Charles and I met nearly 20 years ago when I was a member of a team of consultants evaluating a major project being implemented by a contractor for his organization. There were some difficult moments and I was very impressed with Charles and his handling of them. I went on my way, as consultants do, with no expectation that Charles and I would meet again, but convinced that this guy had a great career in front of him in his organization.

A few years later, I was CEO of a small firm that provided consultants. To my surprise, I heard that Charles had left his full-time position to become a free-lance consultant. Charles had an excellent reputation in his original agency, was well-paid and, no doubt, could have run with that agency for a very long time. But he chose to go the free-lance "independent consultant" route. I knew that route and I knew how very difficult it was to succeed. Consultants with Charles' background got the top rate. There was a lot more competition than there were jobs. As far as I was concerned, despite being only middle-aged, Charles had retired from a normal job to take on something radically different and more difficult. I contacted him and suggested he stop by. We had a need for short-term consultants from time to time and I heard he had a killer resume.

He dropped by and handed over his resume. I was more than impressed. For the time he had been independent, he had a longer list of consultancies than I had seen on anyone else's resume, at least double the norm for his age and more than many older consultants. But in addition, he had at least a couple dozen articles that had been published in professional magazines in our field. In our business, the average consultant rarely even had one. They were a lot of work to write and they weren't expected by clients looking for help, so people didn't bother. Obviously, Charles did.

In short, I was very, very impressed by Charles' resume. At that time, the government was hiring short-term consultants and their top rate back then was $330 per day. I had a whole stack of resumes in the $300-330 league, many of them retirees looking to earn some extra income. A few offered to work for $275 to make them more competitive, or so they hoped. I asked Charles how much he charged and he told me, $100 a day. I said, what? With your background, you could ask at least $300 and qualify for the 330. Why? So he explained.

He loved the work. He especially liked short-term assignments because they offered him a lot of variety. Our field was international economic development and Charles much preferred visiting as many different nations with different needs as possible. So he dropped his rate 70%. Once they recovered from their initial shock, his potential clients realized they had received an offer they couldn't refuse. At that daily rate, they could tack on some extra time and an extra task or two and still save money. Or they could proceed as planned and have more money left over in their budget for something else. You just don't turn down someone with that strong a background when he offers to save you a pile of cash. They didn't turn him down.

Charles had more work offers than he could hope to accept. Remember, Charles was good at what he did. As word got around that he was working for less than a newcomer with a third his experience, people he didn't know started calling him (a rare experience for a free-lance). He loved to travel and was on the road almost all the time. As a result, he only rented a small efficiency apartment in Washington and had no office. A friend's secretary agreed to accept any phone calls or faxes at their office. Since all his expenses were paid while he was on assignment, his "overhead" at home was minimal. And he certainly did not need to spend any money to find work. When he was in town, he sat down, wrote up whatever insights he had gotten in the last assignment, and sent them into the journals. Given that most professionals ignored them and given Charles' high-quality reputation (he was a good writer too), they published his work.

The results? Charles loved what he did (a critical component of what I will be talking about here for a "late life" job), so he was on the road a lot. But if he wanted to take time off, he took it without worrying about finding something when he was ready. Clients often readjusted their schedule to fit his. He took only assignments he wanted to take and turned down the others. And he was enjoying himself. Good grief, a free-lance who was having fun instead of growing ulcers? In the process of all this, he had collected so many assignments and publications for his resume that he could compete with anyone out there...anyone.

I thought of other free-lancers I knew. I thought of how hard they fought to get good assignments, how often they were in the "top 3" or "top 2", then lost the job. How often they accepted an assignment to begin four weeks away, stopped looking for other work, turned down consideration for a job that came to them, but over-lapped with the one they had accepted. How often that assignment was cancelled or "postponed" just days before beginning, leaving them with nothing but to start all over again. If you think free-lance consulting is some kind of picnic, you need to spend some heart-to-heart time talking to someone who's done it for a few years. Unless there's a great demand for your unique talents (good luck), it can be hell on wheels. You factor in all the disappointments and suddenly getting three times Charles' rate for many fewer days, often for assignments you really didn't want and spending money while you wait to find one, and you begin to understand that Charles wasn't doing that badly financially either.

Charles was the first free-lance consultant I had ever met in a highly competitive business who was totally relaxed, having a great time, loved what he was doing, did only what he wanted to do, when and where he wanted to do it, paid his bills and saved money and actually had a good deal of control over his work schedule, almost unheard of for a free-lance. I googled him today and he's still steaming along, with a resume that must resemble the London telephone directory by now. I have no idea what he is paid today, but I suspect he gets what he wants. He's doing impressive work.

What has this go to do with retirees? Don't get hung up in the details of Charles' story, focus on the theme. He wanted some serious control over his work life. He wanted only work assignments and a work environment that suited him. He wanted financial stability and peace of mind. He wanted to have fun, enjoy himself, and expand his experience. Once satisfied that he had the right credentials, he knew the one factor that was foremost in the mind of a potential client...how much he cost. He took that factor so completely out of the equation that he all but guaranteed himself all the other good things he wanted. He not only thought outside the box, he stepped outside the box.

I have talked with so many retirees who have been out of the workforce for three, four, five, six or more years, but who suddenly need the money or the stimulation or both of working again. Many dream of short-term assignments they really like for top dollar. After all, they have a great resume, don't they? Well, they did, but it looks different to me on the other side of the desk now. There is this blank area called "retirement" that has kept them out of the field for years. I'm amazed at how many come right out and say the only reason they are looking for a job is that they need some extra cash, as if I or any other employer was eager to hire someone who was only doing it for the cash when we could hire someone who actually wanted to do the work.

Charles' story can open minds to alternatives. In the next post, I'll tell you another real story, Rose's story. She took a different route. You will find it had some things in common with Charles' story, but with a different twist. And then you'll hear John's story, also very real, with a completely different approach with a completely different result. Just a few of the stories that may help us step out of the box of our lives too.

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