For years I had the grand plan of retiring at 35 and living a life of leisure. I made my goal a year early, took 4 months off, wrote a novel, and then went back to work (though on contract gigs).
In other words, I failed retirement.
So since then, I've asked more "successful" retirees how they did it. Allison Knight, author of 12 published novels, including her latest Heal My Hurting Heart, is one such person. She retired from a career in teaching to write full time.
Did she know that writing would be her next career?
"I started writing romances while I was still teaching school. At the time, thoughts of retirement were vague, to say the least. I knew I wanted to write, I just didn't think about it in terms of another career. And yet it is. Today I spend from six to ten hours a day at the computer, but even early in the morning, or in bed late at night, characters are dancing in my head. Writing is not so much of a retirement career as an obsession. I have to write. It just so happens that now that I'm retired from the working world, I can devote even more time to honing my craft and developing my tales."
How to make retiring (at any age) easier?
"I can't stress enough how important I think continuing education is. Today, our older americans have access to technology that exceeds every imagination. They must and can enjoy a satisfying relationship with this technology. If they e-mail family and friends, I believe relationships are stronger because of it, and they need to use cell phones, play on computers, take picture and communicate. One of the saddest sight to me is the lonely old man or woman standing in the grocery store talking to anyone and everyone because that individual doesn't have anyone else to talk to. If they had the knowledge and skill they could communicate with their friends on-line and continue worthwhile conversations on line. Education therefore, is the key."
Okay, I might be one of those folks yapping it up in the grocery line. That's where I've met the most interesting people (and yes, I look at what people have in their carts). But I do agree that continuing education is the key... at any age, any stage of work, retired or not.
