Purpose

As part of my ongoing learnings, I attended a presentation about generational wealth recently and its importance to society. Generational wealth means passing financial assets to the next generation of your family, giving them a leg up and closing the widening wealth gap in North America. Financial assets include cash, investments like stocks and bonds, real estate and family business.

I recently read this excerpt from Brett and Kay McKay that was such a valuable reminder that our best years may be ahead of us. On page 172 of Jean Edward Smith’s biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ike is almost 52 years old, an age at which many a man feels his life has largely run its course.

Some poems transform over time. This piece was written five years ago for a client. It was to support an initiative towards growth and transformation within the company. Five years later, I'm on my second trip to MEA. During this visit, the reminder that we are an ongoing progression brought this piece to mind.

Dr. Bill Thomas has been a thought partner of mine since before I wrote “Wisdom@Work.” For those who know his story, he was appointed the medical director of a nursing home in upstate New York more than 30 years ago, which he described as “a repository for old people whose minds and bodies seemed dull and dispirited.”

“Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm.” - Helen Keller

I recently heard Seth Godin being interviewed and he shared a story about an experience he had swimming in the ocean in which he almost drowned. He said that although he was a strong swimmer, that morning, he found himself struggling with a serious undertow.

“Purpose is the middle of the compass. It’s the arrow pointing to the true north; the values are the four cardinal points (north, south, east, and west). Values serve as the roadmap to tell us how we will achieve the purpose. They guide and tell us how to make decisions. Purpose and values together increase engagement, someone’s willingness to make a strong contribution to work.” - Anne Loehr

On January 2 after having a lovely fever dream about the common thread of my personal narrative, I published this blog post, Designing Your Own Hero’s Journey. Since that time, this idea of writing one’s story evolved into a full chapter in my book that will be published next January, “Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better With Age.”

One of my happy places is in the middle of a culinary market, such as a shuk in Jerusalem amid sweet and savory halvah cakes, and pyramids of marinated olives, dates, apricots, paprika and za’atar.

During my second Modern Elder Academy course, Living and Working on Purpose, I was inspired by the distinction Chip Conley shared about having a job, a career, or a calling. In my journal, I illustrated it as stairs leading to the ultimate goal: living out my calling.