"That can't be right. Is it?"
Looking back at some twenty plus years, some very good and some, well, let's just call them educational. As in, "the school of hard knocks."
Ever hear the story of Bubba? Yea, a "good old boy" from Ohio, actually. Small town. Good student, for the most part. Bit of a class clown. Went off to the Marine Corps, and came back home different somehow.
Well he had this unusual ability, how should I say it? He could work flat out like you wouldn't believe, and yet at other times, could lay right down next to a big old pile of work, and fall right to sleep. Yep, either going mach two with his hair on fire, or catching up on some apparently much needed rest.
Some of you guessed correctly, some sooner than others, that I am "Bubba." Recently, on a news group for Harley vRod owners, someone was complaining that oft times we vRodders get called names by the 'other' Harley owners. The ones that still rely on air to cool their engines (the vRod is the only Harley-Davidson to use a water-cooled engine). I mentioned that I call myself names for riding a Harley!
I like the name Bubba. For me, it is a handle of respect. Yes, a lot of people jump to conclusions when they hear the name. Not my fault if for some, it is a negative image. I think of the simpler things in life. Work hard and play hard. Or, sit down on the river bank and watch time slowly drift by, without so much as one care in the world.
After the events of September 11th, I realized that life is too short.
So I made some changes.
Did you?
Among my discoveries, I determined that my definition of success was wrong. Or at least no longer valid. I was describing my new found understanding to a client a couple of years ago, and he felt that I had simply given up.
Not true. I had wised up! Instead of trading my energies for dollars, then trading most of those dollars for things like housing or food or whatever, I retired. No more rat race. No longer a keen interest in making more money, mostly for the sake of simply "making more money!"
There I was, living in a nice (and almost new) condo, right on the ocean, for free. As in, "no charge!" Not even a utility bill! That had been a life dream since discovering the ocean thirty years earlier!
Guess what?
Today, seems you do not have to plan very hard to become retired. Early buy outs. Down sizing. Restructuring. I recall when Eli Goldratt retired at age 50. I was excited to beat my mentor by retiring at age 47. Now, people wake up 'retired' with absolutely zero planning.
So?
Retirement no longer makes sense. For one thing, there is too much that needs done. Time to wake up America. "Hey Bubba! Shake off the Ides of March and get moving!" In fact, time to again drop the good old boy nickname. Call me SKI. Or call me Jeff. But call me if you need help picking up the pieces and making something happen.
That's right America, break time is over.
Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Publisher
www.ThroughputPress.com
P.S. At Throughput Press, we are putting together a toolkit for survivors...
tag: America: Get'r Done
(c)Copyright 2007, Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey.
All rights reserved.