The Chilean miner rescue story is truly amazing.  As I think about these men trapped under 1/2 of a mile of rock and dirt for over 2 months, and all of them surviving, it really is inspiring.  These guys survived what had to be a miserable and sometimes terrifying experience, and yet they all seemed to want to be the last one to be rescued.  I think that says a lot for the kind of people these men really are.  You could tell that as they reunited with their wives, children and loved ones, they all had looks of relief and maybe some disbelief.  If you didn’t feel something watching that then something is wrong with you!  I thought it was great to see these guys celebrating and spraying bottles of wine all over.  You normally see that when someone wins a big race, so I thought that was very appropriate given the way this turned out.  I am sure it wasn’t easy living under ground for 2 months not really knowing when or if you’ll get out.  And I know it was just as difficult on their families to worry and wonder about when their loved one would come home.  I am sure if was also very difficult for the rescue teams who have been working non-stop for the last 2 months to save these mean.  But they didn’t ever give up even though at times I am sure they got discouraged.  I love a story that has a happy ending like that.


In the last week I have had the opportunity to meet with two of my clients who I have worked with for several years, and they also had reason to celebrate.  Both of these individuals (they aren’t related nor do they know each other) are getting close to retirement age and were concerned about whether or not they could afford to retire.  While the market has recovered some of its losses, neither client has fully recovered all of their losses yet.  But after reviewing their assets, income needs, and sources of income, I was able to tell them both, “You can quit working now if you want to.” 

I saw a look of relief similar to the miners families as these clients realized the position that they were in.  Neither one was being forced to retire, but both were at that stage in life where they were getting real tired of having to go to work every day (wait a minute, aren’t most people at that point?).  Other things were now more important to them than pursuing that career.  These meetings are a real pay day for a financial planner when you can look a client in the eye and tell them with confidence that they can say goodbye to the corporate whenever they are ready.

What do they have in common?

I always like to ask my clients what their secret to success is.  I pretty much hear the same things over and over.  What I often hear are the following:

• they consistently spend less than they earn (not easy to do, requires a lot of sacrifice)
• they try to get out of debt as soon as possible (again, not easy to do)
• they started investing at a fairly early age (takes discipline to develop this habit)
• they save up and pay cash for things like cars, boats, etc. (more discipline and sacrifice)
• most of them make the majority of their money in the last 10 yrs of their career (didn’t happen overnight)

Hats off to the Chilean miners, to their families who have been living on edge for two months, and to the rescue team that brought them home.  And hats off to anyone who has been living disciplined enough to be able to retire and stay retired.  If you’re not there yet, don’t worry, you will be if you will follow the example of those who have done it.  It’s not easy, it takes discipline, it takes time to get to that point, but it can be done.  I love a story that has a happy ending like that.