Retirement is not for Everyone

One day I was watching "Holy Man" a movie starring Eddie Murphy where he played a "Holy Man" selling products on a home shopping network. It's a funny and enlightening movie, and I enjoyed the comical antics of both Eddie Murphy and Jeff Goldblum. Who can all forget the "tea" Eddie tricked Jeff to drink? What was really in that tea? Aside from all the comics of the movie, one quote from Eddie Murphy, played as "G", stated: "Seventy-five years. That's how much time you get if you're lucky. Seventy-five years. Seventy-five Winters. Seventy-five Springtimes. Seventy-five Summers. And Seventy-five Autumns. When you look at it like that, it's not a lot of time, is it? Don't waste them."

That one quote goes a long way when it comes to my understanding of retirement. How does the law go? Work until you're 65 1/2? I was always curious as to why the extra six months, but rather than going political let's go mathematical.

Take a look at the CIA World Fact Book. An online resource filled with all types of facts on almost every country in the world. This was taken from the United States section:

I have been working since I was 18. Only within that few recent years, at the age of 25, have I began to get a hold of my own personal finances. So from 25 until 65, I am to work until retirement to survive the remaining 10 years of my life. That doesn't set too well with me. Working for 40 years of my life only to rest for the remaining 10? The math is wrong somewhere in there.

This is why I've been urgently forcing myself to build upon my entrepreneurship dreams and build businesses to where if I am to work for the next 40 years of my life, it will be the only person I truly want to work for, myself.

20 years. That is the maximum amount of time I hope to work for a company. I hope to work less, but I'm giving myself 20 years at the most. By then, I want to have my own line of businesses and investments to where I provide for myself. The amount of work I put in will show by the amount of income I produce, and not based on a salary provided by a conglomerate. Don't get me wrong, I love "most" aspects of my job. I love the work I do, I love the partial freedom we have, but it's not enough for me. I want to be able to call my own shots, my own hours, my own paychecks, most importantly, my own retirement. 40 years? Too long for me. Heck, 20 years is too long but doable. But to follow that mathematical function of only allowing 10 years of my life to rot away at old age is not an option for me.

Also consider this fact, the old saying "Work brings stress". Heart attacks, exhaustion, stress, depression, physical disabilities all are symptoms of people in this country who have overworked all of their lives to sit away and rot for the remainder of their years. Sorry if that sounds cruel, but the numbers do not lie.

Also consider this fact, I hate to sound contradictory, but the United States is the best place to find employment. No other country offers such employment benefits to their employees as the United States. Paid vacations and time off, holidays, bonuses, raises, medical and dental insurance, retirement plans and company stock, unions, and a "sense" of job security, even the salary outdo most countries rates. Some positions may not experience all of these benefits, some may experience even more but we are one of the few countries attempting to take care of our employees. But is that enough for you?

For a lot, yes it is enough. In fact, I had this exact same discussion with my mother. She says she loves her job and wakes up and ready to go each day and can't see herself doing anything else. Just as her, I too love my job, but where we differ is that I can see myself doing something else, and that particular "something else" does not involve me giving my life to a company to rot away for the rest of my life.

I suppose that's what makes me an inspired entrepreneur. Because I feel there is a fault in the 40-10 mathematical formula of employment. What makes this formula a little bit more disturbing? Some of us work before we are 18. Such as getting jobs as part-time employees. That easily turns the 40-10 to 50-10.

This is not a discussion on going out and quitting your job. If you love your job and you understand the 40-10 formula, or even the 50-10 formula, then by all means continue on! But as "G" said, "Seventy-five years. That's how much time you get if you're LUCKY". It's something that should at least make you think for a minute. Maybe not it doesn't have to be work-related. Maybe there's something you've wanted to do that has nothing to do with work or money. Remember "Seventy-five years, if you're lucky".

Leave me your comments and feedback. I would love to hear your insights.