by Joe Hearn | Jul 2, 2012 | Pursuits, Retirement
I’m back! Sorry you haven’t heard from me for a bit. Every year my wife and I take a trip with three other couples and this year I decided to pretty much “unplug” so I could just relax and recharge.
Not posting for almost two weeks means that I have plenty of things in the hopper though, including a 30-Day Learning Challenge update, some thoughts on fixing problems before getting to retirement, life advice from Ray Bradbury (he passed away a few weeks ago), and an overview of how the Supreme Court’s recent ruling will likely affect your health care during retirement.
But first, a few quick ideas that occurred to me over the last few weeks on how to maximize fun and minimize stress.
Is this worth doing?
Everything we do in life takes some of our time and some of our money. Our activities also come with a built in “opportunity cost” because choosing one thing means forgoing something else.
With so many things to choose from, how do we pick those things that will result in the most fun, fulfillment, and satisfaction? A good place to start is to ask yourself this question:
“Will I remember this in 50 years?” (Or however long you happen to live)
If something passes the “50 year” test, there’s a pretty good chance that I’ll add it to my to-do list. Those things usually cost money, take some planning and get you out of your comfort zone, but they are also the things that give you a full life and a rich abundance of memories with family and friends.
I don’t have a very clear memory of what I did yesterday afternoon, but I will never forget teaching our daughter to ride her bike, scuba diving with my friends in Anguilla, hiking The Great Wall or having lunch with my wife at the Eiffel Tower. When I think about the story of my life, those are the things that will stand out.
Is this worth stressing about?
For many of us, stress is a constant. It’s like white noise in the background of life. Stress can be a useful motivator, but it’s not really healthy or worthwhile to constantly be worrying.
As I was scrambling to finish things up before heading out of town, I could feel my anxiety level rising. To counter the stress, I asked myself this question:
“Will this matter in five years?”
For most of the projects on my desk, the answer was no. It was stuff my assistant could handle while I was gone or something that I could finish when I got back. It wasn’t the kind of stuff that was going to alter the course of my life, it was just a bunch of work that needed to get done. Once things were in perspective, my anxiety melted away. If it’s not going to matter in the long-run, it’s not worth worrying about in the short-run. Just do your best to come up with a “rip off the band-aid” solution (quick and painless) and then move on.
How about you? What are you contemplating doing? Does it pass the “50 Year” test? How about stress? Anything keeping you up at night? Does it pass the “5 Year” test? You can craft a pretty satisfying life if you’re intentional about your choices and selective about your worries.
Have a great week!
Joe
by Joe Hearn | Jun 5, 2012 | Learning Challenge, Pursuits
Greetings from the bottom of a cold, dark lake somewhere in Nebraska. What ridiculous set of circumstances brought me here, you ask? As you may remember, this month’s learning challenge was supposed to be learning how to make croissants with my wife. I had to call an audible, however, and shift to SCUBA diving so that some friends and I could make sure to have the certification process finished for an upcoming trip. Thankfully, my wife was a good sport and agreed to postpone the croissants as long as I promised not to drown.
For those not familiar with our 30-Day Challenges, here’s a quick review. In order to stay disciplined and intentional about learning new things, I do periodic “30-Day Challenges” where I will learn about something that interests me and then write about it here at the blog. Hopefully some of you will be inspired to follow along at home each month and we’ll be able to add something fun and interesting to our “life skills resume.”
For those keeping track at home, here’s our list so far:
- Learn all the countries of the world
- Learn to SCUBA dive
Why do this? One of the central messages here at Intentional Retirement is to pursue knowledge and experiences that enrich your life. I’m a big believer in the importance of learning and doing new things. It keeps your mind sharp and engaged. It helps you figure out what you like. It gives you new people to interact with and results in a sense of accomplishment and personal satisfaction. With that said, here’s the skinny on SCUBA.
SCUBA Certification: The process
Getting SCUBA certified involved a combination of classroom work, pool work and open water dives. Somewhat surprisingly (for a landlocked state), Nebraska has one of the nicest dive shops in the country. The classroom work was really interesting, covering things like equipment, skills, the science of how your body reacts underwater, tides, waves and marine life. The pool work allowed you to practice what you learned in the classroom each night and the open water dives (four dives over two days) allowed you take everything you learned and practice it on actual dives. As mentioned earlier, the open water dives weren’t in the most beautiful lake, but it was much less expensive to get the certification dives done here than on an actual dive trip.
What I learned (or was reminded of) as part of this particular challenge
Be willing to spend for experiences. Sometimes hobbies are cheap. SCUBA is not one of those hobbies. The certification is pricey. The equipment is pricey. Traveling to worthwhile dive locations can be pricey. Sometimes the best things in life are free. Sometimes they cost an arm and a leg. Don’t be afraid to spend on experiences. For more of my thoughts in this area, read:
Be willing to take risks. We all know to avoid the business end of a shark, but there are plenty of less obvious ways to get hurt diving. For example, did you know that holding your breath while ascending from a dive can cause your lungs to explode? Or that the deadliest creature in the ocean is a Jellyfish called a Sea Wasp? Each class was a reminder that diving (and life) is full of risks. But doing nothing is full of risks as well—the risk that you will lead a boring, unfulfilling life. So don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and take a chance on things.
Look for complementary hobbies and skills. When we were learning about different dive locations our instructor Pat mentioned Belize, Bonaire and the Great Barrier Reef. Thanks to last month’s geography challenge, I knew where all of those places were! Pat is also a very skilled underwater photographer. Since photography is one of my other hobbies, we spent time looking at his photos and he gave me information on an underwater photography class that he teaches. Those skills/hobbies of geography, photography, diving and travel can all cross pollinate to make richer overall experiences. Look for similar opportunities as you consider the types of things that you want to learn and do.
Look for fresh perspectives. The world is 70 percent covered by water. Since I enjoy breathing, the underwater world was largely off limits to me prior to getting SCUBA certified. Now I can spend time exploring the two-thirds of the planet that was formerly a no-go zone. I’m looking forward to getting a fresh and interesting new perspective.
What’s next?
The croissants are still on deck, but I have a bit of travel in June, so I may not have a pastry update for you until sometime in July. In the meantime, be thinking about things that you’ve always wanted to learn. Hopefully these posts will be inspiration to start a 30-Day Challenge of your own. Better yet, email me about what you’d like to do and we can work on it together.
Have a great week and remember to keep life interesting.
Joe
Photo courtesy of Mark and Andrea Busse. Used under Creative Commons License.
by Joe Hearn | Jun 1, 2012 | Pursuits, Retirement, Work
As some of you may know, I write a column on retirement for the Omaha World Herald. Today’s column was an open letter to the Class of 2012. Since many of you have graduates in your life, I thought I’d pass it on so you could share it with them. Here’s a link:
An Open Letter to the Class of 2012
Also, each month I post a quick summary of the new articles at Intentional Retirement for anyone who may have missed something. May’s articles are below.
Have a great weekend! Don’t ever hesitate to touch base if I can help.
Joe
by Joe Hearn | May 24, 2012 | Pursuits, Retirement
I had lunch with a client last week who was just diagnosed with Leukemia. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of that lately. Maybe it’s just the stage of life that I’m in. During my 20s it seemed like every other week I got invited to a wedding. Now it seems like every other week I hear of another client, friend or family member who is facing a physical, emotional, or financial challenge that they hadn’t expected when they got out of bed that morning.
This has been a good reminder for me that you don’t always get to choose your path in life. Sometimes our well laid plans and best intentions are derailed by the unexpected.
My wish for you is that you live a long, healthy, happy life, but what if it doesn’t work out that way? Rather than saving the best for last and deferring your dreams to a far off date (i.e. retirement), what are you doing to live a full life right now? My advice to you is to be intentional with each new day. Do meaningful work. Spend quality time with friends and family. Repair broken relationships. Seek out fun and adventure. Learn new things. Visit new places. Take risks.
Yes, you should save, invest and plan. That will allow you to continue to live life to the full for as many days as you’re given. But what a tragedy it would be if all that planning was in vain. As Dr. Wayne Dyer once said, “Don’t die with your music still inside you.” Take this one life that you’ve been given and use it to do what brings you joy and purpose. You don’t need to wait until 65 to start. Start today.
Enjoy the holiday weekend!
Joe
Photo courtesy of Shannon K. Used under Creative Commons License.
by Joe Hearn | Apr 25, 2012 | Pursuits, Retirement
Think back to Bill Gates in his Harvard dorm room when he first conceived of the idea for Microsoft. Did Windows come out fully formed, with all the functionality that it has today? Of course not. He started with Version 1.0. I’m sure the features and functionality of that first version would look positively pedestrian to us today. And yet Microsoft continued to build on in it and improve it; continued to learn new things, make new discoveries and design new features. Version 1.0 lead to Version 2.0 and so on.
Call it what you want—versioning, iteration, incremental progress—this same process can be seen when we look at any significant discovery or undertaking. The airplane didn’t stop at Kitty Hawk. Apple didn’t stop innovating after the original iPod. The first person to take a stab at Everest didn’t make it to the top.
Retirement: Version 1.0
What if we applied this idea of iteration to retirement? What if, instead of waiting until 65 to have the retirement of our dreams, we started with a Version 1.0 at 45? A version that doesn’t quite have all the “freedom and control” functionality that we hope to have in future versions, but one that allows us rich experiences nonetheless.
Then we could take what we learned and apply it to creating a 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, we 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 pre-payment of dues for a club we hope to someday be invited to join.
Then when we actually reach that stage in life where our saving and circumstances allow us complete control over our time we 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 we really want out of life (and wasting some of our best remaining years in the process), we would be ready to hit the ground running.
Think different
“Once in awhile it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.” ~Alan Keightley
The purpose of this post isn’t to provide all the answers, but to get you thinking about the process. Your retirement doesn’t need to look like the “Retirement” that our culture has defined. It can and should be something that is uniquely you. Grab a piece of paper and spend five minutes writing out some of the key things that you want out of life. Jot down the plans and dreams that have up to this point been reserved for “someday.” Now ask yourself this question: “Do I want to wait until the final third of my life to do these things?” If the answer is no, then start thinking about what you can do today to design Version 1.0.
Thanks for reading. I’m on the road exploring Sweden (call it beta testing Version 1.0), so updates at the site may be a little more sporadic than usual. Have a great week and touch base if I can ever help out or answer questions.
Joe
by Joe Hearn | Apr 18, 2012 | Learning Challenge, Pursuits, Retirement
In the recent post “How (and why) to be a lifelong learner” I wrote about how constantly learning new things makes for a rewarding, meaningful life (and retirement). Lucky for us, we live during a time when it is easier than ever to teach ourselves how to do just about anything.
With that in mind, I announced that I would be doing periodic “30 Day Challenges” where I will learn about something that interests me and then write about it here at the blog. Hopefully all of you will follow along at home and each month we’ll be able to add something fun and interesting to our “life skills resume” like how to make a great omelet, plan a round-the-world trip or light a fire by rubbing two sticks together (hat tip to my friend Niel for that one).
The first challenge I undertook was to learn all the countries in the world. To do it I downloaded an app from Brainscape called Learn Geography. I usually learn best by repetition, so the flashcard format worked well for me. I also used an app called National Geographic World Atlas and a website called www.PurposeGames.com which has quizzes so you can test your level of mastery.
The results? I did pretty well. After 30 days I can tell you where just about any country is located. I still struggle with some of the tiny islands in Oceania (I’m looking at you Tuvalu), but I’ll continue to work on it until I have them down.
What are some of the things I learned as part of this particular challenge?
First, I learned how much of the news actually relates to countries that I know nothing about. Just for fun one Saturday I read through the Weekend Wall Street Journal and made a list of all the countries mentioned in that day’s news stories. I didn’t read every article, but here’s a list from those I did read: Turkey, Myanmar, Equatorial Guinea, Afghanistan, Spain, China, United States, Sweden, Switzerland, Mexico, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, United Kingdom, Scotland, Syria, Japan, Iraq, Pakistan, Brazil, Argentina, Falkland Islands, Peru, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland, Vietnam, Iran, South Korea, North Korea, and El Salvador. Simply knowing where these countries were located helped me notice stories I probably wouldn’t have otherwise noticed and also gave those stories some context.
Second, I learned it’s fun to do the challenges with someone else. My friend Mike and the daughter of my friend Kelly did the challenge along with me. Not only did this provide accountability (nothing motivates you like losing a challenge to a 13 year old), but it was fun to have people to talk to and gain tips and insight from.
Finally, I was reminded of how fun and rewarding it is to learn something new. Constantly challenging yourself is a great way to keep your life from getting stale and boring.
What’s next?
So what’s the next challenge on the list? I’ve got two that are on the drawing board. Since a trip to Paris a few years ago, my wife has wanted to learn how to make croissants. She and I will start working on that and I’ll let you know in a month how it turns out.
Also, we have a trip scheduled with friends this summer and the guys want to do some scuba diving. One small complication: None of us have ever done it before. Never fear. We’re talking to a local company called Diventures about getting certified. That probably won’t come together until sometime in May, however, so I’ll keep you posted.
How about you?
How about you? Is there anything you’ve always wanted to learn? Hopefully these posts will be inspiration to start a 30 Day Challenge of your own. Better yet, email me about what you’d like to do and we can work on it together.
Thanks for reading! Have a great week.
Joe
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