What if retirement is not the goal at all? What if the real aim is building a life you never want to retire from?

I sat down with Marcel Proskow, a retail design expert with over 30 years of experience and one of the few architectural technologists who is a partner at his own firm, to talk about what he calls “desirement” and the principles behind building a business that stands the test of time.

The Moment That Changed Everything

Marcel described a pivotal moment early in his career when he was working for someone who was taking advantage of his raw talent without fair compensation or respect.

“I’m one of the very few architectural technologists who is a partner at his own architectural firm. The ability to see the big picture at the outset of a project and then the tenacity to see it through to completion is what sets us apart.”

Marcel Proskow

One day, sitting face to face with his boss in the office, Marcel found the courage to say two words that changed his life: “I quit.”

That moment of standing up for himself set the foundation for a career built on his own terms, driven by his own standards of excellence and fairness.

Building a Team Through Loyalty and Respect

Marcel has spent decades building a team that stays. His approach to leadership centers on fair treatment, profit sharing, and creating a culture of mutual respect.

He believes that the best teams are built not through compensation alone but through genuine investment in people’s growth and wellbeing.

When employees feel valued and see a real stake in the company’s success, they stay and give their best work. That loyalty becomes a competitive advantage that no competitor can easily replicate.

I explored a similar perspective on building cultures people want to stay in with Adam Kolozetti on workplace culture.

Maintaining a War Chest for Economic Downturns

Marcel emphasized the importance of maintaining a financial reserve, what he calls a “war chest,” to weather economic downturns.

“You always need to maintain a war chest for economic downturns. The businesses that survive recessions are the ones that prepared during the good times, not the ones scrambling when things get tough.”

Marcel Proskow

Over three decades, he has navigated multiple business cycles. The companies that survive are the ones that prepare during the good times, not the ones that scramble during the bad.

His advice is practical: set aside reserves consistently, avoid over-leveraging during growth periods, and always have a plan for when the market shifts.

This financial discipline echoes what I discuss regularly in the context of building durable wealth through the Infinite Banking Concept.

Desirement: Reframing What Comes Next

The concept that gives this conversation its heart is Marcel’s idea of “desirement.”

“They go, you’re in your 60s, you’re too old, we’re letting you go, you make too much money. And it’s like, I don’t want to go, I’m happy here. But you want to work for half? Well, of course nobody wants to do that. That’s why I believe in desirement, not retirement.”

Marcel Proskow

Traditional retirement assumes you work hard for decades and then stop. Marcel rejects that model entirely.

Instead, he advocates for designing a life where your work, relationships, and personal interests are so aligned that you never feel the need to stop.

Desirement means waking up every day doing what you desire, not counting down the days until you can finally rest.

Marcel highlighted a harsh reality facing many professionals: “They go, you’re in your 60s, you’re too old. We’re letting you go. You make too much money. And it’s like, I don’t want to go. I’m happy here.”

Building your own business and designing your own career path is the best protection against that scenario.

If you are rethinking what retirement means for you, my conversation with Kim Butler about redefining retirement explores this same philosophy from a financial planning angle.

Key Takeaways

• Standing up for yourself early in your career sets the tone for everything that follows. Know your worth and act on it.
• Build teams through genuine respect, fair compensation, and profit sharing. Loyalty cannot be bought, but it can be earned.
• Maintain a financial war chest. The businesses that survive downturns are the ones that prepared during the good times.
• Desirement is a better goal than retirement. Design a career and a life that you never want to stop living.
• Business longevity comes from strategic planning, adaptable leadership, and a deep commitment to the people who make it all work.

If you want to build a life and a business that you never have to retire from, visit coachcanfield.com and let’s start designing what that looks like for you.

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