Midlife is for Living. Break the notion that you need to work till you drop. Take back your dreams and get back to what matters for both your personal and business life. Retiring in Chunks is a strategy for personal growth.
2. We live in a world where most of us
are immersed in a river gushing
with responsibility, opportunity,
and challenges.
The good news is that by the time
we hit mid-life we’ve got an idea of
how it works.
PHOTO TAKEN: OJCHAL COSTA RICA
3. Then why at mid-life
do many experience a
buzz kill that saps
energy and makes
dreams harder to
achieve.
4. Here is a big reason.
Science tells us that there is a U-curve that denotes
the satisfaction people have with their lives.
Unfortunately, from around ages 45 to 55, that curve
tends to be at its lowest.
It's probably the reason that by the time we hit
middle age regret tends to creep in and muddle
things. The good news is that once we take stock of
midlife challenges that satisfaction curve heads back
up.
5. I say rage against
that curve!
It’s the only reasonable option and
Retiring In Chunks is a good start.
6. If tide and time
wait for no one
then why are you
waiting?
PHOTO TAKEN: MADERIA PORTUGAL
7. The idea that you stay in the box
toiling away until the magic age of
65 when you suddenly get to live
again is utterly insane.
Life is for living with energy and
determinism.
PHOTO TAKEN: FINANCIAL DISTRICT TORONTO
8. Warning.
Waiting for the right time to live your
life is the wrong way to think about
life. Things can change on a dime.
In our 20s and 30s we are invincible
and immortal in our 40s, 50s and
beyond, we know better.
10. Retirement in Chunks, It’s not a vacation it’s
an immersion. 1-4 months living in a
different place.
It’s a way to test drive your future. It’s a
way to experiment with lifestyles, places
and things that your may want to do later in
life.
It’s a way of future-proofing yourself and
discovering those things that truly engage
you.
PHOTO TAKEN: LISBON PORTUGAL
11. I love Retiring In Chunks as it
teaches the art of Lifestyle
Arbitrage. Which is buying
something more engaging
elsewhere for cheaper than one
could buy at home.
PHOTO TAKEN: LISBON PORTUGAL
12. Retiring in Chunks is
playing the long game.
Your goal is to seek adventures
and ultimately what you really
love doing.
13. It’s also the best way to
avoid stress at actual
retirement because your
coping and adaptive
abilities will be Rockstar
caliber
14. Kick over that bucket list
and start emptying the
bucket.
15. Retiring in Chunks is about
finding surprise, challenge
and courage. Those things
that routine dulls over time
but are the spice of life.
PHOTO TAKEN: SCOTTLAND
16. If the grass is greenest
where you water it
then Retiring In
Chunks is a good way
to irrigate.
18. 1. The biggest barrier is
money.
Most people don’t treat money as a tool. Without
paying attention to money dreams get thwarted.
Without using money strategically it just
disappears because money without a plan is very
easy to squander.
19. 1a. Practice Fixed Income
Living.
Lifestyle design within your means will make your
life significantly less stressful.
I plan a budget of $3000.00 per month plus travel,
insurance and obligations at home. This is
significantly less than the cost of living in Toronto. I
call this Lifestyle Arbitrage.
I figure if my new lifestyle costs less and offers more
then I’m on the right track. Retirement in Chunks is
about discovering new possibilities within means.
Be your own American Dream.
20. 2. Pick a Place
We all have visions of places we want to explore. I’m
sure you could make your own list in 10 minutes.
Make a top 15 List and narrow it down to five. Do the
online research, read a few books, learn polite
language. Choose your first chunk.
21. 2b. Lot’s of Options
My top 5 are:
1. Lisbon, Portugal
2. Valletta, Malta
3. Mazatlán, Mexico
4. Hanoi, Vietnam
5. Montevideo, Uruguay
22. 3. Think how to get away
from the routine.
To remain relevant for my work while I’m taking a
chunk I invest in maintaining connections,
continuity, and contribution within my business
relationships, and it doesn't matter where I am to
do that. If you think for a living this is easier to do
than you may realize.
Only you can define an appropriate work life
balance.
PHOTO TAKEN: TORONTO CANADA
23. 4. Book it. Do it. Live it.
Plan your accommodation for the first month.
Activities for the first week to get oriented then live
it like a local. Meet people, discover your own line
through the new place. No frenetic schedules.
Retirement is choice so choose that which intrigues
and excite you.
PHOTO TAKEN: LISBON PORTUGAL
24. 5. Reflect & Repeat
When you get home reflect on what you have
learned and what you liked. If this lit you up do it as
many times as you can manage. Retirement in
Chunks is for many a rediscovery of self and values.
It’s enough of a pause to clear the noise and
rediscover your truth and get back a clarity of
direction.
PHOTO TAKEN: MADEIRA PORTUGAL
25. We must not cease from
exploration and the end
of all our exploring will
be to arrive where we
began and to know the
place for the first time.
T.S. Elliot.
26. Sure, doing this can
be complicated but
is it not worth a
think?
28. It costs me less to live here than it does in Toronto
(I’m practicing lifestyle arbitrage), and it's probably
around 20° warmer. So, while I'm still creating and
fostering my existing ventures, I also have another
job during my Chunk Of Retirement and that job is to
learn. Part of the point of taking a chunk is to sharpen
the saw as Stephen Covey put it.
I’m here to see new things, meet people, make
connections, learn a different language but most
importantly gather new ideas and insights that make
me more creative. Retirement in chunks is me in R&D
mode. When life is in perpetual repeat, it's harder to
come across new ideas and the truth about life in the
creative class is that it requires new ideas and new
perspectives all of the time.
Retiring in chunks is my secret weapon for both living
life how I want and maintaining and growing my
competitive edge.
Brady Gilchrist
Lisbon Portugal
Mar 2018
30. And yes, of course
I’m writing a book
about this.
Visit retireinchunks.com and I’ll
let you know when it’s ready.
Follow me on Instagram and read
the long form article at
retireinchunks.com
Thanks so much for taking the
time to read this deck!
Brady
PHOTO TAKEN: LISBON PORTUGAL