Does it make sense to pursue finding an occupation so enjoyable that we want to make it a part of our life…forever? Some of the most celebrated and accomplished people in the world are well beyond retirement age and still active (and not out of necessity!)
I not only know the concept, but I’ve seen it up close. When I worked in the financial district in Boston in the 1990s my office was in a 9-story office building with a soda and sandwich shop on the first floor (Brigham’s). That’s where I first observed the men in their boater hats*.
In the summer these men wore seersucker suits. Each morning, as they unlocked their office doors, they’d bend down to scoop up the Wall St. Journal and sometimes the orange-hued Financial Times. In that office building, the vast majority were semi-retired lawyers.
It’s striking to see someone happily engaged in a lifelong pursuit or activity. A continuation and commitment. A honing of craft. This building was full of those people.
It’s been years since I saw the men in the boater hats. With the advent of new technology and working from home, their “descendants” are likely in baseball caps and flip flops working in their dens or patios.
We are on a different planet from those men when considering technology and fashion. But, that concept — finding an occupation in which the well never runs dry, when there’s always something to learn, to contribute — well, I can’t think of a better state of which to aspire.
Are ya with me?
This blog is originally published in Marilee's newsletter.
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