
It’s been a bit of a slug-fest at work.
These last few weeks have brought on a heavy dose of 11th-hour drama that’s quite typical in the world of software delivery at large corporations. Sweating out another Sunday night has me wondering how to get retirement right: Should I reconsider ditching the cube early and explore alternatives to retirement?
When you get close to the finish line of a project at work and the customer decides “This isn’t what I wanted”, all of a sudden, collegiality flies out the window. Emotions take over. In my case, being a leader means I wind up defending my team more than I should have to. They’re simply doing their jobs.
Being a mediator can feel bring on some serious stress. I can feel my blood pressure rising on those conference calls. That’s when I remember that it’s okay to want to retire early. Are there merits to leaving the rat race, or does a meaningful career support a purpose-driven life?
After Mrs. Cubert hit the hay, I stayed up to watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi on Netflix. Believe it or not, I came away from that screening with the crazy notion that I should never retire.
Seek Struggle, Not a Job You Love
In the film, Jiro, an 85-year-old sushi chef and restaurant owner in Tokyo, Japan, shares his secrets to delivering a consistently excellent product over seven decades. He’s a firm believer in perfecting one’s craft to the utmost. He feels it is an obligation to love his work.
Jiro’s life is a case study of how consistent, repetitive execution with small tweaks here, and there can lead to mastery and success.
“Once you decide on your occupation,” says Jiro, “you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That’s the secret of success and is the key to being regarded honorably.”
It’s easy to see why Jiro still works as hard as he does (even now, approaching age 90), from 5 AM to 10 PM each day, repeating many of the same tasks day over day. Simply, he is devoted to his craft. Through endless execution, his craft has come to define who Jiro is. If Jiro were to retire, he’d be, “bored to death.”
I came away from this documentary with a new perspective on work and retirement. Is it taking the easy way out to retire early? Am I simply giving up? Why can’t I be like Jiro, devote myself to project management, and continue to master my craft?
I don’t know the answers to those questions right now. I hope the answers emerge over the next three years, at which point I become eligible to bolt.
Jiro never suggests that you need to find a job you love. Fact is, he struggled mightily in the beginning, and it took many years for him to achieve a level of success we would define as “making it.” Persistence and resilience are a big part of what got Jiro from a place of hardship to a place of great reward.
Now, despite all of the toil and repetition, there are subtle aspects of the sushi chef gig that make it rewarding work. If you’re looking for a Blue-Zones case study on healthy longevity, look no further than Jiro:
- Jiro is on his feet all day, and you’re in constant motion. This is HUGE for folks looking to live a long time in good health
- Jiro gets to sample the goods. He and his staff ensure quality control by tasting the sushi throughout the day, to avoid putting a bad product in front of customers. In the process, Jiro is consuming some very healthy and very anti-inflammatory seafood, while avoiding junk food.
- Jiro gets instant gratification. His customers respectfully gush over the extraordinarily simple and flavorful bites put in front of them. Putting forth your best effort (and seeing the results) builds great pride in your work.
- Jiro establishes long-term friendships. From the vendors at the fish market to the rice dealer, and even the restaurant critics… They’ve all bonded with our hero. And also, of course, have his two sons, even after working under his harsh tutelage for many years.
Work Less and Emphasize Work-Life Balance
For all you wusses out there who whine and complain about how awful holding a steady job is, look no further than Denmark. The happiest people on the planet can’t even fathom the concept of early retirement. Why? Because they get a truckload of time off from work (among many other social benefits).
And check this nonsense out, FIRE Team: The Danes are up for more work, even into their 60s! That’s right. Even though the official retirement age is 67, many Danes had been calling it quits at 62. (Though lately that figure has crept up to 65.)
The line that I found most telling from that last linked article was this: “Many jobs have become less arduous, making it more feasible to continue into older age…”
In Denmark, the average workweek hovers around 40 hours. You show up at 8 or 8:30 and head home at 5 for dinner with the family. Want to know what makes the Danes just that much more willing to work, aside from reasonable hours and all that vacation? They live close to where they work.
That’s one of the hang-ups from the environmentally sensitive among us. But you won’t find the crush of clown-car commuters in Denmark. Nope. That’s because the Danes ride their bikes EVERYWHERE.
It’s not all roses of course. As the economy has recovered over the last decade, the average Danish commute has crept up to *26 miles. And not surprisingly, many Danish companies are struggling to recruit talent, because the Danes despise long commutes.
As for me? I’m feeling a bit Danish about my current situation. My annual time off from work is about equivalent (though we don’t get NINE paid holidays here in the states). And my commute is a measly 10 miles, of which I bike about a third of the time.
My work week clocks in at about 43-45 hours, and that’s because I try not to waste time when I’m there. Like the Danes, I set aside no more than a half-hour for lunch, but unlike the Danes, I eat lunch at my desk.
Ultimately, I have very little to complain about. Even stressful days when the craziness abounds is a cakewalk compared to many other jobs or companies I’ve experienced. Since my early retirement journey began back in 2014, I’ve managed to avoid the type of monster projects that made my work-life miserable five years ago.

Alternative Retirement Lifestyles
This is where virtually 100% of the FIRE blogging community resides. Many early retirees simply travel the world and enjoy themselves immensely with their newfound freedom. But they are compelled to carve out time to blog about it.
Blogging is a part-time (and sometimes even a full-time) commitment, aka a “job”. And in many cases, it helps pay for the groceries. That’s SemiFIRE. (And for those who prefer to only work during part of the year, while enjoying the free time during the rest, there’s SeasonalFIRE.)
Other so-called early retirees don’t just write a blog, but they create new businesses and travel extensively to preach the good word of FIRE Salvation. That’s a wonderful thing, because who wouldn’t want to trade a confining cubicle job for work so exciting? Suze Orman would approve.
SemiFIRE is nothing more than trading your working energy from the cubicle monotony, for something you have more passion about. It’s still working because YOU HAVE A JOB TO DO. We could play with semantics all day. But the point is we in the FIRE club have taken the traditional nature of “retirement” and reshaped it to suit our purposes.
Example: Troy Aikman retired from the NFL (aka, “retired early”), but he picked up a side gig co-hosting televised games soon after. Sounds nice. Very “SemiFIRE” of you, Troy. But do you think his family misses him when he’s off to a different city for telecasts half the year? At the end of the day, we are all simply trading up jobs and calling it “early retirement”.
If You Love What You Do, Keep Working
I can hear the groans already from the Muppets in the balcony:
“But I want to travel the world!”
“I want my freedom!”
“Commutes are choking our lungs and polluting our lakes and streams!”
Trust me. I’m right there with you. I miss travel. I too wouldn’t mind sitting lakeside on a beautiful summer’s Tuesday. And long commutes are terrible. Not only from a safety perspective but from an environmental one too. Our current work culture in the U.S. is pitiful!
That’s probably the main point of this entire post. If we could learn how to balance work with our lives and our environment, maybe early retirement isn’t the only option left to us…
Consider some other examples. Jiro the Sushi Wizard. The 90-something wonder from Japan who loves his full-time work crafting sushi, on his feet, all day long. Someone give that man a Yebisu!
I can guarantee he doesn’t get stuck in rush hour traffic (he takes the train) and I’m pretty sure he’s reconciled a purpose and struggle that’s meaningful to HIM. If I had to guess, I’d say his purpose has been the perfection of an ancient craft as his art form and passing that craft down to his sons.
You just read about the early retirement connection with Blue Zones’ longevity. Able-bodied 90-somethings are off herding their sheep up and down hillsides in Sardinia.
Able-bodied great-grandmothers tend their gardens, watch over children, and prepare meals for friends and family. There are even 90-something cardiac surgeons still performing operations:
Do you think all of them are hating life and whining about their work? Probably not. And I suspect it’s because they too, like Jiro, have reconciled their struggles as a core function of their existence. There’s gratitude embedded in what they do, and it likely stems from their ability to provide and sustain. Swirl that around and gargle for a minute.
Early retirement is rarely looked at as anything other than a glorious achievement. You’ve made it. You put in the time, toil, and effort, and voila! It’s finished. Time to soak up the sun and kick back, maybe read a book or two, go for a bike ride, and see the world.
Some might suggest that once you’ve reached this pinnacle of no longer being bound to a cubicle, there’s little else you need to feel fulfilled. Think about it. You’ve got the resources to feed yourself, clothe yourself, and keep a roof over your head. Arguably, you’ve made some friends along the way, and maybe you have a partner to enjoy life’s twists and turns with.
As I approach the stage of my career where I could take it or leave it, these are the kind of thoughts that occupy my mind. Sometimes the pressure and stress of work get me daydreaming about quitting (I’ve already “quiet quit”). And other times, when I feel a little appreciation and camaraderie, I think to myself that a career can be rewarding too.
Is the Never Retire Philosophy Right for You?
Maybe it’s simply managing the rental properties? In that case, I’d have to hope for enough maintenance projects to keep myself “in motion” for a good amount of the time. Ideally, your rental portfolio is passive, with the occasional elbow grease involved.
Where do I stand with this philosophy today? I still plan to keep my early retirement goal, but I’ll certainly be mulling over Jiro and his very stoic approach to work. He is a throw-back who would surely laugh off the notion of early retirement. He uses the word “honorable” to describe work. You’ve got to respect that.
Whether or not his attitude towards work would play out any different if he were a lawyer or a janitor, who knows? One thing I do know: I’m craving some good sushi.
An earlier post from LifeHacker.com does a very nice job of posing these and similar questions. It’s worth checking out. Let’s face it. Work doesn’t always suck.
That said, work sure as heck is a lot harder if you’re extremely incompetent, hard to get along with, or wilt faster than a daisy at high noon in pressure situations. That aside, we can agree that cubicle work sure as hell beats begging for food on the streets, or even watching TV all day.
Then there are times when even the best of us reach our breaking points. Weekends and long workdays, soggy stop-and-go rush-hour commutes, and bosses who just don’t get it.
We’ve been there, done that too. It could be you’re stuck inside those four walls during one of the few beautiful weather days of the year in the polar Midwest when you simply want to be outside appreciating the fresh air.
Looking back over my career, which spans a healthy 23 years, I understand better what makes a working life a tolerable one.
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hi cubert. that was a long one and i needed an adult beverage to recuperate. the two of us in my house backtracked our careers. mrs.’ move was forced but she went to 22 hours a week about 2 miles from the house. mine is now a 13 minute commute and 40 hours and out. i work about 20 extra hours a year and that’s voluntary so we’ll ride this train until it changes. like you, the only thing that would really sway me from here is location. i’ve been scraping/shoveling snow and ice my whole life and something tells me buffalo will always have that.
we’re checking out st. petersbug, fl in a couple of weeks for a long weekend. i’m pretty confident we’re not going anywhere without a strong social circle. we’ll see where it all goes.
Freddy! I love that you took a break to grab a glass of Malbec. This is a sip and read post if ever I wrote one… Actually I did – the post on setting up an Airbnb.
I think you’re in a good spot with a reasonable work week. How much vacation do you get? I’m about to put out some feelers for a part time consulting gig. We’ll see where that goes.
Good luck in your search for warmer climes. Florida is great but April through October can be a bit swampy.
You are on selling alpha! Congratulations!!
Hi Busy Mom! Long-time no talk! Hope you’re doing well.
Yeah – that was a really nice surprise! Sadly the referral traffic is pretty sparse from that site. Give me a Rockstar Finance feature any day!
i get a ton of time off, man. 200 hours + 3 personal days plus 3 days carried over. i guess that’s 6 weeks. the older i get the more i like sticking closer to home. i used to NEED vacation when work was shoddy but i don’t mind showing up these days.
That’s an amazingly comprehensive account of early-retirement pros and cons Cubert – I really think you should syndicate this as it could easily become the definitive guide !! I have been early retired for about 15 years now and all the issues you mention have crossed my mind – but that’s as far as they got ha ha ! Living a simple life is great though some might find it a challenge, it doesn’t mean you have to live a poor life – quite the contrary in fact. We become time-rich and in my books that real wealth. Having cut out the stress we are happier and healthier – so long as we don’t start stressing about retirement issues. No stress means more health, no medical bills (touch wood !), no car required as we walk and live in a public transport friendly place and no expensive holidays required either, there’s simply not the urgency when not working and we now live in a very exciting tourist destination (Hong Kong might have a few problems at the mo but it’s still a heck of a place). Also, very importantly, early-retirement affords the opportunity to pursue ones interests or simply have a go at doing something else in which failure shouldn’t become a stressful issue – enjoy !
Thanks, Ben! I essentially cobbled together a bunch of musty old posts and edited them into something more cohesive. More and more I’m thinking of this blog as an editing platform for a book down the road. Wouldn’t that be a trip??
I hope you’re keeping your wits will all that’s going down over there. Always good to see your comments, sir – it’s inspiring and helps keep me aligned to the original goal of FIRE by 2020. Admittedly, hanging up the job would be a bit more exciting a prospect if I could bop around the world a bit, but we’ll be hunkered down in the Midwest for several more years looks like.
//until I’ve mastered the basic tenets of Buddhism//. Suggestion – try it. You may like it. https://www.headspace.com/
Thanks, Bill for the suggestion! I’ll have to check it out…
Wow, what a post. Also awesome to learn of another MN FI blogger, I think we need to meet up (boo, PoF left us). I don’t have a FI blog per se but I have other pursuits.
I have only been on this path for a year, actually November marks my one year FInnerversary. Hah! I’m also in the software world though as an individual contributor and have been in my career for about 8 years.
One thing my wife and I did after just 4 years of working was to take 6 months off and live in France. That was like a mini retirement. It’s funny because I didn’t know what FI was, we just did it and it was thanks to some decent savings. After 6 months though we DEFINITELY wanted to see friends again, so that relationship aspect is huge. We managed to make several friends near the end of our stay and that was amazing. We blogged the whole time during our stay and I’ve been meaning to move all the posts to a new site, since at the time we were anonymous and nobody really read it beyond our families.
Taking a sabbatical was a huge life changer for us. We didn’t think we could do it again… Until I discovered an entire movement of people who do similar things, that is!
I can relate to the two kids in daycare because that’s where I’m at now. It currently occupies more than our mortgage but it’s still a relatively “temporary” expense. Despite that, we have doubled our savings since last year pre-knowing-about-FI, managing about 45% savings.
For me personally, I seem to be combining several approaches with traditional FIRE. I have side passive income, not from real estate, but from training courses. And according to the company I do courses for, I really just need to get over 10 to start making some serious income. 15+ and it might exceed my currently salary. Right now I’m on 4 which is in progress and that’s ahead of my 5 year goal! ?
Besides that “passive” income, I also have a digital product I currently offer for free that I’ll be adding some subscription tiers to, which could possibly start earning revenue next year. I’m excited about it because this has been a passion project for almost 9 years that I’ve been doing for free in my spare time. Maybe by year 10, it’ll finally make me money.
If that wasn’t all, my wife and I started a frugal craft/DIY blog in Sept and I don’t expect it to do anything for me for another 2-3 years but I have the advantage of understanding *how* to make money with a blog so maybe that’ll help. ?♂️ It’s primary purpose is to help document my journey to learning DIY and provide an outlet for my wife’s awesome projects. Something tells me her stuff will be more popular ☺️
All of that to say, I will definitely not run out of work I want to do. What I’m looking for is the runway and time to really invest in these things I love doing. Right now I have to do them at night or on days off. It works but I want to take the jump in the next few years.
I enjoy my current role at Big Corp and I’d say it’s Medium Stress. But I know it isn’t what I want to do for the next 10 years. I’ve always been a bit entrepreneurial since I was a teenager so working 9-5 has never been a perfect fit for me. And now with kids I want to spend more time with and tons of projects and ideas, finding the path to FI has really made it seem reachable in a short time. The “fully funded lifestyle change” is definitely what I’m aiming at in the near term and I feel like if I can achieve that, the need to be “at FI” will go way down. ?
Hi Kamran, and Thank You!
I’ll definitely check out your blog. Agree, always good to connect with new MN bloggers. We write to survive our incredibly long winters, right?? I hadn’t heard that PoF left for good but I’m not keeping up with the community like I should. I think he must be in northern Michigan now – so I might have to catch him when we get to Charlevoix next summer.
I’m pretty envious of your time in France. That sounds amazing. I thought our two-week visit to Paris was amazing before we had kids. To live there that long with all that amazing food?? Regardless, a sabbatical is something I think we’ll see more and more of. I took an unintentional one when I got laid off several years ago. It wound up being a 12 month corporate free experience, but I used that time to finish my MBA and spent two months in a miserable internship that was nothing more than making cold calls all day. YUCK.
Thanks again for sharing your story. We’ll have to have a meet up for sure!
Cheers,
Cubert
I really enjoyed reading this journey. It was great to see health and diet as a concern your planning for. I hope to RE in the next 5 years. Recently my wife and I, over the last 2 years, we have been focusing alot on our health and how to prepare physically for retirement and getting older. In addition to our financial goals, our health goals are to Live long and Die quick. We hope to avoid self inflicted chronic conditions, and become healthier in the process.
If you enjoyed the Blue Zone books, might I also suggest “The China Study” and possibly “How Not to Die” for a more in depth look at the role/benefit of nutrition and diet.
In the FI blog world I always enjoy the “this was my process” posts. This was a good one, thanks again.
Thank you, FIREDDS! Health and diet are definitely high on our list of priorities. Mental health too of course, since stress plays such an overarching role in our lives. I love the “live long and die quick” notion. That’s our plan too. Sometimes you just can’t figure how some reach a ripe old age with great health, but most seem to be simply content and at peace with any regrets.
Hey! Thanks for sharing this monster post! I’m also not on the full-steam-ahead-FIRE path. I expect to do work forever (and not work that’s just blogging about FI). I’m hoping to branch into life coaching, career coaching, and course creation.
One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is: what are the conditions under which I would stay at my current employer forever (obviously not forever but a long time). I already work part-time (which I love). I will probably never go back to full-time work. Once I experienced part-time work, I don’t think I could go back to the stress level of full time work. I like myself and I like my life a lot better when I’m not frazzled all the time. So I’d need to keep it part-time. The other thing I was thinking about was flexibility. I have big dreams to travel – not full-time nomadic, but I’d love to travel for 3 months out of the year. This means that I’d need to get out of a role where I needed to “keep the trains running” and do more special project type work that could flex up and down over the course of the year, providing me the ability to take more time off of work than I currently do.
Once I thought about this, what did I do? I started to float the idea by my boss of eventually being her “special projects” person as the organization grows. She knows I value flexibility above all else, and is very open to that. As much as I’m excited about building up my business, if my relationship with my employer works for me, maybe I’d never actually retire (working part-time is certainly easier than being an entrepreneur).
I wonder if there’s a way to think about what your ideal working conditions would look like and try to make those a reality?
I wish you the best as you figure out your next steps!
Best,
Jessica
Hey Jessica,
My pleasure! Thanks for sharing a little about your journey here as well! I hope readers check out thefioneers.com — a lot of super useful insights!
The work forever thing sounds a bit daunting, but I think we operate best as useful beings. The key is to find gigs that are low stress and interesting enough to keep us coming back with good health. Solve that and you’ve got it made. Part-time work is definitely an ideal option if you can pay the bills.
I think I might just drum up the courage in 2020 to have the conversation about a flexible “special projects” arrangement such as the one you’ve mustered. I think it’s very appealing. Especially if you get to take advantage of long spells off for travel, etc.
Cheers!
Cubert