Never Retire: Getting Older Is Just Another Reason for New Plans

Midlife isn’t when the story ends. It’s when the plot gets real.

A couple of years ago in the Never Retire newsletter, I wrote that one big key to aging is simply getting old with new plans.

The idea was simple: growing older doesn’t mean slowing down. It means drawing new lines, reshaping your map, deciding what the next decades will look like.

That’s as true now as it was then—maybe more so. Because eight months into life in Valencia, Spain, I feel that lesson every single day.

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Never Too Late, Never Too Old

We love to tell ourselves there’s a perfect time to do things. That we’ve missed our window if we don’t take a leap in our twenties or thirties.

But here’s the reality: it’s never too late, and you’re never too old.

I know this because I moved abroad at 49, turned 50 here, and feel like I’ve just entered the most alive, engaged, and intentional phase of my life.

I’ve carried the same pressure my whole adult life—to earn enough, to build enough, to be “on track.” But now, I channel that pressure into something else: a second act designed on my own terms. One that mixes freelance work, my own projects, daily biking, yoga, time with my wife, and a deeper connection to a city I’m still learning.

It’s not easier here. But it’s sharper. And sharper is what I want.

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Persistence vs. Stubbornness

When I look back, what carried me wasn’t genius or luck. It was persistence. Showing up, again and again, no matter what else was going on.

The trick, of course, is knowing when persistence turns into stubbornness—or stupidity. Chasing something long after it’s stopped making sense.

What I’ve learned is that persistence works when you keep adjusting the lines. When you keep making new, relevant, and realistic plans. When you accept that midlife isn’t about locking down a single definition, but creating the conditions to try again, in smarter, more intentional ways.

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What This Means for Never Retire

That’s what Never Retire has always been about. Not coasting. Not settling. Not falling for the myth that life after 40 or 50 is a slow fade into retirement.

It’s about reimagining. Resetting. Redrawing the lines. Reinventing, again and again.

I’m not chasing a postcard life abroad. I’m building something real—day by day, project by project, mistake by mistake.

And the truth is, this newsletter only works if I keep showing up with persistence—and if you see enough value to support it.

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A Note on Support

Never Retire is built on engagement. I write, film, and publish each week not because it’s easy, but because it matters—to me, and I hope to you.

If you’ve been reading for free and this resonates, consider upgrading today. Paid subscriptions start at just a few euros or dollars a month. Lifetime access is €90/$100.

Your support isn’t charity—it’s what keeps this project alive, and what makes it possible for me to keep drawing new lines into my second act.