Sheesh, with all that's been going on (work, work, and more work), I forgot to mention something I found out last week.

I have several plans on the back burner for after I retire in 9 years and 9 months. That'll put me smack-dab at the age of 55. We both plan to retire at 55, and then do something we've always wanted to do, to bring in a little extra dough.

So, here's my list of possibilities. Who knows, maybe I'll do all of them...

1. Motivational speaking


2. Do what I do now (regulatory compliance training with a twist), only do it as an independent consultant. I also would bring my oldest son into this operation because he has the same mad skillz and imagination that I have. Maybe my youngest can be our accountant and run the business side of things. He has incredible mad skillz in that department.


3. Grief counseling


4. Coffee, wine and internet bar (sort of set up like the coffee shop in Friends)

The thing that I'd love the most is the motivational speaking. I *love* speaking in front of large crowds. I have a motivational topic already formulated and burrowed in the back of my head, but not sure I'll be confident enough to get that idea off the ground.

You may recall that last week I mentioned finishing up a presentation for an executive in another bank. Well, this executive and my manager are both on the board of the top association for my industry.

The executive asked if I'd be interested in lecturing for their industry-related school. I was really flattered to be asked, but am still not 100% comfortable in saying I'm a regulatory compliance EXPERT, so I said that maybe when I have a couple more years under my belt I'd take him up on it. Then he asked, "how about lecturing about compliance training at the post grad school?"

Now THAT is right up my alley AND it fits perfectly into my retirement plan, so I said, "try to keep me away!".

I'm going to co-lecture in April (in Atlanta, GA) and then I'll be taking the helm from there. I think this is a 2x a year gig- possibly 4. I didn't ask, because I was too excited.

I can hardly stand my excitement. Not only will I get to do stand-up training (something I've loved doing for a long time), I'll also start to cement the idea of being the industry 'expert' in compliance training. By the time I retire, I should have a *lot* of potential clients in the palm of my hand.

Come on now... does it get any better than that? No? I didn't think so.

And if I choose to go into motivational speaking, I'll have lots of practice speaking in front of large crowds AND I'll have this lecturing gig on my bio. As mentioned earlier in this post, I've already come up with my topic. Ready?

There's no such thing as 'lucky'.

Something like this may make it appear that I'm lucky, and I may write about how lucky I am here in my blog- but I'll share with you a little secret:
I've worked very hard for every little thing that I have. Those that know my 'real' story can attest to that. I also see an opportunity from 100 miles away and RUN toward it. It's NOT about luck.... it's all about keeping your eyes open and grabbing each opportunity by the ring.

So, I'm grabbing on to this ring and holding on for dear life.

Here's a quote that I've come to love that brings that idea home:

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.– Anais Nin