Inspiration for How to Retire Happy

I received this e-mail today from a business reporter in Chile who had interviewed me previously about my books:

----- Original Message -----
From: Carlos Oliva
To: Ernie Zelinski
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 10:42 AM
Subject: From Chile-El Mercurio Newspaper

Dear Enie,

I'm Carlos Oliva, business reporter from El Mercurio Newspaper at Chile. Do you remember me?

I'm preparing an article about best seller for retirement people. So, I woud like to ask you some questions as a best seller author of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free ; I will appreciate your help.

Below are the questions Carlos asked me along with my responses:

1-What's the big diferrences between this and your others books?

How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free is written especially for retired people whereas my other books such as The Joy of Not Working and 101 Really Important Things You Already Know, But Keep Forgetting were written for the general population.

2-What inspired you to write this book?

The inspiration for my writing How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free was that the vast majority of retirement books focus on money and the financial aspects of retirement.

What sets How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free apart from all the other retirement books is its holistic approach to the fears, hopes, and dreams that people have about retirement. This international bestseller goes way beyond the numbers that is often the main focus of retirement planning in most retirement books.

There are many ingredients of a happy retirement and several retirement planning tools that help retirees plan for their retirement in new and more meaningful ways. One of the most powerful tools is The Get-a-Life Tree that you won't find in any other retirement books.

In Chapter 1, I give eight good reasons why the large majority of retirees, whether they live in Canada, the U.S., or other Western nations, can live on far less than 80 percent of their pre-retirement income. Indeed, government statistics indicate that retirees live comfortably on 45 percent to 62 percent of their pre-retirement income.

When I started writing How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free I wanted to write the best retirement book in the world. I believe that I have succeeded. Conduct a search for "retirement" or "retire" on www.Amazon.com and How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free appears in the number 1 position. Better still, search for "retirement book" in Google and the Amazon page for How to Retire Happy appears in the number 1 spot — out of over 29 million webpages!

What's more How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free has already sold over 150,000 copies. By the way, my goal is to sell 500,000 copies.

3-May foreign retirement people (think about Latinamerica) learn the ideas you have shown?

Yes, How to Retire Happy Wild, and Free is written for people in all countries and not just for North Americans. The book has been published in 8 foreign languages since it was released including Spanish. See the attached images of some of the foreign editions.

I have also attached the PowerPoint Slide that indicates the benefits that any company can attain by giving away copies of The World's Best Retirement Book.

Many thanks for your interest in the book and so long for now.

Ernie J. Zelinski
Best-Selling Author, Innovator, and Prosperity Life Coach
Author of the Bestseller How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(Over 150,000 copies sold and published in 9 languages)
and the International Bestseller The Joy of Not Working
(Over 250,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)

Here are some more funny retirement quotes and some serious quotations about retirement to put retirement in proper persective:

"My retirement plan is to get great pleasure from living solely to enrage those who are paying for my Social Security and company pension. "
— Unknown wise retiree

"As long as I get air conditioning in my cardboard box, I'll be OK [in my retirement]."
— Barbara Whelehan, Bankrate.com Write

"My Retirement Plan: Get a retirement job that will last until I am dead."
— Unknown wise person, in response to an article on retirement

"Money might not buy happiness, but one thing you can get with cash is the ability to choose - prime rib over hamburger, say, or the date of your retirement."
— Writer at Winnipeg Free Press

Unemployment (and Retirement) Can Be Liberating

Here is the latest e-mail that I received about The Joy of Not Working — from an unemployed woman in Hawaii who feels that unemployment can be liberating:

From: Lynne D
Subject: "The Joy of Not Working"
To: Ernie Z.
Received: Thursday, February 16, 2012, 12:14 PM

Aloha Ernie!

I stumbled across your book at the local used book store in the business section, no less. Kind of ironic, isn't it! Anyway, I have been unemployed for one year now and had to dip into my IRA to pay living expenses as I do not qualify for unemployment anymore. I am so glad I discovered your book! I had been desperately seeking work. Now, I will slow down, sit on the beach until I decide what it is exactly I'm passionate about and what do I REALLY want to do! It's kinda scary and liberating all at once. Especially where there are 80+ applicants applying for any given job in my town of Hilo, HI.

I wonder if you've ever read, Your Owner's Manual by Burt Hotchkiss? I'm only have way thru your book but I have discovered a similar thread in some areas that mirror what Burt has to say about finding one's true essence and the like. That made me very happy!

Much aloha and Mahalo for a wonderful book!

I am joyously serving others and being served in ever expanding sustainable ways using all my talents and gifts.

Aloha Lynne

Here are some retirement quotes and some quotes about work and unemployment to put retirement and unemployment in perspective.

"Gainfully unemployed, very proud of it, too."
— Charles Baxter

There is life after retirement, and it is BETTER."
— Catherine Pulsifer

"Yes, I am thoroughly enjoying retirement! The best part is observing my neighbors
drive off to work in the morning knowing that that their day will be filled with jerks, brainless and endless meetings, jerks, vendor lunches where you hold your breath just waiting for the sales pitch until you regurgitate your pasta, more jerks and the eventual company reorganization of the section that was just reorganized last month!"
— Bill Kalmar