Quote:
Originally Posted by Shap
Dave I know exactly what you mean. If you would have asked me when I started what I'd do when I got to the point I am today. I would have answered retire and never look back. But it doesn't work that way. Your personal goals change. Your lifestyle changes. Your long term goals change. Your network of contacts changes. When I started in this biz all I wanted to do was make $120,000 a year. That was my goal. I thought if I could do that I'm Set. I blew that out and along the way everything changed and continues to change. Even a few years ago I would have said I'd retire if I got to where I am now. But now that I'm here it's opened up a number of doors and I'm seeing what making more means to me. So to continue making what I'm making plus keeping myself current, up to date and well informed is important right now.
All that to say my once long ago thoughts of retirement no longer apply. They will never happen. In fact the retirement most of us grew up thinking about doesn't exist anymore. I always envisioned retiring early and having all the time in the world to spend with my family and do whatever I want. But now that I have a 2 year old little boy I think to myself 'do i want him to see Dad at home everyday doing whatever daddy wants?' Or do I want him to see that WORKING your ASS off pays off HUGE. WORK HARD PLAY HARDER!  |
You pointed out a lot of key points that I was touching on.
your goal was to make 120K a year, obviously someone can't retire from making 120K for 5 years muchless one. So that really had nothing to do with retirement. Your comments on the more you make, the more you life style changes. A lot of people spend more when they make more. You right, when that happens you really can't retire and maintain your life style. For example when you started you prolly lived modest and thought if you could get to the point where you had a nice house, 5K a month to spend on enjoyment an and 1 sports car you probably thought you would be happy like that the rest of your life with out having to work much any more. But once you got to that point you might have had 3 sports car, 5x nicer house, and spending a lot more than 5K a month in entertainment, maybe a summer home etc... Well now you can't stop because you would lose those things. So you push harder to make more. Then when you get to that point since you spend up as you make it, now you got a taste for what it is like to have 3 vacation homes, travel all the time, etc etc... if you stop you would lose it etc etc...
I completely understand and get the challenge part and want to create new projects etc.. but I can't believe any of you WANT to work your ass off for ever and never retire. It makes more sense to me that every time you make more you increase your life style and you keep working because you don't want to lose it. Or you are already semi retired and only working 10 - 20 hours a week but you don't consider that as being "retired".
It's like the rich person's rate race. The more they make the more they spend and increase their life style, the more projects and chances they take. They are never satisfied with what they have. Unfortunately, sometimes people push to far or risk too much and the lose most of it or all of it. Either through bad investments, lawsuits, or the market changing.
I wonder how much you two (Shap or Dave) has set a side for retirement. Not having money in your business as a retirement, but a real retirement like IRA's, 401K mutual funds, Annuities, etc... I hope you aren't the types that spend or reinvest in their business and new projects everything you make. That doesn't always turn out for everyone. If you making the kind of money it sounds like you guys are making then you should have a couple million locked up so no matter what happens you can retire if you "change your mind" in the future