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The Best Book on Retirement That a Reader
Has Read
How to Retire Happy,
Wild, and Free
This review is one of my favorite reviews written about the book.
My first exposure to How to Retire Happy, Wild, and
Free was downloading over half as a free E-book which I found
on one of Ernie
Zelinski's websites. It was the top half of the book, however.
Although the E-book was inspiring to read, it was a little frustrating
with the bottom half missing. I loved the top half so much that I
purchased the whole book.
It's the best one I have read on retirement. I had been looking for
a book that dealt with aspects of retirement that weren't tied up
with all the financial gobbledygook.
As a personal coach who often gives advice to the newly retired, I
have already purchased over a hundred copies to give to my clients
and will continue to purchase more.
Moreover, How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free has given me the inspiration and
incentive to make my own retirement happen earlier than I had planned for.
Ernie Zelinski has an off-the-wall sense of humor and is a master
of one-liners that catch your attention and open you up to new concepts.
You may be surprised to find out that "You don't have to watch one
minute of TV when you retire — and
perhaps you shouldn't given that
the probability of having a happy and successful retirement is inversely proportional to
how much television you watch."
According to Zelinski, if you manage to retire happy, wild, and free,
then your retirement will be more rewarding than your career ever
was.
The ingredients in such a retirement are likely to include great
friends, a sense of purpose, some structure in your day, plenty of
exercise, something to stimulate your mind, and spiritual growth.
If you don't have these ingredients in your life at this time, Zelinski
has a number of suggestions for finding and incorporating them.
For those who haven't cultivated interests outside the workplace,
filling all that time may be a challenge. The Get-a-Life Tree in Chapter 3
provides the answer. Other chapters are devoted to the consideration of activities that
enhance body, mind, and spirit.
Zelinski quotes from many sources, but his attitude is reflected in
a quote from the Buddha. "In the end, these things matter most. How
well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you learn
to let go?"
"When money is lost, little is lost. When time is lost,
much more is lost. When health is lost, practically everything is lost. And when
creative spirit is lost, there is nothing left."
Another example:
"Retirement life is a game in many ways. Ensure that
you laugh and have fun, even when the score is not in your favor. This way, you will
always end up winning at the most important game you will ever play."
My edition of
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free indicates that
it
has been published in eight other languages. No wonder. Although I
can't prove it, this is likely the best retirement book in the world.
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Another Person Who Thinks
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and
Free Is
the Best
She Has Read on
Retirement
Karen A. Mason from Calgary, Alberta, wrote to me in April,
2004.
Dear Ernie:
Thank you very much for writing How to Retire Happy, Wild, and
Free.
I loved your book.
It's the best one I've read on retirement.
I've been looking for a book that dealt with aspects of retirement that weren't tied up with
all the financial gobbledygook.
As a retiring English as a Second Language teacher, I'm excited to embrace this new chapter
of my life.
You've given me the incentive to make it happen sooner than the "expected norm".
A soon-to-be leisure lover,
Karen
One of the Latest E-mails from
a Reader
about
the World's Best Retirement Book
Here is one of the latest e-mails that Ernie Zelinski received from
a retiree about How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free.
May 10, 2012
Mr. Ernie J. Zelinski
P.O. Box 4072
Edmonton, AB
Canada T6E 4S8
Dear Ernie:
While we walked the dog one morning, Karen said that with all the new
things we have done since retiring that you might like to hear about some of them.
Here they are, in no particular order.
In the first year or so of our freedom:
-
I filed a provisional patent, taking the invention to
prototype, and began marketing it.
-
She started a part time job.
-
I started a blog, and built a website.
-
She learned belly dancing.
-
We hiked, bird watched, and photographed eagles, owls, and wildlife too
numerous to list, even an albino fawn with her mother.
-
I fly fished Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
-
She joined a book-reading club.
-
We travelled with our dog Jedi throughout the southern USA.
-
She learned to use power tools.
-
I began leather working, and developed two new designs.
-
She began gardening, putting in both vegetables and herbs.
-
We stay up later, sleep in, and take regular naps.
-
I study and play the classical guitar.
-
She started word puzzles to keep her mind sharp.
-
I started a small business delivering health and wellness classes to the public
through hospitals, senior living, and community centers.
-
We dropped fifteen pounds (each) of weight attributed to job-related stress
eating.
-
We spent a winter in the Florida panhandle.
-
She does yoga.
-
We made new friends in several states.
-
I resumed fly tying because of much more time on the water.
-
We attended classes and seminars, including the "Creative
Retirement Workshop" (CREW) at the University of North Carolina in
Asheville. By the way, they cite your work at the workshop and recommend
your book.
-
I wrote one novel, and ten short stories, which I will submit
for publishing after final editing.
-
We attended plays.
-
She hosted parties, and re-decorated the house.
-
I tried and let go of part time work. You see, I am simply
too busy.
There are probably many more things but I cannot recall them at
present.
Karen and I are thrilled at having time each day for nature walks, bicycle riding, bird
watching, and cruising in our classic sports car (we are from Detroit, after all). The
time together has strengthened our marriage, too.
We worried about money initially, but now find we do just fine, even spending less than
we did while working. In fact, we noticed work requires a significant outlay, even
part-time!
I believe working consumes more money than most people understand. Not working, on the
other hand, provides untold wealth, health, and happiness.
Thank you for writing the books you did. They have helped us along our path.
Best wishes for health and happiness,
Jack and Karen Cipriani
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Another E-mail from a Fan
about
the World's Best Retirement Book
That Has
Changed So Many
Lives
Here is another e-mail from a reader How to Retire
Happy, Wild, and Free.
----- Original Message ----
From: sbgarri
To: Ernie Zelinski
Sent: Mon, July 12, 2010 3:17:24 PM
Subject: Thanks
Dear Ernie Z,
I bought your retirement
book about 5 years ago. It is now dog-eared, highlighted, and generally a
mess! It was a salvation.
Every ounce of advice I got about retirement before that focused on money. Your
book [ How to Retire Happy, Wild, and
Free ] made me focus on the life I
wanted. It was all about looking for the "essence" of what enriched
me.
Once I got over losing a bundle in the "downturn" of the economy, I simply forged on
with the plan your book helped me make. and retired anyway. (You should see my
[Get-a-Life] tree. I used Inspiration software to create it and keep it up still).
We ended up in an old double wide on a wild river in north Florida. Nature is here all
the time. I made friends and find great joy in a no-traffic fishing village. We will
never be surrounded by condos or golf courses as we are in the heart of a National
Forest 20 miles from a grocery store. Shopping is greatly reduced when you have to go
that far to shop!
I sing, paint, swim, bird, garden and generally fill the days successfully. We travel
in our used camper and boat in a vampy old pontoon. I avoid anything that is
destructive to joy.
I clearly am reaching my retirement goal to become an eccentric- you said I had to have
a goal and there it is. As far as a purpose, it is to engage others joyfully and
provide small kindnesses. As far as big purposes go, no way--I "gave at the office" for
43 years.
The money is taking care of itself. We just spend less that we take in each month.
Might mean resetting the heat or AC for a week, taking cool showers, eating in or going
to free entertainment instead of that which costs a lot. So what. I grow food and make
2 meals out of one night out. It all works. When it's gone, it's gone. Hopefully, I'll
be gone, too. If not, well we do have the camper!
So, keep up the good work. I recommend your book to everyone I care about - retired or
not.
Take care--
Susan G.
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What the Media are
Saying about
The World's Best Retirement
Book by Ernie
Zelinski . .
.
To be sure, retirement books are a glutted field, but most focus on money and financial
planning. They view the finish line as the last day of employment. That's where
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and
Free begins.
- Jonathan Chevreau, Retirement Columnist
National
Post
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As this book emphasizes, "a happy, wild and free retirement is based not only on a healthy
relationship with money and our financial resources, but . . . above all, a happy retirement is
based on a healthy relationship with ourselves."
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free is
sprinkled with cartoon illustrations and pertinent quotations on work and retirement.
Get this book if you look forward to a retirement with "zing."
- Nancy Paradis
St. Petersburg
Times
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Purchase How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
Today:
Are You Ready to Leave the "Rat
Race" Behind And Enjoy
the Happy Retirement
That You Have Always Wanted?
Much of having a happy and productive retirement is about
following certain tried, tested, and proven principles of retiring happy cited in
The World's Best Retirement Book
by
Ernie Zelinski
In Ernie's
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom
That You Won't Get from Your Financial Advisor, you will discover the most
powerful tips, techniques, and secrets that can transform a boring retirement into an exciting one,
including:
-
How to
enjoy retirement regardless of your financial
situation
-
How to realize a deep
new love for life
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How to free yourself from the burdens of the fear of
retirement
In How to Retire Happy, Wild, and
Free you'll meet a number of interesting people like Ben from Toronto, a
former entertainer, who traveled across America in a Greyhound recently (a dog of a trip!), and
wrote a book on the benefits of cayenne pepper, which he says is better than Viagra. Then
there's Bill and Valerie, who live aboard a sailboat in Hawaii, and Tom, who, at 96, still walks
four miles a day and chases women at night.
The book's section titles can be quite entertaining. "If You Don't Take Care of your Body, Where Do
You Intend to Live?" is one about daily health maintenance. An even better is one "Early to Bed and
Early to Rise Make a Person Dull, Boring and Despised."
The message here is to forget rigid schedules when you retire. Good point. Retirement is
a time to loosen up, live it up and curl up with How to Retire Happy, Wild, and
Free.
- Editor
Retirement Rocket
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The Boston
Herald says, "Ernie Zelinski helps people find time to
live."
And,
now Ernie can help you discover the secrets
to
happy retirement living with:
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THE WORLD'S BEST RETIREMENT GIFT
A gold watch is the most appropriate gift for retirement, as its recipients have given up
so many of their golden hours in a lifetime of service.
— Harry Mahtar
The requirements for successful retirements
are, of course, simple to map out: Begin saving earlier in life, set aside larger
percentages of your pay, invest wisely in low-cost funds, avoid debt, pay off
your mortgage, defer Social Security to boost payouts, and work past traditional
retirement age to make sure you don't run out of money. Stay healthy, too, so your medical expenses
don't eat you alive.
We might as well complete this fairy tale by advising you to make sure you find a job with a
traditional pension, and
to only work for employers with AAA credit
ratings and great health insurance.
— from US NEWS
Sometimes it's important to work for that
pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important
decision in the day simply
consists of choosing which color to slide
down on the rainbow.
— Douglas Pagels
Purchase:
How to Retire
Happy, Wild, and Free on Amazon.com
and
How to Retire Happy, Wild, & Free on B&N.com
Everyone needs a reason to put their shoes on in the morning [when they retire]. If you put on
the slippers, you'll end up
dragging your feet all day.
— Norma Fagan
THE WORLD'S
OVER 315,000 COPIES SOLD
Purchase:
The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com
Whatever the challenge of a new age, in the end what really counts is not the years in our lives but the life
in our years. It is not about longevity, but the depth of life. Long ago I learned that age does not wither the
mind if people remain positive. No one is too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. It is a mind
game. As Churchill suggested, "The empires of the future are the empires of the mind."
— Singapore Retiree Jennie Chau
365 REASONS WHY RETIREMENT ROCKS — AND WORK SUCKS!
THE JOY OF BEING RETIRED
Purchase The Joy of Being Retired directly through these links:
The Joy of Being Retired on Amazon.com
and
The Joy of Being Retired on Amazon.ca
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