Do Not Call It Retirement

I struggle everyday looking for a term that best describes the change in our life, as we end our past routine of “earning a living”. What is next: NOT earning a living?  Giving up working?  Slowing down? I would certainly prefer something a bit more upbeat, but often that leaves me feeling that the past was wasted.  How about: Freedom (was I a slave)? Golden Years (as opposed to the Bologna Years)?  Ever checked the Thesaurus for the meaning of Retirement?  One depressing result is “Sequestration”, which means “going into isolation”.  The dictionary is just as cruel with Retirement defined as: “A state of being withdrawn from the rest of the world”.

Observing my clients has led me to much more hopeful words.  A New Beginning!  Another Journey! The Next Step!

Jean and Rod Peers give meaning to these hopeful words.  Rod worked for many years in local government.  When he left his employer at retirement age, he was not quite finished with this part of his life and turned to another municipality to stay engaged each day.  They moved from the city to a lovely country home closer to Rod’s new employer.  Rod drew inspiration from his new surroundings for his wood working hobby (if you saw the work, you would know that hobby is a poor term for such elegant craftsmanship).  Jean spent her many years with Rod flexible in her many roles of mother, self employed administrator, storyteller, cultural interpreter and volunteer.  After seeing their wonderful new “retirement” home, situated next to a conservation area, I thought they had found their nirvana, to see them through to the end of their days.

However, Jean and Rod were just buying time to focus on their Next Journey.  They spent many weekends for the better part of a year, visiting small towns in Northern, Southwestern and Eastern Ontario. After many months and many miles they found what they were looking for in picturesque Prince Edward County.  A beautiful historic home in the lakeside town of Wellington they could develop into a Bed and Breakfast.   Jean’s vision of their future ran a little broader than just the B&B, so in between those busy weekends, Jean went to college.  The month before they closed on the home in Wellington, she graduated from the Ontario Expressive Arts Post-Graduate Certificate Program at Sir Sanford Fleming College, receiving an Academic Excellence Award for her efforts.  This past summer, after countless hours of restoration and renovations, the Cranky Butler Bed and Breakfast opened its doors.  Located at 26 West Street, Wellington Ontario, the Cranky Butler offers casual elegance and warm hospitality in this wonderfully restored 1830’s home.  The finely finished gingerbread moulding is a site to behold.  Beside the home Jean located her Expressive Arts Studio, where clients can explore their powers to create through interactive exploration with various art forms.

Here is the link to view their website:  www.bbcanada.com/crankybutler

It is stories like this that inspired us to create The Gratifying Harvest Program. This is an advanced program based on our experience working with more than a thousand clients over a 15-year period. Many clients come to us not knowing how to unleash the power of their lifetime of savings. Most of them successfully saved a significant of amount money for the future, but they had a lot of angst about what to do with it. They often lost wealth, lost sleep through unnecessary stress and worry, and lost the ability to enjoy their life.

We take happiness seriously. We help our clients dream large or embrace life’s simplicity itself and then we take the time to create a plan to joyfully harvest what they have planted and grown over many years of saving. It is a real pleasure to help them to protect and nurture their wealth, sleep well every night, and enjoy their Next Step to the fullest.

A very Merry Christmas to all our readers, clients, family, friends and colleagues.