We need a sexier story about retirement. It doesn’t fit anymore. Retirement has been built on outdated myths. The concept of retirement is going through a slow but seismic redefinition; for 85 percent of us, it is no longer about dropping out the race. It is a chance to refire, rehire, relaunch – anything but retire. It is our opportunity to capitalize on everything we have learned about work and about life. A failure is a person who has blundered and not been able to cash in on the experience. We need to begin to call retirement and retirement savings money what they really are: a second chance and emancipation money. Many of you are simply looking forward to launching a brand-new you. Many of you want to try something out of the ordinary. many of you want to play around with ideas you have had for years. Many of you want to hunker down with loved ones and simplify your life for the time being.

The reason no one else can define retirement for you is because it is about your life and your dreams. My goal is for you to take yourself through one simple mental exercise. Ask yourself this one question, “What if there were no finish line?”. How would it change the way you live today and plan for tomorrow if you stopped running toward an artificial goal of retiring at age X? Remove this contrived finish line from your mind and your life, and it will liberate both. Disentangle yourself from retirement myths and deal with life’s realities. Once the finish line is removed we are left to ponder our present realities and future hopes. We will stop sacrificing the present to pursue an illusion of bliss in the sweet by-and-by. We will begin to focus on doing work today that capitalizes on our gifts and gives expression to our deepest-felt avocational desires. We will begin our quest to find work that feels like play.

Once the finish line is removed we take the ever – present fiscal pressure at a certain age with so much money. When this pressure is removed, we an begin to make choices that are not based on money but on doing work that brings us a sense of purpose and satisfaction. A strange phenomenon that is hard to explain is how money seems to find its way to those who follow their hearts and pursue their interests with passion. Something else comes your way when you follow your heart – contentment – and that’s a precious commodity that no amount of money can buy.

Passion Never Retires is

• Asking yourself, What is it about retirement that has been drawing or repelling me?
• Asking yourself, What am I most looking forward to?
• Asking yourself, What am I most concerned about?