- Sigmund Freud died while working at 83.

- Carl Jung died while working at 86.

- Alexander Lowen died while working at 97.

Excellent teachers grow more excellent as they age, and this is clear to see with both psychologists and therapists.

Psychology is a mental profession, and it’s one of those special professions where you gather grace and expertise in late life: this is comparable to other ‘mental jobs’ such as law, politics or literature.

So what about RETIREMENT?

Is there a sensible time to retire an active mind?

Consider the most famous trauma teachers now:

- Gabor Mate is still teaching at 80.

- Bessel van der Kolk is still teaching at 81.

- Peter Levine is still teaching at 82.

They’re far from retirement, and I would argue that these great men are teaching at their PEAK in their early eighties… but weren’t they supposed to have ‘started slowing down’ 15 years ago?

Looking at the current leaders in psychology, in addition to the average age of the best books in my inner work library, I’ve accepted that my most important work is unlikely to become visible until my late 40s or early 50’s.

20 more years… let’s call it 2044-2050?

When I scroll YouTube, I often see videos of ‘successful people’ promoting ways to create quick audiences for quick cash so they can retire early… but I find this philosophy uninspiring and shortsighted.

I want to cultivate a career which ends when I end.

If you’re somebody who likewise appreciates the life of the mind, then consider a creative profession which promises intrinsically rewarding work for decades and decades without the need for retirement.

Pouring yourself into the pages until your mid-nineties, and dying halfway through the final chapter of your final book. Creating without conclusion, embracing the sunset nap which fades into eternity.

Jordan