Increasingly I’m thinking about the final chapters in my life. Often I meet with sellers who are on their final chapter and transitioning to some sort of assisted living. Other times I meet their heirs because the book of life is complete and it’s time for the family to sell the house. Whatever the case, it makes me consider my options as I near the twilight of my career.
Don’t get me wrong, I could continue selling real estate full time into my 80’s as some of my colleagues still do. They are still top producers and literally legends in the local industry still selling houses. If my body lasts that long, I doubt I’ll still be selling real estate at all, much less full time. I do enjoy helping people and selling real estate, and it’s nice to be productive. It would be impossible for me to just sit around and do nothing in retirement, and I have several retired friends who have taken part time jobs to keep busy and keep producing a little income.
I see myself continuing to blog about real estate full time for many years to come, and eventually transitioning to selling only part time during the peak seasons. By the time I’m 70 I may walk away altogether, but who knows. Because I’m older, scratch that, because I’m old, I have a lot of friends who are either retired or considering retirement. Most interesting though, I never hear other Realtors talk about retiring. Some work until their own books of life are completed. I’ve seen plenty of newer Realtors not make it in the industry and need to move on to other professions. It’s not an easy way to make a living, especially when you are just starting out.
I guess the milestones coming up for me are 62, 65, 67 and 70. With each comes the question, how much more do I want to accomplish? I’m sure I’ll blow past 62 and keep working strong. But at 65, that’s where I’m really going to be questioning my mortality and what I want to do with the sand left in my hourglass. The old saying is, you’ll never be younger than you are today.
This week past week I biked daily, and when I wasn’t riding, I surfed twice. I will keep doing those things, but I’ve noticed I don’t ride as fast as I used to and I draw the line in bigger surf and rougher ocean conditions that I once charged into. Much like real estate sales, I know people who are biking and surfing in their 70’s. I think if I make it that far, hopefully biking, surfing and traveling will make up my final chapters.
For now, it’s real estate sales full speed ahead, with at least one or two tropical vacation breaks per year.