I am always curious when someone says he plans to retire in his fifties—or at all. I am not the retiring type. I would feel completely disconnected from the universe if I didn’t work. I have hobbies—knitting and home decorating, for two—but I’d become bored to tears if I did either for extended periods of time, not to mention both cost a fortune to pursue. I’ve wanted to take history, art and literature classes, but I don’t think I could do that all day, either, unless I was working towards a goal.
Oprah, Bill (as in Gates) and Mark (as in Zuckerberg) have all the money they’ll ever need, but none of them is retiring. “They need to create,” Lina said, when we were talking earlier today about the subject of retiring. “A successful artist doesn’t stop painting,” she added. Great point, I thought. Imagine if Picasso said, “OK, I’m wealthy. Now I can quit painting and play golf.”
I am not a brilliant painter, nor am I the world’s most creative anything, but I do love to dream up projects and get them off the ground. I love sharing ideas with others and working together to develop them. I adore it when my ideas are appreciated and supported. When I know I have a good idea, I also love selling it.
Ideas give me energy. Hard work gives me pleasure. People give me reinforcement. Retirement would give me a headache.
P.S. We didn’t win the Mega Millions lottery!