Should We Aspire to Retire?

There is a principle in Hebrew that says if there is no word for a concept, that concept does not exist. Now for a language that is over 3,000 years old, there are a few words that have been added over the years. Modern technologies such as televisions, cell phones, or even microwaves have quite complex and difficult translations in the Hebrew language, such as televeez'ya for television. But, there is no Hebrew word for retirement. If you listen to any Jewish Rabbi, he will tell you that there is no word for retirement in the Hebrew language because the concept of retirement does not exist in Judaism.

There is a comical story I read once that sheds some light on this thought process. The story is told by William Diehl in his book Never Retire.

"A man had led a long and eventful life, but the time eventually came for him to cross the deep lake. He was pleased with the skiff and the oarsmen, as well as with his welcome and the accommodations furnished to him. The surroundings were beautiful, the weather pleasant, and the food more than adequate. After a few weeks, he thought he might try his hand at some gardening, but that could not be arranged. After repeated requests to work in the dining hall or on the grounds, he cried out in exasperation, "This is no better than Hell." The reply came booming out from above, "Where did you think you were?" -William Diehl

The Lies We Believe

1- Work has no value in and of itself.

When we believe that work is only a means to an end we loathe the work itself and crave the day we no longer need to do it. How healthy is that? The basis of work is building or sharing something that has value to our neighbor and receiving compensation for it in return. When we no longer are doing something of value our spirit begins to understand that we are no longer valuable to society.

That is a dangerous place to be and one I never want to consciously enter. Each one of us ought to be living in order to work and not the other way around. The rewards of our labor are a token of appreciation for the service we provide for our clients. That appreciation for our work is a basic human need. I once heard a mentor say that every person walks around with a sign on their forehead that reads, "Please appreciate me."

2- People become less productive and less useful as they age.

This is one of the saddest lies I hear purported throughout the media today. We shuffle people through the system like cattle from birth to death, and for the ones that are of "retirement age" we succumb to the notion that they are useless to us. The truth of the matter is, people become more useful as they age for the simple fact that earning money is based on relationships, and older folks typically have a lot more relationships they have built over the years.

The relational Rolodex we build as we live on this earth increases the potential for our effective wealth creation. Granted, there are hermits and recluses to the equation but there anomalies to any idea. The passage of time engrafts a wisdom into each of us that allows our mental capacities to far outweigh our physical limitations. I wrote an article a few weeks ago titled We See Money with Our Minds and Not Our Eyes. That fact is a perfect example of how valuable the wisdom of our elders is to us. They have learned their lessons and avoid the pitfalls that younger workers are susceptible to.

Living to Work

I read a story the other day that is a real life example for us to learn from. Now, I will say that this scenario is not my ideal. But, the principles outlined here and the mindset of the gentleman in our story is a beautiful example of the concepts in this article.

Matel "Mat" Dawson has worked for the Ford Motor Company for nearly 60 years. Mat runs a forklift for the company and while he is 78 and could have retired years ago, he chooses to keep working. His base salary is $23.47 an hour, and with the overtime hours he works (he usually works around 60 hours a week), Mat earns around $100,000 a year.

The beauty of this story is that Mat gives most of his hard earned money away. A few years ago, Mat gave $200,000 to Wayne State University, which brought his total giving to the University to over $1 million. Mat has also given several hundred thousand dollars to the United Negro College Fund, and Louisiana State University at Shreveport. The irony is, Mat never finished the seventh grade. He never won the lottery or a lawsuit of any sort. Mat just goes to work, saves his money, and invests in things he cares about. He says he has no plans to retire and hopes to be at Ford Motor Company working as a forklift operator as long as he is healthy.

The principle I draw from Mat's story is that we are to integrate our vocation and our identity into our lives so that we view our lives as a journey and not a destination. The pitfalls to not doing so are seeing your life end when your job ends. How many stories have we heard of people who died in 5 years or less after they retired? The goal is not to live our lives so we can retire and live free. You are already free and the life we have is the life we choose to have.

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