How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won't Get from Your Financial Advisor [Paperback]

Ernie Zelinski's newest publication, entitled HOW TO RETIRE HAPPY, WILD, AND FREE (Ten Speed Press, 2004), is intended for pre-planners, retirees, and those who dream about leaving the restrictions of the daily grind. His often whimsical, yet essentially practical ideas are meant to assist in our making the best of life's pleasures. Like his very successful THE JOY OF NOT WORKING (Ten Speed Press, 2003), HOW TO RETIRE HAPPY, WILD, AND FREE is well thought out, upbeat, and a delight to read. Anyone contemplating retirement -- and I guess that means all of us -- could take a page from Zelinski's book about lifestyle considerations to make the daily activities in our new "life after work" not only full of purpose, but also full of enjoyment. This book is a primer on how the many opportunities found in retirement can help each of us be the person we always knew we were but were too busy to realize...

I'd like to use the expression "right on the money" to characterize Zelinski's suggestions, but after completing this book or any of his others, readers will know that money is not the touchstone for a comparison. As Zelinski himself tells us: "the biggest mistake you can make with your retirement planning is to concentrate only on the financial aspects" (p.2)...Zelinski is methodical in revealing ways for us to be so engaged.

I highly recommend that you purchase and read HOW TO RETIRE HAPPY, WILD, AND FREE. This is one book that will prepare you to keep smiling.

As a Life Transition Coach who specializes in helping people prepare for and adjust to 'retirement' I am always on the look out for good materials to refer them to. Zelinski's "How to Retire" is going to become a staple that my clients will be referred to again and again.

You can tell this guy really knows how to live life. He has become a huge invitation for people to wake up and smell the burning rubber of their feet dragging on life's treadmill! Even for that small portion of the working public who actually enjoy their jobs, he presents some compelling arguments as to why retirement is an appealing option to work. I'm someone who doesn't plan on a traditional retirement, yet there were times as I read Zelinski's thoughts and ideas about what's possible in retirement that it got me thinking that I may want to revise my plans at some point in the future.

The distinction between "feel good" and "values based" happiness that Zelinski makes on p. 96 really caught my attention and I've already begun weaving the importance of this distinction into the coaching conversations I have with clients.

Zelinski encourages us all to consider retirement earlier rather than later and to begin to pay attention to the quality of our life's experience rather than single mindedly focusing on achieving more material success. He rightfully points out that many of us won't make it to some magical retirement date we anticipate in the future. And he is clear in helping us to notice that money alone is not going to buy us a satisfying, gratifying retirement experience.

The only way that I think this book could be improved is with a bit more focus on the conversation about discovering the identity each of us has that typically lies buried beneath mountains of cultural conditioning. In my experience, folks who haven't ever really spent much time wondering "who am I under all these rules, anyway?" need a fair bit of support and encouragement to keep digging until they discover themselves. That being said, the many exercises and activities Zelinski's suggests are fine starting points for that exploration.

I think that every workaholic in North America should be locked in a room with this book for as long as it takes for them to read it through and discover the big, exciting world that they are missing! And I don't know many people who couldn't benefit from absorbing a few of Zelinski's thoughts on the whole retirement subject.

Who Wouldn't Want To Be Coached By A Guy Named Ernie Zelinski? That's the title of an article I wrote about Zelinski's other books. I love Zelinski. This time his book, How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free is about living, although it's disguised as a book on retirement. It is his best.

I recommend the book for anyone under 27 years old because they are young enough to embrace the ideals of this book and shift their lives accordingly. They can choose to live the life their heart calls them too instead of the life the MBA drives them, too. After 27 years of age people get buried in delusions about the supposed necessities of life.

I also recommend the book for people over 50. These people are now wise enough to know better and can embrace the attitudes of Zelinski's retirement long before they stop working for money. His definition of retirement is all about following your heart and is not based much on working for a living or not. Retirement is a state of mind, and you can apply many of the ideas in the book today to make your life happy, wild, and free.

Zelinski is inspiring. Zelinski knows we are all creative; I agree. I am constantly urging my patients to have some creative pursuit in their lives. Here is what he says from the book:

Once you retire, you too can reclaim your creative spirit and find an artistic pursuit that will ignite your inner fire. Your artistic pursuit -- whether it's painting pictures, writing poetry, or making pottery -- will rekindle a part of you that has been suppressed for years by the structure of a job and the routine of daily life. Not only can it make you feel more alive, an artistic pursuit can constitute the primary reason for your being.

Ninety-five percent of books on retirement are about how to plan financially for the event, and they ignore the spirit of the matter. Zelinski goes for the heart as he always does. He shows oodles of evidence demonstrating money has little to do with satisfaction in retirement. It is about finding meaning in your life. It's about living happy, wild, and free. Isn't that something that would be useful at any age? It's what I want for you and for me. That and being able to wear aloha shirts or the equivalent whenever you want. Cha!