Met a guy who inspired me for early retirement
About 10 years back, I heard about early retirement for the first time. Today it is trendy, and many people want to retire early and have huge plans on the same. But about 10 years back I don't know if people would have had that thought or not. Especially after the Pandemic people are taking life very seriously and they would like to focus more on the family than running behind money. At the same time becoming financially free is not an easy thing if we don't have a concrete plan.
It was my father's cousin whom I met about 10 years back to discuss this. This topic was very serious in the family when he said that he quit his job at 40 years old and would like to continue enjoying his life and do what he likes the most. It was a very hot topic back then because nobody quit their job at the age of 40 and usually nobody quits their job because everyone was scared of how to continue life without a steady income.
He was one of the most brilliant guys that I have met. He had a very good academic background and the decision that he took was very wise. He studied in IIT and he worked for a big MNC company. He even lived in California for a couple of years. When he quit his job, he was the General Manager of the company with a huge package. It does need a lot of courage to quit from such a position. That was the inspiring factor for me. I was waiting to have a conversation with him to understand his thought process. I met him at a family function and spent some time asking him many questions.
He said one of the biggest reasons he wanted to quit was that he thought the money he was currently having was enough and he had all his basic needs covered. He was also getting some passive income from other sources and that's why he wanted to quit his job and continue doing what he liked. At that time he was reading and learning about healing and the power of heading. He did some courses on that and he started practicing healing. I did not have a detailed conversation on that but I was curious to understand more about his financial freedom decision. Even if he had enough passive income the thought process of Human beings to continue earning whatever we can. The biggest thing that surprised me was when he said that it was enough for him. Having this thought of Enough is a very big thing. Especially with money, it is very hard to say that it is enough.
That is when I decided that I should also quit at the age of 40 no matter what. He was lucky to have some inherited properties and other things from his In-laws. I did not have thought but I was telling to myself that even without those background things, I should be ready to quit at the age of 40 and start doing what I like the most. I intended to not quit working completely but to do something with the highest flexibility. This way I will have more time to spend with the family and keep my head cool. I still have a few more years for that I haven't hit any jackpot yet to take that decision. Years are going one by one. Hopefully, I will see a good fortune soon so that I can also fulfill my financial needs and live my dream.