Many people out there dream about early retirement, and I don’t mean the type in which you are forced to retire from a job due to age discrimination and then wonder how you’re going to live on social security or some minimum wage job.
That’s the cat food scenario.
You know, the stories of elderly people forced to buy and eat cat food because it’s cheaper than tuna and it’s a source of protein.
When I was a kid those stories were in the news.
That was the World War 2 and earlier generations.
Those people were tough.
They’re not wussies like most of us today, who cry if our latte is handed to us not as hot as we expected.
Hey, remember the government cheese stories? You know, how welfare and food stamp recipients, and the elderly were provided with processed cheese that was used in military kitchens. Just watch some old school comics who came from the inner cities joking about how gassy that stuff was.
I just want to set the mood.
Nobody wants to retire poor. Some people would be happy to have enough money to just sit on their butts all day and do nothin, but when we talk about retiring early, it usually means being able to have enough money to not have to go to that job every day.
It’s a metaphor for freedom and financial independence.
Get it?
So, when you think about early retirement, at least be honest with yourself as to what you mean by it, and what you expect from it.
You don’t want to end up some poor desperate elderly person forced to live on a pathetically small fixed income and eating cat food to survive.
Well, if you’re searching out answers to this conundrum, then good for you! You’re not some hopeless procrastinator or someone who just loses the zest for life and resigns to taking whatever life has to hand out as moldy leftovers. You’re looking for solutions.
Look around my blog for various articles that can point you in the right direction. We’re fellow travelers and we’re on the same page with this one.
The only way that you are going to end up in the position of being able to retire at 55 is is to figure out a way to make lots of money in a short amount of time, depending on your age. If you are a long range thinker, and in your twenties, you have more time to work on your dreams. You can possibly rely on the career (job) part if you get a really good degree and a really good job where you have enough leftover income to sack away and invest. It’s still a slow process and you’d be wise to find a Plan B.
For everyone else who is older, how’d Plan A work out for ya? Not so well if you’re here. It’s time for drastic measures.
Learn or shrivel up.
Plan B becomes your Plan A, and there is no Plan B after this.
Get something that you can see yourself doing, something that is easy to get into and learn, and step out of your comfort zone and GROW.
You have to grow in order to do great things and inspire people.
Leadership is a learned talent so we’re good.
I can’t tell you what to do, but there are PLENTY of ways to create a second income stream out there.
Just make sure that it’s one that is able to grow without your direct time input, and allows you to earn on the efforts and business of those in your organization that you build. I’m talking here about team building and not some online job or selling knick knacks. The only way to build large income that is residual is to use the network or internet marketing models. They’re totally legitimate and amount to billions of dollars generated annually, so the money is there.
What?
Oh, you don’t want to sell?
You don’t always have to, especially if you embrace the internet model.
You can be a leader and be persuasive and address people’s concerns online as well as you can offline. This is where people go nowadays for answers and those who are out here providing answers and real ways for people to avoid the painful scenarios of escaping poverty, or embracing the positive outlooks like what it’s like to retire at 55, are the ones who can make a positive impact, help people, and also provide for their own financial wellbeing.
Nothing is free, and if you are a poor minded freebie seeker, you’ll always be a failure in this world.
You have to be willing to invest in yourself and your education and growing your skillset to make any transition work.
I’m just telling it like it is.
You can retire at 55 if you find something like what I describe above and then take action and do it. Don’t look back, don’t say that you’ll just try it to see if it works, because then you’re on the wrong path.
You have to make success your number one priority and failure is never an option. You don’t try, you do. There is no Plan B after you embark on this path.
Get it?
If you’re not willing to take this seriously and be an adult and work hard for your future, then you’ll have none.
Hey, the cat food aisle in right over there.
