One day I decided to “Officially” Retire!
And then it began to happen; day after day, week after week, people would ask me, "What do you do?”.
Over and over again, I would answer, "I'm retired now, but I used to be in Cardiovascular Medical Sales and Marketing"!
Then I would watch as their eyes glazed over and they moved onto other people who had a better and more exciting answer.
Lesson – No one really cares about what anyone used to be, they want to know what’s going on now!
But even more important, at least to me, was the simple fact, that I was bored with my then unproductive life.
I made a decision, get rid of the “I used to be” and get a “I am a - ”.
That was not an easy task, because it lead me to exploring my past entrepreneurship dreams; things that I had considered doing someday, and then figuring out which or all of those dreams I wanted to pursue for the rest of my life, or until I chose once again to retire.
One of my two favorite poems was written by Robert Frost, The Road Less Traveled. Although I heard it when I was only a boy, one passage from the poem has continued to be on constant replay in my mind throughout my life,
"Two Roads Diverged In A Yellow Wood,
And I Took The One Less Traveled By,
And THAT Has Made All The Difference!"
I also remember a quote from someone whose name I don't remember and cannot give credit to for his insight, when he said,
"I climbed the corporate ladder all the way to the top,
only to discover that I had placed my ladder on the wrong wall."
I've learned many things in life, that are truly written in stone:
1. Change is Inevitable, so learn to expect it and then, go with the flow.
2. When you find out you made a bad decision, cut your losses short and get on with your life.
3. It's okay to fail, as long as you learn a lesson from the failure and keep trying until you succeed.
Thomas Edison failed in about 10,000 attempts to invent the light bulb. And one day, he succeeded.
Colonel Sanders was considered a failure until he was 65 years old and started Kentucky Fried Chicken.
The preceeding rhetoric, was an introduction to the "How I decided to Un-Retire, enter a “New Beginning” Adventure, and and start, manage, and grow a business that I had been curious about for many years while in Corporate America, but had always placed on the back burner.
Because of the nature of the businesses I decided to start, it was obvious that it would require intense study of subjects that I knew virtually nothing about, and to totally begin focusing my time during the day to accomplish the goal I had conjured up.
The toast “May You Live In Interesting Times” has certainly taken on a totally different meaning today. We're definitely living in exciting times and if you aren't participating, you may wake up one morning to discover that the world has not only passed you by, but you’ve become a dinosaur.
In the past, people's life's were divided into 3 stages:
(1) Birth to Completion of Education.
(2) Choosing a Career and working until it was time for Retirement.
(3) Retirement until Death.
While these 3 stages of life continue to be followed by many people, which is certainly a great choice for some people, many other people nearing or in retirement, have now chosen an alternative route, due to life expectancies now being much longer than they used to be, thanks to medical advancements; and there is a new "Un-Retirement" or "No-Retirement" movement occurring that appeals to many people who either actually enjoy what they are doing, or might have re-evaluated their retirement needs, based upon life expectancy.
This has led to a significant change in the 3 stages of life, and some people are now opting to rewrite the traditional Stage #3, leading to this new paradigm:
(1) Birth to Completion of Education, the time when people develop ethical values and begin to dream of the future,
(2) Choosing a Career and working until it was time for Retirement or either postponing or rejecting traditional retirement.
(3) "Un-Retirement" and "New Beginnings", when you take the financial assets gained during your career, and either begin a new career or start an entrepreneurial enterprise.
Which is exactly what I decided to do, at least for now. I decided to retain the knowledge I gained working for Corporate America, and expand on that knowledge base with "new" studies that would provide me the understanding and expertise I needed to become a Short Term / Day Trader Of The Global Equity Markets, and I also wanted to get involved in the development of products that fill product gaps and the creation of educational materials that might benefit others.
So, for people who have found that “Retiring” into a life of sitting around talking about the "good old days, and their past "I used to be" life they once lived, 0r "playing golf", or "traveling for the rest of your life", simply doesn't appeal to them, perhaps “Un-Retirement” and “New Beginnings” might be just the thing to get the excitement back into life.
So, if you are a soon to be retiring "Baby Boomer", who may have held a dream for years, to become an entrepreneur, and start your own business, and now you have that opportunity, and maybe you want to continue using the experience and knowledge you gained during your career in the corporate world, to start, develop, and grow your own personal business, independently of the large corporation, it is my hope that you may find this website beneficial.
Or perhaps you're younger, and have observed Corporate America, perhaps through the struggles your parents endured every day of their careers, and have simply concluded that you don't want to become embedded in the politics of the corporate world, you may also find this website beneficial in your future.
Personal entrepreneurship can result in the correct blend of ethically acquired wealth, growth, independence, and - FREEDOM!
I intend to share the lessons, knowledge, and experience, that I've learned, using succinct self-directed and self-produced Audio and Video Products, on various and sundry subjects and lessons, that you may use as a foundation to build something that you feel will be worthwhile to you and others.
To cut the cost of production and retain the ability to sell these products at “VERY REASONABLE” COST, none of these products will be made in professional studios, nor will I focus on abundant rhetoric and redundant information.
The focus will be on – information – IN A NUTSHELL!
Welcome to IN A NUTSHELL PRODUCTIONS!
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