Retirement and Intellectual Challenge

On a beautiful afternoon on the shore of Lake Ossipee I was thinking about retirement.

What Would I Do?

It wasn’t for the first time, and it made me wonder: “What would I do?”

My concern was that retiring now wouldn’t be fulfilling. As a foretaste, I thought, whenever my schedule isn’t busy I end up sitting around the office staring at the computer screen reading email. A lot like my real job as a consultant!

Ask A Friend

So on that day, leaning back in the lawn chair by the lake I asked Gary (fellow vacation camper and former engineer who retired a few years ahead of me): “Gary –How did you make your retirement transition?”

Gary replied: “After I retired, I planned on doing a lot of hiking and boating. And it was good. But I found I needed a CHALLENGE. Decided on taking a “Liberal Arts” degree at Wesleyan – this program allowed me to take any courses I could justify as being aligned with my thesis (about “Creativity”) to my academic advisers.

Back to School, Or Self-Directed?

Gary’s story resonated with me, but I didn’t like the idea of actually going back to school. I wondered if instead one could do a self-directed program of Great Courses and end it by writing a book (my fourth!). While writing the book I could get accountability partners, or editors, to provide feedback much like academic advisers would do.

Recognizing What I Have

Then it occurred to me that I’m already basically doing a post-graduate education program with Van Tharp Institute’s Super Trader Program. This program is premised on Van Tharp’s radical notion that trading (and investing) = psychology. One of Van’s major quotes was “You do not trade the markets. You can only trade your beliefs about the markets.”

With the Super Trader program, one works through a series of lessons on trading, psychology, and other topics. The VTI coach approves your answers or essays for each lesson – much like a thesis adviser.

But what would my thesis be about then? It obvious: Financial Freedom!