If you had the choice, which would you rather have explode 50 miles away from you: a stick of dynamite or an atomic bomb?

You don't have to be a nuclear physicist to know it's a far better thing to be an hour's drive away from exploding dynamite than an hour's drive away from an exploding atomic bomb. And I'm not just talking about the radiation; I'm talking about the actual physical force.

What explains this? Dynamite, like all conventional weapons, relies on a chemical reaction to get its bang. Atomic bombs rely on nuclear reactions. That represents a huge difference in the amount of power packed into each respective detonation.

How big is that difference? About the same as the difference between getting paid $1,000 for that baseball card you discovered in the neighborhood garage and getting paid $100,000,000 for that Jean-Michel Basquiat painting that's been collecting dust in your basement for the last 35 years.

Here's what this difference means to retirees: A Delphic “know thyself” gap between a happy and productive retirement and a vacuous “what do we do now?” retirement.

You see, a chemical reaction is a superficial event. It involves just the outer shell of the participating atoms—that would be where electrons reside. Sure, it's powerful enough to blow you to smithereens, but only at close distances.

A nuclear reaction, on the other hand, involves the very core of the atom—that would be the part containing protons and neutrons. The potential energy of the atomic nucleus is roughly 10,000 times greater than that of the outer shell. This is enough power to blow you and the next county to smithereens.

Such is the magnitude of difference between attacking an objective by only going skin deep versus striking directly into the heart of the matter.

Preparing for retirement ought to be undertaken with the kind of seriousness that has folks diving deep into their core. They can just dust off the edges of their planning and say they're done, but they need to dig deeper than they've probably ever dug before.

And it's sure a lot easier to do this when someone is holding their hand.

Thus, we have the following three-step introspective “know thyself” process professionals can use as a template to help guide future retirees to a happy retirement:

1. Take a stern self-assessment. Don't fall for one of those superficial Cosmo-like psychological profile tests. You've got to ask the hard questions to determine your real baseline;

2. Discover your innermost objectives, including those heart-felt desires you might be too afraid to admit to; and, 3. Define your most-potent wants, dreams and aspirations, including things that have always been inside you but you never knew about.

This process may reveal things you've always known. It also may surprise you in ways that will both delight you and better prepare you for retirement.

It may not be easy, but neither is it as difficult as thermonuclear physics.

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Take retirement readiness to the nuclear level

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