Early Retirement in the N.F.L. and at Google, and the Paradox of Success

I retired at 45, and what I feared missing most was working with people and making a difference. Three years later, I've found I'm still doing those things, just not getting paid for it. Volunteer work and maintaining contact with former colleagues (friends) is key. I often joke that I'm not working but feel busier than ever. I have two teenagers so my job is fulltime job is chauffeur and chaperone.

Not that the GOOG CFO will ever be short of $$$... but "luck" (if that desribes it?) cuts both ways! Some often hear that the only time the "gods" really laugh coincides with the moments they hear that someone thinks they are "set" financially, or not. It can all change in a heartbeat, and often it does.

They think with their heads,not with their pockets,At my point of view, they are right, Live your life while you can.Enjoy it all.

This will be a trend that should see some momentum; especially for NFL players whose brains and bodies are brutalized during their short careers. Early retirement will open the door for more younger players to make their fortune playing this violent game.

This article is a wonderful endorsement for 95% marginal tax rates at the very top of the income scale and much heavier estate and gift taxes. After all, these folks are not doing whatever they're doing for money so they won't muss the tax dollars.

To make this type of decision requires answering two big questions. What is really important? How much is enough? To answer those questions requires both introspection and serious engagement with those closest to us. Neither are much encouraged by U.S. society, which relentlessly touts "more" as the answer to everything.

I retired last year at 46 from a career in investment management, and I also wonder why many more people in my extremely well-compensated industry don't do the same. In many cases, they already have far more money than they need to support an extremely comfortable lifestyle. For me, the appeal of freedom and flexibility was far greater than the enticement of socking away yet more money that I would just end up giving away anyway, because I don't spend anywhere near the amount my assets would allow. This article illuminates why other people with a lot of money don't retire when they could; I'm quite happy to be the outlier.

Here we have yet more anecdotal evidence that peoples' economic decisions are better explained by psychology than by a rational-actor model.

"At the same time, there is a depressing message for the rest of us: Maybe the fact that you would even consider retiring to a life of luxury at a young age is a sign you aren’t going to succeed at a high enough level to make that an option."
The elephant in the room in all of this is that there are hundreds and thousands of people with the same talents as current corporate executives and NFL football players alike, but go unrecognized simply because of luck or lack of it. You assume that all of these multimillionaires are different than the rest of us, but if you look at the intimate details of their lives, you will see the moments when Lady Luck played an out-sized role that resulted in their discovery and success. The rest of us aren't dolts, by any means.

The 49ers linebacker and Google executive are not comparable. While at Mississippi, Patrick Willis was dubbed a "tackling machine." There is is no doubt while meting out all those hits through the years (as well as the slipping and shedding the blocks) his body took a pounding that you and I can't imagine. Patrick just can't go anymore. He did his job. He's a first ballot hall-of-fame player.

Mr. Pichette made an unthinkable fortune. There is no doubt there was stress associated with his job. Perhaps marginal costs exceeded benefits, he had enough dough, and went out on top like Jim Brown.

However, there is also the element of real power to Mr. Pichette's job that can't be replicated. I suspect most can't walk away from the power. After satiation with wealth, it's a non-pecuniary matter.

I learned that you can only play so much golf, after my retirement at age 42. For some of us, living comfortably is not how we are wired. Working with people you like and making a difference can be much more valuable than retiring comfortably.

Sounds like a good marriage in Pichette's case and that is a big part of his decision. As we hear so much about how little women are regarded would be helpful for the writer to mention her.

I worked till I was 78, and I loved my work. I felt whole working and totally engaged. Then 5 years ago I got curious about who I could be while retired. I am enjoying my retirement journey of discovery. There are a multitude of satisfying ways to work and then to retire

I observed while growing up that the people I respected most were not defined by their work, nor were they controlled by it. I concluded that work was a means to an end. That became my motivator during my working career: the end was what was important. For me, the end was to provide a lifestyle for my family that enriched our lives, collectively and individually.

I was given the opportunity to retire at 50, from a firm and position that was rewarding, interesting, and challenging mentally. Our daughter was successfully launched on her career and marriage. My wife and I simply wanted to enjoy each other's company. So I retired (certainly not at the same financial level as Pichette, Willis, and others), and have not regretted it once in the 16 years since.

I meet people on occasion who ask if I missed working. Are they kidding?

One might also mention that people might continue working, despite earning enough to retire, because they enjoy their job and because they feel that they are doing work that is valuable to their company and to society. I could have retired at fifty but worked for another eight years because I found that I enjoyed my work much more once I could retire (and I was granted a great deal more autonomy because I could walk out if I was dissatisfied).

It's the age old adage that many people have to contend with. My grandmother thought me to keep my words small and sweet. To make sure your family and friends come first and to treat people like you need a job from them. The rest will take care of itself.
The Chief

I watched Patrick Willis' retirement press conference yesterday. He pointed out several times that his feet (he had surgery last year on his feet) are not up to the rigors of NFL football. He didn't feel he could play for a "a few more years."

This would seem to dispute the notion that the executive bigshots 'need' excessive compensation to incentivize them. In these cases, they've been incentivized to leave, which is not what was intended. Football aside, for businesses that actually produce something or provide a service, it makes me wonder how much more profitable they could be if the people lower down the food chain had more generous compensation.

Mr. Irwin is peddling the so-called (Wilt) Chamberlain argument set forth in Robert Nozick's book, Anarchy, The State and Utopia, which was intended to refute the theories of John Rawls in his book, A Theory of Justice.

"To attain a net worth of eight or nine or 10 figures, it really helps to be wired differently from most of us."

Or to be in the right place at the right time.

In the Bay Area I know several people that would be the first to admit they are good at engineering or software but not any better than a lot of their peers. Those fortunate enough to join Apple when it was down and looking beat, to join a small company called Juniper Networks or Facebook or LinkedIn or any of a number of small companies snapped up by large companies like Cisco easily made $10 million, $20 million, or more.

not sure how this is a paradox. it is prudent planning and priorities. you can give back to the 'human flow', using Jobs' meme, outside of work too. There is nothing that dictates one has to machine his/her way through life without consideration to larger priorities like family, helping others, but more importantly choice and variety that makes life worth living.

no matter how 'cool' a job is, tech or otherwise, after a while, it wears on you. especially if you're good at it; the demands only rise exponentially with time. and with the short life we all have, it is too bad most of us are too overworked to deliberate their life choices more deeply to arrive at similar conclusions.

I retired at 40 to care for and be with family. It is the best choice I ever made. Being compensated well working in high tech (or fill in your industry du jour) to neglect yourself is a sure recipe to burnout and regret.