important to them, but so is the quality of life in their retirement. People have to make plans to occupy their mind, time, and energies in retirement.
In all stages of our life, we need to understand what matters most to us and create strategies so we can concentrate most of our time in the areas we care about.
Future Retirement Strategies
Future Retirement Strategies for Productive People - David Bond & Diane Bond
It is important to plan for your retirement as retirement is not short. You still have another 15 - 35 years to go. It is much better to stay physically and mentally active. It can be done through learning new skills, exploding new areas, and do something meaningful. You still have a lot in your tank to contribute.
In order the transition for full-time work into a new phase, a good plan will be helpful.
1) Self assess : what skills, talents, experiences you have and what kind of interest, hobbies you like to explode or develop; what things you likes or dislikes. After the self assessment, you should validate those with some good friends.
2) Answer some big questions :
i) what role does work play in your vision of an ideal life after retirement?
ii) how much leisure time do you really want, and how do you want to spend it?
iii) are you going to move to other city, country?
3) Exploding the options and make your choice : detail the goal from the above and decide what to do next. Draw your own time line and work on it.
It is important to have a plan. This plan concerns what you want to do and how you want to live. It creates a roadmap for the future. As future is uncertain, it is important that it should be flexible and adjust when necessary. It is a personal plan that requires thought, honesty with yourself and trust in those who know you best. Also, this plan allows you to prepare ahead.
Develop your hobbies or volunteer interest you think will bring you satisfaction.
It is important to plan for your retirement as retirement is not short. You still have another 15 - 35 years to go. It is much better to stay physically and mentally active. It can be done through learning new skills, exploding new areas, and do something meaningful. You still have a lot in your tank to contribute.
In order the transition for full-time work into a new phase, a good plan will be helpful.
1) Self assess : what skills, talents, experiences you have and what kind of interest, hobbies you like to explode or develop; what things you likes or dislikes. After the self assessment, you should validate those with some good friends.
2) Answer some big questions :
i) what role does work play in your vision of an ideal life after retirement?
ii) how much leisure time do you really want, and how do you want to spend it?
iii) are you going to move to other city, country?
3) Exploding the options and make your choice : detail the goal from the above and decide what to do next. Draw your own time line and work on it.
It is important to have a plan. This plan concerns what you want to do and how you want to live. It creates a roadmap for the future. As future is uncertain, it is important that it should be flexible and adjust when necessary. It is a personal plan that requires thought, honesty with yourself and trust in those who know you best. Also, this plan allows you to prepare ahead.
Develop your hobbies or volunteer interest you think will bring you satisfaction.
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