Wow Mark! Thank you so much for your kind words, as well as your detailed response. And kudos on such an active lifestyle and healthy attitude!

FWIW, I don't think this needs to be either/or but both/and.

It's crucial to have a good attitude, balanced activities, healthy lifestyle, etc. at all ages. It's also important to set aside and invest enough over your career so that you can get to a "work optional" phase while young and healthy enough to enjoy it (for me, this will likely be around age 65).

Then, you can decide who you'd like to work with, on what, and at what level of effort, without regard to compensation. To me, that's the ideal "retirement."