Early retirement sounds great, right? Many people go through their entire career looking forward to retirement.
But what is it like to retire early and enjoy the freedom it brings long before you are in your sixties or seventies? I got curious about what it was like to retire early from someone who had lived a very successful corporate career.
It turns out, the word purpose and meaning come to your attention even more after you have enjoyed the freedom to follow your passions after working so hard in a demanding yet financially rewarding career.
My friend, coach and business leader Steve Polaski retired early in his forties after a successful career in manufacturing operations. He built his wealth up considerably to the point where he had a few million dollars cashed in the bank, bought a 7,000 sq foot mansion with staff, sports cars, bikes, you name it in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
After spending his new ‘workweek’ Monday to Friday playing golf, he realized he was living for himself and wanted to teach his four year old son principles for life from leading by example.
After immersing himself in personal development and heading up the operations of a well-established Asian coaching business, he began to find more meaning in his life.
This is the story of a shift in purpose, leading to major career changes from early retirement to becoming a coach and now also back to running a public company, this time with a brand new purpose and meaning behind it (with money not being the primary driver).
If you are working hard so you can retire well, this talk will give you a whole new perspective so you show up differently in life and rethink your purpose behind that.
Books mentioned:
- Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds – David Goggins
- The Infinite Game: How Great Businesses Achieve Long-lasting Success – Simon Sinek
- Infinite Choices, Wisdom and Change: Change your life the moment you decide – Steve Polaski