Following your passion and the insanity of early retirement

 

Probably thinking of quitting it all at my high school graduation.
(Probably thinking of quitting it all at my high school graduation.)

I’ve been wanting to retire ever since I started working, which is odd because I’ve often wondered how I managed to score jobs that pay me to do what I’d probably do for free. The fascination with retirement apparently came at an early age, because my senior high school picture had as one of my goals: “retire at an early age”. Odd indeed!

I didn’t think much about it an early age, because I was mostly working for $4.25/hour at the Andrews University Computing Center, all while trying to pay the princely sum of $14,000/year in private university expenses.  However, sometime in the past 6 years, I got this crazy idea that I could pull it off, and leave the treadmill of the gainfully employed. Those who knew me then, know I got a little carried away (ok, obsessed). I mean, for my 36th birthday, Yanory gave me a goat, apparently because I was too cheap to mow the loan. I’m ashamed to admit it, but that was the best birthday present ever. I didn’t have to mow the lawn again, Anais the goat was a neighborhood celebrity, and all she needed was a pail of water that got refilled by Puerto Rico’s daily tropical rainstorms.

I drove everyone around me crazy. I admit, and I profusely apologize publicly to everyone involved.  But it wasn’t all that bad…

I don’t know exactly when, but sometime in the last couple years, it happened. I technically no longer had to work. The whole thing happened without fanfare, or congratulatory cards from anyone around. To be honest, it was rather disappointing.  I expected at least a pat on the back.  Now before everyone thinks that I’ll be having hospital wings or university buildings named after me, let me set one thing straight: it doesn’t take that much. There are two variables in this equation: you either save a lot or live very cheap (or some combination of the above). I mean, one of my personal heroes manages to live on $7,000 a year, and retired after only 5 years of work on a researcher’s salary. So it’s not an income thing, and talking about money is definitely not the goal of this post.

Anyways… no cymbals clashing in the background.  The sun still rose that morning, and I my lactate threshold on the bike was firmly below 300 watts.  So, I still sucked on the bike and little cripple children would still beat me up the steepest of hills.

However, I decided to make a list of things I could now do now that that 9 to 5 was no longer a limiting factor.  I envisioned quitting and telling off my boss, though I quickly dispelled the idea because he’s actually quite nice, and I’ve been blessed to get paid to work on superbly interesting projects.  Then I thought of travelling.  I made a list of countries I’d like to visit.  And then I realized, I could do all of them while still working (mostly in part to a mobile lifestyle), and I had been slowly checking off my bucket list items over the past few years (if not decades), so it’s not like I was living a boring life.

What I did realize, was that what I had bought, was the freedom to fail– the freedom to take on a project where I could fall flat on my face, and take it in stride.  I could reinvent myself at a moment’s notice.  I had bought a few decades to find myself, or to become someone else entirely.  So in early 2014, when my boss asked me tackle a high profile project, where I knew close to zero about, I jumped at the opportunity– not because of fame or fortune, but because it sounded fun, and if I failed, I failed.  It would be fun.  I didn’t care if the CEO learned of my inadequacies.

Interestingly, what happened was something completely unexpected.  I loved it!  I couldn’t get enough of it!  I went back to my childhood days of sitting in my boxers by the light of the monitor for all my waking hours.  I was actually working 16 hours a day, and  having fun at it. *AND*, I didn’t fall flat on my face.  On the contrary, I did quite well, and everyone was so happy, I was asked to pick whatever interesting project I wanted to work on next.  Needless to say, I didn’t quit.  I was having fun!

Which brings me to my last thoughts.  I’ve been blessed, not in having a great job, but in doing what I love– day in and day out.  I now realize not everyone’s as lucky– either by circumstance or decision.  I’ve wanted to be a computer programmer since the first day I saw a Commodore 64 in Johary Gonzalez’s living room at age 10.  Fascinatingly enough, at age 14, I remember writing under “future dream job”:  “computer programmer specializing in compilers”  in my high school freshman year application for the science fair.  It’s been quite a journey!  I would’ve never thought following a passion would lead me full circle, but it has.

May the new year bring you passion, and love, and a desire to do what you love.  Because if following your passion doesn’t bring you fame and fortune, at least it’ll be one hell of a journey…and a happy one.

(Age 15: No furniture, but doing what I loved.)
(Age 15: No furniture, but already doing what I loved.)

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