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10-28-2007, 12:25 PM
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#1
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Confused about dryer sheets
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Raleigh
Posts: 6
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Voluntary Simplifier
Hi everyone. I retired last year at age 55 after working 34 years in business. I spent the last 18 years as an international finance executive moving my family every years with little time to do anything else in my life. My children are now on their own, and as I didn't have the desire to accumulate more things, I was confident that my wife and I could live off our investments.
Having now been retired for over a year, I miss the interaction with my business collegues, but am very happy with my decision. Having finally settled in one place, my wife is now pursuing her calling as an inter-faith minister, I'm becoming more involved in my local community, am in the best physical shape of my adult life, and we both have all the time we want to spend with our first grandchild.
I do have some views that I want to share in the forum, as I see many of my friends making two major mistakes that keep them financially insecure. First, having their personal identity being so tied into their titles/careers, and second, their myopic approach to investing.
I look forward to learning and sharing with others who have or are contemplating moving to their 'second life'.
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10-28-2007, 01:34 PM
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#2
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: minnesota
Posts: 13,228
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Welcome Grandpa!
I never really thought about my personal identity being to tied up with my career identity. But I think I have suffered some of that, looking back on the past 10 months of retirement. I maintain an office at my old job, a perk as an "of counsel" lawyer. Late last week I spent a few hours in my office and helped a few people out who were overwhelmed with work. There was a nice feeling about coming in, deciding what to do with an issue, telling everyone what I thought, and being respected for it. It was a nice ego boost. But I sure wouldn't want to go back to working day in and day out!
__________________
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No more lawyer stuff, no more political stuff, so no more CYA
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10-28-2007, 01:35 PM
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#3
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Los Angeles area
Posts: 329
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Welcome, and congrats on your early retirement! Sounds like you're in a good place. I too see a lot of people making their career their primary identity, and it's certainly not something I'd want to do myself. Curious, what do you see as examples of myopic investing?
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10-28-2007, 03:38 PM
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#4
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,015
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One of the best bits of advice I ever got as a young employee was to "never confuse WHAT you do with WHO you are." In other words, don't identify yourself solely by your job as one day that will go away...
I have a neighbor who has been retired for probably ten years. When I first met him, he handed me his old business card on which he had carefully printed "retired" after his old title. I thought it odd at the time, but soon learned that his job WAS his identity, even a decade later. How sad.
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10-30-2007, 07:05 AM
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#5
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Central MS/Orange Beach, AL
Posts: 9,072
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Martha
Welcome Grandpa!
I never really thought about my personal identity being to tied up with my career identity. But I think I have suffered some of that, looking back on the past 10 months of retirement. I maintain an office at my old job, a perk as an "of counsel" lawyer. Late last week I spent a few hours in my office and helped a few people out who were overwhelmed with work. There was a nice feeling about coming in, deciding what to do with an issue, telling everyone what I thought, and being respected for it. It was a nice ego boost. But I sure wouldn't want to go back to working day in and day out!
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I understand completely. I went in for a few hours yesterday to work with my replacement. Will work off an on for the next 3-4 months. Kind of nice knowing that I'm respected for my opinion, plus seeing all my old friends is nice. I'm sure I will always be in touch with them, but glad I'm not working everyday.
Time to get ready to go play golf. Oh yes, Welcome Grandpa!
__________________
Retired 3/31/2007@52
Investing style: Full time wuss.
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10-30-2007, 07:29 AM
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#6
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,893
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What's so 'wrong' with someone identifying with their career? What if they were really proud (or even moderately pleased) with their accomplishments? I agree, it should not be the only thing that 'defines' someone. You don't want your eulogy to be 'he went to the office, ummm, that's all folks'.
I see a few sigs or names that reference a military career. Why add that if one was not proud of the affiliation and 'identify' with it, to a degree?
-ERD50
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10-30-2007, 07:44 AM
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#7
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,391
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If you are the boss or the Big-Shot, you just may be surprised after you retire, that nobody laughs at your jokes anymore !
I agree with Acheiver51: "Don't confuse what you do with who you are"
I am not my job
I am not my car
I am not where I live
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10-30-2007, 07:53 AM
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#8
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Confused about dryer sheets
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 5
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Welcome
Welcome to the board. I am a new member myself and find most information very useful.
I am soon to be retired and quite frankly am a little concerned about the lack of interaction with business associates. I have never felt my career was the only thing that identified me; however, it has nevertheless been a very important part of my life and who I am. I worry a bit about how I will get that ego boost that a job oftentimes give us.
I suppose that is the challenge and joy of retirement - finding some other channel that can shape who you are.
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10-30-2007, 09:30 AM
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#9
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 71
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Achiever51
One of the best bits of advice I ever got as a young employee was to "never confuse WHAT you do with WHO you are." In other words, don't identify yourself solely by your job as one day that will go away...
I have a neighbor who has been retired for probably ten years. When I first met him, he handed me his old business card on which he had carefully printed "retired" after his old title. I thought it odd at the time, but soon learned that his job WAS his identity, even a decade later. How sad.
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Next time you are on the highway, take a look at the number of cars advertising where they "have been" in life. Seems a lot of people identify with jobs or prior experiences in life and their cars have become advertisements. "Schools", "military", "unions", and on and on. I guess it's hard to live life looking forward rather than looking back.
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10-30-2007, 12:20 PM
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#10
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,015
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Hey, I understand being proud of what you've accomplished during a career. After all, those 20, 30, 40 years comprise a huge part of your life. I know that I look back on my career with a sense of accomplishment and a feeling that I did the best job I could. Now, I'm looking forward to the next, new stage in my life.
In my neighbor's case, however, I get the distinct impression that his career is ALL that matters. Just about every conversation ultimately turns to his old workplace, how he would handle things there today, how the place went to hell after he left, etc. He confided that he used to go into the office every few days to offer his advice, but got the feeling that he wasn't welcome after awhile. I find this terribly sad; it's like he can't let go -- yet he chose to retire, he was not forced out according to his wife.
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10-30-2007, 04:01 PM
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#11
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
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Ranking
One of the most solidly established anthropological/health ideas is that in primates of all sorts, including humans, one's social rank is a large predictor of health and longevity. Famous examples are the Supreme Court Judges, and major symphony conductors. These people have power and prestige, and a pretty good lock on continuing both of these things.
It seems that being high in a social hierarchy lessens cortisol secretion; being low increases it. And overall, what you want is lower secretion!
An ER takes a risk when he or she retires. Often of course they are escaping a situation where others have more power over them than they have over others, or where they are often under some sort of threat. So retirement probably is a definite help here.
But you aren’t going to find many Supremes or big time conductors doing the LBYM to ER.
Doctors, judges, former military can take some of their prestige with them into retirement. They may not have much clout in their old hierarchies, but the general public is likely to carry more respect for retired Dr. Jones, or Captain Smith, or Judge Jackson or Professor Patterson than if the only prefix that these folks have is Mr. or Ms.
I don't see any problem with this. People should use whatever they can to smooth their way.
Ha
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
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10-30-2007, 04:45 PM
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#12
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,703
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Quote:
Originally Posted by haha
It seems that being high in a social hierarchy lessens cortisol secretion; being low increases it. And overall, what you want is lower secretion!
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ER has lowered both my prestige and my stress. And I don't miss either.
When I was working, relationships weren't stressful, "fire drills" weren't stressful, but, man, I hated giving presentations. I would catch a cold right before every damn company meeting and board presentation.
__________________
Emancipated from wage-slavery since 2002
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11-03-2007, 09:09 PM
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#13
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 193
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MasterBlaster
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I agree with Acheiver51: "Don't confuse what you do with who you are"
I am not my job
I am not my car
I am not where I live
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Have also seen: I am not what I own.
__________________
Retired in 2001 at age 49.
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11-05-2007, 08:35 AM
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#14
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,719
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Quote:
Originally Posted by template
Have also seen: I am not what I own.
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Reminds me of that line from Fight Club:
"You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your f**king khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world."
__________________
He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it . . . It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. -- The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
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11-05-2007, 03:41 PM
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#15
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,487
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Frankly, I can't hardly wait to get rid of the prestige. I'm in Asia, and here, no one will get on the elevator before the Chairman does, no one gets off before the Chairman, they want to carry my briefcase for me, etc. I believe in the philosophy that a leader serves his/her troops, not the other way around. But, whenever I try to do something a little kind, like help carry the lunchboxes into a meeting room during a long and arduous budget meeting, my guys and gals all go into a frenzy that I should not be doing such a "debasing" task. For me, the little things that I do to serve my people are very meaningful to ME. I can hardly wait until I can just be me, who I am, and enjoy life without the spotlight. Rank does have its perks and desirable qualities. On the other hand, when things aren't going well, the rank brings with it a tremendous weight on one's shoulders. I'm ready to give up the perks, and the fussing of my colleagues over my rank, as well as the shoulder weights.
Rambler
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