Quick Note: I’m having a limited time, 50% off sale on our flagship product, The Ideal Retirement Design Guide.  Read more at the bottom of this post.

At Intentional Retirement, we look at retirement a bit differently.  So do our readers (You’re awesome!).  Those differences are woven through our DNA and they show up in the things I say and do at the site, but once in a while it’s a good idea to have a refresher.  Below are a few of the fundamental ingredients of an Intentional Retirement.  It’s not a comprehensive list, but it contains a few big ideas that can radically reshape your retirement.

You need to be intentional.  One thing is more important than any other when it comes to having a meaningful retirement (and life). That one thing is more important than money, health, Social Security or any other retirement related building block.  What is it?  You need to be intentional.  Wanting a great retirement isn’t good enough. Everybody wants that.  You need to actually do something about it.  You need to decide what you really want out life and then be very intentional about making it happen.

Retirement is more than a math problem.  Yes, money is important, but it’s not enough.  You also need meaning (e.g. relationships, activities, challenges, pursuits).  Money will help you sleep at night.  Meaning will give you a reason to get out of bed in the morning.  You need both.  That’s why everything at Intentional Retirement—from the weekly articles to the products in our store—focus on both money and meaning.   We want to help you achieve financial security, but we also want to show, teach and model how to use that money to live a meaningful life.

Retirement is a pie chart, not a timeline.  Too many people buy into the false assumption that retirement can only happen once you reach “retirement age.”  Why should living the life you truly want to live depend on how many birthdays you’ve had or whether or not you punch a time clock?  How in the world has it become acceptable to defer your dreams and push the best things in life to the very end?  At Intentional Retirement, we don’t think of life as a timeline where youth equals zero to twenty, working years equal twenty to sixty-five and retirement equals sixty-five plus. Instead, we think of life as a pie chart that is divided into time you control and time controlled by others.  The more time you control, the more retired you are.

Intentional Retirement is iterative.  So if retirement starts as soon as you begin to control chunks of your time, what does that look like practically?  Think of it like software.  When Bill Gates founded Microsoft, did Windows come out fully formed, with all the functionality that it has today? Of course not. He started with Version 1.0 and then continued to build on in it and add more features.  That led to versions 2.0, 3.0 and so on.

What does this idea of iteration look like when applied to retirement? What if, instead of waiting until 65 to have the retirement of your dreams, you started with a Version 1.0 at 45 (or your current age)?  That version wouldn’t have all the “freedom and control” functionality of future versions, but it would allow some rich experiences nonetheless.  Then you could take what you learned and apply it to creating Version 2.0 in our 50s. With a little more money saved by that point and the knowledge and experience gained from testing and implementing Version 1.0, you could likely design a fairly robust “product” that included things like mini-retirements, travels and learning new things. Even though work would likely still be a part of the equation, it would be done in service to an existing lifestyle rather than as a prepayment of dues for a club you hope to someday join.  Then when you actually reach that stage in life where your savings and circumstances allow you significant control over your time you would be infinitely better prepared to implement a feature packed, real-world tested Version 3.0. Rather than struggling with inertia and trying to figure out what you really want out of life (and wasting some of your best remaining years in the process), you would be ready to hit the ground running.

Delayed gratification is overrated:  No, I’m not telling you to stop saving.  Delayed gratification is great if it’s allowing you to work toward something.  Where delayed gratification becomes a problem is when it is used as an excuse for life avoidance.  Rather than allowing you to work toward something, it is keeping you from something.  For example, it’s hard to decide what you really want out of life.  It’s risky to pursue big goals.  Rather than rising to the challenge, we often tell ourselves we need a little more time or a little more money.  Not yet, but soon.  Someday.  Here’s the thing.  The longer you wait, the less you believe yourself when you say “Someday.”  Your dreams begin to atrophy.  Your opportunities begin to vanish.  You aim lower.  You talk yourself out of things.  Before you know it, it’s too late.  So don’t delay.  Decide what you really want out of life and get after it.  Start small if necessary, but start.

Retirement is changing.  Gone are the days when retirement was an age based, non-working relatively brief and sedentary period of life that doesn’t look a whole lot different from your working years, save for having a little bit of extra time.  Intentional Retirement should begin much earlier (i.e. during the working years), last longer, and be totally unique to your plans, dreams and priorities. It will be intricately woven into your life now, rather than being some far-off time you hope to eventually reach. It should be active, fulfilling, challenging and exciting.  If that resonates with you, stick around.  There’s plenty more to come.

Be intentional,

Joe

Half off Sale on the Ideal Retirement Design Guide: For those of you looking to start planning your own Intentional Retirement, I created a guide called The Ideal Retirement Design Guide.  I’m launching an updated version of the guide soon, which means I’d like to clear out the existing inventory.  Translation: Time for a sale!  The guide is normally $159, but if you order now I’ve dropped the price to $79.  To sweeten the offer a bit, I’ll also include a free copy of my book The Bell Lap: The 8 Biggest Mistakes to Avoid as You Approach Retirement.  As always, no pressure to buy, but there is a limited supply so grab a copy if you’d like one.  Click here for more info and to order.

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