Last month, a few team members enjoyed dinner and a toast in honor of our Founder, Rick Hill, alongside his wife Lynn, to celebrate Rick’s milestone 80th birthday.

Friends and clients love knowing that Rick is part of the team. If you want to know why at 80, Rick is still helping people take the long view, Rick says, “I continue to be stimulated with my work duties and communicating with clients and prospects. I love the opportunity to continue interacting with the staff, whom I respect and enjoy being around. I find these relationships rewarding and energizing.”

Back in February, Rick Hill posted his reflections on why he’s not yet retired from his lengthy career as a financial professional. “Why am I still here?” he asked. “Because I am still in a great place!”

I, for one, am glad he is still here. We may tease him about his white hair, but from my first encounter with Rick in 2012 (which I still remember vividly – we talked about my alma mater Trinity University and San Antonio), he has shaped many of my own personal and professional values. Had Rick instead opted for spending every day on the golf course, I’d be poorer for it – this much I know.

I’m not the only young buck who has been inspired by Rick, the mentor. Check out this recent post: “This Lesson I Learned from a 75-Year-Old Man Might Earn You a Career.” It’s about Rick, written by one of our past summer interns, Dominic Vaiana. In sharing a few of his own takeaways from his internship with us, Dominic wrote that Rick “oozes wisdom and has a contagious energy that people half his age do not.”

I hope that 20-somethings will be saying the same about me when I’m 75 and still working at Hill Investment Group. That sounds more rewarding than any day on the links.

The Wall Street Journal’s recent article, “A Guide to Not Retiring,” provides a detailed look at how to approach retirement. Much like my piece on the same topic, “Planning for the Life You Want,” the recommendation is to proactively build a retirement plan—one that keeps you mentally engaged and active after retiring from your traditional work.

I did the same for myself as I neared the end of my 24-year career at Anheuser-Busch. I encourage you to read my article and complete the follow-up exercise. I trust that you’ll find it valuable.