Early retirement is an opportunity to change your whole life

People sometimes challenge us for working for longer than we need to, because we already have more in passive income than our current expenses.

This line of thinking, more than anything else, used to frustrate me. It seemed obvious to me that we’re looking to achieve a very specific thing because we have a very specific goal in mind. Couldn’t people see that?

But over time I’ve mellowed somewhat.

I’ve now seen people who have extremely arbitrary financial goals. $2 million because $2 million makes you say you’re a multimillionaire. That sounds good enough!

I’ve also seen heaps of people say they want to retire early — and have been chasing that goal for years — but have no idea what they want to do with their lives beyond that. The goal is to not work, and that’s the extent of the dream, and enough to make them pursue it.

I suppose a lot of people just don’t have much of an imagination.

Think about staging a house for sale. Why do people do it? Because the alternative is empty rooms, and many people can’t see how that blank canvas could be a warm, inviting, safe space without throw cushions strategically placed to literally show them what life could be like there.

Clearly some people also lack that imagination when it comes to something as life changing as early retirement.

Today I’m here to tell you that early retirement isn’t just about removing work from your life. If you want to retire early, I applaud you. But I also appeal to you to broaden your horizons, and think about it as an opportunity to live your best life.

Zoom out and think about what you really want to do with your time on this planet.

Think big. Really big. Think life changing

Early retirement is — at its core — all about improving your life.

And for us it’s about more than just taking control of your time (no more commutes to work, or having your boss make out of hours demands). The stuff of dreams is also having the money to do what you truly want.