How long should you work before you retire?
That is a question only you can answer but I know as a retired nurse working on the floor pulling and lifting patients until you are 62-72 is not something I personally would want to do and the risk of getting hurt goes up quite a bit.
Recently I talked to a friend who has been at the same hospital for close to 20 years. Somewhere along the way, the hospital changed the retiring age to receive the benefits. The benefits are clearly the carrot hanging over seasoned staff head to stay longer to reach the benefit goal or to leave early and not get anything.
I worked in the same hospital for 25 1/2 years. I could work on any floor at any given time, I could work in the admission office to admit new patients, I could work in discharge or work a code with a violent patient. I could work anywhere in the building productively.
My last 5 years I ran the education and training department from a blank hallway, and I mean not one chair was sitting in the hall to the fully stocked classroom.
Not to mention I had to go to the storage rooms, the barn, and several other places to find things to go on the hall but I was willing to do that because I wanted it to be a place to learn and relax. I washed and cleaned chairs, begged for tables, emptied boxes of trash that were stored in the rooms we could use and turned it into a place to educate the staff.
In the first year, I recruited 200 nursing students to come through our department as part of their nursing school training for potential hires in the future. I also taught a CPI class to the new staff coming into the hospital before the nursing staff came to me for 3 weeks.
I taught a lot of hours in the building.
Today I am now grateful I was not given the raise that I ask for. Not once but three times and I was told that a raise was not in the budget but there were people doing less in an office job than I was at the time who got a raise. Frustrating to say the least.
What being a retired nurse meant to me
For me, retirement meant more than just going home to sit in a rocking chair. As a state employee once I reached my time of service, my needed service points, and age limit. I applied for my retiring papers.
Scared to death because I had worked for someone else since the age of 14 and at this hospital, since the age of 22 it was a part of my life. I had spent half my life under that roof and around those people even though they were not close friends they were the normal, the comfortable.
The day I walked out my home business got very real to me. I knew at that moment I had to step up the pace to be a real business and to make things happen. I am very grateful for the lifetime benefits I get for working at my hospital and a monthly income that still comes in. However, I wanted more for my family than just enough and I knew I did not want to work part-time outside the home. I wanted to make it work from home. I believed I could and I did.
Working part-time from home
I know you are reading this and saying to yourself. That is great for you but I am to busy, I don’t have time, I have kids, a husband, a dog, too many TV shows to watch, you have to ask your spouse, your mother, your boss. I have seriously heard a lot of reasons why people don’t have time to work part-time from home to prepare for retirement.
It comes down to desire and what you are willing to do for a better life later. When I worked I got up at 4 AM – and didn’t get home until 5-6PM in the evening. Most of the time I would go pick up one or both of the boys and we would head to a baseball game, practice or soccer. I literally worked on my smartphone, iPad anywhere I could steal a few minutes to connect with people and follow up.
What excuses are you using?
I didn’t use time as an excuse, I did what I could in the time I had. I wanted more and I pushed through the excuses to get there.
The biggest dragon that YOU need to slay is that you don’t think you can actually do this. It is time to prove yourself wrong and take a 100-day challenge. You don’t have to work 2-3 jobs and spend all your time away from your family. You can learn a new skill that will give back control of your time.
You may have to give up your excuses
You may have to give up a TV show
You may have to give up your comfort zone
For 100 days if you take the time to learn a skill and apply it you will be on a new path. This may not be for you… but if you are still reading this post. You have a pull somewhere inside you that thinks you can.
If you don’t have a business connect with me and let’s see if a side project will work for you and not interfere with what you have going on now. Start making your own plans to retire when you are ready and not when your boss tells you that you can. Some people get benefits and some work a lifetime for nothing extra. Don’t be that person
If you already have a business with little to no results then take the 100-day challenge and see what happens in your business.
If you have realized you don’t have a solid game plan for your business and you are ready to get things in order to leverage your business. Here are the secret Recipes that are PROVEN to help you Get More Customers, Recruit More Reps
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