Early Retirement - People Who Retire Early - The Muse

Early Retirement - People Who Retire Early - The MuseEarly Retirement - People Who Retire EarlyPeople who retire early seem to have it all figured out. They can do what they want- completely free of financial constraints. How did they do it? Is therbeie some wisdom that can be gleaned from their success?Maybe. And though you might not be able to follow in their footsteps just yet, heres what we can all learn from those lucky (lets not pretend that luck doesnt play some small role) folks. 1. Patrick PichetteLesson Dont let ambition get in the way of life.Patrick Pichette was most recently in the news for his stunning retirement from his punkt as Googles CFO. Despite his impressive career, Pichette chose to retire to spend more time with his family rather than let life get away from him as he chased his ambition.As he states in his retirement announcement In the end, life is wonderful, but nonetheless a series of trade offs, especially between business/professional endeavors and family /community. And thankfully, I feel Im at a point in my life where I no longer have to have to make such tough choices anymore. While you might not be able to choose yur family over your salary just yet, its important to remember not to get carried away with your career and forget why youre doing it all in the first place. 2. Greta GarboLesson You dont owe anyone anything.Greta Garbo, an incredibly popular actress in the 20s and 30s, surprised the world when she unexpectedly retired from acting in 1941. In fact, she essentially dropped out the Hollywood scene altogether and didnt even go pick up her Oscar in 1954 when she was awarded an Academy Honorary Award for her luminous and unforgettable screen performances.And while Garbo did sign up for a few additional projects, all of which she quickly dropped out of, she more or less made the decision to be done with acting and stuck with it- for completely personal reasons. She didnt quit for family (she never married and had no children) , and, had she wanted, she could have easily continued to act. But, she didnt want to and therefore didnt- and that is totally fine.While easier in theory than in practice, in the end, you dont have to do anything you dont want to do in your career- and that includes continuing it.3. Michael JordanLesson You can change your mind.Im not going to write an introduction to Michael Jordan, because who doesnt know who Michael Jordan is? Jordan was frequently in the news, not only for his numerous athletic triumphs, but also the numerous times he went in and out of retirement. Despite his indecision regarding where to end his athletic career, none of his mini retirements hindered his success. Jordan reminds us that no matter how big of a decision youre facing, even if its retirement, you can always change your mind. Consequences are a real thing, but many times theyre an inconvenience more than a serious detriment. Retirement, like most things, doesnt have to be permanent. 4. Mr. Money Mus tacheLesson You dont have to be rich or famous.And, the most hopeful lesson of all, even normal people can retire early. Mr. Money Mustache is an engineer named Pete in Colorado who, along with his wife, retired when he was 35 and writes a blog on how he managed it all. With some frugal living and smart investments, he and his young family are completely financially independent- and therefore, in their mind, retired. In an interview for MarketWatch, he explained, I realized that you can generally count on your nest egg to deliver a 4% return over most of a lifetime, with a good chance of it never running out. In other words, you need about 25 times your annual spending to retire. So we tracked our spending and our net worth, and when we hit the magic number, we declared ourselves retired.Sadly, Im not retiring any time soon, but its a nice reminder that the possibility is out there. Perhaps, with a clear plan like Mr. Money Mustache, an understanding that there are things more impor tant than my career la Pichette, and the realization that I dont need permission from anyone (thank you, Garbo), we can all aspire for some form of early retirement- and then change our minds once weve achieved it. Photo of eye courtesy of Shutterstock.