1. LIFE THROUGH THE BACK WINDOW – PART 3
Don’tplan forretirement!
Yes,I want to challenge you,donotplanforretirement.
I have reada storyof RichardBranson,self-made billionairewhichdidnotmake sense initially. Just
like thisheadingprobablyalsodidnotmake sense toyou. So the questioniswhynot?
People are personsof habits. We like the obviousandwe hate surprises,mostly. We know our
betterselves(female counterparts) will graciouslystate thattheycanmulti-task. Whichisprobably
true for mostof them,buttheycannot multi-focus. Asamatter of fact, veryfew people have the
abilitytomulti-focus. Male orFemale.
Sir Richardstatesinhisblogpostthat:“I don’tbelieve thatretirementshouldbe the goal”.
At 66-yearsof age,he is probablydue fora good ol’retirement.
It actuallyworkslike this. If retirementisyourgoal(focus),itmeansthateverythingelsemustbe
alignedwiththatgoal,which ismostprobably the overarchinggoal formostof us.
Thiscausesthe followingscenarios;
Question1:Have youbeentoEurope? Answer:No,Iam savingformy retirement.
Question2:Have youeverconsideredtakingyourwifeona boatcruise? Answer:Yes,butit istoo
expensive,itwill take abiglumpoutof my retirementsavings.
Question3:Whenare you goingawayfor a familyweekend? Answer: IwishIcan, but itwill cost
too much,and I am actuallysavingforsomethingelse.
You see,the problemisthatall our plansare now submissive tothe grandgoal of retirement. We
cannot focus(cause) smallereventstohappenwhilstwe have thisBHAGhangingoverus.That is
whywe say: ’If I accomplishthisorthat I will rest’. ThenI will enjoymymoney.
Accordingto SirRichard hisgoal is notretirement,norsuccess. His goal (focus) inlife ishappiness.
Too manypeople lookatlife asa journey,whichbydefinitionmeanthatwe will reachapointof
arrival. Accordingto Bransonthe BritishphilosopherAlanWattsstates "Traditional systemsof
educationhave skewedthe meaningof life(towardsarrivingata destination) byplacingtoomuch
importance onprogressingthrough school andcollege toacareer."Bransonwritesfurther:"Too
manypeople live toretire andthereforecheatthemselvesof anexcitingexistence."
Comingback tothe prologue,stopplanningforretirement.
I am not sayingthrowcautionto the windandforgetyour responsibilities. Rather,see how youcan
live life tothe fullesttoday.

2. If I see the eagernessof mychildrenandhow happytheyare aboutthe smallestof things,Igetcross
withmyself thatI,theirfather,amthe reasonthat theysometimeslose theirjoy. We are alwaysina
hurry,rushingfromone appointmenttoanother. Somuch to do,so little time. We have lost
happiness,forthe goal of retirement. We can(will)domore,once we have savedthismuchmoney,
or whenwe have thismuch time.
Andone day, inthe near future,youwill be the one askingyourchild,“Heyson,whenare meeting
your girlfriend?’Or“HeyDaddy’sgirl,whenare youbringingthe grandchildrenover?”
The answer,‘Sorry,Dad, we are a bitbusy,see younexttime.’
Don’tletyour goalssteal yourhappiness.