Dolly Parton and Gloria Steinem never retired. This apparently counts as news. Two women who love their jobs kept doing their jobs. Someone wrote an article about it.
The piece suggests this is inspiring. That working until you die represents some kind of choice. A passion pursuit. The problem is half the country can't afford to stop working and the other half won't stop because they're terrified of becoming irrelevant. But sure. Let's call it passion.
Retail traders saw this headline and immediately started calculating. If Dolly never quit then maybe I shouldn't quit either. Maybe I should keep trading 0DTE options on my phone during my daughter's recital. Maybe the real retirement is the friendships we margin called along the way.
The summary mentions people who want to pursue their passions long after they've left full-time work. Read that again. Left full-time work. So they did retire. They just didn't call it that because calling it retirement makes them sound old and old people don't get book deals.
Here's what the article won't tell you. Dolly Parton has f*ck-you money. Gloria Steinem has f*ck-you money. They work because they want to. You work because your 401k is down 30% and you spent your emergency fund on a jet ski. These are not the same thing.
The financial media loves this narrative. Work forever. Die at your desk. Your boss will appreciate the dedication. He'll mention you at the next all-hands meeting. Really touching stuff. Then he'll hire your replacement before your body gets cold.
Some guy in Ohio just read this article and decided to delay his retirement another five years so he can pursue his passion for regional sales management.
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