The Eagle Blog … April 8th, 2015

10 Lessons From a Retirement Party on Living a Good Life

Recently I attended a retirement party for a friend that I have known for more than 25 years. It was a great time and I was able to catch up with a number of people I had not seen in some time, plus meet some new and interesting people.

There were a lot of people at that party and it was very evident how well my friend is regarded by people at all levels, from the very top executives down.

One of my friend’s quotes says “Looking back, I am concluding that one of life’s most rewarding moments is when you run into people on their knees and you are able to lean over and lift them up.”

For me it was a great reminder of what is truly important in life, and my friend embodies so many of those values.

Here are 10 tips on living a good life, based on his experiences:
1.Always make time for your friends and family.
2.Choose a career that you will find fulfilling.
3.Push yourself to live up to your potential.
4.Do not be envious of other people’s lives.
5.Have a plan for your life.
6.Be nice to people.
7.Don’t take yourself too seriously.
8.Always be learning and growing.
9.Make time for have some fun.
10.Get involved and give back.

Retirement in 2015 is not what it was in decades past … people retire with lots of energy, many years of life left and the experience that they can put to use in a Career #2, IF they so choose. For some it will just be the First Retirement! If you live your life well you will always have new doors available to be opened. I have no doubt that my friend will be entering his next phase with the same energy he demonstrated in phase 1!

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” Vivian Greene

Many years ago my mother sent me a birthday card with that famous James Dean quote, “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” I still have that card posted on my wall … maybe I need to send one just like it to my friend. Of course he could well have coined the phrase himself!

Steven Covey suggests that we “Begin with the end in mind.” Just maybe the ultimate way to do that is to begin your career thinking about what you would like your retirement party to look like! It doesn’t really matter where you are in your career, you can always choose to change things up and live the life you deserve.

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Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
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