This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lee Broders. It has been edited for length and clarity.
At 30 years old, after 10 years in the British Armed Forces and four years of starting new businesses, I decided I wanted to be able to retire by 40. I thought to myself that there must be more to life than just working.
Instead of continuing to work to chase a pension or climbing a corporate ladder, I wanted the freedom to spend time how I wanted, with who I wanted, and where I wanted.
I watched how my parents endlessly worked to eventually retire to Spain in their old age. I wanted to do the same, but younger. There was so much life ahead of me and I didn’t want to spend it working.
At the time, retirement meant sitting by a beach with a beer in hand. Doing absolutely nothing appealed to me because I had worked so hard for so long.
A divorce changed my plans
During my early 30s, I invested money earned through business ventures into property and stocks. It would give me the freedom to retire early and cover my expenses as I aged.
But at 35, I went through a divorce that changed all of my plans. I walked away from the marriage with nearly nothing and was essentially starting over. It led to a midlife crisis.
Working my way out of the crisis, I learned to play the saxophone, fly, and started a law degree. I also opened two more businesses.
By 49, I was doing life coaching and successfully running my businesses. It was at this time I decided to start thinking of retiring again. Although I didn’t set a certain date, I knew I wanted it to be in the near future.
However, my idea of retirement had changed after spending two weeks on vacation in the Maldives. Even though it was idyllic — the perfect retirement spot — I quickly got bored sitting around doing nothing.
I retired at 52
I decided that retirement wasn’t going to look like a permanent vacation by the beach, but it entailed endless time to do whatever I wanted.
Slowly stepping away from work and clients, I retired at 52, only continuing with a master’s in business mentoring for a couple of hours each day.
Instead of squeezing household chores into the evenings and weekends, I completed them during the daytimes, filling hours with menial tasks around the house.
At the time, my grandson wasn’t in school, so I would often look after him. We would play for hours, finding “baddies” around the house.
My wife and I visited cities in the week when they were less busy with tourists.
Although I enjoyed what I was doing, doing it forever didn’t feel like all it was cracked up to be.
I missed having a routine
I missed personal interaction with clients, helping people, routine, and the feeling of adding value to other people’s lives. Without it all, I felt very lost.
Everyone sees retirement as a race and tries to get there as quickly as possible. We’re made to believe that we work, and then we get to retire. But I quickly realized that doing less just wasn’t for me.
A year after retiring, I sat down and decided it was time to take on clients again.
Coaching — helping people — makes me happy. It often doesn’t even feel like work, so why would I want to give it up? I’m getting paid to do something I absolutely love.
I have created a spaceless coaching business that I can operate wherever I am in the world — in France, Spain, the UK, or in a caravan in the middle of a field.
Work is working for me right now. My new retirement plan is to continue doing the work I enjoy so much for as long as I can.
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