Tricky Dick’s Essential Retirement Advice
Richard Nixon remains one of the more fascinating and complex figures in American history, embodying well-known deep flaws in parallel with acts of brilliance.
His most infamous role was as the puppet master behind the Watergate scandal, ultimately leading to his resignation from the Presidency and scarring his Legacy. Some historians point to Watergate as the watershed (ha!) moment beginning the decades-long slippery slide (ha! ha!) of anti-government paranoia leading to today.
However, Nixon’s career also exhibited sharp intellect, strategic political thinking, and an ability to connect with the pulse of a shifting nation (at least, for a time). His story is not pure villainy, but of a profoundly ambitious individual whose strengths and weaknesses were magnified on the global stage.
I’m reading Morgan Housel’s book Same as Ever, and Housel shares a quote from one of Nixon’s speeches:
“The unhappiest people of the world are those in the international watering places like the South Coast of France, and Newport, and Palm Springs, and Palm Beach. Going to parties every night. Playing golf every afternoon. Drinking too much. Talking too much. Thinking too little. Retired. No purpose.
So while there are those that would disagree with this and say “Gee, if I could just be a millionaire! That would be the most wonderful thing.” If I could just not have to work every day, if I could just be out fishing or hunting or playing golf or traveling, that would be the most wonderful life in the world – they don’t know life.
Because what makes life mean something is purpose. A goal. The battle. The struggle – even if you don’t win it.“
Richard Nixon
I can immediately hear a bit of pushback.
1) “Speak for yourself, Richard. Golf every afternoon, retired in Palm Springs – that’s my slice of heaven.”
And perhaps a bit more cynical…
2) “Is this just lip service to convince people to stay in the rat race forever? Hollow words saying that life loses all meaning without some form of work?”
I understand that pushback, but I disagree on both counts. The research clearly suggests that Nixon is onto something.
Virtually every study of retiree “success” will mention purpose. Though, to be fair, “purpose” and “work” are not synonymous. A person can find immense purpose without having a job or some laborious task.
But honing in on that purpose isn’t easy.
Retirement expert Fritz Gilbert describes finding purpose as “…the greatest of the secrets to a great retirement. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the more difficult to achieve. Finding a purpose is an intangible quest, with no clearly defined checklists available to guide you in your search.”
Now, perhaps your true purpose in retirement is to finally become a scratch golfer, sticking it to Richard Nixon’s short-sighted advice. Any golfer will tell you that reaching scratch meets Nixon’s criteria of “a goal, a battle, a struggle.”
But that doesn’t work for most people.
Instead, if you do have that golfing itch, you’ll likely find more purpose in retirement by Volunteering during kids’ golf camp. Most retirees’ driving purpose extends beyond themselves.
There’s nothing tricky here. Like many topics in personal Finance, it’s simple to conceptualize but challenging to implement.
Retirement, like all of life, feels hollow without purpose. That’s a simple idea. The hard part – and your task, whether now or in the future, is finding your ongoing goal, battle, struggle.
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-Jesse
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