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Retire? Are You Kidding!

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Ever wonder reasons people retire? Take time from stop me, working usually when you have no reason to get up in the morning. Like the myth that says success and money are intimately intertwined, another one says that when you get to be 65 you ought to think about hanging up your guns and retiring. It's utter dribble. If you love what you do, why on earth would you think about retiring? If you're approaching 75 or 80, maybe you'll lighten your load and put in fewer hours, but retire? Never. Don’t believe those insulting brokerage house ads that show graying men and women out fishing in some pastoral setting, perpetually smiling in retirement euphoria. Yes, it looks inviting, but try fishing and golfing 12 months a year. I guarantee you'll go out of your mind.

RETIREMENT: A POST-WORLD WAR II PHENOMENON

Let's straighten out this retirement myth once and for all. Our generation grew up thinking retirement was a great thing. We were raised to believe life parallels those nauseating family sitcoms of the late 1950s and 1960s. According to them, you sow your oats, get a job, marry, raise a family, and retire. Boy, life was depicted as real simple back then. But now you know different. For many, the idea of one job, one spouse, and one family is all baloney! And retirement? Practically speaking, many baby boomers who think they'd like to retire simply can't afford to stop working.



Don't for a minute assume retirement is a privilege of age and wealth that dates back centuries. Actually, it's a post-World War II phenomenon, a product of the New Deal's Social Security Administration. In fact, mandatory retirement was deemed illegal in the late 1980s because it violated age discrimination statutes and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). ERISA was created in 1974 to protect retirement funds and oversee the people who administer them.

What's more, social security benefits can no longer meet most of our retirement needs. Government pundits say the Social Security Administration is running out of money. In 1984, just up to half of benefits were taxable; a decade later, the tax rate jumped to over 85 percent. The more you make, the more the government takes. In 1945, there were approximately 42 workers for every beneficiary, according to the Social Security Administration. In 1950, the number dropped to 16.5; by 1994, it tumbled to 3.2; and by the year 2010, it's projected to be 2.9 workers for every beneficiary.

We grew up thinking social security benefits would take care of us in our retirement years. That's no longer the case. With people living longer, the number of retirees eligible for social security will continue to grow while the worker base needed to support them will not keep pace. Twenty-first-century pragmatism has replaced New Deal idealism.

GET OVER THE FANTASY

Beyond financial realities, the idea of retirement has been elevated to an unrealistic fantasy in most people's minds. That's not to say there aren't plenty of men and women who long for the day they can quit their jobs and do things they've dreamed about all their lives.

But they're the exception, not the rule. Most people retire either because they hate their jobs or because they've had enough of the rat race. Sooner or later, though, retirement almost always back fires.

If you doubt me, listen to these true sagas. I bet you never heard of the St. Louis, MO, support group called the Cashed Out Presidents Society (COPS), COPS is a forum through which cashed-out presidents and company founders help one another deal with retirement. According to COPS founder J. W. Kisling, the group started with 6 people in 1985 and now has 30 members who pay dues of $75 a year.

It sounds crazy but these folks, who have a collective net worth of more than half a billion dollars, don't know what to do with themselves now that they've sold their businesses to another company. Imagine not knowing how to enjoy yourself with a few million dollars in the bank? COPS proves my point. It's not about money, but about wanting to continue to do something that keeps you excited 12 hours a day. Why did these entrepreneurs dump the successful companies they built with their own hands? Simple. Like everyone else, they believed the retirement myth. After working long and hard, they figured it was time to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Nice concept, but it doesn't fly. COPS meetings are devoted to helping members jump back into the fray. Most wind up starting or buying another company. COPS founder Kisling sold one and is now run ning another.

Or take my friend, A. J. Richard, the 86-year-old founder and chairman of the board at P. C. Richard & Son, a $500-million-a-year electronics empire. Five days a week, he's in his office by 7:30 a.m., drinking black coffee and chomping on a Jamaican cigar.

When I asked A. J. why he still comes to work, rather than spending his millions, he said, "If I couldn't work, I'd die." Money is not the issue, my friends.

So don't feel sorry for yourself because you have to work. Don't be depressed because some of your retired friends are playing golf when you're shoveling toast and coffee into your mouth so you can make the 7 a.m. train to be at work on time. Take it from me, most of your retired friends aren't happy. You're in better shape than they are. They may have bigger bank accounts, but you're healthier because you're still out there fighting the war. They've checked out, you haven't. The sad part is they regret it.

IF GEORGE FOREMAN CAN DO IT, SO CAN YOU!

So don't cash out. As I said earlier, don't see yourself as washed up and operating at half steam. Let fighter George Foreman be your inspiration. On that historic Saturday night in Las Vegas in November 1994, Foreman, at the age of 45, knocked out opponent Michael Moorer in the tenth round, making him the oldest professional fighter to win the championship in any weight class. As one sportswriter put it, "Foreman crossed the line between athlete and icon." No wonder Foreman has been dubbed "Father Time." Traditionally, fighters peak in their mid-thirties. By their early for ties, they're used up.

Foreman broke the pattern. He quit boxing in 1977, but not because his career was over. After a 45-2 record, including 42 knockouts, he figured it was time for a career change and became a street-corner preacher. But when he needed money to support his parish, he returned to the ring. The rest is history. At a portly 250 pounds, Foreman is a force not to be reckoned with. It's no wonder Madison Avenue marketing consultants are pounding on his door begging him to endorse a slew of products for the 40-plus generation. If Foreman has what it takes-in his forties-to knock out a 26-year-old, what makes you think he can't do it again at 50? If that doesn't teach Generation X a lesson, I don't know what will.

If Foreman can do the impossible-break stereotypes and blow conventional thinking to smithereens-so can you. He saw no limits or barriers and said the hell with this age stuff. Tm tough and strong, and so what if I'm 45? I'm going to get in the ring and pound that kid into the tarp. He did just that.

You ought to adopt the same attitude. So what if you re 50, 55, 60, or 80? You're only defeated if you think you are.

THERE IS NO SECOND ACT

As I wind down, my important message is that people were meant to be busy and do meaningful work. Everyone must define meaningful in his or her own way. This sounds preachy, but the simple truth is work is our salvation. We define ourselves by what we do. Stop working and suddenly we're lost, adrift in perilous seas without a compass. Talk to people who have tried retirement and you'll get powerful insights into the true value of work. Beyond psychological and financial rewards, work gives purpose and structure to our lives.

Practically speaking, the best defense against obsolescence is work. As marketing gurus Al Ries and Jack Trout said in Horse

Sense, "There is no second act." This is it. The spotlight is on you; the audience is waiting with baited breath. Take your cues and give it the performance of your life. I mean the very best. Continue to pour your heart and soul into whatever it is you enjoy doing. Keep at it until the very end and chances are good you will go out smiling. What more could anyone ask for?
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