Michael Jordan retired early at 30. But his retirement failed because it lacked purpose. Pursue what you can’t not do instead.
Michael Jordan is unquestionably the best basketball player to ever walk the face of the earth.
After watching ‘The Last Dance’ recently, it has become incredibly obvious that he was head and shoulders above the competition. He was extremely gifted athletically and skilled fundamentally at the same time. MJ had the footwork, dunks, and crafty moves. There was an unmatched, mythical aura about him on the court. Plus he never lost in the finals. He’s the best of all time and it’s not even close. And that’s coming from a Lebron and Kobe fan.
Anyways, this Sunday’s episode is expected to focus on MJ’s early retirement and NBA comeback.
Almost immediately after being reminded of Jordan’s early retirement, I found myself thinking about how the greatest of all time could have left his craft in his prime.
Then it hit me that Jordan was before his time—he was an early retirement innovator before FIRE existed.
“I have nothing more to prove in basketball,” he says at the press conference. “I have no more challenges that I felt I could get motivated for. It doesn’t have anything to do with my father’s passing, or media pressure, or anything other than that I had achieved everything in basketball I could.” -Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan – An Early Retirement Innovator Before FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early)
On October 6, 1993, at age 30, after winning 3 championships, 3 MVPs, a defensive player of the year award, and 3 Finals MVPs, Jordan decided to call it quits. He said a lack of motivation was the reason behind his retirement. However, he later stated that the death of his father also shaped his decision.
After he made the decision to retire at 30, technically, Michael Jordan was an early retirement extremist. He retired early just like Jacob Lund Fisker from Early Retirement Extreme. The only difference is he didn’t have to save over 50% of his income for 5-to-10 years.
The thing is, Jordan’s retirement lasted less than 2 years. He failed as an early retiree.
His early retirement failed not because a lack of money or poor financial planning.
It failed because his early retirement took him away from what he can’t not do.
FIRE is about Purposeful Work and Meaningful Responsibilities. FIRE is Work you can’t not do.
Let’s be real—retirement doesn’t exist.
You either become a fossil that is forced out of the work force at a set age, or you choose different work.
Besides purposeful work, the only other reason to pursue early retirement is meaningful responsibilities, such as taking care of family or spending more time with friends and family.
Otherwise, what’s the point of retiring early? It wouldn’t be fun to sit around and do nothing all day.
In my opinion, the definition of early retirement is switching to the work you can’t not do. It has nothing to do with a never-ending supply of money to do nothing with. Without purposeful work, life is dreadfully boring.
Related Post: F.I.E.E – Financial Independence Entrepreneurship Early
In MJ’s case, he may not have realized he was leaving what he can’t not do.
His early retirement failed because financial independence is about pursuing work you can’t not do. FI-RE is about buying time for what you love.
Since his passion was basketball, and because he was ultra-competitive, he couldn’t avoid the itch to play again.
In the same way, an early retiree that retires for the wrong reasons will be unsatisfied. They will lose their sense of purpose and will begin to have the itch to work again.
Michael Jordan just needed a Mini-Retirement
Now that my definition of early retirement has been established, it’s time to see how this relates to the G.O.A.T.
In reality, Michael Jordan didn’t need to retire. What he needed was a mini-retirement.
He needed a year off like I took in 2016 to deal with grief and to regain motivation. He was never done with basketball. The proof is that he still works in the NBA as a part owner of the Charlotte Hornets. He never left.
Therefore, Jordan’s mini-retirement is the perfect example of how FIRE can fail without a new purpose or responsibility.
Achieving financial independence is a pursuit of more purposeful work and meaningful responsibilities. For Jordan, that was and still is the game of basketball.
Related Post: F.I.E.E – Financial Independence Entrepreneurship Early
Pursue FIRE for a specific hobby, career, or passion—FIRE is NOT another Ladder
Make sure you are pursuing Financial Independence for the right reasons, or you will fail.
I have seen the pursuit of early retirement turned into nothing more than another ladder climb.
Similar to the unnecessary, school-like need to constantly move up the ladder in the corporate world, the pursuit of FIRE can be made the same.
FIRE can be about the meaningless numbers and achieving status like most jobs are, too.
For example, I share my dividend income updates on this blog. If I share how much money I earn from dividend investing with the intention of gaining status and feeling rich, I would be an FI-ladder climber. This would ultimately lead to unhappiness.
Alternatively, if I share my dividend income because I so desperately want to become a full-time Blogger, my FIRE pursuit is validated because it has a purpose. I am absolutely captivated by blogging and want to blog every single day. That’s why my goal is to live off dividends and blog full-time. My passion is the underlying reason for my FI pursuit.
In short, your quest for early retirement must have purpose and/or responsibility behind it or you will be unhappy.
So, please don’t turn FI into another status hungry ladder climb.
Pursue early retirement for purposeful work and meaningful responsibilities. Not just for the numbers or status.
Concluding Thoughts
As I was writing this article, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between Michael Jordan and myself… Ha!
Of course, MJ is on an entirely different level and scale.
But we both took a mini-retirement at the same age—I was 30 and he was 30.
For both of us, personal problems and a lack of motivation in our career led to the time off.
And for both of us, ultimately, our time off was followed by a new level of success and newfound understanding of ourselves. MJ went on to win 3 more rings, and I went on to become a Blogger.
In the end, we both realized that financial independence is not about taking time off. It’s about having the means to afford doing what you can’t not do.
I hope you are enjoying ‘The Last Dance’ as much as I am.
I am not a licensed investment or tax adviser. All opinions are my own. This post may contain advertisements by Monumetric and Google Adsense. This post may also contains internal links, affiliate links to Amazon, Bluehost, and Questrade, links to trusted external sites, and links to RTC social media accounts.
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