Putting My Second Act into Perspective
Six months ago I retired after forty years of nursing practice. One of the things I was told when I retired was that I would get bored within three months.
Uh.
No.
As I told a former co-worker, I'm busier now than when I was working. The difference is that I'm doing what interests me, what I want to do, rather than what I'm required to do by someone else. I can work at my own pace rather than meeting 'productivity' requirements. Or worrying about performance appraisals, or playing the myriad corporate games.
There's an odd sense of finality to retiring. You feel, in some ways, like your life is over. The idea that time is limited creeps in. Does it make sense to start a business, a YouTube channel, a blog, given the time you have remaining? You're getting old. What's the point of going back to school to earn a new degree in a different field? Who's going to hire a 65 year old?
That odd sense of finality is odd because I don't feel old. Okay, my knees might disagree, but overall I feel pretty damn good. I have lots of energy, am mentally acute, and ready for adventures. I'm ready to learn and do new things, to go places, have new experiences and all that. Go to the beach and ogle the pretty young women in their beach wear? Yes, please. Am I really three times their age? Doesn't feel like it.
So, I look for new opportunities. I write this blog. I create videos that have not yet seen the light of day. I earn my FAA certificate as a drone pilot. I take pictures and build my skills as a photographer. I learn to see the world through the photographer's lens. I learn more about computers and videography and whatever else piques my interest.
And I realize that I have, at least, another twenty years ahead of me. When I was twenty, forty was far off in the distance. I knew I would accomplish a great deal in those twenty years. And I did. I built a career (actually two), climbed the ladder, created a family, owned homes and cars and collected all the detritus of adult life. All in twenty years.
When I was forty, sixty seemed ages away. But in the twenty years from forty to sixty I built yet another career, this time in nursing education, earned two degrees, earned the respect of my colleagues and contributed to the growth of my university, built a great life with a wonderful woman, and built a significant retirement savings balance which was essentially non-existent at age 40.
Looking back at all that I accomplished in each of those twenty year periods, why does thinking about twenty years into the future feel different at 65? Why is it hard to feel the same optimism about the next twenty that I felt in each of the last twenty year periods? Why did I see possibilities in those earlier periods and perceive limitations in the upcoming twenty years? And yet I shouldn't feel limited. Seeing what I have accomplished in the past twenty years tells me that I can be just as successful, if not more successful, in the next twenty. And I'm not the only one who recognizes this.
A quick internet search helps to identify many people whose major contributions to the world didn't really begin until they were in the 50s, 60s, 70s, or even later.
Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, for example, didn't begin his chicken business until he was 65. There are several writers who didn't begin writing until their retirement, Laura Ingalls Wilder of Little House on the Prairie fame being one of them. The artist "Grandma Moses" didn't begin painting until she was 78, yet she gained acclaim for her work.
Julia Child, the famous chef, didn't write her first book until she was 50. Martha Stewart, too, was in her 50s when she found success as a chef and author. She was 56 when she founded her media empire.
Peter Roget was 73 when he published the first edition of Roget's thesaurus.
Webster was 70 when he completed his dictionary of American Language. And there are many more examples of folks who begin successful second careers later in life.
Perhaps the most interesting to me is Larry Finger. Never heard of him? Well, he's the guy that got wireless networking working on Linux back in 2005. While he had some background in programming, he knew nothing about Linux until he became a full-time Rver after retiring at age 65. You can read more about him here but the thing I want to focus on is that beginning at age 65 he taught himself enough about Linux that he would make more than 1500 contributions to the Linux kernel related to wireless networking between age 65 and his death at 84. That's not an insignificant bit of work.
My point is that retiring from my primary career, even at the age of 65, doesn't mean that I sit back and wait for my body and mind to deteriorate and the grim reaper to call. Now is the best time in my life to pursue the things that most interest me. Now is the time to create a new career that reflects my interests and values rather than my need to pay the bills. Maybe build my own brand and become an "influencer". Or not.
Or go back to school for something new. Maybe IT. Here in Georgia I can go back to college (again) for a degree in a different field paying only for the textbooks and other supplies. Tuition for us "old folks" is free.
Now is the perfect time to really explore my interests. My income is no longer tied to work. My bills get paid, even if my entrepreneurial efforts implode. This frees me to pursue myriad avenues and opportunities without worrying about paying the bills. And that's the great thing about retiring. I am excited to continue to explore my opportunities and see what the next twenty years hold for me.