37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why Retire when you can Review?, July 29, 2003
This review is from: Too Young to Retire: An Off-The-Road Map to the Rest of Your Life (Paperback)
"It is already clear the 21st Century will demand more of all of us, young or old. The gifts we are given ? longevity, better health, education and financial resources ? come with responsibility. After all, we have inherited and even helped create a world that needs our wisdom, experience, and compassion now."
I've always thought the idea of retiring to be a strange concept. Why would you just give up your entire life? Even if you gave up your job should there not be other interests you would pursue, perhaps even more aggressively than your previous job.
It has been said that a "hobby" is more the man than his "job." I jest not when I say reviewing can be quite a great job/hobby.
The authors explain how to awaken the inner activist or volunteer. Chapter 5 gives a list of 101 Opportunities you could pursue. I know for sure there is a need for professional people who can keep giving their talents to society. Some of the ideas include:
Relocation Specialist
Personal Coach
Home Tutor
Travel Writer
Yoga Teacher
Massage Therapist
Author
Executive chef
Cabaret Singer
You might be thinking, "Hey, those sound more fun than what I'm doing now!" I personally like the "author" and "massage therapist" idea.
The authors explain how life is uncharted territory. How we live in a culture preoccupied with wealth. Are we not living our lives to find our deepest purpose?
The Contents Include:
Money - The Prose of Life
It's Not Working
It Is Working - Volunteering Revisited
101 Opportunities for the Open-Minded
Toward Wellness
Radical Departures
Resources
After you read this book, you will wonder if retirement really represents the "good life."
Well if you take Chapter 7 into account and start traveling the world, this might be just the bliss your soul has been craving. I also "loved" the idea of becoming a care taker. Who would not want to go live in a beautiful location as a property manager?
This book is about living in the moment and seeing your new freedom as an excuse to do exactly what you love.
Creative and Wise!
~The Rebecca Review
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44 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Enticing and Useful Guide For All Aging Baby Boomers!, May 27, 2003
This review is from: Too Young to Retire: An Off-The-Road Map to the Rest of Your Life (Paperback)
For anyone interested in how the rapid changes in our society have affected traditional ideas about retirement, this book provides a wonderful resource that not only questions a variety of traditional notions regarding aging and retirement, but also provides a plethora of thought-provoking considerations that help us to reconsider both the fact of growing older and the idea of retirement as they are currently viewed in this culture. Of course, the fact that I have already retired from one profession and am rapidly approaching the same conclusion with a brief secondary teaching career may make me the perfect candidate for such a book.
Yet I must admit that while I do not fully agree with many of the particulars that authors Marika and Howard Stone so enthusiastically espouse, I do find their overall message regarding the exciting possibilities for individual achievement and continuing contribution that such a life situation offers the retirement-eligible individual or couple. They embark from the substantial philosophical position carved out by former academic Theodore Roszak ("The Making of a Counterculture") in his absorbing tome, "America The Wise, The Longevity Revolution and the Wealth of Nations"(see my review), pointing out the facts associated with the new and burgeoning potential of the so-called baby boomer generation which is rapidly approaching retirement age with an incredible reserve of both financial and human resources at its disposal. Both Roszak and the Stones both argue for unleashing the human potential in a wave of creative activity, which is socially useful, and personally enriching.
What this book represents, then, is an eminently useful and immensely practical resource for people hoping to restructure their expectations, values, and personal experiences about what the retirement years are going to mean for them. Given the realities that traditional ideas about retirement are undergoing a revolution, the Stones provide the reader with an easy way through the maze toward a better understanding of what all the options are, as well as how to evaluate and assess these options and opportunities for a better and more fulfilling experience in the later years of life. And while the Stones find the mantra of life to be closely connected to work and expression through one's livelihood, they are wise enough to recognize other options for others, and encourage the reader to explore whatever seems valuable and worthwhile. This is a wonderful book, a delicious treat for those of us anxiously peering over the fence into the retirement years and wondering what to make of it all. Enjoy!
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
User friendly and packed full of practical offerings, May 13, 2003
This review is from: Too Young to Retire: An Off-The-Road Map to the Rest of Your Life (Paperback)
This engaging and informative book offers "how to" action plans, complemented by a wide variety of references and resources. The personal stories let us peek inside, satisfying an innate curiosity and showing us how others deal with change at this stage of life. It's a fast and fun read, but a book that I will refer back to time and time again.
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