Yesterday, a client mentioned something that I said in a podcast interview had struck a chord with her. "My definition of retirement is to get up and do what I love doing 80% of the time." It's something I repeat so much I couldn't even tell you which podcast I said it on, and yet I still appreciated the reminder yesterday. I say it not because I label myself "retired", but because I've observed that the word retirement tends to carry with it a mindset of quitting, or not doing meaningful work anymore. I prefer to think of retirement as the freedom of mindset to see more choices, not fewer. The difficult part about choices is noticing them. Years ago, when we first moved from Charlotte to Lake Lure, working from home wasn't much of a thing yet. It was less than 2 years since I left banking and the corresponding daily drive to the office among the tall buildings and hamster-wheel tunnels and walkways. It felt risky to be so far away from the action. When we moved, I had a job and a month later I didn't. I decided to launch my own business with NO idea how to make it work this far from the hub of action. Notwithstanding the occasional moments of terror, I started with a solid client and found that traveling from here wasn't so difficult. I was on a plane to DC at least once a month and usually more. Within a year, I had more ...