by Joe Hearn | Feb 1, 2012 | Investing, Pursuits, Retirement
There have been quite a few new readers at Intentional Retirement lately and I’m glad to have you all here. Each month, I post a quick summary of the new articles at the site for anyone who may have missed something. January’s articles are below.
We’re one month into the New Year. How are you doing with your plans and goals? No worries if things aren’t perfect, but stick with it. Just like compound interest can produce amazing results with your investments, compound effort can produce amazing results with your life. Don’t hesitate to touch base with me (or the rest of the IR community through the comments section after each post) if I can ever help.
Joe
by Joe Hearn | Jan 26, 2012 | Pursuits, Retirement
Remember the Apollo program? Before going to the moon, one of the key challenges NASA had to overcome was figuring out how to get a rocket that weighed 6.7 million pounds and was 58 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty off the launch pad and into space.
The solution rested in a concept called Escape Velocity. It is the speed needed to break free of a gravitational field. To reach space, the rocket needed to go fast enough and far enough to outrun (or “escape”) the pull of gravity.
You can probably see where I’m going with this. As you transition into retirement, your career and other aspects of your pre-retirement life will be exerting their own gravitational pull. To overcome that pull and enter a new exciting phase, you need to reach what I call Retirement Escape Velocity (or REV for short).
Failure to reach REV means uncertainty, frustration and disappointment. Reaching REV means you finish your pre-retirement years well and launch into a new phase of meaningful pursuits. What are some ways to build up enough speed and momentum to reach your retirement escape velocity?
Have a goal. On May 25, 1961 President Kennedy set the goal of “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth” before the decade was out. That goal was a primary driver for everyone working on the project. Similarly, having specific goals can be an important driver of your retirement dreams.
Have a team and work together. At its peak, there were 400,000 people and 20,000 companies and universities working on the Apollo Program. When aiming for a big goal, it helps to have a good team. That means you should be on the same page with your spouse and working together toward a common end. It also means that you should have trusted advisers like your attorney, accountant and financial planner.
Overcome fears. Think of every major thing you’ve done in life like getting married, having kids, starting that new business, or setting a big goal. You likely felt some combination of fear, doubt, anticipation, joy and trepidation. But looking back on your life, those are probably the things that you’re most proud of; the things that brought you the most meaning and purpose. The same will be true of retirement if you reach for something great and overcome your fears.
Commit resources. Landing men on the moon required the largest investment by any nation ever made during peacetime. Money isn’t the most important element of a successful retirement, but it’s important. Resources can be like rocket fuel. Make sure you’re setting aside what you need.
Go in stages. Each stage of a Saturn V rocket was designed to burn for several minutes and propel the craft through a certain leg of the journey. Depending on your personality and circumstances, it might be wise to consider retiring in stages rather than all at once. This will allow you to adjust to the new reality and focus on the transition without feeling rushed or unprepared.
Examine your unique situation. Different planets have different pull. You need to be going 11.2 km/s to escape the earth’s gravity. To escape the sun’s gravity, however, you need to be going 617.5 km/s. Each of us have different careers and circumstances leading up to retirement. Some have jobs that they can walk away from at a moments notice. Others may be the owner of the business or a key person in the management chain and significant preparations need to be made in order to move on. Consider which you are and plan accordingly.
Spend time researching and testing. President Kennedy outlined the lunar goal in 1961, but the first manned flight did not happen until October of 1968. The period between was spent researching and testing. As you move towards retirement, test out your budget to see if it’s realistic. Spend time doing the hobbies and activities you have planned to make sure they fit you. Visit the area where you plan to retire so you can begin to meet people and put down roots. Doing these things will help you refine your plans and increase the odds that retirement will feel like a natural transition rather than a jarring change.
Have something that will replace the fulfillment you get from your job. Many of us derive a great deal of satisfaction from working. New retirees usually don’t miss their job per se, they miss the satisfaction and accomplishment that they felt from working. Make sure that you have meaningful pursuits planned for retirement that can fill any void created by quitting your job.
Have a countdown checklist. Each launch in the Apollo Program was preceded by a detailed countdown checklist to make sure that every step in the sequence of events was followed perfectly. Use the Retirement Countdown Checklist at www.IntentionalRetirement.com as a reminder of what needs to be done and when you need to do it.
Simplify. When an accident threatened Apollo 13, Gene Kranz was said to have focused his team by saying “Let’s work the problem people.” As you enter retirement, you need to simplify and work the “problem.” You should make both a “To Do” list and a “Stop Doing” list. The latter will help you transition out of certain commitments and responsibilities so you can reach REV and focus on your new life.
Avoid an explosion on the launch pad. There was enough fuel in a Saturn V rocket to cause a low grade nuclear explosion if it blew up on the launch pad. I promise you, no one wanted that to happen, least of all the Astronauts inside. Unfortunately, I have seen retirement for some people abrubtly ended by an explosion on the launch pad. Most often this is the result of a key mistake like having too much of one’s nest egg in a particular stock (employees of Enron for example). In order to reach REV, you need to get off the launch pad. Don’t do anything that would jeopardize that.
As you can see, the less prepared you are—financially, emotionally, strategically—the more likely it will be that your job and pre-retirement life will trap you in a perpetual orbit. To break free, follow the steps outlined above and your actions will propel you to an exciting new chapter in life.
Thanks for reading. Touch base if I can ever help.
Joe
by Joe Hearn | Jan 17, 2012 | Hobbies, Pursuits, Retirement
Why is retirement exciting and fulfilling for some people and lonely and disappointing for others? Below are 8 habits of successful retirees. Use them to make the most out of your retirement.
1. Live with a sense of urgency. Successful retirees don’t treat life as if it goes on forever. They recognize that their time is limited and they greet each new day with a sense of urgency.
“You must realize that one day you will die. Until then, you are worthless.”
~Chuck Palahniuk
2. Take risks. We spend a lot of life trying to minimize risks. We wear seatbelts, buy insurance and otherwise try to build a moat around our lives. Successful people recognize that a worthwhile life can’t be lived solely within the castle walls. Don’t be afraid to take calculated risks in pursuit of meaningful goals.
“You can measure opportunity with the same yardstick that measures the risk involved. They go together.”
~Earl Nightingale
3. Be healthy. In 1900 the three leading causes of death were influenza, diarrhea, and tuberculosis. Today they are heart disease, cancer and stroke. All three are heavily dependent on diet, exercise, smoking, drinking, and stress.
“Before you’re 35 it’s your genes that take you, but from 35 on it’s your choices.”
~Dr. Michael Roizen
4. Retire TO something, not FROM something. Retiring to escape a job is a recipe for misery and discontent. Retiring to pursue things that you are passionate about is a recipe for meaning and fulfillment.
“Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
5. Retire based on your bank account, not your birthday. If someone asks you when you want to retire, your answer should be a dollar amount, not a year.
“The question isn’t at what age I want to retire, it’s at what income.”
~George Foreman
6. Choose yes over no, active over passive, and adventure over inertia. We all have a deep-seeded need to live a life of meaning and fulfillment. More often than not, we achieve that life by saying yes to opportunities and actively seeking out adventure.
“20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
~ Mark Twain
7. Do important work. All of us are designed to do something meaningful and productive. Retirement doesn’t somehow remove that need, it just means that we no longer have to base our choice on how much something pays.
“Deprived of meaningful work, men and women lose their reason for existence.”
~Fyodor Dostoevsky
8. Foster meaningful relationships. Social interaction is a critical element to human happiness. Successful retirees are constantly looking for ways to experience community and connect with friends and family.
“If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself alone. A man should keep his friendships in constant repair.”
~Samuel Johnson
-Photo by mikebaird. Used under creative commons license.
by Joe Hearn | Jan 3, 2012 | Hobbies, Pursuits, Retirement
Happy New Year! As in years past, 2012 brings with it 365 new days. That’s 8,760 hours or 525,600 minutes. You’ll have 52 Saturdays, 52 Sundays, 10 Federal holidays and most likely several weeks of vacation and sick time. How will you spend all that time?
If you’re still working, you’ll spend about 2,086 hours on the job. That’s 86.9 days or just under 3 months. If you average 7 hours of sleep each night, you’ll spend about 3.5 months (2,555 hours) in bed. That leaves you with about 5.5 months to do everything else.
Unfortunately, those months won’t come in one big uninterrupted block. You’ll get a bit in the morning and a bit in the evening. You’ll have an extra day here and some time to yourself there. If you’re not careful, it will be easy to let it slip through your fingers.
To avoid that, I’d suggest that you make a time budget. In the same way that a financial budget can help you track spending and allocate your resources, a time budget can help you steward your time wisely. How to do it? Below is a basic outline to get you started:
2012 Time Budget
Income (time earned)
Hours 8,760
Expenses (time spent)
Work __________
Sleep __________
Life Maintenance
Cooking ___________
Eating ___________
Personal care ___________
Shopping ___________
Paying bills ___________
Commuting ___________
Housekeeping ___________
Household projects ___________
Other ___________
Entertainment/Leisure
Time with spouse ___________
Time with kids ___________
Time with friends ___________
Vacation ___________
Hobbies ___________
Television ___________
Reading ___________
Other ___________
Other
Volunteer work ___________
Church ___________
Other ___________
Total __________
Key Takeaways
I had 3 key takeaways after doing this exercise myself.
First, I discovered that outsourcing is my friend. If you’re like me, a lot of your day is eaten up by all the routine, but necessary little tasks that make your life run. Where possible, I have outsourced and simplified. Electronic bill pay has helped minimize the time I spend paying the bills each month. Hiring a lawn service has given me a few extra weekend hours. Wherever possible, simplify and outsource so you can focus on milestones and not maintenance.
Second, I discovered the importance of not just managing my time, but aligning it with my priorities. Time management can help you do things right (i.e. efficiently), but time alignment will help you actually do the right things.
It’s easy to get sidetracked and spend time on things that don’t get you any closer to your goals. For example, according to Nielsen, the average American watches 4-5 hours of television per day. Since that number includes weekends, most of us spend almost as much time in front of the T.V. each week as we do at work. By realigning that time with your priorities you can give yourself about 1,500 hours (or 2 months) per year to spend on things that matter. Avoid wasting and overspending time on things that aren’t important.
Finally, making a time budget helped me realize that all of my time is not created equally. The hours in my day are part oyster and part pearl. I spend most of my time on the mundane and a fraction of my day on the meaningful. For me it follows the 80/20 Rule, with about 20 percent of my time producing roughly 80 percent of my meaning and fulfillment. That means freeing up just a little time can make a big difference as long as I spend that time doing the right things. I’m sure the same is true for you. Make sure that your oyster is set up to produce pearls.
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this article scan the “Related Posts” section below for others like it.
Onward to an amazing 2012!
Joe
by Joe Hearn | Dec 13, 2011 | Pursuits, Retirement, Travel
I received an email the other day from a friend who had just finished reading an article of mine in the newspaper. His email said:
“I awoke this morning feeling at peace with my future; thinking I had everything under control and that my family’s needs were completely taken care of. Then I read your article. I broke out into a frantic sweat and [expletive deleted] my pants. Thanks a lot for the reality check. Much like the rest of America I prefer to operate in a delusional universe where I don’t need to think about those things.”
I’m not going to lie to you; I laughed pretty hard at that. But his point was a good one. Sometimes the coverage devoted to retirement planning can seem kind of negative (either by design to draw attention or simply because the reader feels convicted).
Because of that, it’s easy to lose site of all the things that are right with the world, great about retirement and amazing about the opportunities available to each of us. So as penance to my friend and as a reminder to us all, I give you some reasons to look at the glass as half full.
Peace, love and understanding
According to Harvard Professor Steven Pinker, we’re living during the most peaceful time in our species’ existence. Yes, we still have wars (I suspect those will always be with us), but the average number of violent deaths per 100,000 people has dropped from 15 percent during prehistoric times, to 3 percent during the 20th century, to a fraction of 1 percent now. True, I have sometimes felt nervous on the subway when traveling in a strange city, but at least I don’t have to worry about being thrown to the lions in the Coliseum or being used in an elaborate human sacrifice to appease the volcano god.
Medicine and life expectancy
I take Lipitor to lower my cholesterol and reduce my risk of heart disease. My sister had a cancerous tumor the size of a grapefruit in her neck, but after treatment she has been cancer free for years. My grandfather was cutting firewood when a tree fell on him and shattered his hip. His doctors replaced it with a new one made out of titanium and he’s been getting around great for the last decade. Modern medicine has been enormously successful at increasing both the quantity and quality of our lives. As life expectancy has increased, retirement has changed dramatically. Rather than being a time to wind down, it is now viewed as a new chapter in life that is active and can last for decades. Be thankful for your health and use all that extra time wisely.
Technology
If asked, I would have to put my iPad in the same category as such worthwhile inventions as the wheel, penicillin and the printing press. That might be a bit of an overstatement, but you get my point: Technology is pretty remarkable. More than just cool, however, it is useful and helps us live fuller, more productive lives. It’s hard to imagine life without things like computers, the Internet, email, cell phones, digital cameras, ATM machines, MRIs, global positioning satellites, iPads, iPods, Kindles, and cloud computing. The other night our daughter was using FaceTime to video chat with her grandparents in Alaska. That’s the kind of invention that was imagined for the 23rd century in old Star Trek episodes! After looking at how technology has advanced in the last 30 years, imagine what the next 30 years will look like (especially since the pace of advancement is accelerating). It should be pretty amazing.
Learning
All that technology has greatly expanded our avenues for learning. Gone are the days when you need to spend $100,000 and four years of your life just to learn about something you’re interested in. With iTunesU you can sit in on history classes at Oxford or take photography classes from National Geographic (all free). Search engines like Google can answer any question you put to it. You can bring subjects into focus with Squidoo. Wikipedia can give you a basic understanding of almost anything. You can take guitar lessons on You Tube, learn to simplify your life on Zen Habits, or learn how to mix a martini like James Bond (or any number of other things) on Expert Enough. With so many resources, it’s easy to channel your inner Jefferson and make learning a broad and lifelong endeavor.
Social interaction
Yes, there are negatives to sites like Facebook and Twitter, but used properly they do an amazing job at connecting you to the people you care about. Social interaction is a critical element to human happiness and we have more ways than ever to experience community and connect with friends and family.
Doing good
Even with everything that is right with the world, there is still a lot that is wrong. Thankfully, there are some amazing people trying to do something about that and they’re looking for people like you and me to jump in and help. Charity is no longer limited to just writing a check or dropping a few bucks in the offering plate. Volunteering locally or getting involved with organizations like charity: water, International Justice Mission, and World Vision allow us to reach beyond ourselves and do work that not only helps others, but gives us a deep sense of satisfaction, fulfillment and purpose.
Traveling the world
There hasn’t been a more exciting time in travel since Kitty Hawk. The triumvirate of jetliners, online travel resources, and countries clamoring for tourist dollars have combined to make global travel accessible to almost anyone. A hundred years ago, most people lived their entire lives within walking distance of their house. Now you can hop on a plane and be hiking in the Andes or walking down the Champs Elysees by breakfast. For a little inspiration visit Everything Everywhere or Lonely Planet. And don’t let money hold you back. There are sites like travelhacking.org that can teach you how to search out deals and rack up frequent flyer miles. Then you can spend those miles on a round-the-world plane ticket and take off in search of adventure. As Saint Augustine said, “The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”
Well, there you have it. While certainly not a complete list, I’ve given you a few reasons to look on the bright side. Sure, there are still a lot of people unemployed, the housing market is still a mess and the stock market is just as bipolar as ever, but resist the temptation to focus on the negative. It sounds trite, but you only live once. None of us should let fear and uncertainty keep us from pursuing our dreams or living a rewarding and meaningful life. To paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, don’t die with your music still inside you. Look at the glass as half full and live a life you can be proud of.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
Joe
by Joe Hearn | Dec 9, 2011 | Pursuits
I saw a great post today by Tyler Tervooren at Advanced Riskology. I thought it was timely inspiration as you work on your plan for the New Year, so I asked him if I could share it with you (see below). Hope you enjoy it. Check out Tyler’s website for more “get out of your comfort zone” goodness. Have a great weekend!
Joe
How to run 26 miles
How to run 26 miles: run 25.
How to run 25 miles: run 24.
How to run 24 miles: run 23.
How to run 23 miles: run 22.
How to run 22 miles: run 21.
How to run 21 miles: run 20.
How to run 20 miles: run 19.
How to run 19 miles: run 18.
How to run 18 miles: run 17.
How to run 17 miles: run 16.
How to run 16 miles: run 15.
How to run 15 miles: run 14.
How to run 14 miles: run 13.
How to run 13 miles: run 12.
How to run 12 miles: run 11.
How to run 11 miles: run 10.
How to run 10 miles: run 9.
How to run 9 miles: run 8.
How to run 8 miles: run 7.
How to run 7 miles: run 6.
How to run 6 miles: run 5.
How to run 5 miles: run 4.
How to run 4 miles: run 3.
How to run 3 miles: run 2.
How to run 2 miles: run 1.
How to run 1 mile: Walk out the door.
How to walk out the door: Put your shoes on and stand up.
How to put your shoes and stand up: Get off the couch.
How to get off the couch: Have some respect for yourself.
How to have some respect for yourself: Decide that you’re worth the effort.
Milestones.
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