Time, Talent, Treasure and "Retirement" - Episode 94

Many people approach "retirement" far too focused on their portfolio. Today I share why I'm not a fan of the word retirement and why I want people to use their financial independence to find purpose and meaning with their time freedom and experience. Listen in for more! 

Please check out and subscribe to my Youtube Channel and Newsletter!

JOSH KLOOZ, CFP®, MBA
WEALTH ADVISOR

Phone 281.719.0036
Text 281.699.8691
Fax 281.719.0156
jklooz@carsonwealth.com

1780 Hughes Landing | Suite 570
The Woodlands, TX 77380

Music by bensound.com

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:47

Welcome in again to another episode of wisdom and wealth. Thank you for joining me and welcome to 2024 as well. If you're like me, occasionally Life can seem as if you're a little bit overbooked or maybe Just a little bit too packed, and it's really hard to get outside of your normal process and see the forest for the trees, but just to get a good macro view of what's going on. If you follow me for a while, you know that I tend to Dislike the word retirement, mainly because of how my industry kind of you know sells that, and I find that at the start of the year, it's a great process to step back and take a look at what we're trying to do and what we're trying to aim for, whether it be, you know, my end is a Wealth advisor, financial planner, or even as a Perspective client or a client, and see, hey, is what I'm saving for actually Worth achieving? Is it going to bring me purpose? Is going to bring me fulfillment? And so one of the things that I find that when Folks come to me is that Often they have a plan for not working, becoming financially independent, you're stopping working. They have a plan to clear their calendar, but very few people have a plan for how to refill their calendar, and what studies have shown and what I've personally witnessed, is refilling your calendar can be really hard, especially with things that you Internally see as meaningful and see as purposeful. I don't know if you're like me, but work is one of the primary ways that I get to serve and love my neighbor. I'm one of these fortunate people that I love what I do, and if this were pried away from me, it would take me a while to refill my calendar in ways that I could wrap my head around, that I really was passionate about and I enjoyed. In the same way. This has been proven to me in countless different interactions by a lot of different folks when they plan for retirement.

Speaker 1: 3:28

Sometimes, again, we're a little bit short-sighted in that we underestimate how meaningful we find the teams that we're working with or the company that were that were guiding All these different things come into play and I've said it before and I'll say it again the most sophisticated financial planning software money can buy cannot tell you if you're gonna run out of purpose, and the one of the only ways that you know we can work through that is by me gently guiding clients through that process, saying, hey, have you thought about what you're going to do and what you're going to be filling your days with once you are financially independent, and so I think it's helpful to spend just as much time on your time and your talent portfolio as you may be spending obsessing on how much are you saving and where's your actual financial planning portfolio and your investment portfolio being distributed. The two often go hand in hand and need to be working in tandem. If you haven't come across the work of Arthur Brooks in his book from strength to strength, I would definitely recommend this book, as I found it incredibly helpful and meaningful in many different ways. But today I want to walk through some of the questions that I use as kind of conversation starters for clients as they approach that next phase of life and try to get folks to think through hey, what is it that I will find meaningful? What is it that I meant to do in this next chapter? Because the truth is, you have unlimited options, near near unlimited options, and the creative ways in which you can invest your time and your talent are pretty cool when you think about it. So these are. This is not a non, you know, not an all inclusive or exhaustive list, but these are just a few of those conversation starters that I like to to bring to the top.

Speaker 1: 5:43

So the first and primary thing that I bring to the top of our agendas is why are you bringing your professional life to a close? Is there still more that you want to achieve or accomplish? I never want to get siloed into a situation where a client is wedded to a date. You know, I will be financially independent by 2025 or by 2030 and therefore I must retire, because that's just what you do. Are there still things that you want to achieve in the marketplace? Maybe it's a product line that you want to roll out and bring to fruition. Maybe it's a big merger or an acquisition. Maybe it's a colleague that you're mentoring, that you have a vested stake in their success and you feel a sense of loyalty and purpose in making sure that they're taken care of.

Speaker 1: 6:42

Whatever the case may be, do you, deep inside your soul, feel that it's time for you to step away? Have you done everything within that sphere of life that you set out to do, and are you content with stepping away? I think a lot of times we'll think that professional athletes are the only people who can actually ask that question. I think it's worth asking that question of ourselves as well. So the next piece that I'll ask people is have you considered a second career?

Speaker 1: 7:20

Some people look at me and think, oh well, that's just not possible, and I'm pretty passionate about this one because I've lived it Occasionally. You know, if you're in this industry long enough, or if you're anywhere, you'll come across someone who's simply doing what they do every day because it pays them well, not because they're passionate about it, not because they have a sense of purpose or belonging to the work that they're doing. And when I come across these types of situations, I say, hey, have you considered what is it that you would look forward to doing, and would you be open to me figuring out a way to help you make that transition to work that you find meaningful? You know, if there was one thing that you could do until the day that you died, what would it be and how could I help you make that transition in a way that isn't going to expose you to too much financial risk and etc. The person that has been most helpful for me in this space is George Kinder, and so in the written newsletter you can find my recommendation for the books to pick up by him. He's written several, but he and I have our differences, theologically as it may be, but I found his work and his frameworks for how to approach this question incredibly meaningful.

Speaker 1: 8:48

The next piece that I'll come across are, you know, hey, are there organizations that you and your spouse want to volunteer at? And, forgive me, it's raining behind me. I don't know if you can catch this or not, but we're in the middle of a rainstorm, so hopefully that's not distracting you too much. But are there? Back to my original question Are there organizations that you and your spouse can volunteer at? I know for myself personally. My wife and I love the volunteer work that we have done together. We find that it's incredibly meaningful, incredibly enjoyable, and I've witnessed countless other couples, because this wasn't my idea originally. I saw other you know more mature couples doing this and I said, hey, what if we could do that ourselves? And guess what? It was a lot of fun, and still is. Find those ways of connecting in organizations that you're already passionate about and see what happens, because the opportunities there are pretty neat.

Speaker 1: 9:50

The last piece that I'm going to bring up today is have you considered coaching or teaching, and whether it's you know some people just like you know I don't have time for that or I'm just not the right fit, but I'd ask the question who are the people that were most influential to you and why? And if you think about it, at least for me personally, it was someone who was 30, maybe even 40 years my senior, and they had a perspective on life that helped me put life and the component parts in their proper places, and there was a way in which they could describe things and take the pressure off of different life circumstances or life situations that I just found so refreshing, and they'd actually lived those circumstances and they had something to give me in that regard. So don't underestimate yourself. If you have a passion for a particular sport, a passion for a particular subject, I think that if you just move past the barriers to mental entry to this category of teaching and or coaching, you will find more than enough demand for your willingness to serve in this area.

Speaker 1: 11:08

I'm going to leave things to here for now. If you have found this helpful or insightful, if you have any questions, please reach out. I love interacting with your comments and your questions. Thank you so much for joining us again, and please know that I'm wishing you and your family continued truth, beauty and goodness on the road ahead. Have a great day.