Happy New Year!  It’s that wonderful time of year when we all get a blank slate and a chance to make a resolution or two.  That got me thinking about actions and aspirations.  What if I told you that my goal for 2019 was to become an Olympic swimmer, but I never got in the pool?  Or if I said I wanted to write the great American novel, but never bothered putting pen to paper?  How confident would you be that I’d reach my goal?  Not very, right?  That’s because most people realize that major accomplishments require major effort.  You’re not going to achieve an exceedingly rare outcome by putting forth a mediocre effort.  Said another way, your actions need to match your aspirations.

How about this one:  What if I told you I want to retire someday.  Big deal, right?  Actually, it is.  We take it for granted because it has become so ingrained in everyday life, but when you think about what retirement really is, it’s a wonder anyone can do it.  Retiring is like saying: “I want to quit my job tomorrow and never work again, but I want to be healthy enough and have enough money to do fun and exciting things and also maintain my standard of living for 30 years or so.”  Seriously?! I think most of us have a better shot at the Olympic team.  

The 1% Life

I recently saw a video of writer/speaker/businessman Gary Vaynerchuck talking to a young man who was describing the kind of career he wanted—meaningful work that paid handsomely but gave three to four months off each year for travel.   He was lamenting that it wasn’t happening and asking for advice.  Gary asked him several questions that made it pretty clear that, aside from daydreaming, the kid wasn’t putting forth much effort to get his dreams off the drawing board. This was Gary’s response (and I’m paraphrasing): Look, you’re asking for a 1% life.  In other words, a life that is so unique and amazing that only 1% or less of the people in the world get to experience that.  What you’re asking for is ridiculous and you’ll have to do ridiculous things to have any hope of making it a reality.  So you’re asking for this 1% life, but you’re not really doing anything to achieve that.  If you want a 1% life, you need to do 1% things.

To borrow Gary’s phrase, retirement is a 1% life.  And if you want to make that 1% life a reality, you need to do 1% things.  And I’m not just talking about money.  Finding meaning is pretty darn hard as well.  There are plenty of retirees who are cash rich and lifestyle poor.  

Unfortunately, we often treat retirement like it’s a 99% life that happens to everyone as long as you make a few 401k contributions and maintain a pulse.  It’s not that easy.  You won’t reach your retirement goals by simply having a certain number of birthdays.  It takes financial stewardship, intention, hard work, effort and sacrifice.  It takes deciding what you really want out of life and taking those plans seriously.  It takes being proactive.  It takes experimenting and practicing so you can refine your plans and get good at actually doing stuff.  It takes building into your relationships and working on your marriage.  It takes eating right and exercising so you can maintain your health.  All of those things are in your control, but they’re not necessarily easy.  But neither is retirement.  It’s rare and unlikely.  It’s a 1% life.  Are you doing 1% things to get there?  Stick around because I’ve got a ton of stuff coming your way this year that will help. Here are two that you’ll see in your inbox soon:

January Health Articles

I don’t care how much money you’ve saved, retirement won’t work without your health. Take care of yourself so you can get out there and enjoy life. Follow along at Intentional Retirement during January and I’ll post several health-related articles and resources to help you start the year off right.

aMUSEments

Sometimes you just need a little inspiration.  A muse, if you will.  With that in mind, each Friday in 2019 I’m going to send out a quick list of the coolest and most interesting things I’ve found that week relating to retirement.

The list might include trip ideas, articles, products, quotes, retirement tips or anything else that looks interesting or inspiring.  The goal is to give you a quick dose of motivation as you head into your weekend.  Keep an eye out for the first one in a few days.

~ Joe