This is the front cover of my new book The Joy of Being Retired: 365 Reasons Why Retirement Rocks — and Work Sucks! It actually has 50 Bonus Reasons for Why Retirement Rocks — and Work Sucks! for a total of 415 Reasons. Each of the reasons has an accompanying cartoon image so this book is a little different than my two other bestselling retirement books. Just to let you know that the POD (Print on Demand) edition of The Joy of Being Retired is as of today available on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca. I just ordered 2 copies from Amazon.ca.

At Amazon.com, you can order a copy here:

The Joy of Being Retired on Amazon.com

At Amazon.ca, you can order a copy here.

The Joy of Being Retired on Amazon.ca:

Heck, if you order a copy in the next 24 hours and pay for express shipping, you may get the copy before I get my 2 copies. I am also doing a print run of 1,700 copies of a traditional offset print run but these won't be available until the third week of January. (Two financial advisors have already ordered 200 copies each to give to their clients.)

To my special friends and clients, I will be giving you a complimentary signed copy or sending you a copy of the traditional offset print copy once I get them.

Write That Book Badly — But at Least Do It!

For those looking for retirement quotes, go to The Retirement Quotes Cafe and Funny Retirement Quotes on The Joy of Being Retired website.

In my internationally best-selling How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free I advocate that retirees write a book (not necessarily a retirement book). There is no better way for anyone to leave a legacy than to write a book and have it published as a print book (not an ebook).

And this comes from my latest book:

"Writing a book is an incredible, satisfying experience.
It is a way to connect with the world.
It tells the world who you are.
It makes you an authority on what you write about.
It’s a swell way to eventually make money from your own creative efforts and feel much better for it.
A good book excites readers to self-discovery and making a difference in this world while you yourself make a difference.
You should write at least one."
— from Life's Secret Handbook (Reminders for Adventurous Souls Who Want to Make a Big Difference in This World)

Do you have to hire a professional editor and make it perfect? Near as I can tell, no.

If you have a great book with great content, it won't matter all that much, if at all.

One of my mottos is: “Write That Book Badly — But at Least Do It!”

In my pursuit of success in the publishing industry, I have always remembered this great advice by a self-published author Robert Ringer who has sold millions of his books including Restoring the American Dream, Winning Through Intimidation, and Looking Out for Number 1:

“It’s better to do a sub-par job working on the right project than a great job working on the wrong project.
— Robert J. Ringer

One of my “right projects” was my second self-published book The Joy of Not Working which was released in 1991. Instead of getting it perfect — or even remotely close to perfect — I kept to my schedule and followed my motto “Do It Badly — But at Least Do It!”

At the time that I first published The Joy of Not Working, I used a desktop publishing program that had no spell check. I did not hire any professional editor and just used some of my friends to help me edit the book. Three years later. I purchased an update of the desktop publishing program that had a spell check. When I ran the spell check on the book, I found out it had 150 spelling errors. Did it affect sales? I don’t think so. It had sold 30,000 copies in its first three years — and that was in Canada with one-tenth of the population of the U.S. Incidentally, I received only one complaint about the book. It was from some school teacher. She complained about the spelling errors and how good she was at spotting these spelling errors. But she only spotted about ten of the 150.

Here is the key to having a bestselling self-published book: Create a book that has great content, something that really stands out and is so far ahead of your competition that it owns the category (something like How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free). If you can accomplish this, readers willl overlook spelling errors (like the one I just made). The best promotion for a book is still word-of-mouth advertising from readers who love your book and tell others about it.

Recently, I purchased a copy of Brendon Burchard’s The Millionaire Messenger. Burchard had the book published within 10 weeks after he started writing it (not that's committment). The Millionaire Messenger was released in March 2011 and has now sold over 50,000 copies. I spotted a number of spelling and formatting errors in the book. Did I mind? Not at all — simply because it has great content.
Here are a few quotations about perfection to put perfection in proper perspective:

“And in fact, I think the more we start to worship perfection the more soul leaks out of art.”
— Kathy Mattea

“Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything.”
— Gustave Flaubert

“Have no fear of perfection — you’ll never reach it.’
— Salvador Dali

“Perfection is a trifle dull. It is not the least of life’s ironies that this, which we all aim at, is better not quite achieved.’
— W. Somerset Maugham

“Striving to better, oft we mar what’s well."
— William Shakespeare

Incidentally, if there are any typos here, enjoy them.

Here are some retirement quotes since this is a retirement sayings and retirement quotes blog.

"WEIRD AND DELUSIONAL: A quarter of middle-class Americans are now so pessimistic about their savings that they are planning to delay retirement until they are at least 80 years old. This is delusional because this is two years longer than the average American is even
expected to live."
— Dave Erhard

"I'm not just retiring from the company, I'm also retiring from my stress, my commute, my alarm clock, and my iron."
— Hartman Jule

"I never stopped doing anything [when I retired], I stopped getting paid for it."
— Bill Chavanne

"Retirement is the beginning of life, not the end."
— from How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free

"The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary."
— Fred Wilson

Writing a Book in Retirement

Perhaps you will want to write a book when you retire or even while you are working to use as a means for saving for retirement.

Incidentally, 81 percent of Americans and even a larger percentage of Britons want to write a book.

If you have always wanted to write a book but haven't, what's your excuse?

Whatever your excuse, keep these excerpts from one of my new books in mind:

"Any excuse, even a lousy one, is good enough if you don't want to do something,
regardless of how important it is for your happiness and prosperity."
— from Life's Secret Handbook

"Every excuse that you make is just another way for you to choose mediocrity instead of excellence, failure instead of success, discontent instead of satisfaction, and just getting by financially instead of experiencing true prosperity."
— Life's Secret Handbook

"When you finally do whatever has to be done to attain true prosperity, it's just like magic! You no longer find yourself repeating annoying excuses to your friends about why you are in debt and not prosperous enough to pay your bills."
— Life's Secret Handbook

Even if you are illiterate, this is still just an excuse and not a good reason for not having written a book.

To make my point, read this story at the below about how Jim Henry at 91 was illiterate. Then he learned how to read and write. Seven years later — at the age of 98 — he wrote a book!

98 Old Retiree Writes a Book

So what's your excuse again?

I hope your answer is "None!"

If your answer is none, at least you have some hope of writing a book such as my How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free that may not only give you great satisfaction from having written, but also that earns you some additional retirement income for many years to come.

Retirement Planning Test - How Much More Are You Than a Damn Job?

An important element of retirement planning is the nonfinancial aspects of retirement. In other words, what are you going to do with all the spare time if you don't get yourself a retirement job to fill some of the extra leisure time that you acquire?

There are many other issues relating to your leisure time as well such as including your spouse in your retirement plan. As a participant in a retirement planning seminar said to the seminar leader, "I now have half the income and twice the husband." I received the following letter about my retirement book The Joy of Not Working from Cary H. of Salem, OR on April 15th, 2011.

Hi Ernie: I am a 69-year-old general contractor, semi-retired, and eager to quit! A friend of mine gave me your book The Joy of Not Working. Delightfully your book has enchanted me and turned me around. I am now looking for ways to live with less and to quit work NOW. What I have known and practiced and forgotten, is that attitude adjustments are what produce change. I have bought into the concept that I am my job. My big excitement is what is going to happen now that I can stop work-work and be alive with my creativity. Dylan Thomas's retirement quotation was perfect. I remember my father being curious to the day he died. What a great trail. Now I look around and wonder how much more I am than a damn job! Thank you, thank you! Cary. H.

Note: The Dylan Thomas quote that Cary was referring to is "Somebody is boring me; I think that it is me."

See the post: There is success in The Joy of Not Working and Prosperity Too!

Also see details of my other retirement book How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free on Amazon.com , actually The World's Best Retirement Book.

A Reader Recommends How to Retire Happy to Her Clients

Cover of Special Giveaway Edition of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free Produced for Allstate

This is the latest e-mail that I received about my book How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free, which is the best retirement gift that you can give yourself aside from great health in retirement.

From: Teena Dawson
Subject: How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free
To: success101coach (at) yahoo.com
Received: Monday, September 7, 2009, 7:27 PM

Hi Ernie,

I just finished "How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free" and thought I'd write to say how much I enjoyed it. In fact, I blogged about it:

http://www.purple4mee.com/2009/09/book-how-to-retire-happy-wild-and-free.html

I've been in the group retirement industry in education and communication for over 20 years (I'm an Education Advisor). Most books cover the financial aspects of retirement. It was nice to read your book because it didn't go there at all. Thanks for that! I'll definitely be recommending it to my clients.

Teena

.

Choose the Best Retirement Book That Suits Your Personality

The 237 Best Things Ever Said about Retirement is available as a free E-book at The Retirement Gifts Cafe

FIND OUT WHICH RETIREMENT BOOK BEST SUITS YOUR PERSONALITY

DON'T SCROLL DOWN YET, DO THE SIMPLE MATH BELOW

THEN SCROLL DOWN TO FIND THE BEST RETIRMENT BOOK THAT WILL HELP YOU ENJOY A HAPPY AND FULFILLING RETIREMENT

It's CRAZY how accurate this is!

1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9
2) Multiply by 3 then
3) Add 3
4) Then again Multiply by 3
5 ) You'll get a 2 or 3 digit number.....
6 ) Add the digits together

Now Scroll down to the RETIREMENT BOOK list below and find your number that will correspond to the best retirement book for your personality.

1.

Reinventing Retirement: 389 Bright Ideas About Family, Friends, Health, What to Do, and Where to Live by Mirian Goodman

2. How to Love Your Retirement: Advice from Hundreds of Retirees (Hundreds of Heads Survival Guides) by Barbara Waxman (Editor), Bob Mendelson (Editor)

3. 101 Secrets for a Great Retirement: Practical, Inspirational, & Fun Ideas for the Best Years of Your Life! by Mary Helen and Shuford Smith

4. How to Enjoy Your Retirement, Third Edition: Activities from A to Z by Tricia Wagner and Barbara Day

5. What You Don't Know About Retirement: A Funny Retirement Quiz by Bill Dodds

6. The Wall Street Journal. Complete Retirement Guidebook: How to Plan It, Live It and Enjoy It by Glenn Ruffenach and Kelly Greene

7. The New Retirement: Revised and Updated: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life by Jan Cullinane and Cathy Fitzgerald

8. Retire Smart, Retire Happy: Finding Your True Path in Life by Nancy K. Schlossberg

9. How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won't Get from Your Financial Advisor by Ernie J. Zelinski (World's #1 Corporate Escape Artist, World Class Author, and Unconventional Career Expert)

10. What Color Is Your Parachute? for Retirement: Planning Now for the Life You Want by Richard N. Bolles and John E. Nelson

Note: This Test Can Also Be Done at Retirement Books on The Retirement CafeAlso

Check Out The World's Best Retirement Book .

Following are some quotes about books and authors that come from websites such as the Retirement Quotes Cafe and Sensational Quotes about Books and Authors for Smart People:

A man's got to take a lot of punishment to write a really funny book.
— Ernest Hemingway

Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that don't stifle enough of them. There's many a bestseller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.
— Flannery O'conner

Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for it.
— Russell Lynes

Writing is turning one's worst moments into money.
- J. P. Donleavy

Early Retirement a Fantasy for Most Americans Except for Mr. Weirdo

Here are some interesting facts about American retirees and their mortgages which reflect why early retirement is a fantasy for most Americans:

• A report by AARP found that 25.5 million American seniors ages 50 and older have a mortgage.
  


• Thirty-six percent of American workers ages 55 and older say the total value of their household's savings and investments — excluding the value of their primary home and any defined benefit plans — is less than $25,000, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.


• More than 600,000 American home-owning seniors are delinquent or in foreclosure, according to AARP.

Here is the link to a story about a guy who calls himself Mr. Weirdo in which my retirement book How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free was mentioned:

Early Retirement Interview with Mr. Weirdo:

Did you know that the term " Teacher Retirement Poems " is searched more in search engines such as google than " retirement planning "or "retirement" itself?

The World's Best Retirement Book — Who Am I to Tamper with a Masterpiece?

"Freedom comes from seeing the ignorance of your critics and discovering the emptiness of their virtue."
— Ayn Rand


This is my response to an e-mail (see below my response) that I received from a woman criticizing my book How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free

Hello Trish:

I have read your comments and disagree.

Here are the reasons I will not be making the changes that you suggest:





1. How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free has proven to be the "World's Best Retirement Book", as a reader called it, by word-of-mouth advertising alone. Word-of-mouth is the most powerful advertising for any product because it is based on people getting a lot of value out of it and telling others about it.




2. How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free has now sold over 100,000 copies. Did you know that over 95% of the books published — even by major publishers — sell less than 5,000 copies in their life time? For the record, all 12 of my books published in English have sold over 5,000 copies. So I know I am very good at what I do. I was just at Book Expo in New York and major US publishers and distributors were complimenting me on my success.


3. How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free is now published in 7 foreign languages, with the 8th (Bulgarian) being done this year. Did you know that only one out of 10 books gets even one foreign publishers, let alone 8?




4. Companies such as Allstate Financial, which purchased 3,750 copies of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free with its name on it (see above image), are purchasing this book by the thousands to give to employess and clients. Companies don't just purchase a book without checking it out to see whether it has great content.


5. Check out the two e-mails out of hundreds that I have recently received from people about the book at Letters from the Happily Retired. As a matter of fact, for every one negative e-mail or letter such as yours that I receive, I receive 50 or 100 positive ones like the ones below. I wouldn't be too bright listening to a negative one like yours, would I, when there are thousands of positive ones stating that the book is just fine the way it is?

Again, regardless of what you say or think, How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free is the "World's Best Retirement Book." It has sold 110,000 copies and it will end up selling 500,000 copies.

As one of my mentors, Jack Canfield, says, "Results don't lie."

And as Oscar Wild said, when asked to make changes to one of his famous and successful plays, "Who am I to tamper with a masterpiece?"

If you don't like How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free, just send it back to me at the address at the back of the book along with the receipt and I will refund what you paid for it plus shipping. (I can afford to this because the book has already made me over $400,000 in pretax profits).

And I challenge you to write a better book. I bet that you can't! Thinking that you can doesn't count. As the Buddhists say, "To know and not to do is not yet to know!"

In the mean time I have attached two of my e-books, 101 Reasons to Love a Recession and The 237 Best Things Ever Said about Retirement. If you don't enjoy these e-books, then send them to people whom you don't like.

So long for now,

Ernie Zelinski
Author of the Bestseller How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(Over 100,000 copies sold and published in 7 foreign languages)
and the International Bestseller The Joy of Not Working
(Over 225,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)

Featured at http://www.retirement-cafe.com/

Here is the e-mail from the reader:

----- Original Message -----
From: Patsy Carpenter
To: vip-books (at) telus (dot) net
Sent: Wednesday, June 03, 2009 11:13 AM

Hello Ernie,

My husband and I have been retired for several years, and we are having a reading session every day with How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free. This appears to be for people thinking about retiring, not so much for those already retired. I am just at page 50, so I may be wrong there.

We have lived all over the world for many years working for the U.S. Department of Defense. My husband worked with Colin Powell in Stuttgart, Germany in the 1st gulf war. My husband was the senior DoD logistician at the European Command Headquarters, and Mr. Powell was a general then. That doesn't mean he knows how to "retire," as you point out. It also doesn't necessarily mean he is/we are...morons.

I read on page 50 of your book that, "Putting purpose into retirement is only unattainable to uncreative and unmotivated people who are unable to think and act on their own. Not only was this very depressing, we were insulted and wondered why we would buy a book on the subject seeking ideas and "help," which we obviously would not need if we were intelligent, creative, and motivated! Some people might just toss your book at that point...really. They buy your book seeking help. So far, we have heard the same thing repeated over and over in slightly different ways...why one possibly should, and could retire early. Of course, you are trying to convince folks they can do this, but we're wondering how many more times we'll hear the same thing.

I also noticed it's assumed that the career one had obviously had no real significance...as far as connecting with who you really are. For some, their career is who they really are...artists, missionaries, humanitarian workers, etc. There are more than "suits" with careers. My husband was a suit. I was not. I was very involved in "spiritual" work. It was a passion, and one I will continue eventually.

I'll let you know what I think of your book once I've read it all. If you revise it some day, I'd advise you to leave out the sentence making people sound like idiots for buying your book...for a little help!!! We are enjoying the little cartoons. Well, back to your book!

Trish

Chinese Women Want Same Retirement Age as Men

Cover of the Chinese Edition (traditional Characters) of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free (The World's Best Retirement Book)

The following is exerpted from an article about 5 years ago.

A Chinese policy established decades ago in a bid to protect female workers is now being questioned by increasing numbers of Chinese women who want to keep their jobs longer.

Men retire five years later than women under the regulation. The retiring age for female staff is 50, and 55 for men. While women cadres leave their posts at 55, it's 60 for men of the same status. The intention of the policy was to protect women's health and lawful rights, said officials with the State Ministry of Personnel.

Statistics show that the average life expectancy for Chinese women is 71 while 69 for men. In some well-off areas like Shanghai,the figure is nearly 80 for women.

Sociologists cite the toughness of the current job market as one reason for women retiring early. In some badly-run factories and companies, women staff are required to leave their jobs at 45 and get an even lower pension.

I would imagine that Chinese women are even more irritated by this policy given that China's ecomony is about to tank.

It's Hard Work Trying to Give Away 430 Copies of the World's Best Retirement Book

Here are three more responses to my attempt to give away 430 copies of The World's Best Retirement Book — my international bestseller How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free. (See second last blog post).

Number 1

Hi, Ernie:

(Congrats on your success, by the way!)

Thanks for thinking of me. I can’t think of a perfect idea, but I’ll
ask a colleague or two, just in case.

Well, maybe the folks at betterinvesting.org might be interested?

(They’re the investment club people.) They hold conferences/conventions
around the country - -they could possibly give away your books at
one of those. I’m thinking that might be a good target audience for
you – people already interested in retirement planning and investing
in stocks.

Otherwise, maybe some community adult-education courses, perhaps in
large markets, where they could distribute a lot of your books quickly,
to students?

Best wishes,

Selena Maranjian, The Motley Fool
To Educate, Amuse and Enrich: www.Fool.com
Financial advice you can actually understand.

Number 2

Ernie,

Please know that this response is coming personally from me, Kimberly
Menken, Office Assistant, and not the Missouri Park & Recreation Association.
My first thought was I need this book for my parents who both work
harder than I could ever imagine and are “coming up” to retirement
in a couple of years. My first thought is to have you contact the
Non-Teacher School Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri. Their
address is 3210 W. Truman Blvd, Jefferson City, Mo; phone number 573-634-5290.
I do not know a whole lot about them, but they were the first one’s
that came to mind. Also, Retirement Plan Advisors at 573-659-4443.

Again, this suggestion comes from me as an individual, not the MPRA.
I hope all goes well from here out, and have a blessed day!

Number 3

Dear Mr. Zelinski, I'm flattered that you asked for my advice, but I'm at a loss for how to help you. Regards, Kelly Greene

Kelly Greene
Staff Reporter
The Wall Street Journal
200 Liberty St., 10th Floor
New York, NY 10281

Incidentally, some people have assumed that How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free is going out of print because I am giving these copies away. In fact, I will be doing a new print run for Ten Speed Press in January.

Also, Allstate Financial in North Brook, IL, just purchased 3,700 copies with the corporate name on the cover to give away to its baby boomer clients. If you take the 430 copies, I can also send you a sample of the Allstate edition later if you take some or all of the 430 copies.

I am amazed how difficult it is to give away 430 pefectly readable copies of the book that comes in the number 1 spot if you type in "retirement" into Amazon.com. I have e-mailed several hundred people.

Still Trying to Donate 430 Copies of The World's Best Retirment Book

Here are some of the responses to my gesture of trying to creatively donate 430 copies of The World's Best Retirement Book — my international bestseller How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free. (See previous blog post).

Number 1

Ernie,

Just want you to know I put the word out about your book availability, and so far, haven't heard anything. I'll let you know if someone is interested in your offer.

Have a great weekend,
Anita Bruzzese

Number 2

A couple ideas ... Have you thought about donating them to public libraries? A little complicated, but your shipping and other expenses may be tax deductible. Or, do you have a major public university nearby? Set up a table next to one of those credit card issuers and give them away to anyone who stops — if a free t-shirt is a big lure, a free book must be, too! Hook 'em early, I say.

Good luck!

Number 3

You might consider doing a promotion with Eons.com — they have strong demographics in this category and are rapidly growing in audience.

Rohit

One more note:

There are also 265 copies of my book Real Success Without Real Job in the same condition at the Ten Speed Press warehouse.

Although this is not a retirement book, it will appeal to so called "retirees" who would like to keep working but not in a corporate setting. (This book is also still in print but will be reissued in February 2009 with the new title: Career Success Without a Real Job.)

Giving Away 430 Copies of The World's Best Retirement Book

Can you give me your best idea for giving away 430 copies of The World's Best Retirement Book?

This is an e-mail that I am sending to over 200 media people and retirement planning consultants:

Hello :

I would like your advice.

How can I creatively give away 430 copies of my international bestseller How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free ?

This book has just reached the milestone of over 100,000 copies sold, is still selling well, and appears as the number 1 listing for retirement-related books if you type "retirement" into Amazon.com's search feature.

The 430 copies that I want to donate are perfectly readable but slightly imperfect in appearance. In the words of my publisher Ten Speed Press, "These are just dinged up enough that we can’t sell them as new, or they have stickers (from stores) or some other issue. Some may be worse than others, some better."

Do you know if anyone would like to receive these copies provided they pay for the shipping?

The 430 copies could be given away at a retirement conference for executives or at a retirement seminar for employees.

In case you haven't read the book, I have attached the partial E-book edition of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free (in PDF format).

Let me know if you come up with a great idea.

The person who provides me with the best solution wins a set of 6 of my books — in perfect condition.

Please forward this message to anyone else who may be interested in contributing a great idea.

Thanks and so long for now.

Ernie Zelinski
Author of the Bestseller How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(Over 100,000 copies sold and published in 7 foreign languages)
and the International Bestseller The Joy of Not Working
(Over 225,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)

If you have a great idea either post it on this blog or send me an e-mail to success101coach@yahoo.com

Your idea will also qualify for the gift of 6 books.

Thanks.

An E-Mail about The Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked

I received this e-mail the other day about The World's Second Best Retirement Book

----- Original Message -----
From: Stacey L. Scott
To: vip-books
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2008 8:11 AM
Subject: For Ernie Zelinski - THANK YOU!!!

Dear Ernie,

I just started reading The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked yesterday.

I'm on page 57 (the letter from Les.)

I took this morning off from work because I needed some "mental time" away from work and a romantic relationship has ended after a year of off-again on-again torture.

I'm giving my notice at work when I go in today. I've been saying that for over a year and a half - and dreaming about it every day. Today is the day.

I know in my being that the Universe will provide more holistic abundance to me then I could have ever received from staying at my job and being untrue to myself.

I am a healer (holistic wellness coach), writer and overall catalyst for change and evolution. I can now joyously live that life fully.

NOTE: I'm going to add "world traveler" to my bio!! J

Thank you for your book and your courage to think outside of the box. It has truly inspired me.

Do you love your life? Do you have work-life balance? Do you wake up every morning excited about your day? Are you doing what you want with your life? If you answered no to any of these questions, you should really consider reading The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked by Ernie J. Zelinski.

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, I still recommend that you read this book.

Another Retirement Book Reaches Sales of Over 100,000 Copies Giving Credence to the Claim That It Is The World's Best Retirement Book

With sales of 250 copies to Ford Motor Company, 250 copies (a total of 1,100 copies to date), to Syncrude and 2,000 copies (for total of 3,700 copies to date) to Allstate Financial in the last month, my retirement book How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free has now reached sales of over 100,000 copies (counting foreign sales).

This means that I have two retirement books which have surpassed the 100,000 mark given that my other retirement book The Joy of Not Working has now sold over 225,000 copies.

The Joy of Not Working Has Kept Me Going for Years

It is now 17 years since I wrote The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked.

I consider this book The World's Second Best Retirement Book (after my How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free) although retirement coach and seminar presenter George Fulmore in California considers it the best.

For the record The Joy of Not Working has now sold over 225,000 copies; it has been published in 17 languages. This book has kept me going in more ways than one, including financially and psychologically.

Indonesian Edition of The Joy of Not Working

I have received several letters from people in Japan who have read the Japanese edition of The Joy of Not Working - the cover of the Japanese edition is below.

Here is one of them from Ayumi Nakabayashi in Osaka, Japan written in the first half of 2008:

Dear Ernie:

I have just read you The Joy of Not Working and I'm writing to thank you.

I'm a single working mother with twin daughters. What this means is I'm a poor miserable woman in Japanese society, so I am always worried about money for the future more than necessary and never enjoying my present life.

This book gave me a different view of my life, which I should pay attention to. I don't earn much money but enough to live, and have free time to enjoy. I feel excited about thinking how to spend my free time now. I'm making an "Idea Tree" [Get-a-Life Tree] after writing this letter. To read The Joy of Not Working in English is on the top of the list! I have forgotten that I have a lot of things I want to do.

This book gave me a chance to think over the relationship with boring people, too.

I'm sorry I don't have enough words to explain how I feel now in English, but I really appreciate you.

Sincerely,

Ayumi Nakabayashi

Here are the covers of some of the Foreign Editions of The Joy of Not Working:

French Edition

Spanish Edition

Japanese Edition

Czech Edition

Greek Edition

German Edition

Turkish Edition

French Edition - Canada

Dutch Edition

Korean Edition

Italian Edition

Chinese Edition - Traditional Characters

Chinese Edition - Simplified Characters

Portuguese Edition

Polish Edition