How many years of life do you think you have left?
In general, mortality data shows us that humans are living longer than past generations. For example, in the U.S. the life expectancy is about 79 years.
Of course, your personal situation depends on several factors:
Your age and gender
Your health and fitness levels
Your socioeconomic status
Where you live (both generally and specifically)
Surrounding environmental factors
Your sense of well-being, happiness, purpose, and fulfillment
Your level of engagement with community, family, and friends
Other than being an interesting topic for discussion or a personal obsession with longevity, what’s the point of considering your mortality and trying to predict how many more years you have on this planet?
Well, I can think of several reasons…
Scheduling your potential retirement date
Creating and executing your retirement savings and investment plans
Making sure you have documented your will, desired medical interventions, end-of-life plan, and last wishes (e.g., funeral service versus celebration of life party)
On a less morbid note, deciding what you want to do with your remaining years of life between this moment and that final journey
I remember watching a video with someone discussing these final years and how most of us don’t think about it the right way. All years are not equal. I think about this topic a lot, and even I haven’t really been thinking about these final years the way I should be.
For example, I’m 60 years old. I’ll be generous with my longevity calculation and give myself another 40 years of life. Yeah, I know. That’s super generous for a man, when the average male life expectancy is around 76 now.
However, my parents are both in their mid-80s, healthy, active, and cognitively sound. I know what they’ve done to reach this point in terms of their diet, fitness, and wellness. So, I’m hoping my more aggressive investments in those factors will help.
Regardless, I have made the mistake of thinking:
“Okay, I have 40 more years on this beautiful planet. What do I want to do with that time? How do I want to spend those years? Where do I want to travel, what do I want to see and experience, and what do I want to accomplish before the end?”
However, I should know better than to treat those 40 years like any of the previous decades in my life. My health, capabilities, and energy for the next 40 years will be nowhere close to how I have experienced my life in the past 60 years!
I’m on the downhill side now. Everything is going to decline, and everything will become more challenging with each passing year. 60-year-old me still lifts heavy weights every day, goes on all-day hikes in the mountains of California and Alaska, skis down snowy slopes, paddles kayaks, and runs for several miles on forest trails. 80-year-old me won’t be capable of that! Well, certainly not at the same level of ability.
A friend of ours recently took an amazing trip to Europe. They were excited to experience so many things they had dreamed of doing. Unfortunately, they didn’t factor in the reality of their age and health level. Sadly, they quickly discovered the physical challenges of trying to do what they wanted (e.g., energy levels, fatigue, body aches and pains).
They still had a great time. But the dreamy vision in their head did not match the reality of the impact of the march of time.
The real question isn’t how many total years you have left in your life. You need to ask yourself:
“How many GOOD years do I have left?”
Like I said, maybe I have 40 years left. Big maybe. But I probably only have 10 good years left. Years when I can still have adventures, climb mountains, hike forests, swim in lakes, and explore the rest of the world.
My wife and I have been discussing this reality and making new plans. We want to see our children multiple times a year. We want to take adventurous vacations about twice a year (e.g., we would like to hike the Dolomites in Italy soon). I also plan annual hiking trips with my siblings.
The clock is ticking, and time is running out for all of us.
However, thinking about mortality and “good years remaining” isn’t only useful for grand plans, like climbing a mountain with my family. It has also changed how I approach my daily life experiences, simpler wishes, and other dreams.
It’s a big reason that I left the corporate world forever in 2010. Choosing self-employment allowed me to determine how I would spend the precious remaining time I have left in this world. I simply couldn’t picture wasting another minute commuting on freeways, working in gray cubicles, and sitting in pointless meetings in windowless conference rooms.
To be fair, a health scare kind of slapped me awake many years ago. Eventually, it turned out okay. But I knew the story could have ended differently.
Some of my friends have already disappeared because of heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and accidents.
They never got the chance to see their children grow up.
They never experienced becoming grandparents.
And they certainly never got the chance to enjoy their retirement plans, hopes, and dreams.
I wrote this today as a reminder for you to calculate your own mortality. And, importantly, how many good years you have left to do all the things you’ve been putting off until retirement.
This is more about living than dying. Living life as well as you can and not waiting too long to pursue your dreams. I know how hard it is to accomplish all your personal goals while you’re spending so much of your time every week dedicated to an employer.
Okay, it’s not just “hard.” It’s probably impossible.
If you’re reading my newsletters and articles, you’re here for a reason. You’re here because you want to explore self-employment and set yourself free from the daily demands of working for someone else.
So, don’t wait too long to start designing, planning, and testing the business that will give you the freedom to live your best years the way you dream of living them!
From corporate exec to entrepreneur, Larry Cornett is a coach who helps you leverage your existing expertise to design a self-employment business that funds the life you want. Escape the 9-to-5 grind by creating your Exit Blueprint to freedom!
➡️ Ready to build your blueprint? Book a free call today to claim your spot.
