Passages

[John Galt]

Perhaps those of you who are younger and trying to
reach FIRE status don't think about this much.

I just got off the phone with my best friend who farms
nearby. He is my age (60) and has lost both parents,
his only brother and one son. My favorite cousin
(58) also lives nearby and has lost both parents and her husband. My wife has lost both parents, 2 siblings and a grandson. In fact, I have no one close to me,
nor even who was in school with me who still has both parents living.
This makes me somewhat exceptional. Not only are mine still alive, but they
live independently and are quite perky for their ages
(87 and 85). I view this as pure luck as much as good genes, and it did not stop me from being strongly
compelled to ER by contemplation of all those who
had departed. Thus, when someone around my age
says, "I'm going to do this or that in _________years"
(fill in the blank). I honestly don't know whether to be amused or depressed.

Man plans and God smiles.

JG

 

[peggy]

Not sure I qualify as a "Young Dreamer" - I'm 37 and plan to FIRE in 5 to 7 years; DH is 44 in May - but I have thought about this a lot.

One grandfather died when I was 8 years old (at age 70); the other when I was 15 (age past 80); my favorite uncle when I was 18 (at 67); one grandmother when I was 19 (at 79 or so); and my father when I was 22 (at 61).

Never mind that prior generations of both sides of my family lived to 90 and beyond, I've been well aware that none of us knows how much time we have left--and that has been one of my prime motivating factors in becoming FI/RE before age 50. Thanks to a bit of luck and a solid investment plan, I expect to FI/RE by 45.

Death can be a powerful motivator.

 

[John Galt]

Yep, as the prisoner who was about to hang said,
"It focuses your attention wonderfully!"

JG

 

[guest]

St. Thomas More?

 

[John Galt]

Could be.

 

[james]

Sir Thomas More is supposed to have said as he stood at the gallows: "Mr. Executioner, I pray you will help me up the steps. As for coming down--I'll shift for myself."

 

[Eagle43]

Here's a clipping I had in my desk for 15 years:

Time...and Your Life by Lee Goodman

Quote: Time is a gift. The day you were born, you were given so many hours to live. The measure of your success in life will be what you do with that time. You can work with it, play with it, or throw it away.

If you live to age 70, you have 613,600 hours.

At age 40, you've spent 350,000 of those hours.
At 50, you've spent 438,000 hours.

What you've spent is gone. You cannot buy, rent or borrow time. It'sw what you have left that matters.

You invest your time in four general areas: Work, family, play and yourself. The key is to find a balance among all of these: To get a job you're happy with, to give and receive love, and to do what pleases you. And, last but not least, to be able to stop...and smell the roses.

As you grow older, life seems to go faster. Time, of course is unchanged. But you're more aware of how much you have left. When I was 20, I felt invincible. I thought nothing could ever happen to me--and I felt I would never die.

Now I'm in my 50s, and I realize that there is an end. So I've changed my approach to living. I no longer waste time on things because I have to. I choose my friends, my social acivities, and my tasks at work more carefully. The trivialities of life do not occupy me anymore. Now I choose how I want to spend that moment. As a result, I like myself much more.

Too many people are unhappy with their jobs. They work only because they need the paycheck. So they squander their most precious possession: Their time.

A modest proposal: List all the things you enjoy, all the things you are good at, and everything positive about yourself. Then figure a way to integrate these qualities into your daily regimen...your job, your hobbies, and your family life.

And don't tell me you do not have the time. Unquote.

I expect with a few changes where he mentions job, most ER posters would buy this.

 

[Nords]

Yep, as the prisoner who was about to hang said,
"It focuses your attention wonderfully!"  JG

Samuel Johnson: "Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully."

http://www.samueljohnson.com/mortalit.html

I have to admit, Boswell's biography was one of the most painful reading experiences I've ever endured.

 

[Mountain_Man]

My Dad died in his mid 40's. He knew he was going to die so we had some great conversations. He told me to make a list of things I wanted to do in life and make sure that I did a few each year. He did not want me to be like him and put off many of the things desired from life. I have done many amazing things as a result of that epiphany. It was a great gift that my Dad gave to me.

Instead of worrying about what everyone else was doing, I took on an extra job for two months one year so I could take my girlfriend to Alaska. Instead of watching TV I worked as a bartender at night and on weekends and went to New Zealand. In the mean time I scrimped and saved from my day job.

I still work despite being financially independent because I like it. I find work to be intellectually stimulating. Since I now work from home, I get to spend lots of time with my young family. If I died tomorrow I would still have a list of things I wanted to do but I have been truly blessed by the impact of my Dad's message for many of the things I have already done.

A very nice thread Mr. Galt.

By the way, Atlas Shrugged is one of my favorite books. I once had a client give me a hardback copy where they wrote "See you in Gault's Gulch" on the inside cover.

Mountain_Man

 

[John Galt]

Thanks Mountain_Man. A very nice post also.
See you in Galt's Gulch........................

JG

 

[Roger_R]

Yeah, John G., I feel it too. Both of my parents passed away in the last year or two and about the only relative of the older generation I have left is an aunt in her late eighties and [retty senile. These have all been good reminders of things to come and to live the years left to their fullest. And also those golden years of the later seventies and eighties just ain't that golden, if your counting of getting some high living in then.

I'm 52 and had always hoped to take some longer time off work or retire earlier so I could spend more quality time with my folks while they were here and healthy. Though I got alot of that in with weekend visits and vacations, I never quite got to live up to this plan. I guess I don't have any huge regrets about this, as I've tried to live my own life as well, but maybe there are some readers out there who can take into account their time and do some of these things before it's gone. Not only is time fleeting, but so is the company of our friends and our elders.

 

[JOhn Galt]

Good post! I retired 100% in 1998 (age 54) and am already
prevented from doing many things that I had most looked
forward to in ER, after only 6 years. No whining, just
an example of why you should "do it now" if possible.
Someone said you either "get busy living or you will
get busy dying". A bit harsh perhaps, but some truth to that IMHO. Cut-Throat has the right idea.

JG

 

[Martha]

My mother died in her thirties and my father in his 60s. My father spent the 1930s in a TB sanitarium. Even though my grandfathers lived into their 90s, I count on nothing.

I am off to the south for a month. Snow again last night. Time to leave and go have some fun.

 

[Dawg52]

Thanks for all the good post! I need a reminder sometimes to slow down and smell the roses. I get caught up in just wishing the next 2 years would just pass so I can reach my retirement goal.

My dad died at 83 and suffered with rheumatoid arthritis for over 50 years of his life. My brother retired at 50, now 56, and has been fighting cancer for the last 3 years.

Bottow line, enjoy each and every healthy day you have!

 

[JOhn Galt]

Hello DOG50. Yep, I can relate. When I semiretired in 1993, SS benefits were not even considered as they appeared so distant. Twelve years just flew by and
now I am counting the days. However, I am not wishing
for the time to pass. Time lost is not replaceable.

JG

 

[Zipper]

Kansas

"All we are is dust in the wind."