Day: May 21, 2025

One of the mistakes I often see people make is not knowing when their time is to leave. It can be hard when you are on the top of your game not to push for more, to walk away, especially when you think can be of greater service to your company or your country. But I see a lot of value in retirement and hanging your hat up at some point, while you still have time to seek recreational pursuits and relax in your final years. It is good to let the younger generation get a foot hold, advance new ideas and better ways of doing things.

We all become set in our ways. Even though I’m certainly not 80 years old, I often find it difficult to change new procedures in the office, when I’ve done something differently for many years. Experience is valuable, but people lose flexibility and clarity in their thinking. While I don’t think there should be a set limit to how old one can be as a political leader, it does seem like 80 years is too old. Both Biden and Trump are of an earlier generation, and hardly relevant to the concerns of today.

Ultimately, the largest tragedy has to be that Biden and Trump will never have a retirement, but worked to the end of their lives. While these elderly leaders blocked younger people from the chance to lead and change the nation for it’s better, they wasted their final years in public service. They could have been enjoying life perusing things they truly found pleasurable, rather then their occupation. Retirement is not a bad thing.