Starting at the End First

The other day I was speaking to someone who was on the verge of retirement, we’ll call him “Bob” for now. Bob was telling me about how he was working for more than twenty years to set up his retirement and then right before he was about to actually retire, it all went down hill.

The government started laying people off, he didn’t get what was expected and in the end had to compromise a lot of his plans to simply “survive” the last decade or so left on this planet. As I sat there listening to the bitterness in his voice and the disapointment it dawned on me that I might be doing things wrong as well.

Poor old Bob was working his entire life for an idea or a dream that when he was finished “working” he could lay back and just wait for his eternal slumber. The problem was that life had a completely different scenario in mind. Now Bob must budget and essentially work until he dies one day. This for me was an unacceptable situation and I retreated to the deepest chambers of my mind to think of a solution. And then it came…that “Aha” moment.

Starting at the End…First”

You know that saying “First thing is first”? I lived by that creed for so long; before I can move on…”first thing is first”. This philosophy taught me to be diligent, that everything has an order and that if done correctly at the end there will be a big pay off. The problem however is that even though I was doing things by the book, it didn’t ever pan out the way I had anticipated…ever!

So what would happen if we started at the End of our lives and worked our way back? What would have happened if Bob would have secured his retirement plan before even starting his professional life some 40 years ago?

Now you might say, “Jeandre, how on earth can you do that?” of which I would reply; “Simple…just change your definition of a retirement plan.”

Most people want to accumulate a bundle of cash that they can spend every day until the last breath escapes from their mouths. This is all good and dandy but money isn’t a really “solid investment” if you ask me or the entire European Union. The only thing that is a stable investment is land. Land is the one thing that regardless of whether the world economy is booming or in a rut, it is the only sense of “power” we have.

But land by itself isn’t everything. You require development, you require sustainability and you require comfort. Old people need medicine and they can’t really “Work the land” anymore either. So this is Jeandre’s last step…maybe you’ll like it as well.

Jeandre’s Last Step…First

We can thank Bob for this one. My last step is a vision I always wanted but thought to do at the end of my life. Now, I rearranged my priorities and will work on it first.

I always wanted to create a self-sustainable ecological house that harness its own free energy, and essentially is it’s own habitat. In this place I want to grow medicinal plants of all sorts in order to create my own natural remedies (My wife is a Bio-Technology Major). I think if I know that there is a place where I can “retire to” that will have absolutely everything I need regardless of what I do in my life or not will turn my world upside down.

Can you imagine not having to worry about retirement anymore? Can you imagine not needing to work to get food, electricity, housing, and so on? I think if this was the case I’d be able to take bigger risks and potentially obtain greater results in my professional life.

This was just a random though that popped in my mind….what do you guys think…should I start working on my last step first?