Do you miss being front and center

[street]

I just wondering with all the successful people that are here there must of been a lot of you that called the shots. You were front and center had authority and job power so to speak. Do you miss that part and the status you had? If so was it hard to walk away from that more then the money you were making from a top layer position?

 

[pb4uski]

Nope, not in the least. While it was fun being a player... to me it was just a game, albeit a fun game.. in never relished it the way many people do.

It was hard to walk away from a high-paying job where I didn't really have to work that hard, but once we "had enough" I didn't see much sense to continuing to work... I valued having free time more than more money.

 

[Danmar]

Eventually most people, even those with senior jobs, have had enough and call it quits. I had a senior position in one of Canada's largest companies. Seven figure comp and almost a thousand reports. Very high profile, power, prestige. Interviews on national tv, etc. By the time I retired I was more than ready to go.

Been retired 10 years and dont miss it much. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss it at all. But on balance the freedom and anonymity more than make up for the benefits of working. Took a few years (maybe 3) to fully adapt to retirement though.

 

[euro]

I just wondering with all the successful people that are here there must of been a lot of you that called the shots. You were front and center had authority and job power so to speak. Do you miss that part and the status you had? If so was it hard to walk away from that more then the money you were making from a top layer position?

Not at all. I never cared much for that aspect of my job anyway and I don't miss it in the least.

 

[braumeister]

That wasn't me, but I have several friends who are in that position. I can't imagine any of them ever retiring. That's their life, they love it, and will never leave it. I'm inclined to think Danmar might be a bit of an outlier.

 

[MRG]

I was beat down the last few years to the point I really didn't care. Still took a couple of years to separate me from the career. Now who cares?

Sitting here thinking breakfast sounds good. Finish my coffee and watch it snow on Christmas morning. Have a warm dog on my lap. Life's good.

 

[W2R]

I just wondering with all the successful people that are here there must of been a lot of you that called the shots. You were front and center had authority and job power so to speak. Do you miss that part and the status you had? If so was it hard to walk away from that more then the money you were making from a top layer position?

This is such an individual thing. In general, I think most people like that are more than capable of evaluating pros and cons of different courses of action, and coming up with a good decision when one is called for. That is what they do for a living.

So, when someone like that applies his decision making skills to the decision of whether to retire or not, generally he makes a good decision that creates few regrets.

On the other hand, I think those who are used to having things decided FOR them at work, and are used to be told what to do and obeying like an automaton, sometimes have a harder time adjusting to retirement where nobody will tell them what to do.

 

[Winemaker]

I miss the comradery of the hard w@rking people who just did a good job everyday without bitching. Don't miss the complainers, the suckups, the phonies, the bs'ers, and above all, arrogant bosses who couldn't do what I could do better than themselves. Their continued micromanagement made things worse for everyone.

 

[street]

Interesting. I guess for me it would of been the money but even when I know I had enough that (money) didn't matter. The one thing that goes along with being at the top is stress and you are always on the bulls eye. Lol Right there helps when you really think you miss being on top. Lol

 

[steveark]

Waking away

I thought it would be hard. I had hundreds of people under me, was making way up in six figures but as several have said that came with stress. Once I had enough money I walked away, one year ago. It's been one of the best years of my life. I still work some side gigs but maybe half time, flex hours. Plus they keep me in contact with some of my old business friends and government leaders. I still have a generous expense account and travel some for business. And while I don't need the income it feels good to be earning enough to live on and just let the nest egg keep growing. Do I miss being the big boss who could hire and fire at will and decide what my coworkers were paid? Not an iota, nada.

 

[phil1ben]

Sold my firm July 1 with about 30 employees. Retiring as of December 31 (I am 56, DW 53). In exchange for calling the shots (which I have done for 30 years) I get:

1. To have a vacation consisting of more than 5 business days
2. To have a weekend without constant e-mails from work
3. To not have to worry if I generated enough business this week
4. To not have to deal with unreasonable clients
5. To not have to deal with skyrocketing health care costs which increase almost 20% per year.
6. To not have to deal with employees complaining to me about #5
7. To not have to deal with employees
8. To be in charge of my own time
9. To be a first hand participant in my children's success
10. To go where I want when I want.
11. To enjoy the fruits of a 30 year career before its too late.

Finally, the benefits outweighed the detriments. Good Deal in my book.

 

[6miths]

No was very happy to pass the torch and let someone else make the life and death decisions.

 

[Ronstar]

It is a small problem. I still do some consulting through my old firm where I use my former assistants/ clerical staff for some things. I just can't get them to drop everything they're doing in order to get my stuff done immediately like I used to.

 

[travelover]

I was able to transition when I retired because I run things at home. The vacuum, the lawnmower, the hedge trimmer, the dishwasher.....

 

[HFWR]

The only times that I was front and center were when I had screwed something up...

 

[Danmar]

That wasn't me, but I have several friends who are in that position. I can't imagine any of them ever retiring. That's their life, they love it, and will never leave it. I'm inclined to think Danmar might be a bit of an outlier.

An outlier in which sense? If you mean giving up the fame and glory, my associates at work were in similar positions,etc. Most retired early, perhaps not as early as me (56). These are very stressful jobs. I met an associate recently on a flight to Arizona. His retirement had been written about in the newspaper so I was aware of his plans and congratulated him. I was quite surprised how negative he was on his working life and how excited he was to retire. Probably in his early 50's.

 

[aja8888]

The worst job I had was being a Plant Manager of a very large manufacturing plant with several hundred employees in a strong union environment.

Sometimes I felt I was a father figure, other times a psychologist, and once in a while walking around with a target on my back. As a cost center manager, when you hit your production target, you are usually accused by your boss of sandbagging, but when you miss, you screwed up. Never win!

 

[RockyMtn]

Don't miss it one bit!

My work was a means to an end and when that end was met I walked. Don't ever ever let your work define you. Bad things happen to you and the organization!

 

[braumeister]

An outlier in which sense? If you mean giving up the fame and glory, my associates at work were in similar positions,etc. Most retired early, perhaps not as early as me (56). These are very stressful jobs. I met an associate recently on a flight to Arizona. His retirement had been written about in the newspaper so I was aware of his plans and congratulated him. I was quite surprised how negative he was on his working life and how excited he was to retire. Probably in his early 50's.

Everyone I know, or have known, in such a position would never consider retirement at all, let alone ER. Just as an example, of the neighbors on my block there are two still happily working in their 80s, and two in their 70s. They either own their companies (which they founded long ago) or are partners in big law firms. Similarly, I've known a few who died "in harness" at advanced ages. I just haven't known anyone who was in a prominent position who had any interest in retirement. YMMV, of course. You're an outlier in my experience, but maybe not in the greater scheme of things.

 

[Danmar]

Everyone I know, or have known, in such a position would never consider retirement at all, let alone ER. Just as an example, of the neighbors on my block there are two still happily working in their 80s, and two in their 70s. They either own their companies (which they founded long ago) or are partners in big law firms. Similarly, I've known a few who died "in harness" at advanced ages. I just haven't known anyone who was in a prominent position who had any interest in retirement. YMMV, of course. You're an outlier in my experience, but maybe not in the greater scheme of things.

I think self employed people or doctors, lawyers,etc may not feel the same way about retirement as regular employees. Even people in very senior positions usually have a demanding CEO or board of directors to contend with. Usually the more pay the more stress. There would be exceptions of course. It was very unusual for senior execs to work past 60 in my previous employer. By then they all would have been FI.

 

[GrayHare]

We had a good group, so I miss the teamwork, the excitement of being on the bleeding edge of tech, and the overall challenge.

 

[aja8888]

I think self employed people or doctors, lawyers,etc may not feel the same way about retirement as regular employees. Even people in very senior positions usually have a demanding CEO or board of directors to contend with. Usually the more pay the more stress. There would be exceptions of course. It was very unusual for senior execs to work past 60 in my previous employer. By then they all would have been FI.

My BIL was a Senior Tax Partner for KPMG for years in central California. As a partner, the policy was that at age 60, you are gone to make room for the new ones. Of course, at his level, money was not an issue when leaving. He still does wealth management consulting at age 70. He just won't quit.

 

[Major Tom]

I didn't earn a lot of money, and didn't have much power. However, I was quite a focal figure in the company I worked for, being "the voice" that represented the brand on national radio and TV ads and well known within the company, as well as quite well known among a certain set in the local community (I was an announcer/presenter as well as a voiceover guy, working in Hollywood).

The main reason I didn't advance further in my career is that this particular field requires a great deal of self-promotion and networking - 2 things that I am deeply averse to. When most folk around me were busy going to shows, industry get-togethers and the like, I was happily going home to unwind. However, the predictable framework of my main job gave me the stability I need, and allowed me the opportunity to meet a lot of interesting and creative people. It was fantastic. In retirement, I have reverted to my core personality of being quite reclusive. I do miss meeting so many wonderful people, but have no way to do that in my retired life as although I am affable, I am by no means sociable.

But for around 20 years, I had great fun and an interesting life.

 

[REWahoo]

Tom, please say something so we can see if we recognize you.

 

[JDARNELL]

Nope. I had to wear a suit last week. First time in 3 yrs. It made me sick as I was having flashbacks of that time in my life. I felt as miserable as just before I hung it up.

JDARNELL