When we’re young, we don’t really have a filter on our thoughts about what we want to be when we grow up. I wanted at one time to be a professional tennis player, since that was what I felt passionate about in high school. Of course, the reality set in when I found out how much it costs to travel around the country playing in all the tournaments, which my parents wouldn’t have the money to hand out for that. Not just the traveling, but the cost of entry fees alone were far above my meager finances at the time, so I ended up going the “safe” route and headed off to college like most of my friends after high school.

I think that is a very common thought process for many people in this country, we see famous athletes or maybe celebrities on TV and we think we could probably do the same thing they did, right? Our passion may be strong for something, but there is always something standing in the way of our dreams. Did you have any strong ideas about what you wanted to do when you grew up? I always envied people when they say they knew exactly what they wanted to be – like a doctor, or a lawyer, something that may be tough to attain but is certainly reachable. Especially if one of their parents was already in the career, they had a leg up on the rest of us who didn’t really know for sure what we could do or even wanted to do for the rest of our lives.

So, in most cases, we end up doing things that we don’t really love to do, but more likely we have to do because we need the money. Yes, it’s unfortunate that money pretty much rules our lives. They say if you ask someone what career they would choose if money were not being considered, most people would be in totally different jobs and careers. I know this is true for me, and if you think about it, it’s probably true for you as well, right?

Why am I rambling on about jobs and careers? The point I’m trying to make is that once we retire, we can start doing things without worrying about the long term future, since we are in the twilight years (depending on when you retire, of course!) Yes, there are those of you retiring in your 40’s or 50’s due to extremely smart investing or other circumstances, you can even embark on another career if it suits you. Who would want to do that? Many people! In this time of advanced technology, changing corporate structure, and changing ideas about what constitutes a good career, lots of people are getting into second and even third careers these days.

Our economy has changed significantly since the late twentieth century and many careers that were once pretty good are going away like the dinosaurs (think travel agent, bank teller, or cashier) so lots of folks are looking for careers that will be more relevant to the new economic outlook. But if you’re retiring you don’t want another career, right? Maybe you just want a part-time job to keep you from losing your mind, staying at home all day with nothing to do. Something that is more fun than work, right? Now is the time to explore different avenues of making money that you never thought about before, expand your ideas to include things that would have seemed crazy when you were young, but now that you have more time than money, and money isn’t your main focus, the world is your oyster. So to speak.

Many people find that once they are out of the corporate rat race, it’s a whole new world of opportunities out there. Can you turn a hobby that you have loved all your life into a side hustle – yes you can! How about giving back to someone by teaching them how to do something you are already good at, maybe even creating an online tutorial and making some passive income from it? There are millions of ways to have fun and make extra money in retirement, which can make your so-called golden years much more golden, if you know what I mean. Maybe you’re a natural at social media and getting people to respond to your many videos, or maybe you enjoy talking to people about issues that are important to them. In that case it’s possible that starting your own podcast would be a very helpful outlet for your talents. The point I’m trying to make is never sell yourself short, you can always take your talents to the next level – especially after you have more time to do so. Retiring from your career is the right time to do it. If not now, when?

Planning for your retirement can be tricky, and there are questions you have like everyone else. If you want to learn and explore more ideas for yourself, check out my book here for more information:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3S2V9VM

Happy retirement planning!