The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2016 57 needs to be part of the process and in agreement with your plans. You should have some idea where you want to live, and what you would like to do. Financial planning that leads to finan- cial flexibility is also important. I knew long ago that teaching was a possible second career, so I decided to get a Ph.D. while still in the Foreign Service. I wanted to remain engaged in international affairs. That argued for staying in the Washington area. We already owned a home on Capitol Hill, and it was easy to stay put. Frugality and careful investing while in government resulted in financial flexibility. Voilà! It worked out, just not at the level I had initially envisioned. Before joining the Foreign Service, it never really occurred to me that retirement might last so long. The corollary is to stay physically fit. I did not begin a serious physical fitness program until age 60. In addition to teaching, an activity that helps keep the mind sharp and the psyche young, I have co-authored two academic books and published a third on my own, all dealing in some way with Africa, which was my area of specialty in the Foreign Service. But I also needed to get up to speed on China for a major tome on Beijing’s relations with the continent, so I made multiple visits there. Another book dealing with the Gülen Movement in Africa reacquainted me with Turkey, a country I had not visited since 1966. Besides contributing numerous articles to policy and aca- demic journals, I’ve also given lectures all over the world and advise or serve on the boards of a half-dozen nongovernmental organizations. My bottom-line advice to prospective retirees is to remain physically active and mentally engaged to make the most of retirement. David Shinn was ambassador to Ethiopia from 1996 to 1999, and also served in Lebanon, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritania, Cameroon, Sudan and Washington, D.C. Since retiring from the Service, he has taught African affairs at The George Washington University and published several books.