Now here is a question for you. Is it better to take a number of ‘mini retirements’ throughout your life than the big one at the end? Now given that the retirement at the end of your life – when you are old and wise – is inevitable; wouldn’t it make some sense to have also some mini-retirement fun along the way? At a time when you are likely to have your highest level of vitality and are not impeded by physical limitations.
If you have always dreamed of gazing over the amazing Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, or taking the lift up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, or looking at the very small painting that is the Mona Lisa (I personally don’t see what all the fuss is about), or scrambling up the pyramids (on my To Do list), or working as a volunteer in remote Africa or taking off on some trek in a remote country; then my advice to you is to plan for it now. Don’t put it off until you retire. It is that simple. Too many people put off too many dreams that never get realised. Don’t be one of them. If you have a dream, get inspired and then make your plan. If you need help with your planning or just a kick up the arse then just let me know!
I meet so many people that tell me that they would love to be doing X, Y, or Z; closely followed by a string of very boring reasons why they actually can’t. One of the most common ones is that they cannot afford it. If you have seen the number of people that I have, travelling the globe, with barely any money to their name; then you would realise that you don’t need a great fortune to truly explore the globe. With budget airlines, house swapping, couch surfing, detailed guide books and a whole host of other resources travelling the globe (and your continent) has never been easier. In a lot of cases it can be actually cheaper travelling overseas than living back home.
There are also those with children that say they will do it when the children leave home. Bad news flash: some kids never really leave home!! Also the educational opportunities for your children are immense when they travel overseas. And in some places (Asia for example) it is actually easier once you get on the holiday with the children, then back home because of an incredibly brilliant invention called the nanny (about $100 full-time for up to a month in Indonesia). So if you choose your destination right, having your children there will be pretty easy. The other option is to leave the kids with their grandparents, aunt, uncle, or family friends, which might be great socially for the kids and allow some great family bonding to occur.
My point is - and I could rave on for much longer – you can wait until retirement to do all those things that you dreamed of doing; but why wait. You can do anything now – you just have to plan for it. And believe me, the experiences that you (and your family) have on these adventures will reshape the rest of your lives. You might realise that you live with an excess of possessions, or that you complain about relatively insignificant things (like hot water not being hot enough versus walking 2km to get a bucket of murky water for washing), or that the cultural differences are actually pretty interesting. These experiences will change your life.
And finally: please read ‘The 4-Hour Work Week’ by Timothy Ferriss for inspiration, information and a bucket load of resources on how you can get even more out of life…now. For the record, this is one of the most useful (and best) book that I have read in the last 2 years!!! I give it 5 stars. Get it now and you will not regret it. (http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/)
So I look forward to seeing you on your adventures (as you pass through Bali) while you are keeping it real
Carl
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