The man who has something to live for lives longer. ~Napoleon Hill & W. Clement Stone
I had a friend with whom I used to go fly fishing. He had retired from the United States Air Force. He once told me that retirement was the quickest path to the grave. He left the Air Force and started working in the civilian world.
The "major" even worked on some project or another every weekend. For instance, there was a time when he fully restored his powder blue '64 Ford Mustang. He used to rebuild and repair antique typewriters. He was always doing something.
I truly believe that Napoleon Hill and William Clement Stone were onto something when they wrote that the man who has something to live for lives longer. That's why I never plan to retire.
So how does one stay busy and continue to "work" long after the world begins to think of you as a living fossil? That's the question.
I am fortunate that I am a writer. I am also a musician and songwriter. I am a artist. Which reminds me of someone you should know-- Will Daskal.
Will is busier now than when he taught school in New York City.
I met Will Daskal more than twenty years ago. He was a part-time instructor at a fly fishing school where I was teaching fly fishing and guiding clientele in the Catskill Mountains and the West Branch of the Delaware River. Will came to the school to help out when we could use an extra instructor. We became friends and remain in touch through e-mail and Facebook.
These days, Will teaches watercolor painting. He sketches and he paints in watercolor, acrylic, and oil. He is on the board of a Pocono Mountain Trout Unlimited Chapter. He has taught prison inmates how to paint. He is involved with various art exhibitions. He does occasional TV spots on painting, on wildlife conservation and water quality. He also writes. He has written several books and remains continually busy. Will Daskal is a true renaissance man of the highest character.
The best way to keep a sharp mind is to keep it occupied. Many old people sit around and do nothing. They get bored. It is boredom that leads to an early grave.
If someone asks me what I plan to do in retirement or when I plan to retire, I tell them that I will not stop working until I am pushing up daisies. I wouldn't have it any other way.
