Before Calling It Quits

7/31/2019 Before Calling It Quits

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Before calling it quits 2012

Before calling it quits, consider.!Being the essential potential retirees guide

Billy C Sichone


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All rights reserved

Billy C Sichone 2012


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Chapter 1

Introduction- over view

In life, the inevitable must be faced head on at one point or the other. It maybe difficult, hard and painful to face but it will come any way, hence the need to be

well prepared long before the crunch arrives. This preparation will mitigate or reduce

the pain that you will face. In as much as some situations and events can be averted

or avoided, others cannot be no matter how we try. In this category of the inevitablemay be included death, sickness or the passing of a loved one. We have an

appointment with these regardless of how smart we hurtle along in this life. However,

what will differ is how well prepared we shall be to meet these and our resilience once

these strike. We could helplessly succumb to these tyrants or reduce their impact on

our well being unless we prepare long term. He is most prepared who thoroughly

trains for a long marathon. Similarly, she most likely excels in an exam depending on

how much adequate prior quality preparations she put in prior to the exams.

The same holds in the game of life. You could either end your life as a hopeless loser

or a triumphant well prepared and prosperous individual in matters to do with your

physical well being. They say that the highest flying bird at some time landssomewhere before it glides away to the next point. In life, things do not come easy;

some level of sacrifice is needed. Depending on when or at what point you sacrifice,

you will be building a strong foundation for future prosperity or setting yourself up for

a disastrous ending when you are forced to sacrifice at the end of your life. It is

therefore a prudent idea to sacrifice early and at the right time so that you reap the

benefits not only for you but yours as well.

What we are here talking about is what we should do first in life so that we in a great

measure safeguard our latter end of life, having left the corporate world, settling on

our private ranch, house or indeed business. Much of where we end depends on the

prior decisions and actions we make along lifes journey. We have met countlesspeople claiming an illustrious career in their younger days who have been reduced to

abject poverty. Their bright glittering past is only a faint distant dream beyond grasp.

We have equally met people who in one day were from very broken, poor back

grounds but today are shining stars and hopefully will end well. Not all that shines

today will forever be so and as they say, not all that glitters is gold.


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Perhaps the question that begs answering at this stage is: Why do people end up

differently in life? Is it intelligence, fate or what? Why should one lick the dust the rest

of their lives while another spends the rest of his life effortlessly touring the world,

golf courses or have abundance of this lifes goods? The answer is not easily givenbut one suggestion could lie in the past decisions that each of them made at some

point in their lives. But more than that, they went ahead and either implemented their

aspirational dreams/plans or kept them neatly tacked away in the secure catacombs1

of their brains without any action. While one exerted themselves to hurtle to the top,

another was either content with the status quo or indifferent to opportunities that

swiftly passed them by for which they paid heavily later in life.

We may further ask, what causes some to retire early, while in their prime with truck

loads of wealth while others crawl along to the very end until the formal employment

system literary ejects them? Why do some become financially independent at a

tender age while others take an entire life time to get anywhere near financialfreedom? If these are your enquiries, then this short book is for you.

We hope that at the end of reading this work, your mind will function outside the box

and be able to be less risk averse as well as voluntarily take the plunge TODAY not

tomorrow. Let us get started then!

1 These were safe underground tunnels curved below the city of Rome where the persecuted

Christians lived and met in the first century- Refer to SM Houghtons Sketches from Church

History published by the Banner of Truth Trust.


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Chapter 2

The ideal state

The best wish of any rational and right thinking person is to have a healthy,fulfilling high quality life style where everything is readily available without much ado.

While self exertion is a spice of life, people generally want to have a trouble free life

having tangible required results after a given effort. Often times, this is not the casebecause what results at times is not exactly what one intended or wished for.

Chances are that they will get far much more than their wildest dreams or not at all.

This can be frustrating.

In an ideal world, people should reap directly proportional to what they sow. By

ideal we mean what would be in a perfect world where everything works out and is

up to expected, desired or imagined standard, yea, an impeccable benchmark. If they

make good decisions, all things being equal, what they get in return should make

sense both to them and others. Further, it may be said that in an ideal world,

everything is in the perfect sense, exactly as one would have loved it. Idealists often

use the ideal as the bench mark or standard by which they judge everything else. Inour consideration in this book we largely revert to the ideal state though we are

cognizant that the actual may not exactly much up. That said, the ideal is a good

gauge and reflection of what we aspire after and should therefore be used to help us

size up to what we dream about.

What is the ideal life style? What exactly is the best case scenario of a person that

has retired properly? What do we expect to see now that they have cut away from

that which once hosted them, the system we mean? What is the profile of the well

prepared retiree? In this chapter we briefly describe the ideal life style and state.

The ideal life style is one that is relatively free from hurdles and troubles common topeople. Although it may not be entirely free from challenges and sudden adverse

occurrences, or indeed pleasant surprises, it is none the less a joyous, comfortable

normal life that evokes much comfort, satisfaction and well being. A good quality life

is one that has the following in place readily available without much ado:

1. Good health as far as it depends on your genetic makeup.


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2. A life full of supplies at every point enabling you to do or decide what you

please to do with the enablers around you such as liquid cash, property or

liberty.

3. A life in which family is cohesive, well catered for and freely able to aspire after

their dreams without any hurdles. This includes academic and career dreams.

4. The ideal life is one in which you have sufficient wealth and liquid cash that

would last you a life time, whether you are in formal employment, informal or

retired quietly somewhere.

5. The ideal life is one in which ones aspirations and fulfilment has been met.

Among this would include self actualisation, high self esteem, and self

confidence and greatly networked with family, friends, associates and business

partners. Most likely, this individual is on various Management Boards whether

for profit or not, hence is heard and contributes to society. There is great

fulfilment derived by that token.

6. The person has greatly and deeply invested into other business ventures such

as the securities market or some partnerships where they are sleeping

partners but reaping great dividends for themselves or their posterity.

7. Has a functional Trust functional to safe guard their empire whether they live

or die, this guarantees continuity of their accumulated assets, wealth and

empire. This will also cater for their progeny there by offering the much needed

psychosocial support of sorts.

8. The person is engaged in what they love to do at any given time rather than as

a work of necessity to put bread and butter on the table. In other words, they

have gone past the vulnerability point to a self mastery and determination

stage.

There could be other areas which make life worthwhile and once attained (which is

possible though not always to the exact degree of expectation) will make life all the

rosier. One fact however is that a few scattered manageable challenges make sense

and add spice to life. Always leave room for eventualities but the well adjusted and

happy people aim for the best at all times.

So much then for the ideal life, we need to descend to the real world of experience.

The next chapter addresses some salient points and situations that lead one to step

out of the normal mode of existence of the masses in order to live the dream life. A

clear mind is needed before taking the plunge over the precipice of life.


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Chapter 3

When you decide to quit

The best time to quit is not easy to tell. Largely it depends on ones personalobjectives and motives for quitting. That said, it is best to have a structured, pre-

planned and rational reason for taking the leap into retirement or quitting from one

job to the next. This means that each individual should have a personal career planand time frame for which they are to work for another all the while raising capital and

the necessary invisible benefits such as experience, ethic, discipline and networks.

After a given time frame has been exhausted, the person should evaluate whether

they have reached their targets and in the event they have not, an alternative

strategy must be crafted which should ensure success to the next level in as short a

time as possible. Remember that organic strategies, time frames etc can and do

change though the goal may not necessarily.

Below, we offer what we think could be rational pointers that would point to the right

time to quit. Hang in there and follow us through, reflecting on each point as we go

along. Here goes!

1. When your personal objectives differ or are at variance with the organisational

goals. Many of us have sentimental attachments to the organisation that bred

and built us up to the extent that we feel reluctant to consider leaving. We feel

indebted and somewhat regard it is a comfort zone which secures us from all

possible harm. And yet, ironically, we feel stranded or frustrated in some

sense! Further, we seem to have lost the fire and zeal to progress further


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within the system thus contributing very little to the overall goal congruence.

We are just getting by, merely existing waiting to collect the next pay cheque.

Our dream is long gone, and interests gravitating to other things, occasionally

at variance with the organisational goals. This is a strong indicator that it istime to pack your bags and tangent. This point of departure will catch all of us

at one point or the other although in some cases, it comes earlier while in

others it almost never catches them to the retirement age. Note here that not

every frustration necessarily means that you quit, but if this desire persists for

many years, it may be an indicator that time has come. One more point

though, this presupposes you know what you want in life, where headed and

the time frame for you to clearly determine whether your objectives are not in

sync with your present employer.

2. When you have achieved your objectives within the given time frame, at times

long before your personal set time frame, it may be time to leave and seekfresh challenges. However, if you have not reached the minimum threshold,

consider readjusting your parameters and strategy so that you head towards

your goal. This may not be easy, especially if you are all fired up to quit like

yesterday but carefully consider the implications of your actions. Would it hurt

to linger around a little longer only to fix one or two other plan and then take

the plunge?

3. If you get a better offer that is value adding and greatly aid you to achieving

your vision, then consider seriously taking up the new job offer but ensure you

have a pocket agenda or plan to quit concentrating on your own thing at the

right time. Sometimes, we under value ourselves and thus earn far less than

would have been the case if we effectively marketed ourselves, earn as much

and then retire earlier than anticipated. It must be noted here that wealth,

good cash flow/riches are not necessarily the same. In addition to having a

good present cash flow, you need a productive asset that will feed into that

same cash cow. In other words, you need to have a source for your continued

great cash flow. The cash cow must be milk-able long after you have quit

your formal job.

4. View yourself as a consultant rather than as an employee. You are offering a

professional skill and service at a given price. If your mindset does not changetowards this kind of thinking, chances are that you will forever be held in

bondage to the tyranny of the employer. Aim to be your own boss and this

begins in your mind long before you effectively actualise things. Without that

perspective, you are most likely cut out for and therefore safer in a formal job,

but know that one day you will be kicked out as irrelevant, hence the need to

work smartly hard now so that when the crunch comes you will be relatively

safe. It is only true that not all of us have or will have the nerve to survive


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outside the safety of the corporate walls but one thing however is true, you

and I will be irrelevant one day. As the going says, no matter how high a plane

flies in the sky, at one point it will land. Consider carefully what we suggest and

begin planning for your future to avoid crash landing.

Having considered the above salient and most important points, the mind may

make an informed decision taking responsibility for whatever results. Life

demands brave decisions and to a greater measure, some risk, if not great risk.

Chapter 4

Decide what you want you to do next

When the crunch comes or indeed you want to voluntarily take the leap into thelife abyss, it is very important to be very clear from the start. Many years and months

of prior mental preparation should now go into live application mode. The mindroaming to life in a potentially different context can be debilitating at times but like

we have already hinted earlier, prior preparation will mitigate, if not enhance ones

chances of success. In this short chapter, we highlight what we consider important

points to meticulously look at.

1. Before quitting though, know exactly why you desire to quit and what you will

do next. It is pointless to abruptly quit what you have been doing all the while


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to do nothing! You must have an exit strategy, transition plan and quickly

change gears as soon as you step out of the corporate walls. Further, you need

to be clear whether you will get another job, where, what type, expected

income range and for how long you will work for others. If you take theentrepreneurial route, ensure that you have stocked up enough hay while you

garnered capital which will most likely be already at work. Know whether your

little business that you now devote yourself to will be able to sustain your basic

minimum needs.

2. Having decided what you want exactly, set a rough game plan of what you

want to accomplish and how. This is some kind of short or long term strategy.

The best strategists think long term while acting in the short term, each step

adding value to what they hope to achieve in the end. Write down your

strategy and follow through while evaluating as you plod along.

3. Not only should right strategies be crafted but all possible hurdles and

challenges to these strategies must be factored into it with alternative

strategies if things go awry. In other words, there must be plan B or C in the

event that the first fails to tick.

4. Part of the strategies must be polishing the networks, revitalising the contacts

that have lain long neglected or unused so that once you are on your own, you

will not be calling people when in deep weeds but appear to be a mere

continuation of the already warm relations. As you relate, wisely intimate to

your possible body of associates about your future intentions of course being

mindful not to jeopardise your present good fortune or employment. Always beaware that word gets round and may potentially harm your progress chances

with your employer so there is need to be wise, discreet, neat and clever not to

send alarms or wrong signals. That said, you must communicate effectively

one way or the other.

5. A further part of the strategy is to clearly stipulate the time lines, bench marks

and steps you will take. Each step should trigger a further step until you arrive

at the inevitable, deciding to tangent or stay on a little longer. Carefully

consider the context, the times and happenings in your environment as you

craft this strategy so that it is as realistic and near reality as possible.

6. Lastly, when all parameters indicate that you have scored, bungee jump to

success!

As is evident in this short and brisk chapter, the bright future is to those who not only

intend but act at the right time. Remember, intentions remain intentions and do no

good unless you take the next step of faith borne out of conviction and right

strategising.


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Chapter 5

What to consider before quitting or retiring


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Quitting is not an easy task or undertaking as we have briefly highlighted inthe previous chapter. We stated that right strategy and acting are key to ones

success and happy landing when they parachute from a formal job into retirement or

some other meaningful undertaking. If one messes up in the final phases of their

separation from what has hitherto sustained them, they may be plunging into the

furnace where they instantly get torched, scorched and toasted! No one wishes that

happens to them but how often do we witness this in every age. A person gets his

pension or wins a lottery jack pot and instantly loses their head! Next, they turn up

far poorer than they initially were, many times with permanent physical or mental

scars they live to regret till they kiss the grave. On the other hand, if one is well

prepared mentally, they will know how to transition and manage their spirits come

what may gliding to further success for many more years hence. Before quitting, a

number of things of necessity must be carefully looked at and considered which we

have termed the basic minimums. We have tried our best to highlight these in pointform thought this may not be exhaustive.

Basic minimums

As you decide to quit, take careful stock of what you have in hand not the

potential prospects per se unless that prospect is 100% guaranteed. Many people quit

because of different reasons including frustration or a great desire to be independent,

the latter which is good in itself but if not properly calculated may land in a terrible

financial quagmire. Others hope that the severance package or some expected cash

reward at the end of a contract will somehow pave the way into a brighter future.

Indeed, this does happen at times if one has their entire act well and neatly puttogether but in many cases than one, it often back fires. Murphys Law certainly has a

powerful insidious impact on many a plan. This author therefore strongly supports the

idea that any person considering going it alone must have the following basic

minimums BEFORE taking the leap of faith into the entrepreneurial abyss:

1. The person must have sound and consistent financial cash flow or a source of

that guaranteed cash inflow which can last a minimum of six months or

longer2. This cash could come from properties or current assets that can easily

be liquidated and not threaten that persons estate into the future.

2. All the bills must be guaranteed to be paid in the period when you areindependent. This includes immediate school fees, water, phone and electricity

bills, medical, insurance, rental, transport or any other expenses that

contribute to life stressors especially in the city. In fact the ideal would be to

first have your first debt free personal house in place so that you eliminate this

major life stressor.

2 Though some strongly suggest a minimum of three years


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3. Commit to strict budget adherence in the period outside formal employment or

regular cash cow income source. Train yourself and team members to buy in

as well as commit to the success of this plan.

4. Ensure you have sufficient cash flow generated from performing assets so that

you avoid the strain of painfully selling off productive assets in the event of a

serious personal financial crunch.

5. Make sure a mechanism is in place to guarantee future financial cash outlays

to secure your familys continued development and further investment growth.

That may include college fees, future studies, purchase of other assets to

increase the cash flow streams etc. This means that at the time of quitting, you

should have short, medium and long term assets in place, the latter being

strengthened and buttressed more and more as you go along. In other words,

the short term must be fully developed while the medium and long termmechanisms must progressively but surely be put in place. This will enable

your family to meet not only the erratic life eventualities such as terminal

illness, loss etc but also afford your family to potentially travel the world. What

may be included in this sphere could be having factors of production such as

land (on title) in your possession, a farm, shares and securities, a Trust fund,

long term assets such as timber, special plant plantations needing minimum

attention (e.g. Moringa, Neem tree, Acacia, Jatropha etc), fish ponds,

indigenous and exotic fauna and flora among many. In other words, start early

and grow with your investment to avoid may pitfalls that many well meaning

people have grounded into. Sadly and tragically so, many neglect this long

range perspective and focus on the current pleasurable and yet unstable cash

flows. This is courting disaster because the day that the bag develops a hole,

thats the day you go down the drain with it. It is best to diversify and have

hidden stocks to which you can turn on the rainy day. As much as possible,

have these assets in as best location as possible but in the event you cannot,

consider even the far flung places where no one is even looking at that given

particular point in time. It is only a matter of time when you emerge a winner.

Consider the Abby Galaun case in Zambia. While people neglected land

acquisition, the man amassed as much of it and today owns most if not a good

portion of Lusakas prime land. His progeny are serious land lords! Have the

medium and long term in perspective as you plan. At Kambule Holdings, wehave classified our properties into different categories and by that token

diversified big time. We have a large farm where we hope to develop long term

activities such as timber woodlot, bee keeping and ranching. Then there is a

medium term farm where we do small livestock farming and crops. The last is

an immediate set of assets that have both a short and long term perspectives

to it-real estate and tourism. We run a botanical garden and are in the process

of establishing our real estate empire. All these combined, all things being


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equal, will lead to financial independence and security not only for this author

but his entire clan! This is a very important aspect which you cannot afford to

trifle away or ignore. Trust me; you will remember my words on this one!

6. As earlier alluded to, quit only if you have at least one house ALREADY BUILT or

bought so that any further proceeds will be ploughed back into productive

activity not to settle bills or sunk costs. The mistake some people have made is

to wait too long in the hope of building or buying a house at the last. They pay

a very heavy price for their procrastination. Many parameters will have

changed and in many cases than one, things will be far more expensive than if

that particular activity had been done much earlier or probably over a long

period of time.

7. Do not wait to have a lump some amount before you commence your

investment. Often, the enduring investments started small as a trickle buttoday are massive, and in some instances global. Your present salary (from

your formal employment) itself cannot make you rich but at the same time, it

is an opportunity for future investment. It is a potential oasis from which you

can reap to finance your personal projects. Save as much and consistently

invest a given amount per month, it will surprise you how far you will have

gone after several months and years. Much like eating, the smaller the chunks,

the easier to chew and digest but after the long haul, much will have been

consumed!

8. Have a dream and clear vision of where you want to go. Have the right dream

and to some extent a strong internal locus of control although this should beproperly blended with the correct attributes and inward disposition. Always

remember that you are mortal and the time is exceedingly short, hence the

need to be diligent and urgent about your business. Without self confidence,

resilience and determination to succeed, you may not go far before you trot

back to formal employment, working for another yet again! Aim to succeed

because it is the right thing to do and not to prove a point to any adversary. In

that way, your motives would be correct and strongly fosters your resilience, if

not diligence. Many start out with great enthusiasm but their wings soon grow

weary and run out of wind, nose diving to a terrible crash landing, many times

without any cash at all, worse than they have ever been before! Keep the focusand periodically review your progress as you hurtle along so that you sense

danger from afar and thus take refuge. In that way, you will safely pass by in

tranquillity, safety and security.

9. Have a very strong, real time and effective network with people that matter.

This implies having great networks on hand that will fill in and update your

data base for timely decision making. Having insiders from different walks of


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life is far more key than many people realise. These networks will afford you

the ability to spot trends, know what direction the trends might be leading and

appropriately lodge in your proposal or plan to fly to safety. Further, increase

your network of associates and friends across the world having developed aglobal thinking mindset. The basic tools such as access to the internet, phones,

addresses etc must be in place so that you constantly keep your lines warm

with potential business associates. This is yet another very key ingredient to

develop long before you hurtle away into the entrepreneurial wilderness. Apart

from phoning or internet linkages, attempt to physically visit some of these

colleagues where necessary or at least ensure you are placed where a high

concentration of business associates converge such as fairs, shows or business

seminars. You may sometimes have to sacrificially part away with a lot of cash

but the returns are higher in the long run. In other words, effectively and

aggressively market yourself including having a business presence on the

internet, a regularly updated website would be a great idea.

10.Understand the contextual life dynamics and ensure you float and safely swim

around. Once you are out of the formal establishment, you are on your own.

That is when the prior network become important. Otherwise you run the risk

of being all alone, reclusive and even depressed to death!


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Chapter 6

What to look out for before you leave-tale tell signs

When its time to leave, the writing will generally be on the wall, although attimes prove elusive and much mental anguish. This uncertainly is often the result of

our sentimental attachments or fear of the unknown especially having witnessed and

seen close allies or associates end up as vagabonds. The normal average person

therefore is risk averse as a result and will do any and everything to keep within the

safe and comfort zones. Well that may be good and right for a season but a time

comes when it becomes inevitable to take a bold step into the dark life alley.

The best way to leave an organisation is when one voluntarily elects to do rather than

being vomited by the system, no matter in what form. We have heard of individuals

who started great companies from scratch, sacrificing hugely only to be cast away by

new a new board. The founders syndrome cannot help them at that point. Think of

Steve Jobs (Apple) or Bob Pierce (World Vision) who had to make the painful decision

to leave the organizations they founded because they were ejected by others, the

former bounced back. Pierce went away to form the Samaritans purse and died years

later.

Similarly, we too must be always on the lookout for internal and external indicators

that hint to us to take the right steps, in that way, we shall avoid grave

disappointments that many have made. In as much as it is a great virtue to stick

around and exercise some staying power, it is generally not safe to focus on lifelong

employment because the stakes are just too high. In fact, we dare assert that those

clinging to the hope of life-long employment in one organisation are the greatest risk

takers because they do not develop sufficient survival skills outside their respective


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organisation. Very well then we what are the internal or external indicators which

should cause one to move on? Here they come!

Internal indicators

Internal indicators are more intuitive than the external ones. The external ones

largely depend on your physical perceptions and interpretations of life data but

internal indicators border on the inward disposition of a person. Here are some of

them! The first is when your pulse for the job that you have held for some time dies.

There is no energy and drive to push any further. The second is when all interest

disappears or quickly goes away unexplained. Thirdly, when the function that you do

is at variance with your values or hindering something that you consider more highly.

Fourthly, when you struggle to do things that you once did with ease, agility and

pleasure, it may be time to get going! Fifth, when you cease to feel a sense of

belonging and worth in a given context, it could probably suggest that you haveoverstayed. A change of context may help as a test case to determine exactly what

may be the issue at hand. Finally, when you feel inadequate or even bored doing

what you once did with great pleasure. There could be other intuitive indicators but

the ones listed above should suffice.

External indicators

There are some indictors worth noting. Firstly when the context where you are

working becomes sour and hostile, consider preparing to leave. Secondly, when your

work is not appreciated and rubbished by a critical mass of your superiors, it could be

a reminder for you to pack your bags. Thirdly, when you lose respect and appeal topeople that matter, then begin preparing for the worst. They may not publicly say bad

things about you but be sure that you have no value and would be the first to be laid

off in the event of a downsizing. Fourthly, when you are ignored in obvious things

where you are clearly the expert, then know that something is cooking. This may not

be true in all cases but it may well signify that you are becoming obsolete, irrelevant

and at times a threat! Start packing! Fifthly, when you consistently get threats of

being fired for any and every reason, consider tangenting because if you do not

move, you may be hit by something you least expected as well as damage your self

esteem. Your worth may be permanently injured by the terrible words and

unconsciously cripple you the rest of your life. As a result, you may operate and live

in fear, fear of the unknown! Admittedly, some amount of fear and caution is healthy

but it also has a potency of crippling you! In short, when empirical data and evidence

points against you, it is time to book out assuming you have already escaped the

poverty trap.


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From the foregoing, the person weighing their options must seriously and

meticulously candidly examine themselves taking the right steps. This will save them

a lot of heart aches and trouble, if anything, correct acting will add to their happiness.

Chapter 7

Advantages of retiring early

No matter at what age one retires, it has its good and bad sides. Let us beclear here that the responses we are to give in this chapter are merely suggestive not

a one size fits all kind of scenario. People retire for various reasons, much more the

reasons for retiring at the time they do. Taking the leap is a serious undertaking andmust be taken with due care and meticulous consideration. That said, in this chapter,

we suggest that retiring early has great advantages over retiring much later. By

retiring we do not for a moment mean that you become idle, reclusive or even

indifferent what goes on around you but that you stop working for another and in a

sense become your own boss. Very well then, what are the advantages of retiring

early?


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As earlier intimated, retirement involves and touches on many aspects of ones core

being. If they decide to leave formal employment, they forego a regular and

guaranteed pay cheque which would have otherwise come their way. In effect, every

pay cheque is a source of income and is foregone if one tangents. Looked at fromanother perspective, changing your pay point and source of income could suggest

independence, marketability or some progress of sorts. If the pay point changes and

by that token increases the amount taken in, then that may certainly be considered

an upward movement. The reverse could equally be true. Below are some of the

suggested advantages of early retirement and compelling reasons why you should

consider this move:

a. When you retire early, you have more leverage to do a lot more other things

that you love and probably have wanted to do. Due to the tyrannical nature of

formal employment, many of your projects and ideas may have stalled on the

imagination table but with this new found liberty, you can further explore andfollow through your dreams.

b. Retiring early affords one the luxury to do something else, re-invent

themselves and perhaps take on a new interest or even a career.

c. You can redeem the time of what is left of your mortal life here below. If you

retire say at 40, then you probably have bought back 20 years of your work life

in which time you can do something else you please.

d. When you retire early, it gives you ample time to evaluate and reflect on your

life so that you can redesign the rest of your life. Depending on how you viewyour life, you may treat it as a project or other and thus turn out more

successful or even more effective.

e. Like earlier alluded to, you can visit places, tour the world, attend conferences,

meetings, symposiums etc contingent on how you prepared yourself in your

prior times of life. If you have not done your homework well, retirement is

never an option if not a dread. On the contrary, if you have done well in

investment, you can leave off everything for some time and just rest or devote

yourself to something else.

f. Early retirement (assuming you have carefully invested) affords you theleverage and liberty to choose what to do, for whom to work or not to because

you will be working not to earn a living but because you elect to do so out of

pleasure.

g. If you retire early, then you can also discover yourself and more wise conduct

yourself the rest of your life. It also teaches you how best to prioritise,


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strategise or act. You will be better able to put your money where it matters, in

value adding activities.

The above points should suffice but a question that begs answering is, at what

stage is it best to retire? The question is very dicey and certainly does not have

one answer. Different individuals posit different reasons but our opinion is that a

good range to seriously consider retiring is between 35 and 45. The reason is

simply because one will have worked a while, amassed enough clout and

experience as well as be realistic about life. Further, they will have most likely

reached the peak of their careers or still be energetic to undertake other value

adding activities of their lives. This is the prime time of life and yet a time when

the mind is most fresh, budding with ideas, determination and the will to succeed.

It is also a time when many find themselves in the mid life crisis, asking many

pertinent questions as to the value of their lives, direction and to some extent

casting an eye towards what will be after they retire, although admittedly, the lastbit does not cross many a mind. They are often engulfed in the present

enjoyments and creature comforts, too busy to think about the future. But the

mature think long term and will do everything to ensure they end well so they

start preparing way before. Others start mobilising resources at this stage rather

than thinking of retiring to enjoy what they have mobilised in previous years.

So, the next time this question pops up in your mind, you better have a good

answer for yourself!


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Chapter 8

Compelling reasons to plan retiring early

In many senses, this chapter is closely connected to the previous in that theground we cover is similar and springs from the other. Earlier retirement has its

advantages but far fewer people opt for that despite the leverages it affords. There

are several reasons why many opt to wait until the maximum retirement catches up

or they are ejected by the system they are in.

The first reason why many are reluctant to consider early retirement is the fear of the

unknown. As they scan around, they probably have a countless people on their

catalogue that have made serious mistakes or made ship wreck of their wealth by

some unknown terrible fate. They thus dread becoming a statistic themselves.

Secondly, some are purely not prepared for financial independence. Many years of aguaranteed pay cheque has made them dependent and will do about everything to

remain in a guaranteed gainful formal employment system. Any suggestions outside

that domain is instantly rejected and discarded, a senseless suggestion! The many

years they have worked have drained about every coin they have earned, so how can

they possibly think about retiring? How can they surely develop a strategic thinking

mindset? Who will pay the bills for the immediate house hold, childrens school or

even the extended family? These and many concerns keep many submerged in their

worries so that they scarcely have any time to think otherwise. Thirdly, some enjoy

the safe secure life of the predictable life style as much and as long as they possibly

can. The guaranteed pay cheque has created a very subtle dependence and comfort

zone which inhibits some from venturing to eke out an independent existence.

Quitting is unthinkable and in a sense an insane idea! But fourthly, some enjoy the

prestige and derive immense pleasure or esteem from being associated with some

sort of stable organisation. Even if they may not get the cheque on time, they still feel

great to be connected to a given entity. These and many fine sounding reasons seem

to hold true for many a person.

The question still lingers, what are the compelling reasons why a person should retire

early? Here are some of them:

1. Contrary to what many believe and hold, financial independence is the best

though risky at first. A year or two would be encountered of erratic cash flow as

you transition but after that, you will get over to better things.

2. Another thing is that when you do things for yourself, you derive immense

pleasure and delight as you see things unfold.


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3. Thirdly, retiring while still young, energetic and strong gives you an edge over

others that are old, sloppy and tired. You can run further and endure far much

more than the rest.

4. For another thing, early retirement increases the chances of enjoying yourself

while you serve your maker rather than being restricted by the dictates of your

employer. You are in better control of your life, time and destiny. You thus do

not blame anyone.

5. When you retire early, you have the esteem and pleasure of being in the

driving seat of your career and life. You develop and stronger sense of internal

locus of control rather than a high external locus of control that depends on

fate. You are solely responsible for how far, fast or destiny of your life. That is

surely something to motivate one.

6. When you retire early, having tried many business options and all, you are

more adventurous and can better handle risks or even take them than when

you are aged and relatively more risk averse. That apparent lack of wisdom,

exposure and to some extent responsibility affords one the ability to take more

or less calculated risks for which they either pay heavily for or emerge as

victors with greater rewards. In life, the greater the risk, the higher the returns

in many a case. Youth affords those risks.

Retiring early is certainly a good thing and should seriously be contemplated upon by

every sane project minded person. At the end of life, they will obviously look back

with great satisfaction that they made the right decision to take a different routewhen they did unlike those that waited until it was either too late or ejected from the

comfort zone when they could have done something while it was still day.


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Chapter 9

The hazards of retiring early or late

While early retirement may sound a very plausible option, it must not be taken

without meticulous prior thought and planning lest one lands in a lifelong quagmire.

The life experience is strewn with many a casualty whose debris many of us can see

today and perhaps take a lesson or two. However, in the same breathe, life is full of

great potential which many of us have seen, noticed and even admired. Many times,

we have wondered how some people went to higher orbs and just how exactly the got

to that admirable position. We in a sense have envied them or even attributed their

success to chance, fate or luck. We rationalise that they were at the right place at the

right time, hence their apparent success. But is that really the case, at all times? It

may be but it also depends on how prepared they were when opportunity knocked ontheir door, which they grabbed with both their hands. Today, they are the tycoons, far

beyond recognition of what they once were.

What are some of these hazards so that we may avoid them or mitigate their impact?

How may we detect danger from afar and thus avoid it? A hazard by definition is not

bad in itself nor can we say one has landed into a serious quandary already. It is

simply something that has a potential to trigger a catastrophe, disaster or calamity.

Used in the sense of the context we are discussing here, we may say that a hazard is

a warning sign of sorts which if not well handled or avoided may cause untold trouble

on the subject. Here are some of the hazards of early or late retirement:

Early retirement

Early retirement appears plausible (and our preference) but calls for careful handling.

Here are some of the potential hazards:


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1. As a young person, your propensity to take risky decisions is higher and may

land you into serious trouble. Some realise too late but still pay heavily for their

mistakes.

2. There is a danger of wishing for something when you are not entirely well

prepared, such as the cash flow or first house that we talked about. In fact,

having one house still makes you vulnerable because how will you pay the

bills? A strong impulsive desire to be independent may land you in problems

eventually. Let us make one point clear here, never needlessly short circuit

your career! Count the cost not be dictated by emotions only.

3. Youth is a time of self discovery and adventure but over looks many things

such as the impact your decision(s) will have on the wider community,

including your immediate family. The big picture view is often not formed and

much later in life although it may also form in some younger wiser youths.

4. If you quit your formal job early, you run the risk of not having formed strong

and sufficient networks, linkages and business associations. You may have the

cash quite alright but without the linkages, there is potential trouble for you

because you need other people to help you to the next level, at least the right

customers are essential!

Late retirement

If you retire late chances are that:

1. You will be old and too tired to successfully try out new things.

2. As you grow older, you will most likely become more risk averse. With age

comes wisdom, experience and therefore carefulness generally.

3. The stakes will be higher when you are old and every coin will matter because

the steady income will be no longer available as before.

4. Your support system from friends, relatives and colleagues etc will have

significantly reduced and so likely to feel more isolated faster. Many will have

settled elsewhere or even died. Chances are most of these will have retired or

not have influence in society, many times battling with their own challenges.

5. Since your regular cash flow will have been disturbed, reduced or cut off, your

ability and power to do exploits will have been reduced by that token. Your life

long desires will still be there and the pressure may be there to fulfil your

promises to children, spouse or relations and thus use up all your retirement

benefits to meet these, hoping somehow more money will trickle through.


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6. Because your thinking and agility will have reduced, chances are that you may

be more crushed if you lose any coin, let alone your entire lifes earnings. Had

you retired early, you could have been hurt for sure but your resilience levels

are most likely much better to bounce back in the game.

7. As we grow older, our bodies begin to decay, needing more medical attention.

They are far more delicate and less agile, not able to handle some of the tough

dynamic rigours which a young body is able to withstand or absorb. Chances

are then that you will run the risk of spending all your money on health care

instead of building your empire.

As can be seen, each of these has its own dangers which may be within or outside the

grasp of the organisation or may we say the subject. The decision entirely depends on

the person concerned and how they think. The choice is entirely in your court and

ensure you do not blame anyone at what becomes of you at the end of your career.

Chapter 10

Signs and indicators on when best to quit

The best time to quit is when you feel the time has arrived contingent on thefollowing:

1. You have achieved your aspirations or are certain to with or without a formal

job.

2. You are tired, bored but have done your home work well.

3. Have the necessary networks, linkages and contacts around your potential

area of business or retirement.

4. You have at least two houses free of any debt or external claim. These will

serve as your primary sources of income for some time while you wiggle your

way around.

5. When your personal values fundamentally differ from your employer or borders

on conflict of interest. Further, it may not even be conflict as such but your

drive differs from the corporate goal, it may be time to leave.


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There could be other signs such as being ignored in the work place (despite your

superior competence), lost interest, fatigue, ill health and a whole host of other

things that would force a person to quit. The best is for one to voluntarily walk

away while the audience is still clapping than being forced or hounded out by theorganisation. Walking away with honour should be the aim of any sane individual.

Chapter 11

What about life long employment or late retirement?

As earlier highlighted in the chapter on the merits of early/late retirement, we can

safely say that lifelong employment or late retirement is not desirable. While tenable

in some countries today, lifelong employment is fast giving way to the contract and

rightly so because we are all professionals offering a service of sorts. What we earn or

get paid is what we probably are worth for the services we render. It therefore means

that we must rightly price ourselves in keeping with our personal objectives. On theother hand, retiring late limits ones abilities and potential to rise to the higher orbs of

entrepreneurship. While some are serious and successful entrepreneurs, others are

better at entrepreneurship where they thrive on their own independent of the

organisation, forming their own empire.

In a nutshell, lifelong employment is obsolete and out of step with the times. It has

given way to contract employment meaning that a person can and will most likely


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work in more than one organisation over their professional career. This calls for a

broadened skills set than hither to has been the case. Secondly, waiting till you reach

retirement age is not desirable or advisable because of the limitations you may

encounter. It is better to be your own boss at an earlier age and reclaim some of yourfree life way before you seriously begin to decline in age as you pass through the

valley of death.

What should be done and in what order/sequence (Chapter 12)

Before launching out onto the high waves of the entrepreneurial seas, it is prudent to

know yourself thoroughly well and then craft a strategy that will get us where we

want. Below are some crucial points worth considering:

Self SWOT analysis- know yourself in respect to your strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities and threats. The only would you realistically etch out a good

strategy.

List-Of the available business options or avenues to take, list all of them,

possible futures.

Prioritise-High Priority Areas (HPA) first-Prioritise and sequence each of them in

order of importance. No everything is important so discard the irrelevant but

focus on what is key.

Set bench marks and objectives-Having prioritised, set targets and measurable

bench marks which should pace you as well as help you know what is key or

not at any given time.

Craft strategies and time frames- Strategy is everything! as some have rightly

quipped. A good strategy factors in all things possible and yet gets you to

where you want. In fact, the best strategy is invisible to the foe but none the

less works wonders for the crafter although they have to be consistently

organic. In short strategies change but not the goal.

Monitor your progress pace-The bench marks, monitoring, periodic evaluations

each helps you check yourself at all times.

Periodic self evaluate- An evaluation should take place say after every three

years or so. In the early years of your strategy, evaluations may be more

frequent depending on the nature of what you are about.

Redesign your organic strategy-Should your plan crash or potentially so, re-

craft your strategy and remain open to learning. Your agility should not mean

directionless but ability to learn and change as need arises.


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Once you do the above, using emotional, business and intelligences, we have no

doubt that you will hit the target some day. The key is to watch and move at the right

time!

Chapter 13

Lessons from people-case studies

The cases here briefly given are of live individuals that took the leap at somepoint in their lives and in many senses have moved on.

C K


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This gentleman runs a world class successful business specialising in medical

equipment. Within two years of formal employment after college, he developed

powerful networks, left and started his own successful business. There were a

lot of risks and mistakes along the way but this has surely paid off.

GMT

Another young man that quit his job when people least expected to start a

successful book shop which he runs with his wife. The business has grown over

the years and contacts increased both nationally and internationally. The book

business continues to make inroads in the local market stocking some of the

essential texts rarely found elsewhere. This couple made the plunge at the

right time and will not turn back, not soon at least!

M M

A very strong and resilient gentleman rising from obscurity to an eminent

business man. He was disappointed several times by colleagues he trusted,

failed partnership deals before he went it alone. A three year leave from his

government job gave him leverage to discover himself and eventually resigned

to begin his own budding solar and other equipment business with multiple

contracts and networks. It is a lucrative business but fraught with corruption

but with patience, he has wiggled his way round to be a renowned business

mogul.

G M

A seasoned business man of many years starting off as a lower operative

mechanic and now a very successful business man running a high profile

international freight company. He is very generous and comes across as a very

simple gentleman and yet extremely complicated and networked whether in

political circles or otherwise. There is no descending with this great tycoon.

One lesson however is clear, high education only is not what makes the

successful.

P M

Became a senior executive on one of the big corporations in the country but

was deposed from his lofty seat because he was perceived as a threat and

blocking people from yielding personal benefits from scandalous contracts.

Since he would not budge or join the corrupted procurement team members in

their shoddy deals, they hatched several plots against him and had him thrown

out in the cold. One day he was a boss the next he was a potentially a

vagabond scrounging for an existence. His enemies thought they had


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vanquished him but they were mistaken because in his short tenure, he has

invested extensively in real estate such that he survived for the next five years

without a formal job. He still does not have one but lives a very good quality

life. How is this possible? He invested early and in a sense retired to dosomething else. Always prepare for the rainy day, for we have no clue when it

may come, as surely it will some day.

C M

Very well educated and exposed individual. He rose through the corporate ladder

at lightning speed and was tipped to be the next Managing director of a huge

prosperous organisation but then he was not politically correct with the powers

that be, they did not like very honest and principled people. He left a broken man

but now has thrown away all the corporate talk and is a serious and successful

farmer with multiple real estate investments dotted around the capital of thecountry. At scarcely 50, he had reached his peak and has been on his own since

growing from strength to strength.

C M 2

Hailed from a remote part of the country and rose to that of Managing Director of

many high profile organisations before quitting to go into private practice and

later took an international job for several years before returning home to take on

other neglected business opportunities. He and his wife are certainly a classic case

of a successful joint venture team work and right positioning. They have a

multiplicity of houses in Porsche areas of the capital. Hunger and poverty arecertainly far from them for many years to come!

S T & K C

The idea came as a joke when this set of friends one day hung their gloves from

very promising careers to go into private practice. In those years, delving into

consultancy was viewed a suicide step but they stepped in none the less, despite

not having any houses of their own. Today, their consultancy is global in nature

and can scarcely keep up with the never ending requests from all over the world.

Their bold step has paid off several times over and has many private villas and

homes between them.

GM-North

Started off as a very poor lad with no promise at all and little education. The hard

years of street vending and selling flour paid off many years later. He is now the

foremost business person in his district with many branches in other districts. E

has highly diversified and boasts an unequalled corporate social responsibility


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record. With a large national and international network, he scarcely is at home but

travels extensively across the world. He is still not as literate as the rest but he

certainly commands a presence and business genius. He certainly has better

business sense and acumen.

K progress (North)

This gentleman has no formal paper at all but drives some of the best cars around

town. He has businesses and houses all over the country and has proved a very

honest and reliable business associate to man a corporation and individuals. The

interesting thing is that he is very open about his inadequacy but never allows

that to stand in his way of riding higher in the business world. The hardware

shops, houses and other businesses have secured his financial future for a long

time to come.

These brief case studies have added flavour and show that it is possible to excel. We

could have put in failure cases but suffice it to say that these demonstrate that an

individual can and will succeed if they plan well as well as commit themselves to a

worthy cause. The secret is that you start planning and implementing early while it is

still sunshine. This helps you avoid the mid life crisis, wrong or rushed decisions and

many a heart ache. Many are in trouble today not so much that they are not

intelligent but started out late investing into the future. Remember, the righteous

man leaves an inheritance for his childrens children-the grand children!

A final word

This short book is concluded. It is hoped that you go away with many valuablelessons that will help you on lifes path. We hope that you will be wise and elect to

retire as early as possible of course bearing in mind your mental wiring and

preferences. Catch you later!


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Appendices

1. A suggested personal self evaluation questionnaire or check list.

This is short set of questions to be answered BEFORE you leap. Depending on

your answers, you may or may not be eligible to assume financial

independence at that particular time

a. Do I seek self actualisation or merely follow others lead as I seek

independence?

b. Do I have sufficient resources to sustain the same or better quality of life for

at least the next six months?

c. Will ALL my bills be serviced in the given period without much ado?

d. Are ALL my current liabilities settled or there is ready cash to liquidate

them?

e. Do I have at least one house which is 100% our property?

f. Do I have the necessary linkages and networks in the intended business

line?

g. Do I have sufficient liquid cash just meant for business? Are my other

personal expenses independent of this liquid cash?

Here is a suggested gauge interpreter:

If your answer to all the above was a strong affirmative, then you are good to go

immediately!

If your answer to most of these (say 90%), then you may need to build a little more

capacity. Give it at least a year or two while you work towards 95% or more.

If you score less than 60% then you are certainly not ready to take the leap unless

you are a serious risk taker. You may need to work, save and invest for at least

another 5 years.


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23/12/2011)

About the Author

Billy Sichone trained as Accountant and has worked in various management

portfolios. With over 15 years professional experience under his belt, his insight is

loaded with great experience, insight and discernment. His near two decade program

management experience makes him well placed to advise, mentor or offer leadership.

Billy has authored several books (available on the internet in e-book form) on various

key areas that include the following: International marketing, International Business,

Strategy, Leadership, Project Management, and Astronomy among many. Among his

interests are: Botany, Farming, Astronomy, research, reading and travelling. He has

collaborated and founded several business ventures in real estate, ecommerce and

tourism.

Billy holds several academic credentials accumulated over the years. These include

an MBA, a Master of Divinity, several doctorates (i.e. PhD, Litt D, ThD, Dr Apol [cand],

DBS [cand] etc) and other professional qualifications.

The author is married to Jane and they have two lovely daughters together.

Before Calling It Quits

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