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What do God and retirement income have in common? Not much — but, also more than you think. After you retire you’ll be seeing a lot more of God. On the other hand, God controls your income and money comes from God as do all other things. So, should you pray to God that your retirement will be affluent? No. However, what makes sense is to always be close to God, and also find ways of getting income.

Many retired people find that retirement is boring and is the one thing that will kill them. It seems a shame that young people are forced to work so hard that they lose their lifestyle while the elderly and handicapped are often prevented from working. My suggestion is to keep working — but, take lots of time off and don’t work more than 15-30 hours depending on how feeble you are getting. Work will make you feel good.

But, what kinds of income can a retired person get?

Investment Income: If you saved up during your younger years, you can make nice dividends on your investments. If you can make a few hundred or a thousand in dividends and pair it with some other income, you will be set.

Social Security: In America, Social Security will pay you something every month, but generally not enough to live affluently on. But, fi combined with other sources of income you might be okay.

Freelancing: You don’t have to be 20-something to freelance. You can be old just as long as you get the job done. Look on the bright side, how many of those 20 year olds have 40 years of experience (not including past lives?)

Start a Business: Nothing fancy, but a part-time business is a nice way for an elderly person to be their own boss. Your customers will know you and understand that you have your good days and your forgetful days.

Real Estate: If you manage properties that you own, or that family members own, you can make a lot of money. Younger people don’t have time to drive around to see if properties are properly maintained and give people key’s etc. An elderly person has one asset in their advantage — time. Most old people think that time is not on their side as they have few years to go. But, keep eating vegetables and understand that being retired makes you have all the time in the world. If you manage your time effectively, you might do well in Real Estate as it involves a lot of driving around, talking to people and checking up on negligent young whipper-snappers.

Many of us go through life without knowing what we’re looking for. We get into particular habits, and spend time with particular people. But, what do we really want. We spend half of our lives trying to attain particular goals. But, are the goals what we want?

For me, my lifestyle was always one of my goals. What good is money, if you are the slave of it? I want my freedom, and my current business allows a fair amount of is along with a lot of work.

Many others slave away so they can make money, but by the time they make it, their health is so bad they can’t enjoy it.

Another interesting point is that in my business, there are many directions for expansion. I am never sure which direction to take. I know I want to expand and make more money, but which direction do I expand? Should I spend more time on social media, Twitter, blogging, or other marketing channels? And which of my three businesses should I focus more on? It is all very confusing. Sometimes I think I need to spend more time having meetings with myself to figure this all out. The more you venture down a particular avenue, the more clearly you see it. As someone who does twenty things at once all day long, finding my balance and focus is another complication. I’m not sure what I’m looking for in my balance or focus. I hope I figure that out. But, I have decided to do more sales and a little less marketing. That is a big part of my new balance as it brings faster cash and money is one of my biggest goals.

Busy managers seem to fail to make time to assess the work of their employees. They give an assignment, and if it gets done roughly in time and with good enough work, it is good enough for them. Big companies have analysts that keep track of everything. They might take notes on your attitude, how many seconds late you were, and god knows what else. They understand that the little signs can be indications of how well someone will do in the long run. If you can determine the value of your workers, you can optimize them to have an ideal labor force.

So, if you run a smaller company, how do you determine the value of your various employees? You need to keep track of everything they do. You need to assess their abilities at various skills, the ups and downs of their attitude, how well they get along and communicate with others, how on time (or not) they are, etc. You need to integrate multiple factors in a single algorithm to create the ultimate valumometer. The fun part is that your employee’s value will go up and down like the stock market. The point of this exercise is that with a good system in place, you will know exactly when to fire someone. You’ll also know when to hire someone new who you are testing out. Remember, the value of the valumometer is even more when testing out new people rather than just blindly hiring them.

It’s a popular blog topic to discuss being on vacation all year round or part of the year and still being able to run a profitable business. The reality is that you can do it. However, there is some technique involved.

Many of us crave a change in scenery.
We love where we live, but we get bored of it. It’s the same old people every day. Even if you love the same old people, it’s fun to meat some different new (or young) people. When we go on vacation, we are normally in a huge rush. We have limited time to be away because we have to be back at work and clock in. Some of us only get two weeks of time off for a vacation per year. Should it be France or Spain this year you might ask.

I take a vacation every month
How can I afford it you ponder? I travel off-season for one. I often visit Arizona when it’s hot and get to stay at five star hotels for $150 a night. Or I might visit San Diego in the Winter when it’s not that popular. I lived in India for some time while I was there on spiritual business. I basically am away from home a lot, yet I keep things running.

Off-season travel & deals
It is common for people who like to work away from home to be good at getting deals. There are credit cards that will give you hotel and airfare points. There are other ways travelers can travel the world for pennies as well. Some do couch serving, others do Air B&B. A few teach English overseas to make an income.

How does one get anything done?
I notice that there are certain locations where I get a lot of work done. I have a few spots in Arizona where I feel like working all the time. I have a spot in Northern California where I can’t stop working. There are other places such as Santa Cruz, CA where I feel like meditating and reading the entire day — and I do. The main point is that while away, I need to make sure I do my emails, call lists, and whatever other responsibilities I have decided to take with me. If I am in a lazy location, nothing will get done — I won’t even crack open my laptop. But, if I am in a place that is affordable enough to stay for a few days and has a vibe that gives me mojo — I get a ton done.

Others do what I do, but travel the world.
There are shared offices in Thailand, Bali and other popular locations that hobo entrepreneurs use to run their show. Berlin is a popular destination with very low costs as well. Others stick to their hotel rooms. You can live like a king for pennies in Southeast Asia. Hotels are cheap, food is amazing and cheap, you can even afford a massage twice a week for a few dollars a shot. All you need is a phone-line or internet phone and good internet, and you can run your business. You need to do your research, but mostly it is about habits.

When I was in India, I used internet cafes.
I was in them daily for hours getting my work done. Unfortunately it was very uncomfortable in those stacking chairs. Indians are built smaller than I am so it is less cumbersome for them. I also had an international phone plan. It wasn’t cheap, but I was able to make calls for more critical deals whenever I needed to. I called America from time to time to talk to my assistant and to purchase photos from web development.

For deep thought, nothing beats home.
I know that others love to write blogs about how they saved $2000 a month on rent by being in Laos half the year and how they loved it. I get a lot done on the road. But, I go for my health to be in the forests and deserts of America or to go to spiritual events. I feel that my best work happens at home. But, for emails and repetitive phone calls, I can often get more done away from home if the environment suits me. I go away and generally mix up my activities. I’ll hike for a few hours, meditate, eat at a new restaurant and then do a few hours of work. It’s not like home where I have already seen all of the attractions. When I’m home, I work, and then have a late dinner. When I’m on the road, my life takes on a new variety of alternative directions.

Sample your new location before committing
Yes, it’s fun to work away from home. But, you need to be acquainted with the location. If you go to China, you might not be able to use Google which would stop me dead in my tracks. If your email gets hacked, you need a plan for how to recover when your incoming phone calls (that will contain the rescue text) will still come through. You need to know if it is safe and if you can stand being there day after day. I am used to travel and can stand long periods of loneliness. Others can’t handle it for more than half a day. So, do your research and you can engineer the lifestyle of your dreams — and enjoy it while you are awake!

What time of the day do you think better?

Which time is of your essence?
As Ben Franklin once mused: Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. But, what time of the day did he think of that great saying? My experience is the opposite. Many great writers, musicians, and Talmudic scholars agree that 2am is the most auspicious time for unleashing untapped parts of your brain. Let me put it this way — hamsters aren’t the only animals that are nocturnal.

What’s in YOUR time zone?
It’s interesting that I was born at 12:38pm and generally get out of bed at around 12:38pm. So, when the rest of the world is hitting the sack, I’m returning to the womb. Astrology plays a role in when we get our best thinking done. I often have my resident astrologer pick the dates and times for my most important meetings with programmers and other business associates. But, different times of the day are better for different types of thinking. There is a lot of activity during the day, and interacting in a busy way makes sense during daylight. But, deeper more philosophical, esoteric, or contemplative thought is often more conducive during the bewitching hours of the night. Not only are there less distractions then — there are less thoughts in the atmosphere leaving you with clearer reception for your own thoughts and thoughts that come in from the cosmos.

Is there a time of day when you are more productive?
My astrologer and I believe that repetitive work is best done on a Tuesday. While on Wednesday, Mercury is in charge, and it is the best day for intense communication. Thursday is good for long term decisions as Jupiter is in charge. Friday is perfect for love or prayer (or praying that you get a date.) Each day has its own attributes. So, not only is the time of day critical for task optimization, but so is the day of the week.

Should you sleep more?
A formal study was done on junior high students by Finley Edwards of Colby College. Students who started the day an hour later did 3% better at math and reading. You might be able to think more clearly if you sleep more, nap more, or clear your head completely by meditating an hour or more per day. When people say, “Sleep on it,” you should take heed of this advice. It is advisable to get a good night’s sleep before making any large business decision. The sorting activity that your brain does while you are sleeping is analogous to letting the cleaning crew come into your cluttered office to throw out the junk and prepare for the next busy burst of activity.

Walk your cobwebs away
Some of the brightest thinkers of all time had a habit of taking a long walk every day. Studies show that walking in nature or even looking at trees out the window can calm your head and help activate the creative parts of your brain, while those that stare at computer screens for hours tend to get mentally frazzled. So, when it comes to clear thinking, make sure you “do windows.” Some people even hold important two-person meetings during walks since it is easier to think clearly while the brain is oxygenated and fresh. Putting aside what time of the day you think most clearly, try taking a walk before you think and see if that makes a difference. If you’re thinking about the benefits of walking, walk first so you can think about that issue more clearly. Walk first, think later.

Meditation divinizes the soul & mind
Meditation is an age-old tradition that has been perfected by the Hindus and Buddhists over the last few thousand years. Meditation not only clears the brain of its chatter, but clears your soul. Imagine how well you’ll think if your soul has been cleansed. Many feel that meditating for half an hour or so in the morning sets you in good spiritual and mental graces for the rest of the day! Why not start the day on the right foot.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness
It is a common tradition throughout many religions to bathe as an act of physical purification. But, bathing also cleanses your energy flow as well as your mental state. Muslims wash their hands, face and feet before prayer. Jews take a ritual bath in a Mikveh. Hindu Brahmins traditionally take two or more baths a day using a few drops of holy water from the Ganges. In addition to these religious types, my writer (a practicing agnostic) claims that he does his best thinking (and singing) in the shower. Personally, I would not do any serious business thinking without bathing, meditating, and of course getting a good night’s sleep the night before!

Sleepwalk your problems away
If sleeping and walking are both good prerequisites for deep thought, why not combine them? You could sleepwalk! And if you’re sleepwalking on a rainy day — don’t even get me started. But, the reason why I created this section is because many of my best business ideas came to me in dreams. So, don’t underestimate what goes on while you are sleeping.

I think best at the beach after sunset
I do a lot of my best business thinking out of the office. My home office has the vibration of activity. I need a more still environment for deeper thought. Some of my best ideas come while sitting next to the beach at night, or hanging out at my local spaghetti or sushi spots. Ideas just come to me at these places, and I just cannot explain why.

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