Customer Reviews

Too Young to Retire: An Off-The-Road Map to the Rest of Your Life

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"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

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!

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.

Motivational speaker Howard Stone and yoga teacher Marika Stone team up in Too Young To Retire: An Off-The-Road Map To The Rest Of Your Life to present readers with a down-to-earth instructional guide which is drawn from the authors own lives as a couple, their research, and several assorted case histories in order to present practical and effective alternatives to retirement -- including stimulating work and community service. From opportunities to earn money or participate in business, to volunteering one's time, to traveling for fun and profit, Too Young To Retire is an exciting and dynamic self-help instructional guide for charting new possibilities for the future and highly recommended reading -- especially for anyone over the age of 62 and not ready for the rocking chair/nursing home slide into oblivion.

A must for people who are approaching (or who have already reached) the so-called retirement age. The book is chock full of thought-provoking advice and ideas. For example, Marika and Howard Stone suggest that the way to be energized and enjoy this new life's passage is through ". . . a priceless, enduring feeling of self worth." Case histories, the writings of others, and their own experiences provide solid suggestions on how to achieve a gratifying transition. And, for each chapter, the authors thoughtfully include references for books, Web sites and other tools. Although you can read this book in one sitting, you'll want to refer back to it time, time and again for a refresher on advice, ideas, and, should you care to delve deeper into any topic, you'll appreciate their carefully selected lists of resources. The authors practice what they preach--they quit their "conventional jobs" several years ago and started a now highly successful Web site...

As an 81-year-old male who has enjoyed two additional careers since retiring at age 58, I highly recommend Too Young to Retire to all who have or soon will reach their late 50's. The Stones have done a wonderful job of capturing the advantages of carefully planning those "later years" in a manner that will make those years meaningful and enjoyable. In reflecting on these past 23 years of my own life, I would like to heartily endorse the ideas and techniques suggested in this book. Believe me, they really work!

Too Young to Retire is a feast of fascinating information on how many choices we have as we look to reinvent ourselves during the last third of our lives. From websites to inspiring narratives from others' experiences, there is no end of ways to research new avenues of discovery. All of this is packaged in a very user-friendly book that isn't overwhelming, in spite of the amount of information it offers. As a counselor and life coach working with people undergoing transitions, I loved this book and recommend it to my clients.

Whether you've just passed 40 and are thinking retirement is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, or whether you've reached your four-score-and-seven, this book provides perspective and practical help for thinking about "retirement." The Stones give us hope and courage for staying fully engaged with life, exercises and advice for taking charge of our own destinies, and real-life examples of people doing so, including themselves. They also give a good distillation of what other influential authors have written about living the second half of life. Read this book with a highlighter in hand, because you'll want to come back and review this sage advice again and again.

This beautifully written book is a good and easy read that will inspire you to take the leap in making your retirement years personally fulfilling as well as a legacy to share with others. Chock full of inspiring stories and resources, it is indeed a guide to that as yet unexplored territory of reinventing retirement as an opportunity to expand your true potential.

Lea Belair
www.leapcoaching.com
www.walkonwaterthebook.com

Unless you are a far-left political idealist; "open-minded," as Mr. and Mrs. Stone say, their book offers little useful information for retirees.