Early retirement means different things to different people. In fact, the word �retirement may even have differing meanings depending on your age. Prior to the 1930’s, there really was no such thing as �retirement’. Work was just a normal part of the day and people worked and worked and then, later in their years, would simply reduce the amount or strenuousness of their work as it become difficult for them. Ever since the Social Security system was put into place in the 1930’s, we have been conditioned by our culture and our government to consider �retirement’ much differently.
We expect to work and save, work and save, and work and save, until we reach the magical age of 65 or 66 years old, when the government will begin paying you back on the Social Security funds that you paid into it all those years. Because of that, most people don’t think of retirement as something that’s even possible before that age.
Why not consider this whole �retirement’ thing differently? What if we thought of retirement as �not having to go to work each day’? Additionally, what if retirement meant no more commuting, office politics, corporate hierarchy, outsourcing, downsizing, layoffs, RIFs or any other of those wonderful things normally associated with out career?
What would be wrong with a lifestyle in which you are still productive and earning income but are free to come and go as you wish, travel as you wish, work when you wish? Well, all of that is entirely possible practically regardless of your age! I call that a �Freedom Retirement� or a �Freetirement�. You are free from all of the negative things about your career will still retaining the ability to earn a good income. To me, that is what early retirement is all about!
In his bestselling book, �The 4 Hour Workweek�, author Timothy Ferris shows how, at age 34, he has effectively quit working by traditional standards, enjoys a wonderful life of travel and excitement and, at the same time, earns more income than he was ever able to earn in his traditional job as a stock broker. You can do this, too!
The electronic world of the Internet has opened so many new doors and enables us to accomplish so much more in a fraction of the time that we are accustomed to spending. While you can surely earn a nice living using this electronic marketplace, you can also change the way you do things very easily.
For example, Tim Ferris uses the services of several �Virtual Assistants� to accomplish the routine, dull, and boring things that he once had to do. His �V.A.�, for example, pays all of his bills, does all of his banking, handles his routine correspondence and follow-up, makes appointments for him, sends flowers to his loved ones on birthdays and anniversaries and does a myriad of other tasks that Tim once had ha hard time keeping up with. Another VA handles his fulfillment of his online sales orders, negotiates with fulfillment vendors on his behalf, and handles customer inquiries and customer service issues. He only monitors his VA’s periodically to ensure that everything is getting accomplished.
All of this has freed Tim up to use his imagination to work on new marketing ideas and projects which have made him a very wealthy person at an early age. He did not get there overnight, but rather started chipping away at his old corporate lifestyle, little by little, until he achieved his independence! You could do that, too!
There are so many ways to earn streams of income on the Internet that you really have to explore the possibilities. And do so with an open mind. If you do, your �Freetirement� could be just around the corner!