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Enlightenment in Retirement

Originally appearing in GetReady Substack

I take a Western view of Enlightenment. I believe the volumes of ancient texts written on the subject can be reduced to a half dozen or so bullet points.

Enlightenment is:

  • An awakening. Becoming conscious of oneself and our surroundings.
  • Freeing. It frees us from the things in life that have held us in bondage.
  • Truth seeking. Once we’re free and conscious, it is our nature “to seek truth and practice it”. This results in wisdom.
  • Gaining Peace of Mind. No more being stressed out.
  • Discovering and focusing on what’s important. Putting first things first- like relationships.
  • Fulfilling your purpose – self actualization.

For many of us, there’s no better time than retirement to put your pursuit of enlightenment into high gear. When you’re working a job and supporting a family, it’s very hard to to free up time from every day pressures. When your life is in high gear, it’s difficult to even think straight. Retirement can change all that.

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Buying Used Cars

The landscape for buying cars is changing.

New and used car prices are going out of sight. Demand for dependable, newer vehicles is still high and supply is low. As a result, people are overspending for basic, dependable transportation.

If you think the only option is to buy a new or slightly used car to get dependability, then you’re throwing money away. The peace of mind of having a new car with factory warranty has a huge price tag in depreciation.

I help friends and family stay in they’re old beaters for as long as possible. Over the years, I have established some simple rules to get the BEST value out of an automobile used for basic transportation.

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Primum Non Nocere

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, had three simple rules: Do no harm. Do more good. Stay in Love with God.

That compares to his superior, Jesus Christ, who said the most important things are 1) to love your God, and 2) to love your neighbor.

So from John Wesley’s perspective, loving your neighbor is DOING good and NOT DOING harm.

“Do no harm” originated long before John Wesley. The Latin phrase: Primum non nocere – first, do no harm, likely originated with Hippocrates (470-360 B.C.). The Hippocratic Oath contains a version that states: “I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm”. “

Though the idea of doing no harm is sensible, it is not practical. That’s likely why there is no Biblical Reference. If God had commanded to “Do no harm”, people would have stopped helping each other altogether, as most of us understand that in order to do good, some harm may need to be done.

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Great News for Those of Us with Average IQs!

You remember him (or her) like it was yesterday. As you struggled with studying, he never had to crack a book in school. As you sat in self-doubt when the teacher asked a question, he always knew the right answer.

He was a winner in the IQ lottery and was blessed with an abundance of intelligence.

Back then, you may have thought this guy was bound to be successful.

As it turns out, intelligence by itself is not an indicator of how successful someone will be. Intelligence, which is pretty much god-gifted, can only take you so far.

The good news is that there are other major factors which can be developed that determine success besides intelligence.

Headway Capital developed an infographic that details the factors that are more important than IQ for success. Along with the infographic are resources that prove their case.

Headway Capital

The bottom line is that hard work and social skill development are more important than IQ when it comes to success.

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Why the Sky is Falling

My book Young, Longer is a warning.

I follow financial markets and the economy and I don’t like what I see. I am vocal about it and can feel a little alone when I realize no one wants to hear it.

Poor me. (Actually, poor Barb. She has to hear about all my new findings continuously.)

I was quite excited about an “economic forecasting seminar” put on by a local bank and Chamber of Commerce titled “Which Sky is Not Falling?”.

Could it be that there are other like minded people that see what is coming?

I typically don’t care for seminars as I can’t sit still for very long. The topic has to be very interesting for me to stay engaged. I felt this one met my criteria.

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Coffee & (Some) Exercise with Ron

Looking for 4 guys to join me for exercise in the wee hours.

I’ll show you how to ease back into exercise that will make you feel better while drinking coffee and bullsh**ing.

The class focuses on strength, balance, mobility blah, blah blah. It’ll make it a little less painful to get out of bed in the morning.

Class is designed for guys like me – retirement age, like coffee.

5:30-6:30 AM Tuesdays & Thursdays for 6 weeks.

Starts March 20, 2023

$180

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Back to the Gym After a Long Pause

So it’s been a while…

Perhaps you’re considering a gym membership because something in your life has changed:

  • Maybe you’ve just retired and finally have the time to get serious about exercise.
  • Maybe your health provider gave you a ‘look’ when they saw your body weight during your last exam.
  • Maybe you’re recovering from a surgery or illness and need some help to get back to your old self.
  • Maybe that last kid has left the nest and you can now finally focus on yourself.
  • Maybe the bounce back from the holidays is taking a little longer than usual.
  • Maybe you’re concerned with why walking up a flight of stairs or playing with the grandkids has been so difficult lately
  • Maybe there are a few too many comments about how you are aging or growing around the mid-section.
  • Maybe the man or woman in the mirror doesn’t represent the person you had hoped it would be as you got older.

And in case it’s NOT on your list, let me add a big reason to get back to the gym: to stay Young, Longer. You should do it to stay capable and healthy for your ‘Next Third’.

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A Gym for the ‘Next Third’

I don’t know how it happened, but I got old.

I stretched the term middle-aged as long as I could.

When I was young, I figured 50 was old. My reasoning? If the average life span is around 75 years, and you divided it into thirds (young, middle-aged, and old) then ‘old’ would start at 50.

Then I turned 50. I felt great, so I recalculated.

Instead, I based my calculation on a nice long, active life of 90 years old. Dividing that into thirds, I’d be old at 60.

Any way you cut it now, I’m old, particularly since I just turned 62 and am eligible for Social Security.

The interesting thing is that our gym got old along with me!

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Bitcoin… Nah

I rarely raised my hand in Engineering School. Never wanted to look stupid among my peers.

It took a few decades before I felt worthy of sharing my opinion in groups of smart people. Then when I got into my 50’s I really didn’t give a shit any more what people thought. If I had a question in a group setting, I asked it. If I had a point to make, I’d make it.

The benefit I quickly realized was how much I would learn by opening my mouth. If someone thought differently and spoke up, I’d get another perspective. Sometimes I would get supportive comments which were reinforcing.

Feelings of inadequacy surface like a Freshman in College when I start talking about Bitcoin, though. Many very smart people I respect support it. They think it’s the future of money and currency.

Among such great minds and with me having so little understanding or mental capacity, I really should keep my thoughts to myself and spare looking like a doofus.

Nah.

What I see as Bitcoin’s advantages over our current ‘fiat’ currency – the dollar:

  • Bitcoin cannot be produced “out of thin air” like the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank do with the dollar. It needs to be “mined” electronically which takes energy.
  • Bitcoin is open sourced which means no one controls it. It was created and let run loose in the wild. Governments and Central Banks can’t track it nor control it.
  • Bitcoin is electronic. Can’t get any easier to store wealth than that. No more stuffing mattresses with cash or hiding gold in the basement.

So why don’t I fawn all over Bitcoin?

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