Soooooo...here is where I'm at.
Best laid plans of Mice and Men. So, was selling the business set to close in June. Was going to give notice on July 15, last day July 31.
It closed, but what was originally communicated as my share was larger than the actual $ at close. (I shouldn't be surprised) AND I still don't have final accounting for the numbers, so I don't know what the tax burden/tax issues are...the swing could be as much as 100K. Was also going to have health care lined up through former employer and that is taking longer than expected. As a result, I'm standing pat until I have loose ends tied up.
Finally, as Chris2008 suggested, I got the book: "Get a Life" by Ralph Warner. My issue is still primarily the money, but I don't think I got what people were saying about the issue not being the money. Work less, live more and the Zelinksi books didn't ring the bell for me. Get a life rang the bell. I guess what I am saying is that I got Warner's point where I didn't get it from the others. I don't have a plan. I've spent so much time working with this thought of the doors openning, the sun shining in and grand music playing when I retire and I may be in for a rude awakening. Over the last couple weeks, I've been leaving at 5pm, spending time with my daughter and DGF, which has been great, but the slow realization has hit me that I need to spend some time rebuilding balance in my life and putting a plan together for what I will do next. Getting my ducks in a row, so to speak.
It seems like I'm now on a path of discovery of the next phase. It seems like it will take some time to unfold, much like a flower in a new day.
Any experiences out there on how others put their plan together or how the next phase unfolded?