I never felt so important as when I retired. I felt that I had finally arrived. My curriculum vitae was as good as it could get, and it became pointless to add any more accomplishments to it. Finally, also, I was able to be even more selective about the friends and contacts I associate with, and the projects I get myself involved in. Looking back now, I see that there were activities and endeavors that I should have considered utterly below me, and, of course, I shall never engage in those ever again. What better timing, moreover, than to live in a house that I renovated (and can still further renovate) to my satisfaction?

The successful man is not he who becomes rich and famous. It is he who retires surrounded by everyone and everything he loves and wants, and thus can he die peacefully and happily at any time.