Too Young to Retire. Too Old for the Rat Race.

I grew up a latchkey kid in the 80s. Nobody was managing my afternoon. That kind of independence gets into your blood.

Redefining Retirement isn't really about 401(k)s, IRAs, or counting down to a golf cart. Maybe you got laid off or downsized. Or maybe you're just sick of the BS and looking for something different — like I was back in 2013. Either way, here's the thing: if you're going to make a change anyway, you might as well work toward stuff you actually love, that also supports the life you want now and down the road.

There's that old saying — if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life.

I've reinvented myself multiple times, from foundry worker to mechanical draftsman. When I needed out the last time, I told myself: if I'm doing this again, I'm working on stuff I actually want to do. Stuff that could eventually support a retirement. So yeah, I do want to retire someday — but in the meantime, why not build toward something I enjoy?

That's been the last 10-15 years. Finding stuff I like learning about and working on, that's marketable, that supports the life I want, with people I like working with — then letting the rest sort itself out. The goal was never really retirement. It's getting to where, retired or not, I already feel like I am — because I like the stuff I do enough to do it anyway, on my own terms, whenever and wherever I want.

I'm endlessly curious — I like to tinker, reminisce, philosophize, and geek out about this stuff with other people. That's what this newsletter, blog, and channel is about: a diary of the things I'm working on and philosophizing about, trying to have some fun and not take it all too seriously along the way.