Business Secrets from the Bible: Spiritual Success Strategies for Financial Abundance

Secret #40

Retirement Tends to Isolate You

It is an unfortunate truth about our society that many older people are very isolated and alone. The majority of these people are retired. They may no longer have surviving family near them. Having retired, they have no coworkers and no professional network to fall back on. They don't even see customers every day. Do not underestimate the value of companionship that customers provide. Some of my closest relationships in life are with valued regular customers and others with whom I conduct regular business. Because I serve these people regularly, I have grown to love them very dearly and we remain very close even years and decades later. That's a testimony to the power of mutual service to bind us together.

Some people are able to maintain contact with other people during retirement, but these connections tend to be far weaker and transient than those you can forge in the working world. Perhaps you have already retired and you spend several days a week playing golf. You love golf, but what you are really craving is human contact. So three times a week you go down to the local green and meet up with three other guys to play a few rounds of golf. The same few guys show up every day and you have gotten to know each other fairly well. You get along well enough and have fun together.

But ask yourself this: Would they really miss you if you stopped showing up? They would be a little put out, maybe, if you missed a game because they need a fourth ...