In the next 50 years, you will make several transitions, some by chance and some by choice. This post is about predictable shifts that we’ll experience in the next half-century.
Which of the following applies to you?
If you’re working, there’s a pretty good chance you will shift jobs and maybe careers, once or twice before you drop below 20 hours a week at your craft.
Many of the people I serve are nearing retirement age or have already retired. Many financially independent people remain at their craft because it is satisfying.
Some people will switch careers because they care far more about significance than financial success. I am GRADUALLY transitioning from my calling of brokerage into my next calling of coaching.
Loads of readers will change marital status, from single to married or from married to divorced or widowed.
Most readers will move. Some will move three or more times.
Kids will get married, and some will divorce. Grandkids will appear and the senior generation will depart.
That’s a pretty good list, but if you have a Bible handy, I suggest you also review the first eight verses of the third chapter of Ecclesiastes. That’s the chapter that begins “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” The Byrds sang a song based on it during the 1960s.
How do we move through life with grace and joy?
Fortunately, a team of people helps me in many phases of my life, including transition. Wise people have shared what they did right and what they wish they had done differently. Is not a weakness to seek help. It’s wisdom. Some of the best nuggets have come from candid sharing about my hopes, fears, and dreams.
You and I know I’m not special, yet I’m willing to share some observations about transitions. They’re based on my experience and on the advice others have shared with me.
If you keep going the way you’re going, you may arrive where you’re headed. In other words, drift may take you where you don’t want to go. I’m choosing to be intentional about what I feel called to be and hope I’m on the road to what I’m called to do.
Retirement is not a do-nothing zone. It is sad when one has no one or nothing to retire to or lacks a vision or a passion worthy of the next decades. You will likely be healthier and live longer if you are actively engaged with life, not simply sitting in a lawn chair in your driveway.
Because of some volunteer work that my wife and I do we receive prayer requests from more than 30 people. People request prayers for a variety of reasons. There’s death, disease, disaster, job loss, losing loved ones, and celebrating marriages and births. Life happens. People with high control needs seem to suffer more distress than confident people and those with faith. Be aware that your attitudes and beliefs can cause your life mileage to vary. Is your worldview causing you anxiety or joy? Which do you want more of?
Our next decades have the potential to be far better than any vacation and maybe even more significant than our earlier decades. If a broker in a highly competitive field can explore options, then certainly you can think with partners and allies about how to maneuver toward your most significant future.
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If the young person you most cherish earnestly asked you for counsel about life change, what would you tell her or him or her?
You know I always asked for feedback. Your response is one of my biggest payoffs and sharing my journey with you.
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Terry Moore, CCIM, is the author of Building Legacy Wealth: How to Build Wealth and Live a Life Worth Imitating. Read his “Welcome to My Blog.”