Post FI Challenge
Post FI Challenge
I think it shocks my readers when I say that financial independence is something that once reached needs to be coped with. Believe it or not, it takes a little getting used to. Clouded by the money mind meld, many reach the end of this journey only to find that a new series of paths opens up in front of them. Which path to take? This is the great post FI challenge. Now that money is no longer an issue, what are the new goals and hobbies that are going to occupy time?
Although the dream of unlimited travel, free time, and leisure is tantalizing, it only takes a few months to realize that those concepts only carry a person so far.
Even after financial independence, we all need some sort of challenge in our lives. We have already won the employment game.
We need to step out of our comfort zone.
Blogging
There have been a number of ways in which I have striven to challenge myself after coming to the realization that I am financially independent. Although I am no stranger to the blogging world, writing about personal finance has definitely pushed me out of my natural expertise.
I have spent years writing about medicine. Through social media I created a persona, a voice, and message that became my identity. This identity fit me comfortably and was crafted over years of writing and expressing opinions.
Becoming anonymous and writing about personal finance is a great post FI challenge. Not only did I lose all the connections and social media acumen that I had already accrued, but also had to wrestle a topic in which I had less natural inclination towards and less experience.
The process of rebuilding a brand and finding a new voice have inspired my productivity, and definitely adds flavor to my day-to-day existence.
Public Speaking
A number of months ago, I was asked to participate in a speaker’s bureau. I am no stranger to public speaking. Given my inclination towards storytelling, I truly enjoy attending conferences and giving keynote speeches.
Although I find this activity pleasurable, I wouldn’t call it easy. Just like everyone else, I get a bundle of nerves before going on stage. Furthermore, my talks are usually peppered with stories and personal experiences and therefore don’t lend to Powerpoint, podium, and lecture.
To truly pull off my style of talk, I need to roam free on the stage with no notes or reminders. It takes quite a bit of practice and memorization to pull off an hour speech in such a manner.
By signing up for this speaker’s bureau, I have truly spread my wings and accepted my hardest post FI challenge. I will not sit back, relax, and enjoy the view. Even after financial independence, the need to push myself and expand still exists.
I have a few talks on the roster already and have started the prolonged process of planning, outlining, and memorizing.
Wish me luck.
Final Thoughts
To many on the road to financial freedom, the only goal in sight is reaching the end and leaving the W2 workplace. While a laudable goal for sure, it quickly becomes apparent that many paths spring up once financial independence is achieved.
As human beings we like to continue to learn and grow. My post FI challenge has been to continue to push myself to learn and improve. I have done this by creating a personal finance blog and joining a speaker’s bureau. As time goes by, I’m sure I’ll jump into other new ventures.
I just can’t imagine spending the next forty years with my legs kicked up on the cough relaxing.
You are doing it the right way by keeping your mind and body active so that they don’t atrophy when your main job ceases. Social interaction is paramount in our lives and a lot of it is lost when we do quit our job. Your activities ensure that you will still be immersed in social activities which can prevent you from some of the issues retirees face.
I think you bring up an important point about the social. I think RE could be very lonely.
In early retirement, we are constantly coming up with new challenges. Some of them are fun, like making and playing Taiko drums. Others are periods of work, like buying a foreclosure property and doing most of the rehab ourselves. I’ve taken classes at the Community College, and I’m telling you, trying to be in a group project with millennials is possibly the most difficult. They were ridiculing me at first, and then came to see me as one of their colleagues.
Currently, we are knee-deep in grime left from a 7 year welfare tenant. I think this makes us “filthy rich”!
Ha! Tenants can definitely keep you busy.
That’s a cool idea. I have done a lot of public speaking in my past, generally related to my industry sector, college commencement speeches, testimony to congressional committees or conference keynotes. I didn’t think there was much opportunity to get on a speakers bureau unless you had wider celebrity status than me. Did you get on it by virtue of being an author? That sounds intriguing. I’ve got enough consulting gigs to stay as busy as I want in retirement but I’m not getting many public speaking opportunities since they mostly grew out of my 9 to 5.
I have done extensive writing and talking about medicine over the years so I was extended an invitation.
Had a great conversation with a close Friend who is basicallly financially Independent but keeps working due to his social status as C-Level Exec and lack of a plan regarding what to do after retiring early. He said if if he quit now he would fall I to a phase of depression as he didn’t have a clue on what to do. I am planning to write a blog post on the things to do after hitting FI. It seems to be one of the biggest questions.
I think we let getting to FI blind us to all the rest that life has to offer. I call it the money mind meld. Once at FI…it is easy to be lost because you ignored purpose for so long focusing on money.