BRX Pro Tip: Retire to Something
Stone Payton: And we’re back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton, Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, let’s talk a little bit about mindset and approach to this whole business of retiring.
Lee Kantor: Yeah, I think that, you know, as we’re getting towards the end of our career and closer to the end than the beginning, then people have to kind of think about retirement in different ways than maybe they thought about it in the past. And a lot of times, people are thinking as their career is winding down that, okay, now I’m going to be at the beach or I’m going to be fishing all day.
Lee Kantor: And it’s really hard to retire to nothing instead of having some sort of a plan of what are you going to do in this next act of your life and retire towards something. So, you don’t want to kind of have that mentality of this is an end. It’s more of a transition to something new rather than kind of an end.
Lee Kantor: So, one of the biggest mistakes people make is that they spend their entire career focusing on, I’m going to get rid of the long hours, I’m getting rid of the stress, I’m getting rid of the commute. And that’s all you have is all these things that you got rid of. But in essence, you can start kind of aiming towards something if otherwise your retirement feels empty, and a lot of folks really kind of lose themselves and their identity when they retire, and there’s nothing for them. So, look for something. As you’re winding down, look for something you want to do.
Lee Kantor: What is a new purpose? What’s a new mission? It’s so much better to retire towards something rather than from something. So maybe you want to mentor young professionals. Maybe you want to volunteer. Maybe you want to open a Business RadioX studio in your town.
Lee Kantor: Work in the past has given you structure. Retirement can give you freedom, but you have to kind of make choices and do something – you have to fill every day. Every day has 24 hours. Every day you have to do something. And it’s one of those things where you think, I’m going to play golf every day. It’s like eating cake. Like, eating cake is fun. But if you’re eating cake at every meal, you’re going to get sick of it. And you don’t want to get sick of the things that you love.
Lee Kantor: So, freedom can give you a direction, but you have to kind of have some purpose. There has to be some meaning if you want to have a retirement that is filled with kind of a mission or a purpose. And the people who thrive in retirement aren’t the ones who stop working. They’re the ones who stepped into a new chapter with intention.
Lee Kantor: So, as you plan for retirement, don’t ask, “What did I leave behind?” Ask, “What do I want to wake up excited to do every day now?”
