For many of us, retiring early is a cherished dream. Only thing: we are unable to take the plunge.

We worry that we could miss the job we seem to now despise, and fear we could run out of our money, sooner than later.

For some of us, it is not even the dissatisfaction with work, the crazy hours and late night meetings.

It is about the inability to pursue what we want to do most -- to sing, to paint, to travel, to work with the underprivileged, to make a difference without measuring success by the salary and the designation.

An online search will throw up about a hundred useful web sites. And there is no dearth of books available. But the gist, listed by those who have been there, done it, are presented here.

Text: Uma Shashikant
Illustrations: Uttam Ghosh