How To Retire 6 Months Every Year
(Page 18 of 22)
May/June 1970
By Irv Thomas
I suspect that the aggressive drives decrease with age and, since we must remain in a competitive environment in the ordinary course of events, we have developed this obsession with security in order to compensate. If I'm correct, the deliberate removal of ourselves from a competitive way of life will tend to release the grip of this insecurity. In the meanwhile, we must constructively cope with it.
RELATED CONTENT
Our insecurity fears basically fall into two classes: The 'act of God' such as illness and accident, over which we have no control and those others such as unemployment, which are at least in some degree responsive to our own actions.
An 'act of God' can strike anywhere, anytime and in any fashion. This total unpredictability has left most of us paying for half a dozen insurance policies covering a hundred different 'acts' but somehow, as often as not, failing to cover the very act that happens. That's because insurance companies simply cannot afford to cover the things that most frequently occur. So the system operates against you.
We fearful people usually overlook the fact that there is extremely little likelihood that two acts will strike at the same time. How much more simple, then, to set aside one fund to cover one act . . . but any one act.
How large a fund? There is no absolutely right answer. I feel a bit safe with $1000; for you, it might be twice that amount. Naturally, I could be busted by one big calamity, but so could I with all the insurance policies I've ever had. There is some point where faith and fear must meet, and for me it is $1000. At least I know that whatever does happen - anything at all - will be'covered' $1000 worth.
Even more important, I can replace the entire fund with the excess earnings of two months work. I have to laugh at the way people are so relieved when their insurance 'pays' a $200 medical bill that they have covered many times with policy premiums since their last claim. If you are wondering whether you could set enough money aside, I would say it depends on the intensity of your fear and the legitimacy of your desire to be free. As with everything else in this plan, it is squarely up to you.
Just as coping with 'acts of God' requires some level of blind faith, coping with the second class of fear requires a measure of faith in yourself. For some reason, I have always found this more difficult, even though I have proven myself to myself many times over. I have come to the conclusion that I must confront these apprehensions over and over, like stage fright, and whip them each time. In that sense they have come to be familiar opponents, and each new challenge is like the reopening of an old contest. I have had my share of wins, and that knowledge gives me the confidence to have at it again. The battle is real each time, but there comes to be almost a gritty pleasure in it.
In order to gain your freedom for part of each year, many of you will have to face the recurrent insecurity of looking for a job about once each year. The plan itself will lead you to answers after the first few times around, but in order to face that hard start, there are certain emotional tricks that can help. The next section will consider a few job possibilities that are nicely geared to this program, but right here let's look at a protective emotional approach to the job interview itself.
Page:
<< Previous 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 | 18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
Next >>
