How To Find Your Calling At Age 50 (Or Older)

I'm proud to be 50 because… October 16, 2018 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [Altucher Confidential] “I'm proud to be 50.” [Chip Conley] [Now playing: Chip Conley]( 2 minutes per week and BAM! [James speaking]( I want to show you a “sweet & easy” income move… It only takes 2 minutes a week… You could use this move to collect ‘magic paychecks’ totaling as much as $36,000 per year… maybe more! I am not kidding… this is like a magic trick. [Click here now.]( People always ask "What number do I need to retire?" Which really means "Do I have enough?" "Will I have enough?" "Can I survive?" "Will I be happy?" But people aren't retiring as much as they used to. People are reinventing. They're working longer. Or starting something new. They're getting a second wind. But that hasn't stopped anyone from asking the retirement question. So I wanted to break it down. See, when someone asks "What number do I need to retire?" they're really asking, "What is financial security?" And "Can I have it?" I say "yes." Except, first I have to change the equation. It's not x amount of dollars = happiness for the rest of your life. Its x dollars + virtual net worth = financial security. Here's how I broke it down on the podcast. I was talking to Chip Conley. He's the Head of Hospitality for Airbnb and second time "James Altucher Show" guest. He first came on my podcast a couple years ago. (When I was living in Airbnbs.) I got a call from my host. "Hey, the Head of Hospitality for Airbnb is staying in the apartment right below you. Do you want to meet him?" "Yes." He came downstairs with a bottle of wine. (Classic hospitable move.) I opened my computer and recorded our conversation. Now Chip has a new book out called "Wisdom at Work." So I invited him to the studio. He's 58 and he's not retired. He said he found a new "calling." People with jobs and careers want to retire. People with callings don't. So one way to "retire" is to find your calling. That's one option. There's another option, which I'll get back to. First, I asked Chip how he found his calling. Here's what I found out: 1. Mine Your Mastery "I spent 26 years being a boutique hotel entrepreneur. In 2013, the three young founders of Airbnb approached me. They said, 'We want to democratize hospitality, will you join us?'" He said yes. Now, I should say, of course this opportunity was rare. It's not everyday or in every lifetime that some future billionaires will approach you and ask for your help. Chip already built up his skillset. He had spent the majority of his career disrupting the standard hotel industry. Boutique hotels were unheard of when he first got started. His foundation matched their future. But let's say you're reading this and thinking, "No one's going to approach me." That's fine. Make a list. Write down all of your skills (the things you got really good at over the last 5, 10, 20 years). Then cross out all the ones you don't enjoy doing. - That's Step A: Mine your mastery. - Step B: Make a list of things you're curious about. Now draw lines between them. Where can you see yourself? And listen to your gut. "There's lots of physical effects that can happen in our life that sort of tell you you're on the right path," Chip said. That's step 2. 2. Get Clear "Getting clear internally is probably one of the most important things for us to figure out in life," Chip said. "Weirdly enough we don't do a whole lot in people's upbringing to help them get there." "Zero," I said. "We don't do anything to help people get there." "Yeah, thank you." "We just feed them facts they're going to forget." And sometimes in the process of memorizing those facts, we forget to understand ourselves. Sometimes I even feel guilty when I try to get clear. Like "Oh, no, I don't have time to get clear with myself I have a spreadsheet to do." Here's how I get clear: I go back to my 10 year old self. And I write down everything I loved back then. That's it. Don't go any further. Don't try to match it with job description. Don't try to turn it into a company. Just go to sleep. Let your brain digest it. And in the morning, I wake up less anxious. And more clear. Why Firing Your Internet Provider Could Save You $19,494 [Person being handed a check]( A brand-new technology – code named “Halo-Fi” – could kill off your overpriced cable company for good... beaming lightning-fast internet to your home for an estimated $7 a month. Carson McDonald in Wisconsin could save $117,000. Nick Schumann in Nebraska could keep $383,500 out of his internet company’s hands. And I estimate you could save a minimum of $19,494 when you switch. This is undoubtedly the beginning of the end for “Big 3” internet providers. And forward-thinking investors in Halo-Fi are lining up to get rich. Want to stop cutting checks and start cashing them? [Click here for more details...]( 3. Forget Who You Think You Are Chip thought he was going to be CEO, Brian Chesky's mentor. He was wrong. "Within the first couple weeks, I realized… I'm the intern." "I was twice the age of the average employee. I didn't understand the language being spoken in the hallways. I didn't have an Uber or Lyft app on my phone at that time. I had never heard of the sharing the economy. I had gone from being the pioneer as a boutique hotel entrepreneur in my mid 20's to being the establishment by 52." He could've quit. He had all the excuses. "I'm too old." "I don't belong." "I thought I was going to be the mentor." etc. He stayed. "I decided the only way I'd survive here is to be as much of a curious learner as I am the wise sage." He combined what he knew with what he didn't know. "And that's what a modern elder is," he said. "A modern elder is not the traditional elder that passed and is regarded with reverence. The modern elder is all about relevance." "OK, how do you become relevant?" "By taking that timeless wisdom and applying it to modern problems. For example: when Chip was building boutique hotels, he already faced the skepticism and mistrust since it didn't have "Hilton" on the name. So he had to battle that. With Airbnb, he could help meet skepticism head on. So he saw they had this "superhost program." Which did two things: it reassured you that the host is good at what they do. And it incentivized the hosts to step it up. When Chip started working at Airbnb, there were only 200 superhosts in the world. And Airbnb hadn't added any new ones for over a year. They were even thinking about getting rid of the program. Then Chip stepped in. He knew this could help fight skepticism and encourage people traveling to trust their host and trust Airbnb. And it worked. Now, there are 700,000 superhosts around the world. But if Chip held on to this idea of "No, I can't be the intern. I have to be the mentor" he would've left. And he would've lost his chance to be the modern elder. OK, back to retirement. The second option: build your virtual net worth. I'm 50. And I've gone broke more than once. People tell me, "You don't seem 50." And then I'm supposed to say, "Thank you." But I don't. And I won't. Because I'm actually proud to be 50. It's part of my virtual net worth. I'll explain. Let's just say you need $10 million to retire. (This is not a real example). I'm just giving easy numbers. With $10 million you'll make 4% a year after taxes, conservatively. So you can live a great life with $400K a year. But here's the flip side: if you love what you're doing and you don't have $10 million but you're making $400K a year through multiple streams of income, it's as if, virtually, you have $10 million. And instead of retiring, you have your calling. And you're not worrying every morning at 6am "Do I have enough?" "Will I have enough?" "Can I survive?" "Will I be happy?" Because you already are. [Now playing: Chip Conley]( The filming of this podcast is up on my [YouTube channel.]( Click the image below to check it out. [Youtube video]( Sincerely, [James Altucher] James Altucher P.S. Achieving financial security… and living the life of your dreams… Can be easy as writing a single simple sentence. [Click here to see what I mean.]( Attention American Patriots: $2.6 Trillion at Stake [Waving American Flag]( If you consider yourself a patriot… You could be entitled to a piece of a $2.6 trillion American fortune. [Simply put your name on a list.]( Many patriots are already participating in what I call the “cash for patriots program.” [Are you missing out? Click here now.]( Add james@jamesaltucher.com to your address book: [Whitelist us]( Additional Articles & Commentary: [The James Altucher Website]( Join the conversation! 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