I dream of retirement, a time when financial earning seems less necessary and the vain pursuits of glory have passed.
There’s a long way to go still, but those greener pastures sit in my mind.
I will always work when that time comes. In fact, I know what those three retirement jobs are already…
Usher at My Local Baseball Stadium
One of my dreams is to usher at my local baseball stadium. I love the diamond, have a partial Nationals season ticket package, and go to 10-15 games a year.
My career choices and my father’s are somewhat intertwined. He was a newspaper man his whole career, which continue to this day. After a short stint as a journalist covering wireless telecom, I went to the dark side. Later I became a blogger and author, returning to my roots.
We also share the love of baseball, one I would say he inherited from his Grandpa Livingston, a Chicago White Sox fan (the Livingstons originally migrated to Chicago in the late 19th century). In fact, my Dad was an usher at Dodger Stadium in the 60s, and I cannot tell you the amount of times I listened to his retelling of Sandy Koufax’s perfect game against the Cubs.
Nothing would give me greater pleasure than watching live baseball every night. I want to see my local team do its thing, win or lose, while I serve local fans.
Yes, I would wipe people’s seats down. So what? Maybe a little humility is a good thing after shooting my mouth off online and in print for decades.
The apple has not fallen far from the tree on this one.
Own a Local Book/Reading Store
Will books be a physical purchase anymore in 25 years? Probably not.
That’s OK, I want to offer the ambience of a great local book store where anyone can go and hang out.
That includes insanely good Italian espresso. Yes, I will have to train in Italy to ensure this level of quality (cough).
Seriously, I love Barnes & Noble, but I miss the ambience of the local shop where people know other people. It will be nostalgic, campy, and fun as hell for locals. And yes, I expect to turn a profit, even if it’s not on the books.
Write Novels
Writing novels is hard work. First of all, no publisher really wants them anymore. Well over 90% of books published today are business, nonfiction, travel or the like.
Novels rarely sell on that 10,000 book level. You just really have to love writing to push yourself through this.
I anticipate my next book will be a self-published novel, and it doesn’t need to be a huge success from a worldly perspective.
In my heart, it will be a great success for it is my dream. When all else leaves me, I will always think of reading and writing fiction.
So that’s it, those are my retirement jobs. What do you dream of doing when your days of toil are over?