The idle are a peculiar kind of dead that cannot be buried."
Oriental proverb

One thing is certain - when you do not have a creative challenge during your retirement years, the idleness and its accompanying despondency blots out any chance for happiness and contentment and can even encourage an early death.

We spend a great deal of time on our retirement financial planning thinking if we have a roof over our heads and food on the table we're all set. But no matter how big or small the roof or how limited and abundant the food, without a creative challenge to fuel your mind and spirit, the money is meaningless.

There's a story about US President Calvin Coolidge. He died at the early age of sixty. He had an office but little or nothing was accomplished there - few came to visit. At his home, he had no hobby or interests. So empty was his life he used to go down in the cellar to watch the handy man throwing coal in the furnace.

In Michael Connelly's novel "Lost Light", the hero, a Los Angeles cop describes his retirement.

"?.I was now retired. I was supposedly comfortable. I had a house with no mortgage and a car I'd paid cash for. I had a pension that covered more than I needed covered. It was like being on vacation. No work, no worries, no problems. But something was wrong and deep down I knew it. I was living like a jazz musician waiting for a gig. I was staying up late, staring at the walls and drinking too much red wine. I needed to pawn my instrument or find a place to play it."

That is not a good place to be.

When fuelled by continuous creative challenges, the ability to originate new ideas does not diminish with age. When you think of your retirement years, remember age is just a number - health, heart and mind determine age.

In his book, "Staying Young Beyond Your Years", Dr. Howard Wilcox Haggard notes that many people have acquired the habit of NOT learning - they allowed themselves to get out of the habit of learning.

Don't fall into that trap. If you are planning for your retirement remember - to be a happy, contented and creatively-active older person is to make yourself a happy, contented and creatively-active younger person.

If you are retired NOW is the time to step up to the plate and go for a creative homerun. Create a life work that pops you out of bed in the morning.

Here are a few extras - retirement add-ons that wrap a blue ribbon around a happy, contented and challenging retirement.

See don't just look - study the beauty that surrounds you. Take time to sit on a park bench or on a lakeshore and play the "Positive Game". Make a mental list of all the positives around you - the laughter of children playing - a couple holding hands - the structure of a flower - the movements of a bee.

Spend time with the younger generation - their youthfulness will rub off on you. My grandchildren keep me young in mind and spirit.

Exercise is vital - even a daily thirty minute hike works wonders. Play the positive game on your walk. I download motivational books and listened to them on my portable CD player while I'm walking.

"Do not act as though you had a thousand years to live"
Marcus Aurelius

Dave Wright is a retired television reporter and editor of http://www.PPPretirementplans.com a site dedicated to the development of Postive, Productive, Profitable and creative home based business opportunities.Copyright � 2005 PPP Retirement Plans - Reprints Accepted

RELATED ARTICLES Building Wealth: A Wealth Building Strategy Is More Than Simply Diversifying Your Investments Wealth - an abundance of values. Each of us determines what is or is not of value to us. Could a Roth IRA be Better Than a 401(k)? Very few people whom I know are familiar with the benefits of the Roth IRA. It was named for the late Senator William Roth of Rhode Island, who proposed it. How To Get Investors And Bankers To Part With Their Money For Your Business Time and time again entrepreneurs are losing out on getting the capital they need because of making basic mistakes in their pitch. It's great to have a magic product and tons of enthusiasm, but it's not enough. You're Eating Your Retirement Money Ever think about how eating all those fast food meals for lunch are effecting your pocketbook. Let's do the math. Virtual Millionaire Strategy Exposed Let's begin this lesson with a definition of the term "Virtual Millionaire". This is an expression, known to the CPAs, but unknown to the general public. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Steve Martin once delivered an opening monologue for Saturday Night Live in which he answered the age-old question "How can I be a millionaire?" His answer was fairly simple and straightforward, "First? get a million dollars." If at this point you can't help but feel that Mr. The One Important Secret of Making More Money Easily If you're reading this article, it means you are a person who wants to make more money in life.Who doesn't? Money is not everything in life, but it sure helps to decrease problems if it is used correctly. Compounding: The Science Of Exponential Money Generation It all begins with a simple calculation.You are home on a rainy Sunday afternoon, looking at the flashy calculator you found on sale last month for $12 at the local buy n' save. Don't Work for Your Money, Make it Work for You! Well, the New Year is around the corner and so are New Year's Resolutions! It's such a great time of year to consider what the past year has brought us and what we want to create in the coming year.To help you get started thinking about the coming year, we are publishing a series of articles on top wealth creating habits. One Pipeline Is Worth A Thousand Paychecks It is with great pleasure of having you here at this hour. Let me get it straight and be honest with you at the very outset. Are You Ready For Undesired Events? Planning for the undesired, accidents and possible unknowns in life. Recently, a remote friend of mine died during an accident. I Dont Need A Financial Coach To Help Me! You've been thinking that your financial life could probably be better, right? Maybe you think, "If I could just stick to a budget everything will be fine?", or how about "When I get that next raise or promotion, I'll have enough money to pay off my debts and save some money?" You may even be thinking,"I can do this on my own!"I hear these comments and more on a regular basis. I usually say, "Great! Can you think of any reasons your financial life isn't perfect right now?"It's really your "little voice" which is prompting you to say all these things! Your little voice has a job to do and that is to protect you from any change because it "knows" that change will be hard or scary or cause more work and it's just easier to keep things the way they've always been. High Flying Market Makes Good Buys Hard to Find AS THE MARKET FLIES HIGHER, GOOD BUYS ARE BECOMING HARDER AND HARDER TO FIND.Market activity is almost beginning to resemble the jumpy behavior typical of internet stocks in late '99, when they were at their most frothy. Thieves Continue to Pull Off the Biggest Heist in History?Until Now! Imagine being able to steal untold millions of dollars in plain view without getting caught. Impossible you say. Who Else Wants To Know Oprahs Secrets To Wealth & Success? Before I had a lot of money, I was really quite happy," said Oprah Winfrey. "And I will tell you this--you may not believe it--I never would have gotten the money if I wasn't happy to begin with. Your Wealth Cycle Foundation The four main steps in building a wealth cycle foundation are:� Pay yourself first� Understand the legal entities available to you and the tax implications of each� Determine whether to be an active or passive investor and using the appropriate strategies � Develop and commit to your money rulesPAYING YOURSELF FIRSTPaying yourself first is a money rule. Can you imagine how much you would be worth if, from an early age, you had been conditioned to pay yourself first by depositing a portion of your earnings in a wealth account? Even if you only put in $1 per week, today you would probably be sitting pretty. A Completely New Way To Get Rich Rapidly This new way is catching on around the world. People are compounding money rapidly for themselves. How to Grow Your Very Own Money Tree Okay. So money doesn't really grow on trees. Self Improvement and Financial Security for the Future Any successful person, or any anyone interested in self improvement and making a better life for themselves must be prepared to take responsibility for every aspect of their lives and their future.To many people, financial planning may well be one of the most uninspiring of all subjects. Increasing Your Wealth by Increasing Your Financial Literacy Perhaps the primary message of Rich Dad, Poor Dad is increasing basic financial literacy. Perhaps I should say financial literacy for the common man and woman.