Retirement, A Golden Opportunity

Book excerpt: "I'd like to retire, but it's not right around the corner." "If I leave my job now, I'll be penalized financially." "What would I do if I stopped working anyway?" These are understandable concerns, of course, but they are not inevitable. Despite these fears, we all cherish the hope of living our dreams and reaping the rewards promised by a life of hard work. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry left us with this thought: "If you want to build a boat, don't gather men and women together to give them orders, explain every detail, tell them where to find everything... If you want to build a boat, instill in the hearts of your men and women the desire for the sea. That's the spirit in which I wrote this book. Luc had imagined his retirement for decades, and when the opportunity presented itself, he seized it. He took a risk by agreeing to leave his paid job at the age of 48. Had he not accepted his employer's offer of early retirement, he would have had less time to satisfy his thirst for fulfillment in a life free of constraints. His fascinating and enriching 30-year retirement career is worth a closer look, as it will motivate many to prepare adequately for this final stage of life.