How to Use Your Imagination. Imagination is a dream searching for fulfillment. You will find it wise to dream. Dream magnificent dreams—the wildest dreams. Incorporate your ambitions and wants into these dreams. What would make you happiest in the whole world? Well dream about it. Picture this dream. Fix it in your mind. Now just how impossible is it? What would you have to do to make it come true? What can you do? What have you that will help you in the way of realizing this dream? What does it really take? Imagine yourself taking every step to realize your dream's fulfillment. Do any embryo plans begin to present themselves? Does any idea come to you that you can use to bring this about?

Dreams are the stuff ambition is made of. Dreams beget in­terests and pursuits. Dreams are the basic raw material for ideas, plans and, eventually, a course of action. Dreams are easy. They spring from desire. But putting dreams on the drawing boards— and thence to a material reality is beyond the average person. A thousand miles of dreams will draw them only a mile along the road. Better mileage any worthy dream deserves.

Don't be afraid of being labeled an idle dreamer. If you use your imagination enough sooner or later you'll give birth to a dream desirable enough and practical enough for you to undertake its realization. I subscribe to being a dreamer. During my younger years my dreams ran into fantasy. They were not practical by any stretch of the imagination. But of these impossible beginnings were laid the groundwork for mental projections of a more realizable nature. My tastes began to become definite and cultivated along certain lines. I began to find things I liked well enough to have in this world. My fantastic dreams gave way to the realization that every want we really have can be satisfied fully in this world we have in hand. I still, on occasion, dream on an astronomical basis. But I manage to boil something little and something worthwhile out of them. Little inventions are the practical stuff of big dreams. Personally, I do not limit my dreams to this or that.

Whatever strikes my fancy or interest I delve into. How does a dream—or an imaginative project—like this sound to you. Let's try to create an engine that operates directly upon the heat of the air! I have heard a hundred persons say it was impossible for every one who thought it was practical. But I have had no one to tell me why it couldn't be done. That is impossible too! If it can't be done there must be reasons why. If it can be done there must be reasons why. Can't you just imagine such a machine—a machine where fuel costs were no consideration? The heat of the air is ever re­newed by the Sun. Why can't it be extracted or captured? We humans feel we utilize tremendous amounts of power but our power use is minuscule comparatively. I, personally, have had a lot of fun with this particular idea among others. It would be a great dream to have such tremendous energy that oceans of fresh water can be pumped to great deserts and be turned into Edens of plenty. But in some of my encounters with unimaginative engineers I have come across arguments against it on the basis that it was perpetual motion, etc., etc. In fact, the impossibility of the idea was so stressed that I confess I made fools of some of them. What is not— is impossible. But many educated men cannot see this idea—when such is no longer just an idea. The heat pump is an embryonic beginning of just such a development.

The difference between great men of accomplishment and im­practical fools is not so great as you might think. Dreams that are boiled down on practical premises can materialize. Dreams that are based falsely produce disappointment and despair.

Getting back to our subject in hand, that of retirement, put your dreampower to work on it. Have you nerve enough to try to realize your dreams—just one good one? The steps you take to realizing your dream will not only net you happiness in their realization and fulfillment but in the engrossing activity along the pathways they lead you.

A negative way to approach the subject of ambitions and dreams is to take out of your life all that you DON'T LIKE! What are you dissatisfied with? What makes you unhappy? What misfits your tastes and comforts—your mental ease? What are you hopelessly hooked with? Are you not free? Why can't you chuck it all? Is your misery so important to the world? To you? Do you owe the world a miserable temperament? Must you reflect its ills in yourself? Do you feel you're going to live more than once—that you will have a second chance? It's about time you woke up! Happiness is worth going after—NOW!

The problem arises as to HOW. Here is where I have tried to help you. Courage are you lacking in? Will you listen to those who say it can't be done? Will you insist on being tied down? Can't you take a bold step and ACT? NOW? Start your dreams on the basis of WHAT YOU WANT TO GET AWAY FROM! When you start your dreams and pursue them consistently, plans for their fulfill­ment will evolve. Human nature has some "DO" in it and I think you have some "DO IT" in you, otherwise you wouldn't have bought this book.

Take my advice and dream, dream, dream. When you mentally traverse the road to the pinnacle of your dreams you will bring it down to the pathway of achievement.

WHY RETIRE YOUNG? I think I have stressed this throughout my book. Why waste your life? It's yours and you're going to live it only once. Why not get all the mileage you want out of it while you can? What this might mean in your particular case depends on your tastes and bent. But whatever it is, as long as they are worth­while human motives you should not defer their realization until you can no longer enjoy them should you be able to. With advanc­ing age we are able less and less to appreciate many of the physical activities of life through participation. What you can enjoy as an older person is far removed from what you can enjoy now. Don't dream of your old age in the terms of present wants. If you want something now—better try to enjoy it now. There is no reason in the world why you should not retire at 25 instead of 65, if, in so doing, you do not shirk your social obligations—or at least—prove a drag upon society. In my own opinion the world should be filled with happy fun-loving people. Don't permit your life to be so harsh that you are denied happiness now—and in your later years.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT CLIMATE. I am not in the health field. But there are climates which are better from the stand­point of health, happiness and pursuits in which we find pleasure. As a general observation it is said that cold changeable climates make industrious people and warm climates make indolent pleasure loving people. Fortunately, because man can control his climate indoors wherever he may be, no longer need heat put a damper on our ambitions or industriousness, nor a cold climate prod us along the byways of dreariness. On the whole the right climate depends 'In what you seek. Health, sport, outdoor life or what do you want? As a retired person you are not necessarily tied down to a par­ticular climate or locale. But if you want to settle down you should choose the one you like best and one that likes YOU. Keep in mind that the healthier areas of this country are in the South—Florida, Texas, Arizona, and other southerly states. Before you settle, travel a lot. It even pays to move around a bit. The people you settle among will be more of a consideration than the climate. And you will find all kinds of people somewhere in the great "retirement belt" of the Southerly states. In choosing your retirement area definitely consider the climate factor. It has a lot to do with human happiness.

WHAT? WORK IN RETIREMENT? Work need not be boring. I get a great pleasure out of writing. I can write effortlessly into the wee hours of the morning. Doing the work that you like is not work at all—it is activity that accomplishes and satisfies.

Idleness, especially for younger people, is the worst thing in the world. We have to have a sense of belonging in the world, a sense that we are contributing something to it, that we are "getting some­where," that we are accomplishing something. This urge varies with the various parts of this country and with various parts of the world. You can lose your social consciousness altogether—if your associates in your area have also lost or never had such a social awareness.

Work while in retirement is healthful just as is exercise and recreation. But the work must be wholesome, interesting. You must be free to do the work or not to do it. It must not demand of you— in better words you are the master of the work; it does not own you. It can be no more than a work project or a hobby. It can or cannot be the source of your income, depending on your circum­stances. If you must work and it is unpleasant, it may be little gain over your present circumstances.

By all means, if you retire, find some useful and soul satisfying activity to absorb your hours. Few people I know could really be happy while completely idle. For you, I would say, there are too many useful and soul satisfying pursuits to follow in this world while living in a retired or semi-retired state to let idleness bore you.

PARADISES FOR MEN. On this subject I will address myself to young unmarried men—men who have no wife or family re­sponsibilities. I am married myself and have several children. I was a young unattached wanderer myself prior to my marriage. I visited many parts of the world and, from an American man's view­point I found many places literally a paradise for men. Many young American men find Japan a paradise for themselves. I will not give an opinion here as it might be highly controversial. I was in Japan during my younger years. I regarded that country as a real paradise —bargain-wise—for retirement purposes and because of Japan's remarkable womanhood. Japanese women are positively the most feminine creatures on earth. But I wish to say that I have consider­ably revised my opinion with my years about living in Japan myself. My background unfits me for that kind of life. It is something per­sonal. With you, young man, it may be different! I still have a very high respect for young Japanese womanhood.

In all my travels I have never been more impressed by women anywhere as much as by the women of the Scandinavian countries (Holland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden), Austria, Germany and Czechslovakia. If you want women on the naughty side I will not make recommendations here as I do not appreciate this kind of womanhood. There are many countries where women are definitely more on the naughty side than normal, unashamedly so. But I don't mean to recommend a man's paradise from an adventurer's stand­point. I mean it solely from the viewpoint of seeking a lifetime com­panion who would probably prove superior and more compatible to our tastes in womanhood than to those we are, as Americans, accustomed. In my mind there is little question that in this coun­try more than any other women are on the spoiled side. Some of the nicest women I have ever met were our own American women. But there are some qualities developed in women of the countries I mention above that do not but rarely exist in women here. We say we have "charming" women here and we have. But I daresay you'll revise your whole conception of the word "charm" if you meet with women from these countries. In these countries, especially in Germany and Austria, there exists a rather unwieldly surplus of women, literally millions who can never hope to have a husband. Some of the finest women in the world live there. More intelligent women you'll meet nowhere. They have an "alertness" and "energy" of personality that will surprise and amaze you. The average American is "deadpan" and uninteresting by comparison. Their beauty is unsurpassed anywhere in the world. They are in­dustrious and hardworking. They are extraordinarily clean. They have many physical and cultural interests. And they understand a man as a man wants to be understood. On the whole they are extraordinary women. I would never worry about fine women from these countries being up to my standards. Rather, I would be con­cerned if I were up to their standards! They are of strong moral fiber—few of them decay under the American influence, although some do.

Women from these countries are not puritanical in their outlook or social conduct. Especially is this so in Germany, Austria and Sweden. In their home settings you will find them not too re­strained. If you should meet them on their vacations—when they are out for recreation and fun and have only a week or two to realize it in—in Southern Spain, North Africa, Italy, Greece or other female tourist havens, you'll meet exciting women at their most exciting! And believe me, these are the fine young women you'd be proud to take home and introduce to your mother and father as your wife. As far as I am concerned women in these countries are unspoiled and appreciate a well balanced view of life. They look upon life's pleasures with dignity and liberality that is wholesome. If you are a young man visit one or more of these countries by all means. They are truly a man's paradise.

BUY YOUR TWO BEDROOM RETIREMENT HOME FOR ONLY $1000. If you can raise $1000 now you can retire in ten years in a beautiful two bedroom home free and clear. How is this done? Many builders in Florida and Texas will build a home for you and sell it to you for $500 down plus closing costs. The pay­ments will run about $75 per month on a 10 year mortgage. You can find these offers in almost any newspaper in retirement areas that attract you. The secret of ownership is digging up or borrow­ing that $1000 NOW! When you purchase the place you promptly rent it out for $100 a month or MORE! With the general inflation trend you raise the rent as prices go up. But your payments remain the same. At the end of the ten years you own a property worth perhaps $10,000 or more which you bought hi at a price tag of say $7,500.

Another angle to this, perhaps an even better one, is to buy acreage or a lot for a price of $300 to $600. The builder will build your home for no down payment and take a mortgage on the home and property. This is a profitable operation for him as he makes a profit on the home. He discounts the mortgage with a bank or with a loan company. He may have to endorse the mortgage with a guarantee if it exceeds the appraised value of the property. This is no problem to most builders if it should prove to be a thorn in making the sale. They merely increase the price of the property a bit, take out a 1st and a 2nd mortgage and discount the 2nd mort­gage more than the first. Second mortgages, if discounted enough, make attractive investments for many firms and individuals. On your end it is like owning a home for $1,000 as you need put up NO MONEY after the down payment. The rental which exceeds the payments for financing, insurance, taxes, repairs and mainte­nance may give you some in pocket money. In the "Retirement Belt" there is little difficulty in renting homes as the population is growing there by leaps and bounds.

If you want to cut your retirement say, to five years, and can raise $3,000 to $6,000 NOW you can buy citrus land, put it in citrus and expect a retirement income in the future. Citrus juices are being consumed by diet conscious Americans like milk and the demand is steadily increasing. You'll never have to perform a day's work in the field in the citrus grove business. You can contract to have all work performed. The sum of $3,000 to $6,000 will buy and develop 10 acres of good citrus land. In five years its value will have tripled and the market price will have kept pace with the inflation factor. In five years you will have a producing grove that should net you from $2,000 to $3,000 per year in income. Again I wish to stress that you need not involve yourself in work. All kinds of maintenance, management and harvesting services exist at very reasonable prices. Labor is cheap in the citrus areas.

If you are a dextrous financial manipulator with a good credit standing you can raise the necessary money by careful borrowing and make this investment. By the end of the FIRST YEAR you should have ALL your outlay in hand and in ten years you will have free and clear a property worth at least $17,000 and on which you will have realized already an income of over $10,000. In other words you can, by manipulation of credit, invest nothing and come out with a tidy fortune.

Let us look into a possibility. Outside McAllen, Texas there is citrus land for sale. In its raw state it is priced at $325 per acre, more or less. Ten acres will cost $3,250. You purchase the land outright with the money you raise. You contract with a builder to build you a nice two bedroom brick veneer home. Builders in McAllen are quoting $4,500 to $6,000 for a neat little two bed­room brick home. This is about 50% less than in most areas of the U.S. It will cost you about $1,500 to have the land set out with citrus trees. This would be oranges or grapefruit. Your total outlay might come to $11,000 on paper.

It is well to consider that citrus groves require pruning, fertiliz­ing and irrigation each year. This could cost you $500 a year more before there is any return from citrus production. But you can get around this too. Citrus trees are so spaced that, in their first years, truck crops can be raised among them without impairing their growth and development. You can have truck croppers use and ir­rigate the land. As a condition of using your land you can make a deal that they have the trees pruned, watered and fertilized. By renting the grounds to truck croppers and the home to a tenant you can either equal or beat your outlay on mortgage, insurance, tax and maintenance.

Your retirement "situation" in South Texas might look like this. In five years your citrus grove is worth about $1,000 an acre. Your home was really a $7,000 market value from the moment it was built. At the end of five years it will certainly be that value or greater, especially if you consider the inflation factor. You will have a property worth $17,000 and it will begin citrus production that will probably net you a very minimum of $2,000 annually. At the end of ten years your home and property will undoubtedly be a greater value and you will have realized a gross income exceeding $10,000 during this time. All this for an original outlay or a loan of say only $5,000 for a period of six months or a year. Let us recapitulate on this transaction.

In the beginning you raised $5,000. You spent it like this. You laid out $3,250 for land and $1,500 for citrus grove development. A home was built for you that was charged on paper at $6,000 with closing costs. The moment your package is finished it is valued like this: Fully developed virgin citrus land @ $500 per acre—$5,000. Home—$7,000. This is an immediate value before you are set to make a single mortgage payment. Now comes the financial trick of the trade, getting your $5,000 back and still holding effective title to the property.

By way of mortgage manipulations you can take out one or two mortgages amounting to a face value of $12,500. You can discount these (through the builder or a third party) so that you come out with $11,000 in cash. With this $11,000 you can pay off all costs and have your original $5,000. You will then have no cash in the transaction. But you will have heavy payments. On a 10 year basis you might find yourself paying $130 a month on this package. During the first five years you can trim this down to a net outlay of $30 a month or perhaps nothing at all by renting your home and by having your acreage used by truck croppers. After the fifth year your revenue from the citrus will more than pay the mortgage pay­ments and put money in your pocket—perhaps enough to retire on! If you manipulate the transaction carefully in this manner you may actually have to put out less than a penny! You would have to borrow $5,000 or loan your funds to the transaction for about six months to a year.

Keep in mind that as your citrus grove grows and develops you are making money by property appreciation. And your property insures that your investment beats the inflation factor. At the end of five years as pointed out your ten acres of citrus land will be valued at around $10,000 and your home at $7,000 or more, a total of at least $17,000. This appreciated value will more than exceed your outlay in purchase price and interest. And, if you are careful in management you will not have a penny tied up in your property when the transaction is only six months old or at the end of ten years when it is finally paid for. In fact, I repeat, you should have realized a net income of at least $10,000 during the five years over and above other revenues which went to retire the mortgages. You very well could have moved onto your property at the end of the first five years and met mortgage payments out of revenue from the citrus—and met a good part of your living expenses on the income left over. Anything you earn on the side through other activities will be strictly bonus income for you. Keep in mind that your citrus grove will probably outlive you, hence it will be a good retirement income for life.

If you carry this to a logical conclusion you will not, however, be satisfied with just one transaction. No need to depend on only ten acres of citrus grove when, if you don't tie any money up for more than a year in creating these packages, you can go on and on until you have four or five homes and forty or fifty acres of citrus groves. You can go on repeating the process by acquiring other acreage and building other homes on the same basis. You can rent the property and manipulate your financing as you did in the first case. This may be known as "shaky financing" but you risk losing little if you are extraordinarily careful in your management. As you can well imagine it does not take many transactions like these to assure you of a secure retirement income—for life!

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