For over 30 years, Richard Ward has been a certified financial planner taking a holistic approach to creating a financial portfolio that offers retirement fulfillment with great possibilities. His cogent book, Redefining Retirement: Finding Purpose and Passion for Your Second Half, is interesting, intellectual and inspiring.
While many of us have engaged in a modest amount of charitable work for altruistic reasons, Richard’s book examines another aspect of giving back. He discusses the fact that even if we financially plan well enough to spend our retirement traveling and indulging ourselves, with the 20 plus years that many of us will live post retirement, this may soon become old and unfulfilling.
Richard enthusiastically supports the notion that, during our retirement years, we find ways to contribute our time to charitable causes that are personally meaningful. He feels that we should explore nonprofits and other charitable organizations that are interesting to us and would excite us to become involved. This type of personal engagement, with causes near and dear to our hearts, can be a source of almost endless entertainment during our retirement years.
According to Richard, these activities give us purpose and provide inspiration to our lives. They help us create a clear way to leave a legacy. This type of thinking has actually changed my mind set about my involvement with charitable activities. Previously to having read and discussed these ideas with Richard, I viewed charitable giving as primarily altruistic. My thinking about this issue has made me more cognizant of the time I must make for charitable participation.
At this stage in my life, the second third, I never seem to have enough time to do as much as I wish I could. This type of time commitment would currently take away from my immediate family, from my business, my employees, and my clients that need my attention. However, in the last third of my life, i.e. retirement, that sacrifice of time will no longer exist. As Richard so eloquently points out in his book, I will have the time that I need to spend. It is comforting to know that charitable endeavors will be there with open arms, to accept my time and provide me with motivation and purpose. I look forward to indulging in “guilt free” charitable endeavors in my retirement. Thank you, Richard, for opening up this type of thinking and possibility to fulfill my life.