Old ain't what it used to be! Remember when the age for retirement was set; a majority of people didn't even live until retirement age. Now we live 20 to 30 years past the retirement age. The age of 65 in this day and age has little resemblance to the age of 65 in, say, 1970. Most people are not old at 65 today. They may or may not have slowed down. Thirty years ago you didn't see many men in their 70s jumping out of airplanes or flying in outer space as our generation has seen with people like George Bush and John Glenn. The behavior of these men may well serve as portents of the active lifestyles in seniors of the future. We will see more and more of the aging role models in years to come.

It is ironic that our society, rather than adjusting to this longevity trend, continues to promote a retirement age that was established over 100 years ago. Even more ironic is that many, with wealth supplied by a robust and resilient economy, have convinced themselves to take up early retirement. Many of these people have failed to comprehend that if they retire at 55, for example, they will spend as many years in their retirement as they did in their entire working career. This is great if you have some invigorating and challenging pursuits before you in those 30 years. If you don't, history shows that you'll never see those 30 extra years.

How old will you be when you really become old? It seems that the answer to that question is as individual as the person answering it. We know that the marker for old is no longer 65. Some recent surveys show that most seniors now feel that the marker for old is somewhere between 75 and 80. Expect that number to keep moving up with the baby boom generation. Three-fourths of Americans feel that "old" is defined by a decline in mental or physical abilities, while less than half feel it is defined by age (HSBC, "The Future of Retirement in a World of Rising Life Expectancies," May 10, 2005. www.hsbcusa.com/ourcompany/pdf/future_of_retirement_fact_sheets_en_us.pdf). In Chapter 7, I will guide you in figuring out how old you truly are in mind and body, and introduce you to people who are defying the so-called limitations of age. These individuals have not bought into the idea that they need to move aside for the next generation—or anyone else for that matter. They will leave the race when they are good and ready!

The retirement of the future will no longer be a "cold turkey" abstinence from labor. The retirement of the future will be defined by one person—you! You will decide how much you want to work, where you want to work, and when you want to work. The growing trends in workplace flexibility motivated by a tight labor market spell only freedom for you and your future. People will design a retirement they can live with. This will mean working part-time for some and entering and exiting the job market as they wish for others. The old model for retirement resembled a cliff-jumping-off point (that's why we needed a parachute). The new model represents a bell curve with a gradual decline or phasing of work life. The two extremes of the old retirement model—all work or no work—is simply a relic of the past. In this book we explore the manifold possibilities for you and your work at any age.

Millions of people are sacrificing the present in hopes of following their heart at 62, or whatever other age they retire. Many people who want to pursue a passion or a new focus see this as their only hope. We have discovered many other options that people have exercised to free their life from the drudgery of draining and stressful toils to the avocational pursuits they had previously entertained only in their daydreams. There are many creative approaches available that you may have not yet considered—approaches that integrate your assets and your income with your passions and your life.

Is your life about making money or is your money about making a life? A theme that is strongly promoted in our society is that we should always choose the path with the biggest bucks. Consequently, many people put their soul's work on the back burner while they travel a career path paved with the biggest bucks. Why? So they can someday have enough money to do what they really want. This flawed philosophy of putting first things second in our career and life is the reason why so many today are so motivated to retire, that is, so they can do what they want. They have chosen to use their life to make money rather than to use money to make a life. By using some innovative approaches to financial life planning, you can make the transition into what you want with your life sooner than you may think. Financial Life Planning, which will be discussed more in depth later in this book, is just such an approach. Financial Life Planning starts by asking, "What do you want out of life?" and then works on the financial aspects of making that life possible instead of asking "How much do you have?" and then living a life dictated solely on that question.

This book provides a portrait of those who discovered what it takes to do what they want with their life—sooner instead of later. Many of these people have found work that feels like play. They are doing the thing that comes naturally and are getting paid to do it! With proper planning and prioritization, you can liberate yourself into a fulfilling pursuit of your uncharted passions within five years or less. All you have to decide is ... what you want to be when you grow up.

This implication has been the biggest mistake of the retirement savings industry. The idea that retirement is simply an economic cliff for which we must have a parachute ready at age 62 has been the primary motivational message the industry has offered for the last 40 years. The problem is that many people are preparing a golden nest egg that will be placed in a dying tree. The nest egg is their retirement savings, and the dying tree is their retirement life. Retirement is a life event, not an economic event. We must stop treating retirement as an exclusive economic event. We need to develop a more holistic approach that integrates an individual's aspirations, life stage, familial responsibilities, health issues, and concerns about money. People want to explore the connection between their money, their soul, and their life as a whole. There are many wise advisors in the retirement planning industry who have realized the importance of a life planning approach versus the monotonous money-crunching, myopic retirement planning.

In the wheel of life, money is but one spoke. It is not the wheel, and it is not the hub. People today want to talk to those advisors who recognize the need to look at the stage of life they are in and the stage of life they are approaching, and then explore the money issues that are relevant at these stages.

A life of total ease is one step from a life of disease. The reason so many retirees are ill at ease is that without the contrast and paradox of meaningful labor, leisure loses its meaning. First you become bored, and then you become boring. Fishing and golfing are great fun, but they make poor full-time occupations for a period of 25 years for most. There are far too many "grumpy old men" roaming the retirement landscape. They are grumpy because they are bored. This book debunks the myth of fulfilling full-time leisure as pictured in the retirement brochures. Many of us find meaning and purpose in our work and a needed catharsis in our leisure. It's difficult to enjoy one without the other. It is a necessary paradox in our lives. This is the reason that over one-third of male retirees go back to some form of work within one year of retirement, and over two-thirds of them take full-time jobs. They would die if they didn't. There is a way to a balanced approach to retirement planning that can provide both fun and fulfillment.

This universal assumption about retirement is going to be turned on its head by evidence that if you plan a healthier and engaging retirement, you will spend much less on doctors and pills. Bored retirees form bad habits. Purposeless retirees are sick retirees. Unchallenged retirees have no motivation to exercise their body, mind, or spirit. In Chapter 7, I present gerontological evidence regarding the physical well-being, mental acuity, and health care expenditures for challenged versus unchallenged retirees.

The proper attitude and approach to our later years will result in healthier economics as well.

The proliferation of the self-directed 401(k) and the advent of online trading have led many people to believe that they don't need any help in planning their financial future. This is akin to saying, "Because I can buy my own vitamins and pills, I don't need a doctor." Are you buying the right vitamins and pills for your situation? When is the last time you had a checkup? Or would you rather not have one and believe you're not at risk? When it comes to dealing with the health of our wealth, many people fall into easy denial. The self-care phenomenon in health care is a good thing as long as we do not begin believing that we know all that we need to know. Just as there is a time and a place for a health expert, there is a time and a place in our life for a wealth expert, advisor, or money coach as well.

When I heard these words from a professional in the financial arena, it struck me how easy it is to dupe ourselves into believing we can run this race without any coaching. Such a delusion is especially pronounced in a bull market where the rising tide lifts all ships. The bear market at the turn of the last century has illuminated for many the inherent weakness and insecurity in the do-it-yourself approach. The fact is that many of us lack either the specific knowledge, the planning expertise, and/or the discipline to do this on our own. When we hire someone to help us sort out what we want out of our life and our money, we are not just paying for advice, we are also getting direction and a needed degree of financial discipline and accountability. If you are not yet at the place you want to be or don't have a clue when you'll be there, you must face one inescapable fact: If you were really capable of doing this on your own, you would have done so by now!

Does the fact that I can buy my own over-the-counter medicines or vitamins exclude the need for a doctor's visit when something isn't working quite right or a periodic checkup when everything seems to be fine? Not if I want to remain in good physical health. The same applies to our "fiscal" health as well. When things aren't as well as we like, it is advisable to get a consult and a second opinion as well. If we are fairly happy with our choices of investments, it can't hurt to run our decisions by a well-informed, unbiased professional who can tell us where our course may be leading us.

I think Dr. Ruth was right. We need a sexier term for retirement. It doesn't fit anymore. Retirement has been built on myths. The concept of retirement is going through a slow but seismic redefinition; for most of us, it is no longer about dropping out of the race entirely. It is a chance to refire, rehire, rewire—anything but retire. It is our opportunity to capitalize on everything we have learned about work and about life. A failure is a person who has blundered and not been able to cash in on the experience. We need to begin to call retirement and retirement savings what they really are: a second chance and emancipation money. Many of you are simply looking forward to launching a brand-new you. Many of you want to try something out of the ordinary. Many of you want to play around with ideas you have had for years. Many of you want to hunker down with loved ones and simplify your life for the time being.

The reason no one else can define retirement for you is that it is about your life and your dreams. My goal is for you to take yourself through one simple mental exercise. Ask yourself this one question: "what if there were no finish line?" How would it change the way you live today and plan for tomorrow if you stopped running toward the artificial goal of retiring at age 62, or any other age for that matter? Remove this contrived finish line from your mind and your life, and it will liberate both your mind and your life. Disentangle yourself from retirement myths and deal with life's realities. Once the finish line is removed, we are left to ponder our present realities and future hopes. We will stop sacrificing the present to pursue an illusion of bliss in the sweet by-and-by. We will begin to focus on doing work today that capitalizes on our gifts and gives expression to our deepest-felt vocational desires. We will begin our quest to find work that feels like play.

Once the finish line is removed, we take away the ever-present fiscal pressure to arrive at a certain age with so much money. When this pressure is removed, we can begin to make choices that are not based solely on money and that sacrifice of our soul, but on doing work that brings us a sense of purpose and satisfaction. A strange phenomenon that is hard to explain is how money seems to find its way to those who follow their hearts and pursue their interests with passion. Something else comes your way when you follow your heart—contentment—and that's a precious commodity that no amount of money can buy.