#185 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Tuesday November 2)
Good morning!
It’s Tuesday and time to share the thoughts of someone else (well, and my observations about those thoughts…!).
HAVING IT ALL, REDUX
I wrote a while back about the misguided notion that one can “have it all.” Life is full of choices. Do you go to Wall Street and ignore your social life? Do you take a job that might be remunerative or personally satisfactory but that would deny you time with your spouse and children? Do you work super hard early in life, in order to save for your dream retirement? Do you accept lower compensation to do more good in the world (and suffer the consequences of that decision)? Do you decide to “spread your retirement over your entire life,” rather than only when you are old and unable to do some things? [This last observation was one of the lessons Bill Sonnenberg taught me.]
To me, it’s all about balance. While some are more fortunate than others and are spared the consequences of questionable decisions and some may just be luckier than others, we all make sacrifices on one side of life in order to obtain satisfaction in another sphere. Happiness, fame/recognition, influence/power, money/material wealth, intellectual fulfillment, athletic and sports prowess, time off. We want them all and with careful planning we might even get most…but not all…
A long-time friend wrote a personal story about “having it all.” I’ve redacted personal information in order to tell his story anonymously:
“Glenn, I try not to answer too often....But I feel compelled to comment on "having it all."
My Dad died at 64 — my current age. My wife’s mother died at 67. When we got married, we made a very conscious decision to live a "retired lifestyle" because we didn't want to work our life away, retire, then die a year later. To do so, we forsake getting rich in favor of being happy and enjoying a lot of leisure time. It has been a wonderful way to live.
We owned a business, working weekends, which afforded us a great deal of time off. We worked for Princess Cruises, which took us to more than 30 countries around the world in first-class accommodations. And between speaking engagements and leading workshops, we've traveled throughout the world, with teaching interspersed throughout. And we lived in our RV for more than 5 years touring the U.S. three times — always mixing business with pleasure. It's been great.
But there's a downside. We're mid-sixties and unable to retire, which is exacerbated by having a majority of friends now who are retired. So, as you point out, there are trade-offs. Now our goal is to figure out some sort of retirement -- just in case we live beyond our sixties. Wish us luck!”
Sounds like he’s come pretty close to a dream life of coming close to “having it all.”
MEME OF THE WEEK
“I don’t know how to use TikTok but I can write cursive, do long division and tell time on clocks with hands…so there’s that…”
Have a great day,
Glenn
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