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Thanks for being part of the Life After Work Zone. I’m pleased that you’ve taken the time to visit and hope you find the articles here to be entertaining and informative. If you’re a subscriber, thanks for being part of the community. If not, I’d encourage you to sign up. I won’t bother you for money or blanket your inbox with emails, I promise.

The Zone has been growing at an astounding rate, and while it started with friends and acquaintances who know me personally, we now have visitors and members from over 40 countries. Readership has doubled in the last 90 days.

So, it’s time to introduce myself to those of you who don’t know me. I’d also like to get to know you. Below is a condensed history of my life and motivation for writing – so you’ll know a little something about the guy who writes the cool retirement blog. I’d honestly like to know you too, so respond to this article if you like, or send me a quick email at Brian@LifeAfterWork.Zone. Regardless, thanks for being here – I’m glad you came!

My name is Brian Feutz, and I’m a retired software development manager. Now I’m a writer, an artist. Quite the unusual transition.

Have you ever played that guessing game, Two Truths and a Lie? It’s a lot of fun to play, and I think it’s a great way for us to get to know each other better. Here are my three claims, which one is the lie?

1. I’m obsessed with retirement
2. I did time in a Mexican jail
3. I’ve been writing most of my life

Brian, the early years (condensed)

• Awkward child, middle class, college, sports, friends, cute girlfriend became cute wife, cute kids
• Working, saving, playing, investing, losing, swearing, working harder
• Entrepreneur, printing, selling, marketing, technology, software development, management, writer
• Seattle, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle (staying put now — moving around so much is a pain)
• Mostly a happy life, and even happier in retirement (it pays to plan ahead)

The meaning of [my] life

With the benefit of hindsight, I feel like I invested too much effort chasing the American dream, and not enough smelling of roses. After retirement this summer, redirecting my attention to what matters in life has revealed (unsurprisingly) that “time” is more important than “things.”

As we age, money is less interesting than experiences. You need enough money to fund the experiences, sure, but that’s all. There’s no trophy for the person who dies with the most money.

I’m obsessed with retirement and I think and write about it every day. Mine, yours, everyone’s — we all need to know how to prepare and enjoy our golden years. I write on this blog, the Life After Work Zone (aka “The Zone”). I also run a publication on Medium.com called “Life After Work.”

I write about retirement because I’m living it and it inspires me. I hope that committing my thoughts and experiences to paper will help others prepare, understand, and better enjoy their life after work. One day I’ll branch out into fiction and short stories, but I have plenty of time. I may write a book (or two) and join the hordes of others who have written The Great American Novel. If I do I hope you read it.

An important lesson is that no matter your age, you should take time to consider your “life after work.” Enjoy life right now, but prepare for your future, it’ll be here before you know it. Find the right balance between working for money and enjoying life.

Writing is my art

Managing software developers was my profession but not my passion. Art is my passion and writing is my art.

Plenty of people can paint, sing, play guitar, and dance, but I suck at all of those. I’ve tried my hand at acting, sculpting, and pottery, and I suck less at those. Writing, however, is something that captivates and inspires me. Words are my paint and life is my canvas.

I love to travel, and many of my stories are tales of adventure and discovery. I’m not a “free drinks on a cruise ship” kinda guy. I’m an “immerse myself in the local fabric” type of person because that’s where true adventure comes from. One of my more terrifying adventures is about when I did time in a Mexican jail. It was only a few hours, not a Midnight Express kind of adventure (luckily), but sobering, to say the least.

The truth

If you’re still playing along with the “Two Truths and a Lie” game, you probably got the clues and know I was lying about writing most of my life. I picked up a pen a few years ago and haven’t put it down since. It’s becoming a familiar appendage of sorts. It’s truly remarkable when you discover your purpose in life. Everything else falls away and the most important things come into focus. There’s no age limit for a seminal discovery like this. I was my 60s and that’s okay.

So now you know me: A retirement-obsessed, adventure-seeking, traveling, ex-Mexican-jailbird writer. Still, I’d rather just be known as a “writer” if you please.

It’s nice to know you too.

Cheers!