Live Strong, Live Long, Live Happy
I love reading stories about people like Lew Hollander who at age 90 is living proof that biological age can vary considerably from chronological age. Lew’s story reminds us that a person’s age is a rather meaningless number except if you are applying for CPP or social security.
People like Lew are “retirement rebels” trailblazers who are putting their own spin on the long established retirement rules and showing us new ways of living and working.
They don’t like to act their age, whatever that means and they like to march to the beat of their own drum. They are willing to take calculated risks just because they can, knowing they have nothing to lose. They are real people who can laugh at their mistakes and failed attempts as well as celebrate their wins and boy do they know how to celebrate. They remain kids at heart, living on the edge, exploring their potential, travelling to new places, meeting new people, entering athletic events in different countries and posting all about it on social media.
You just got to love retirement rebels like Lew because they are showing us what is possible.
Personal Mantas
I like using personal mantras to motivate and inspire me to live my best life. Some of my favorites are;
“Use it or lose it”
“Don’t eat crap!” (by my friend Chris Crowley short and to the point)
“Never too old to learn, never too old to try something new.”
After reading Lew’s story I created a new one for myself;
“Live Strong, Live Long, Live Happy.”
It has a nice ring to it and is a good description for how I plan to live my life from now on.
Unlike Lew I don’t plan on stressing myself out by setting a goal for how long I want to live. I just want to enjoy life as much as I can while I can. I will just do my best having fun and leave the man upstairs to figure out the rest.
Some parting thoughts about life and retirement
Due to increasing longevity there is a reinvention of retirement taking place right before our eyes and we are discovering more people that think and live like Lew all the time.
Because of this “new normal” we need to think about retirement differently – not as a finish line but rather a starting line, a new beginning, a chance at an awesome ‘second life” based on an optimum mix of work, play and adventure.
It’s wrong to believe you are finished growing and learning and changing after you “retire” because you are still a work in progress. The person you are right now is not going to be the same person you will be in 5, 10, or 20 years from now.
Your job is to figure out what kind of person you want your “future self” to be and become that person.
I used to believe what they told us about aging - that a person’s most productive age was in their 20s or 30s, but I don’t believe that anymore.
Based on my own personal experiences and what I see other successful “second lifers” do I now believe our most productive and creative period starts when we leave full time work behind between the ages of 60 and 70 and this productivity and creativity can continue into our 70’s, 80’s and even 90’s if we know the rules and play our cards right.
Retirement rebels like Lew excite and inspire me. Their stories open my eyes to what is possible if I’m willing to put the work in.
Think I’ll go out for a little bike ride.
