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A MAN DIED AND MET Saint Peter at the gates of heaven. “Saint Peter,” the man said, “I’ve been interested in military history for many years. Tell me, who was the greatest general of all times?”
“Oh, that’s simple. It’s the man right over there.”
The man looked where Peter was pointing and said, “You must be mistaken. I knew that man on earth, and he was just a common laborer.”
“That’s right,” Peter remarked, “but he would have been the greatest general of all time—if he had been a general.”
The story is often attributed to Mark Twain—and, depending on the version, sometimes it’s told about a cobbler instead of a laborer, and sometimes General Ulysses S. Grant makes an appearance. But it’s not clear the tale originated with Twain.
Still, I believe each of us was born for a reason. We’re each unique, with special strengths and talents that we need to nurture so we reach our full potential. Some of us eventually figure things out—but, unfortunately, some of us never do.
We might be blocked from realizing our full potential because of social pressure to conform. Our parents and teachers twist our arms, convincing us to take a career path that’s both lucrative and safe. In so doing, we lose touch with who we really are. We end up settling for a career path that doesn’t suit us, but it has status and pays well, so at least our parents are happy. We end up spending a substantial part of our life doing work that’s neither satisfying nor meaningful to us.
The good news is, in retirement, we’re given a second chance to unlock our potential and become the person we were always meant to be. I love reading stories about late bloomers—ordinary people who, instead of retiring and taking it easy, choose to do work that they’re passionate about and that’s deeply connected to who they are.
My friend Dan is a late boomer. He’d worked for a hedge fund in New York City for 20-plus years until the firm was acquired. He never needed to work again. But one of his friends suggested he apply for a job that was advertised at a fly-fishing store in Manhattan.
Dan applied for the job, not expecting much. To his surprise, he was accepted. Dan always had a passion for fly-fishing. Now, he can live his passion every day. He loves talking to clients about fly-fishing and can share his considerable knowledge on the subject. An added bonus: When he fishes, he gets to test out new equipment from various manufacturers. Who says dreams don’t come true?
One of the best and easiest ways of finding work that aligns with your interests and passions is to employ the Japanese method known as ikigai, which I described in an earlier article. I’ve used it to find work—both paid and volunteer—that aligns with my passions and strengths, as well as with the needs of the world. Thanks to ikigai, I now have a clear vision of the person I aspire to be and, because of that, life is pretty good.
I didn’t want to end up like the laborer in the story at the beginning of this article, regretting that I never became the person I was meant to be. I didn’t want to be a spectator sitting on the sidelines, watching the late bloomers have all the fun chasing their dreams.
Instead, I wanted to live out my own story and do what I was meant to do. I wanted to continue to grow and I wanted to contribute. I wanted to squeeze every drop of fun and meaning out of each and every day. I wanted to make the most of the gifts and talents that I was given, and not let them go to waste.
Mike Drak is a 38-year veteran of the financial services industry. He’s the co-author of Longevity Lifestyle by Design, Retirement Heaven or Hell and Victory Lap Retirement. Mike works with his wife, an investment advisor, to help clients design a fulfilling retirement. For more on Mike, head to BoomingEncore.com. Check out his earlier articles.
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I like to write and I love baseball and especially the San Francisco Giants. For the past 6 1/2 years, I’ve written a weekly column for a SF Giants fan blog. The owner of the blog has aspirations for monetizing it and paying me for my columnist work, but I don’t care much about that. I do care if he’s able to get press passes for the publication. If I could cover just one game from the press box at Oracle Park in San Francisco, I’d be so happy.
The other baseball-related aspiration I have would happen pre-retirement. My university has a first-year seminar program, and professors can propose topics for a one-hour per week class for first-year students, limited to 19 students. As long as they have some kind of academic hook, they can be fun topics. I taught one a few years back called ‘Sex and the Soul,” and it literally filled in five minutes(!). I want to do a class on writing about baseball and/or baseball across the curriculum, with every week focusing on how baseball intersects with different fields of study (physics, statistics, law, race relations, film, literature…). That’s one dream I can make happen if I just decide to put the time into it. We’ll see.
Take it from me DrLefty dreams do come true if you are willing to do the work.
Besides the inhumanity of prejudice and outright genocide, I have always felt that atrocities like slavery and the holocaust deprived humankind in general. That slave or concentration camp victim might have discovered the cure for cancer or made some other great contribution to society. Prejudice is a scourge that blocks its victims from realizing their full potential and we are all worse off for it. What a waste.
“We’re each unique, with special strengths and talents” – agree, that’s obvious.
“I believe each of us was born for a reason” – disagree, completely. We are the random products of a genetic lottery.
Enjoying what you do for a living, or as a volunteer in retirement, is eminently desirable, but all too many people are just trying to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. The kind of retirement you contemplate is a privilege available to few.
The vast majority – all those not in chronic poverty – have or had the ability to live in retirement as desired if they had focused on doing so. It’s hardly a privilege. Some people are more fortunate than others, some have roadblocks put up, but they are the few. Only about 10% of retirees 65 plus are in poverty and that is without counting various forms of assistance.
Overall, yes, the US rate is about 10% according to the CRS, but how much spare “passion” would you have at that income level? It’s also higher for the unmarried, women, minorities and (most significantly) those over 80. And it only applies to Americans.
Yes, many folks struggle financially in retirement. But they are indeed retired — which means they have the time to pursue their passions, though they may be financially constrained when it comes to the passions they can pursue. Folks living solely on Social Security can’t travel the world, but they could volunteer for a cause they’re passionate about.
Many people struggle financially before retirement and may not retire at all, especially if they or a significant relative have medical issues. Much of the world doesn’t have the option.
I don’t disagree that the privileged few can pursue passions in retirement if they have them, but I would submit that you can have perfectly happy retirement without one.
Agree. Sometimes I think the word passionate is overused. How many times have I seen a job ad for an entry level position, (McDonalds etc) that starts with ” are you passionate about customer service ” or something like that. Well, no but I’ll do a good job for you!
I agree if you are struggling just to get by in retirement it would be hard to get there. But if you managed to secure some level of FI before retiring why not go for it?
Mike, Following passions post retirement also holds true for those that enjoyed a long storied career. I just finished your book about redefining what retirement can be. I hope to be one of those individuals who are able to reinvent themselves, and find new challenges aligned with other passions not completely followed in the first phase of working.
Welcome to the club Jeff. Tell me when you get there and I will send you a Late Bloomer T shirt!
I’m always surprised that so many people want to work (paid or not) in retirement. To each his own.
I’m always willing to lend a hand here and there, but after 4 decades of employment, I am done with work. True retirement.
Well said. I share your feelings. I also am done with work. But as you said to each their own.
Depends on your definition of retirement. At 67 (today) my life looks like retirement. I do musical theater, deliver Meals on Wheels, ref soccer games. People assume I’m retired. But I work as a consultant from home. I don’t have to, but I like it. Keeps my brain busy. I choose my own hours and clients. I feel relaxed and valued. Am I retired? Don’t know. Don’t care.
It seems that each generation feels that their stages of life are much different than previous generations. But many have been there before us. They developed terminology to cover degrees of retirement. Someone who continues to work part time is semi-retired. Someone who stops working completely is retired. Finally, someone who works substantial hours is employed. I don’t think our generation needs to define degrees of retirement, it has already been defined for us
Thanks, Mike. Someone I knew very well was a late bloomer but fortunately, before his early death, he had found his purpose volunteering for a number of organizations, one of which he had been affiliated with most of his life. In the town where he chose to retire and volunteer, he’s still fondly remembered for his contributions, brief though his time there was.
Sad but at least he managed to get to where he was meant to be and do what he was meant to do. He managed to leave a great legacy behind. I can only hope to do something similar with the time I have left. Thank you for your comment Linda.