Customer died suddenly - perspective

[dallas27]

Found out today a customer of mine who wasn't responding to emails died suddenly. He was in his prime earning years.

Then I happened upon this in facebook....

*******************

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, he said:

“Man.
Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;
the result being that he does not live in the present or the future;
he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

*******************

My greatest fear is I die before really having ample time to enjoy the fruits of my labors. (well, that, and spiders)

 

[frayne]

Pretty good advice from the Dali Lama but not applicable to all, most but not all.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I think the Facebook post is a good reminder to seize each day. I came home from having my hair done last week to find out a friend my age had died unexpectedly.

 

[robnplunder]

Found out today a customer of mine who wasn't responding to emails died suddenly. He was in his prime earning years.

Then I happened upon this in facebook....

*******************

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, he said:

“Man.
Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;
the result being that he does not live in the present or the future;
he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

*******************

My greatest fear is I die before really having ample time to enjoy the fruits of my labors. (well, that, and spiders)

I have a little bit of fear in doing so, too. But while I am doing OMY and preparing for RE, I am enjoying (at least die trying ) my life as if every day is an RE day. You may say, I am practicing retirement.

Case in point, DW & I play golf 2 - 3 times a week. More often than not, our playing partner will ask how often we play. When they hear "2 - 3 times a week," they often ask "are you retired?" question. I smile and tell them that we are practicing retirement.

One thing I've noticed, I meet a lot of folks at our home golf course who clearly have better career/job than I have. Yet, early retirement is not in their card. Either they love their job so much or have not saved enough to contemplate retirement, or both. Perhaps, they should have audience with Dalai Lama.

 

[Chuckanut]

ou may say, I am practicing retirement.

Case in point, DW & I play golf 2 - 3 times a week. More often than not, our playing partner will ask how often we play. When they hear "2 - 3 times a week," they often ask "are you retired?" question. I smile and tell them that we are practicing retirement.

Very wise.

 

[easysurfer]

I like that Dalai Lama quote. A lot of wisdom there. There's a lot of irony in life.

 

[Chuckanut]

My mother would have been a fan of the Dalai Lama if she knew much about him. One of her most famous sayings when confronted with buying cheap food or not doing something fun was "Enjoy yourself. Otherwise, you'll just give it to the doctor."

No offense meant to the doctors in the group.

 

[MRG]

Actually reminds me of my choice to RE. I had fully planned on OMY, corporate bs became unbearable. I truly wondered what this was doing to my health. I'd seen too many pass way too young, that thought helped my call it done a month later.

 

[Midpack]

Never seen a 'bad quote' from the Dalai Lama...

 

[jollystomper]

I have a little bit of fear in doing so, too. But while I am doing OMY and preparing for RE, I am enjoying (at least die trying ) my life as if every day is an RE day. You may say, I am practicing retirement.

+1

I have also decided on OMY, but have also decided to "practice retirement" during that time. Working at home more, going to the gym during lunch breaks, turning off the work computer after 5 and all weekend - these little things make a big difference.

I also like golfing, and with several very affordable golf courses and driving ranges 5-20 minutes from our home... well, I have no meetings today after 4PM so I plan to go do some more "retirement practicing" at that time.

 

[dallas27]

never seen a 'bad quote' from the dalai lama...

challenge accepted!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[brewer12345]

Yeah, this sort of thing is why whatever my hesitations were about taking the plunge I wanted to at least try it and see how it goes.

 

[dallas27]

Yeah, this sort of thing is why whatever my hesitations were about taking the plunge I wanted to at least try it and see how it goes.

It's a scary thought right? "Let's see if doing what I want instead of what other people tell me to do is better".

Sounds stupid that we even ask it. I guess the real question we ask is can we sustain doing that financially.

 

[rodi]

I'm sorry for your loss, Dallas27.

A good friend who was my age died suddenly a year ago. (I posted here how it made me put into perspective the fragility of life.) It definitely hits you hard when someone you know, a peer in terms of age, life stage, suddenly passes.

 

[ER Fireball]

A big turning point for me-

A friend of mine at the old w*rkplace- Planned to retire in about 18 months. The company was running him around the world trying to straighten out the messes from outsourced manufacturing. Went out toes first. As I was flying back from India, I decided that it was time to look after myself a bit more and let the company take care of its MBA generated problems.

Never seen a 'bad quote' from the Dalai Lama...

And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.
Bill Murray, Caddy shack in the Dalai Lama skit , HD version!! - YouTube

 

[Chuckanut]

I'm sorry for the loss. It is a lesson we all seem to have to learn individually through the loss of a good friend and/or love one.

 

[Senator]

I just had a female renter die at the age of 51. Way too young. That's why I am not waaiting too much longer to FIRE.

 

[Koolau]

Once I reached FI, I too began "practicing" RE. I stopped most of my worrying about w*rk. I stopped taking any w*rk home. I stopped taking phone calls from w*rk. I stopped virtually all OT (used to be "whatever the j*b demands.") I figured if they got tired of me they could always FI-RE me. I finally quit the OMY treadmill when I got an assignment I didn't want to do and which would have crimped my FIRE "practice".

Many philosophers have offered similar sentiments to the Dalai Lama's. As the years rushed on, I began heeding them more and more. A favorite of mine - which doesn't hold a candle to the DL's poetic saying - has a good sentiment all the same. "No man on his death-bed wishes he had spent more time at the office."

 

[easysurfer]

Got a brother who is at odds with his spouse (probably future divorce) with the meaning of success and how to life the rest if his life.

Him..retired an enjoying the freedom ...fish, eat, more fishing

Her..work, earn more, work, earn more and more work.

Each has a different meaning of success. He feels that he's paid his dues and you can't take what you earn with you. Her... I think according to her, her work and wealth accumulation defines her success and she isn't willing to leave that life.

I guess...it's all in a matter of perspective. If you work and work then die and have oodles and oodles of money one person may say that's a success story while others say that's a terrible shame.

 

[robnplunder]

Her..work, earn more, work, earn more and more work.

Each has a different meaning of success. He feels that he's paid his dues and you can't take what you earn with you. Her... I think according to her, her work and wealth accumulation defines her success and she isn't willing to leave that life.

One my uncles has the same perspective. To him, money, and accumulating more money make his day. He just doesn't know or care about how else to spend his time (or money). If he does spend his money, it is mostly on material (fancy car, expensive ring, etc) and not on "experience." Then again, if that makes him happy, so be it.

 

[athena53]

And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

I realize that's a Bill Murray quote and not yours, but I think there are trade-offs involved. The Dalai Lama is a wise man and says many wise things, but let's be realistic. You generally need to work for a living unless you want to rely on government handouts and that's not a really high-quality life. If you want to have a comfortable old age in which you can take care of your health-care needs and hire people to do things you can no longer do yourself (and that would include a nursing home if you become extremely frail) and you want to be able to fish, travel, spoil the grandkids...well, that's gonna take more than minimum wage. I'm sure the Dalai Lama won't have to worry about the cost of a nursing home, or paying for health insurance or prescriptions.

I do have a couple of siblings who need to retire. One is dealing with toxic politics but he handles them better than I do, and travel to places in Asia that he doesn't like very much. He's hanging on through year end. I don't know why. From all indications, they've got good savings and very low expenses, and he's accrued a decent pension benefit in addition to SS. Other brother is a CFO and was thinking of retiring (he's 60) and they twisted his arm and got him to stay on with a lucrative 18-month contract. From what my parents say he's been doing very well with generous bonuses every year. No reason he needs to keep working except he likes the money.

I'm still unhappy over the circumstances of my resignation 6 weeks ago but I DO know that I'm not going back.

 

[ICNTR]

Sorry for the loss. Death can be shocking. It shows no prejudice nor conscience.
Part of my decision to resign was based upon the fact that I am truly blessed today but that there are no guarantees of my next breath, let alone tomorrow.
I am trying to appreciate and enjoy the moment.
Best regards.

 

[DallasGuy]

About a year ago I was diagnosed with a blood cancer called multiple myeloma and after googling it on the internet, I was convinced my life would be over in just a few years. Fortunately new drug treatments are coming out every day and after 5 months of treatments and a stem cell transplant I am now in complete remission. People with multiple myeloma almost always relapse so I could have 2 years, 5 years or much longer to live...your guess is as good as mine. I try not to worry about it...after all some people will go suddenly and some will go slowly...but most people don't know for sure WHEN.

I took early retirement 5 years ago at age 52. During the last 5 years I sometimes felt like I should go back to work because "52 is too early to retire". But you know, after my cancer diagnosis, I have no regrets in retiring early. If I had liked my job right before I retired, I might have felt different, but I didn't like it. So the last 5 years have been a bonus to me, knowing that if I "go early", I had some good years to enjoy my life near the end. Working isn't everything, especially if you can afford not to.

 

[ERhoosier]

Prior posts about "practicing" for retirement contain more truth than most care to admit. Some actually enjoy or need to w@rk so much that it becomes their life. They would be personally lost without it. Their vocation and avocation become one. IMHO- Nothing wrong with that if that's what fulfills them. OTOH- To w#rk for nothing more than the pursuit of every last $$ is a whole 'nother matter.

Dallas- Here's wishing you all the best for many more good years!

 

[lemming]

Did you run that through Snopes? That sounds more like Gary Larson or glurge then the Dali Lama.