By Jim Dickens
Have you had the,” I wish you could come earlier.” or, “Stay another day.” offer like most of us? Usually with work, family commitments and an already defined plan, there is huge resistance to change. However, with a little practice, you can leverage retirement flexibility to find out the sincerity of the offer and have even more fun.
Now the speed of the Ridgeline Tour has slowed, I have answered yes to several “stay later”, “come early” offers and had a little extra fun on the side. First, you must be open to unexpected changes in plan. Second, you need to persuade those affected by the change it is a great idea. (Remember to be honest when persuading to preserve trust for the next change.) Third and finally, be ready to go with the flow and trust others it will be fun. Just say yes and don’t try and control it.
Over the past four weeks, I have had three on the side experiences. I played an extra day of golf in Florida with Roger and had to persuade the airlines and Lori it was a good change without the need for extra fees. I extended Thanksgiving in California to fish with Bill for a couple of days persuading the car rental company, the airline, and family members. And finally, I played in a charity golf event, Santa Scramble, on my wife’s birthday, no explanation needed.
A quick note on Bill. We have known each other through business for 26 years. I fished with him one other time 10 years ago. Both times he caught a nice rainbow trout on his first cast as pictured above. I’m looking forward to fishing with Bill sooner that ten years from now. It’s too fun. More on Northern California in the next blog.
Ridgeline Tour 