What Is Next?
When I asked an investor in his mid-seventies why he keeps investing, he told me, “This is all I know. What else would I do with my time?”
This answer made me sad for him. But when I told this story to an entrepreneur in his late sixties, he said, “Good for him. That’s what he enjoys, and he still has the ability to do it.” Clearly, our reactions were quite different.
The question that’s been haunting me is this: Do I keep doing the work I’ve done over the last twenty-five years, or do I call an end to it since there is no one to tell me it’s time to retire?
Approaching the end of a career is a hard time in life. Some of my corporate colleagues knew they had to retire at some pre-determined age. Entrepreneur friends of mine never stop doing what they were always doing. They have ideas that they turn into companies. Investors do the same. They just keep investing.
I believe my corporate friends have it easy. They have someone who calls the game. There is a clock, and it is ticking. When the time is up, they are told it is over. “Go home. You are now retired.”
These people are forced to plan for their last stage in life. They move to their beach or mountain house and settle into their new life. They spend time with their retired friends playing golf or fishing and traveling the US and the world. Some even do some volunteer work for their church or non-profits as a way to apply some of their skills and experience.
Then there’s the self-employed
Being self-employed makes for a much more difficult decision. There is no one who calls the game over for you. That is why most of the self-employed just keep doing what they do.
Here’s my dilemma, and I know I am not alone
If I keep on doing what I’ve been doing, I realize there will be a natural wind-down. My career will slowly fade away, and then I’ll be retired. This happens for a couple of reasons. One is internal. It’s the “why.” The other is external. It’s the market competition.
First, the internal
My interest level is waning. Staying active in the network. Chasing deals. Keeping up with the changing technologies. The motivation to make even more is not as interesting. To be successful, all of these elements of the work must remain important to me. To stay “in the game” requires that I stay focused on the game’s scorecard. The goals and achievement of those goals must continue to be the top priority for me and my time.
Secondly, the external
The second reason my career will eventually fade away is external. I am not operating in a vacuum. I am in the marketplace. I’m competing with people who are younger and more dedicated to success. To keep doing what I’ve been doing, I recognize I am competing with the forty-five year old Charlie.
Charlie at forty-five was good. He attended every event, every conference, every cocktail party and talked to multiple entrepreneurs every week. There were business breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. He led community organizations. He attended board meetings, wrote term-sheets, closed deals, and worked with investment bankers to sell companies and with lawyers to craft operating agreements. That Charlie had days that were full. Weeks that overflowed.
Back to the internal
But today’s Charlie has adult children. He has grandchildren. He deals with health issues. He has friends who died. His speaking engagements are more often eulogies rather than talks to investors and entrepreneurs. He sees life differently. He sees family and ministry as his legacy versus his work’s scorecard.
The why of the work is far less important. It carries far less meaning. I worked to support my family, to create a better lifestyle for Kathy, the kids, and me. I also worked to build wealth. Wealth to provide for a comfortable and secure retirement. Wealth to give away and also to pass on to the next generation.
It’s all about the “why”
The biggest reason I am struggling with this retirement question is this: the “why” of my work is now satisfied. There now has to be a new why. A new reason to do work. “So what’s the new reason, the new why?” I ask myself.
When I turned sixty years old, I went through an exercise of defining the purpose of each decade of life. I wrote a blog on it, and here is a summary.
The 20’s - establish how you will contribute to society, your occupation.
The 30’s - mine the occupation by becoming an expert.
The 40’s - leverage your earnings by leading the experts in their 30’s.
The 50’s - ride out what you’ve created and your occupation.
The 60’s - give it all back.
As I write what I learned about these decades, I realize I’ve done them all. All except for this sixties decade. In fact, I now realized I was wrong about the sixties decade’s purpose. Its purpose is much like the twenties’ purpose. It is all about establishing how I will contribute to society (and my family) in this last phase of my life.
It would be easier to keep doing what I was doing and not take on the challenge of the new why. It may be easier, but it does not seem to me to be the right thing to do.
God has the answer
Getting clarity on this new why is critical to a meaningful and joyful last stage in life. The only place I know to go for this answer is to God. He made me for a purpose. He gave me my occupations of accountant, tech entrepreneur, tech exec, and angel investor over the years to fulfill His purpose in my life.
I wonder what He has in mind for this season of my life. I asked this question at twenty years old. I asked it again at forty years old. I didn’t see this one coming, but I am back asking Him again.
Why? Because God knows. The journey continues!