OJ, you must be in a contemplative mood--I agree whole-heartedly with what you say
>>I have lived my life to the fullest, from a long time ago..I made up my mind I would live for today, and the hell with tommarrow..Life is very short, full of uncertainties and surprises, not all of which are pleasent situations..One really has very little control over events unfolding...<<
I rarely indulge in personal details in this forum--but I will share a couple with you. About three years ago, through a combination of circumstances, I was able to "retire" at a relatively young age. I had been a senior executive in a publicly traded company--one that is a leader in its field. It was a high-pressure, high-stress situation to say the least. Most family, friends and associates were convinced that I would within months be back in the work-force, in another high-powered position, given my personality, work-ethic, etc. During the first year, I used to be approached by head-hunters for positions that were available. I would decline to even be considered. I had made a conscious decision that having made enough money to live comfortably the rest of my life, there was no need to get back into the rat-race. I have never regretted it. I used to have former associates call me from time to time to find out whether I am tiring of not working--they are all amazed that I am willing to continue to lead the life that I am doing. They are even more amazed that I am willing to forgo the income that I am capable of earning given that I am still in my prime in terms of earning capacity. Nowadays, the calls that I get from associates are generally when they want to use my name as a reference:)
The end result has been that I am happier, healthier, more contented and less stress-free than I have ever been. In fact during my last physical, my internist told me that I was in the best shape that he has seen me and jokingly said to me that the answer to good health was obviously to quit ones job, work-out and trade the markets. I travel a lot, enjoy what is out there and live each day to the fullest. So I espouse your philosophy in its entirety--you are absolutely right and reaching that level of understanding of what matters in life is one of the things that everyone should aspire to.
Recently, a former colleague of mine, who I was somewhat close to, died after an illness, at a relatively young age--he was one of the people who could not understand my decision to quit the work-force. About six months ago, he told me that I had done the right thing--all of his dreams of doing the things that he wanted to do when he retired had gone to naught. His last words to me were "Enjoy".
I trade the markets in part to make money but really more to keep myself occupied and for the intellectual challenge. The day, it begins to stress me out or bore me, I'll quit trading. But for now, I find trading the markets to be tremendous fun.
The greatest dilemma that faces me today is responding to people who ask me about my occupation:) When I say I am retired, they look shocked given that I don't give the impression of being old enough to fit that mould. I sometimes say that I am a trader--but that causes me to get into unwanted discussions on the market. I could say that I am unemployed but then I'd be viewed as one of the welfare abusers. Occasionally, I say that I am a consultant--though that raises other questions. But if defining my occupation is the biggest problem that I have--I am a truly fortunate person.
We all develop a sense of priorities and much of it is an evolutionary process. But as someone once said to me that one hears of people at critical times in their lives say that they wished that they had spent more time on things that really mattered rather than on work---one does not, after all, hear of someone on their death-bed saying that they wished they's worked longer hours!!
Take care, my friend--and enjoy your weekend |
