The Three Phases

(This might seem a little too deep or thoughtful, but it's my way of rationalizing my future.)

Many people have described the three phases of life in many different ways.

An old description defines a man as walking on four legs early in life (infancy), two legs in the middle of his life and three legs at the end (with a cane or walker).  Others have described it as unaware, courting and married (with, hopefully, no fourth phase after that).

A commonly held representation divides the phases into growth and fundamental education, career development and retirement.  In this model, the first phase covers a person's life through age 21 or 22; the second phase occurs until the mid-60s; the final phase extends through the end of one's life.  The amount of personal growth and fulfillment varies from person to person, but in my observation it is the popularly held model.

I'm currently a member of that last description, and I want to break the mold.  I started working professionally at 14 as a programmer and have been in that industry since.  Since I started my second phase early in life, why not start the third phase early as well?  I'm in my mid-40s, and I want to retire.

Retirement is not an exit from the workforce - it is an escape from the mandate to work.  Most people (including me) work every day because of obligations that we have: mortgages, children, bills, etc.  If these obligations didn't exist (and if one is not interested in accumulating more material possessions), then there is no need to continue life in phase two.  Retirement is the phase in life where one can live financially secure and pursue opportunities of interest - the chance to volunteer, develop personal skills, or finally get caught up on reading!  It is the time in life where a person can do what they want, where they can contribute to others or their neighborhood on their own schedule.

How can I retire in my mid-40s?  That's in the next post.