Decades ago, my father told me something about perspective. He said, “The mortality rate is 100%.” It was a lesson, one which gave me a better understanding of his terminal illness. But the more lasting perspective is the one it gave me on life, a lesson that reminds me how precious—and short—life is.

We got into a discussion recently with a person who is close to retiring from an active career. After getting a sense for what life in retirement might look like for them, our talks focused on money and numbers.

After it became evident that this whole retirement thing could work out, anxiety about the change began to build.

When we spend four or five decades earning a paycheck, having them every month for several hundred months in a row, it is sort of jarring to step into the unknown—to live without the steady comfort of that paycheck coming in. Some uneasiness is understandable.

It is one thing to understand the concept of owning the orchard for the fruit crop—living off your portfolio—but it is a whole different thing to trust that concept with your wellbeing and way of life.

Yet if we never make that leap of faith, we might labor at a job forever, even one that drains us, even when our means actually exceed our needs.

And we can’t think or logic our way out of facing our feelings. (If we could, many of us would’ve already flexed our smarts and sidestepped these pesky feelings, right?)

So perhaps it is useful to try to finish this sentence: “Life is short, we better __.”

The fact is, time is what life is made of. Another day spent as an employee is one not spent on our own, personal priorities. When we fill in the blank, we are defining those priorities.

Clients, if you would like to talk about how you would fill in the blank, or finance it, please email us or call.

---

Want content like this in your inbox each week? Leave your email here.

Play the audio version of this post below: