What are you waiting for?
Tomorrow is promised to no one...
Life is short.
That simple sentence stopped me in my tracks last week.
I was re-reading a short essay by Paul Graham called “Life is Short”.
It's less than 1,000 words but packs a punch.
It’s about how many of us - often without realizing it - act as if we have all the time in the world.
We delay things we want to do, endure things we shouldn’t, and put off joy for “someday.”
Sound familiar?
It hit me because I’ve heard variations of this theme from clients for years.
Things like:
“Once I finally retire, I’ll take that trip.”
“I’m just waiting for the right time.”
“I want to wait until the kids are a little older.”
Or any other version of, “I’ll wait…” or “I’ll get to that…”
All valid.
And yet… all rooted in the idea that we have unlimited time.
We do not.
Graham’s advice is crystal clear:
Prune what doesn’t matter, now.
Don’t wait to enjoy the things that do.
And spend as much time as you can with the people you care about.
Let me bring this to life with a couple of stories:
Susan’s Italy trip
Susan retired at 62 after a long career in healthcare.
She was financially secure but cautious—worried about the market, long-term care costs, “what ifs.”
In our early meetings, she talked about wanting to visit her extended family in Italy.
But she kept putting it off.
Too expensive.
Too long.
Too uncertain.
Then Susan lost her younger sister unexpectedly.
That loss gave her clarity she didn’t know she needed.
We sat down and revisited her plan—updated her cash flow, earmarked funds for travel, and even set up an “Italy trip account” to make the trip feel guilt-free.
She spent a month in Italy the following spring.
Came back glowing.
Said it was the best money - and time - she ever spent.
Tuesdays mornings for Debra
Debra kept a full schedule.
Even in retirement, she kept busy with volunteering, family obligations, and endless to-dos.
She was exhausted - but thought that’s just how life is supposed to feel.
It was what she should be doing.
It’s what she’d always done.
We had a heart-to-heart about her time.
She confessed she hadn’t picked up her guitar in over a year - even though playing always put a smile on her face.
So she made one small change: Tuesday mornings became all hers.
No meetings, no emails, no obligations.
Just coffee and music.
After a few months, she was playing in a local group and had reconnected with a few old friends over their shared love of folk music.
All from a small shift in how she valued and prioritized her time.
These are the kinds of stories I think about when I read essays like Graham’s.
Retirement isn’t just about money.
It’s about permission.
Permission to stop doing what drains you.
Permission to pursue what lights you up.
Permission to live your life deliberately and purposefully - while you can.
You don’t need a dramatic life event to make that shift.
You just need to recognize that your time is yours.
And it’s not unlimited.
So this week, maybe take a few minutes and ask yourself:
What have I been postponing that actually matters to me?
And then:
What would it look like to stop postponing it?
Because life really is short.
And you deserve to live it fully.
For more, read:
Retirement myths to avoid
I encourage you to read this article from Morningstar and let me know if you have questions about or would like to discuss any of them:
Gone, but never forgotten
Brian Wilson passed away this past week.
God Only Knows remains, if you ask me, one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
Thanks for reading.
Until next Wednesday,
Russ