I sat there mesmerized as she unfolded the details of her business and her life. Miss Curdel was firmly in control of the strategies, the people and the running of the business; but that was not all—not only was she wise and mentally sharp—she was beautiful. I kept noticing how smooth and cool her skin was; and her eyes had a kind, gentle, penetrating gaze that engaged me in conversation.

Her business operates in Jamaica, but she had flown to Florida for a brief visit. Then, this entrepreneurial woman was going back to resume the day to day operations from her home where she lives alone and runs her very successful business. 

I have been influenced by a few amazing women in my time, so what was so special about this encounter? After the conversation, I asked her daughter, Nsombi, “How old is your mother?” Her response was, “93 years old.”  She has had 12 children; she’s outlived five and the other seven are spectacular, over-achieving professionals.

I have met beautiful people; I have met sharp minds; I have met kindness and charm; and, I have met tireless, unstoppable, irrepressible people who live, achieve, grow and become more tomorrow than they were yesterday—but I don’t recall when I’ve encountered all those attributes in one person. And here she was, so guileless and strong, sitting calmly and captivating my attention. 

In contrast, there is the cacophony of sounds and emotions from people in present day society who deeply yearn to—retire early, stop working so hard and take life easy. One of the greatest secrets of life is this:

Those who freely and wisely spend their lives, gain new life;

Those who save up living for a future time,

Lose their lives before they die.                                                     

I do not believe in retirement and apparently, neither does Miss Curdel.  Yes; we must take time for rest and rejuvenation. Yes; we must take time for vacations and recreation. However, there is a certain ominous finality to retirement—one from which you will not recover. Here are three meanings the dictionary assigns to the concept:

re·tire   / [ri-tahy^uh r] verb

1.       To withdraw, or go away or apart, to a place of privacy, shelter, or seclusion;

2.       To fall back or retreat…as from battle;

3.       To withdraw (a machine, ship, etc.) permanently from its normal service, usually for scrapping; take out of use.

Source: http://dictionary.reference.com

When I was in high school, my friend, Derek broke his right arm and had it in a cast and sling for six weeks. The cast and sling protected his arm from movement and gave it rest and stability while healing. When the cast was removed, Derek took one look at his arm and fainted. The arm had atrophied…it had withered down to skin and bone. Similarly, when you retire from movement, too much rest and stability cause you to atrophy…to degenerate physically and mentally, and then you die. You are going to die anyway; so why not live until you die?

Let me make an important distinction here: I do not mean to suggest that you should never shift focus and move on from your one primary occupation to another. After several years in a business or company, it is fine to take a gold watch and a pension/benefits package, then move on to another primary endeavor. The prohibited option is to stop and do nothing important, and in that sense, retire.

The purpose of my letter to you is two-fold. First, if you are near the age of traditional retirement, or you often use the language of “early retirement,” I want to caution you not to look forward to a life of ease and comfort because it is but a myth. Real ease and comfort come from being fulfilled and satisfied to know that your life is being “used up” well, and in the process, you are making a significant, positive difference in the world.

Second, even if you are so young that retire is not in your vocabulary, I want to encourage and urge you to live out loud—not to hold back, conserve your energy or wait for life to get better tomorrow. Today is the raw material from which tomorrow is shaped, so day by day, expand your borders and live in the fullest way you can. Go to the theatre; listen to new types of music; travel to a country that is off the regular tourist path and experience life from another angle; take on slightly more projects than your time and capabilities can completely control; learn to juggle; and, challenge your own capacity to expand.

And as long as you live, at whatever level of physical and mental capacity you find yourself to be, let that capacity operate on full power. Even when you take time for rejuvenation and recreation…do it all to the fullest degree; and when you take down-time for rest, do it to the fullest degree. I’m talking about true living.

Does this describe your life experience, or are you living in a way that is unengaged and uncommitted, desperately yearning for tomorrow to come—since today is so imperfect and unacceptable? The kind of joy and fullness to which I refer will not come to you if your primary daily endeavor is not matched with your life purpose and your natural talents and skills. The wrong kind of work for you can make you miserable. So, continue to seek out your life purpose and your dreams, then work hard to keep your life full, free and full of fun.

The greatest blessing I can confer on you is that you will have a full life like Miss Curdel is having, and that you will age gracefully without entering into the empty spaces where so many people “fall back or retreat…as from battle; or, withdraw permanently from normal service, usually for scrapping.”

I am blessed, having grown up under the tutelage of another wise, irrepressible woman, my grandmother. She taught me:  “Boy, it is better to wear out than to rust out.”

This perspective has served me well and helped me to find fullness of life. Let me help you kindle or rekindle the fire, so that you’ll never have to retire.

Take it from me…this attitude will give you altitude.

Alvin

PS:  DANGER—YOUR ACTION NEEDED: In order to serve you better, we are upgrading our system with a new data service. Please look out for a confirmation email asking you to validate your name and email address in order to remain on the Attitudes and Altitudes list. Those who do not validate immediately will lose their connection altogether and receive no more Ezines from me.  The process will be simple. Click on the indicated link when you receive a message with the title: Alvin Day: “DANGER! Your Action Needed.”

PPS: Exciting new program about to be launched…and it has a lot to do with video! Look out for the announcement very shortly. This will be an experience you won’t want to miss…