May 5th & May 6th, 2010

“The older you get the faster it goes.”

Wednesday, while in Philadelphia to give a keynote speech, there was a rare moment with the television on in my hotel room.  A local couple were celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary. Four children, eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Have you heard older people say the older you get, the faster time goes?

Does this notion have any truth for you?

I guess the big question is, “Do you ignore or embrace this truth?”

What Do You See?

“If we could only see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.” — Buddha

Not sure about you, but my days are a flurry of activity.  And I am fully aware that this busy pace can lead to many negative consequences.

And even in knowing and having awareness, it is still difficult to stop.

Time Waits For No One

Wow.

Life has a way of rewarding us when we least expect it.

Life has a way of punishing us when we least expect it.

By midlife (which is relative), we should be fully aware that we will get our fair share of both. And that in either case, the timing can not be predicted.

Do you understand this?

Do you prepare for this?

Do you react to it?

Or do you celebrate because of it?

If you are seriously looking for more peace at midlife, or any life stage, being prepared for the unexpected is key.

Common sense, but not common practice.

Why?

Bury Me In Green (kidding)

Are you afraid to die?

Why?

Or maybe, why not?

It’s a funny thing that people who are afraid of death could think the people who think about it are fatalistic.

Intriguing thought.  One that never crossed my radar screen.

Unil two days ago.

Here’s the deal.   We should be talking about death and planning for it the same way we talk about:

• getting an education
• interviewing for a job
• paying off a mortgage
• finding a life mate
• planning vacations

You see, the reality is, those things are just like death, they are things humans (with mortgages) go through.

Death is simply another thing on the list, except for one tiny little challenge.

It scares people more than anything (except public speaking).

And I can’t figure out why.

Could be that I’m completely off base on this.

Could be that I’m hitting the bulls eye.

So, let’s review:

• We’re born
• We die

Why not face the obvious with the same thoughtfulness any professional person approaches life’s other routine events.

Oh, and you did get the memo right?  The only thing you can really plan on is the one about death.  All the  others could go either way (successfully or unsuccessfully).

Death is the only one we will all successfully accomplish.

Clearly Ahead Or Clearly Behind?

Happy Friday everyone and thank you for visiting Mid Life Celebration. Ever work really hard for a really long time and wonder how you’ll keep your pace going?

What many great leaders do is celebrate the journey, not just reaching the final goal. They learn the power of celebrating milestones.

In our personal and professional lives, we face this same challenge. How to keep a fast and steady pace to accomplish all that’s expected of us.

The secret?  Celebrate milestones. Are you familiar with this concept?

Milestones are what you make them. There is no science to it, other than to simply find things to celebrate and feel good about, because the goal is to keep your midlife pace going.

The alternative is to lose interest and quit.

Tomorrow, I’ll share a few Mid Life Celebration milestones and invite you to share some of your own.

Lane 8, Impossible?

“When everybody tells you that you are being idealistic or impractical, consider the possibility that everybody could be wrong about what is right for you.” — Gilbert Kaplan

Unconditional Love (Both Ways)

By mid life, most of us (not all, but most) have had family pets and have had to deal with the loss of a beloved pet.

This can be gut wrenching, and deeply emotional.

Have you been there?

Sometimes we see it coming.  Sometimes it happens in an instant. Either way, it is never easy.

Finding a good way to express our grief at the loss of a beloved Family pet will bring us a mid life peace we so desperately need.

Click here, if you find yourself in need, to read a comforting article on this topic.

I just read it and fold greater peace.

This is exactly what me and my Family needs right now.

Yesterday, we laid Carter, our beloved Canine Son (yellow Lab of 11 years)), to rest.

John 3:16

Valentine’s Day.  Mid Life Celebration. Sunday, February 14, 2010.

Today’s thought is a simple one.

John 3:16

Brothers

Tell me.

Show me.

Involve me.

Common sense is hardly common practice.

If anyone has anything to help my Family find peace and comfort as we say good bye to our beloved Canine Son, Carter, please know you may leave comments here or email them to jeff.noel@me.com , if you’d like to remain private.

Are You Ready For Today?

Lists. Top ten lists.  Mid life.  Midlife lists. Midlife top ten lists.

Mind, Body, Spirit, Money.

Life’s Big Four.  Life’s four big decision areas.

All day long we make decisions around these four very simple concepts of mind, body, spirit and money. Mostly unaware.

Having answers to critical questions empowers us with a peace that is unknown to people still searching.

What they are searching for and why they pass by the obvious, is understandable and it is also sad. Humans are conditioned to complicate life. Complicated does not get us closer to peace.

Only discernment, organization and finally, determination to be focused and disciplined.

I know well. It’s taken me 50 years to figure it out.  Ok, I’m slow. But also determined.

There is hope for you and your dreams. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a million times – there is no shortcut.

MONEY

Top ten MONEY questions you should have answers to:

1.  Do you spend less than you earn?

2.  What is your net worth (assets minus liabilities)?

3.  Do you have a CPA and Attorney?

4.  Do you have a will?

5.  Is your image tied to your possessions?

6.  How much do you donate to charity?

7.  Do you have a passive income source(s)?

8.  How are your investments and assets diversified?

9.  What size is your rainy day fund?

10.  What’s your retirement date, and plan afterwards?

These are the basic, fundamental questions you should have ready answers to. Money is the one most people struggle with understanding how it works.

There is a Peace that surpasses all anxiety, when we have a solid, practical, and proactive approach to Money.

SPIRIT

Top ten SPIRIT questions you should have answers to:

1.  What is Love?

2.  What is more important than Love?

3.  What is Hate?

4.  What is worse than Hate?

5.  How does the mind or body influence Spirit?

6.  If you or your dearest loved one was dying, what would you do?

7.  How do you count your blessings?

8.  Whom do you thank for your blessings?

9.  How often do you pray?

10.  What’s at the very center of your spiritual beliefs?

These are the basic, fundamental questions you should have ready answers to. If not, you will not have Joy in your Spirit, nor will you have Peace in your Soul.

It’s that simple.

BODY - One of Life's Big Four

Things you should know the answers to:

1.  What’s my weight?

2.  What’s my cholesterol?

3.  What’s my blood pressure?

4.  What’s my BMI (body mass index)?

5.  What’s my trigyliceride level?

6.  What’s my resting heart rate?

7.  What do I do for exercise?

8.  How important are my eating habits?

9.  What are my health goals?

10. What are my health beliefs and habits?

Knowing these is crucial for being personally responsible for your health. Not knowing these is a recipe for disaster. There are no short cuts to finding Peace.

There is a Peace that surpasses all understanding when you have done your best. Making excuses chases Peace away.

MIND

Top Ten MIND questions you should have answers to:

1.  What do I read?

2.  What do I study?

3.  How much time do I spend learning?

4.  How much time do I spend teaching others?

5.  How well do I know my priorities?

6.  What do I watch on TV?

7.  Who are my friends?

8.  How do I stay focused on continuous learning?

9.  What is my IQ?

10.  What should I be learning that I’m not?

Knowing these will give you Peace.  There is no short cut.

Rethink, Reprioritize, Recommit

Happy Monday everyone.  Hope you had a great weekend. I actually worked Saturday at my “real job” – yes, I’m a career employee at a large company.

This whole five daily blogs thing is like a hobby, like growing a garden or something. And as any avid gardener will tell you, “It’s a labor of love.”

Quite literally, a labor of love – for a child.

Anyway, back to the updates:

1.  Erika Liodice’s Mid Life Celebration Guest Blogger post yesterday was a first here. Please check out her site, Beyond The Gray, if you want a midlife perspective from a not yet 30-year old.  Erika gave me “my first big break” as a Guest Blogger.

2.  The numbers thing the other day. (gulp) Well, that was sort of like a time capsule to look back on later.

3.  February is about Peace. Peace to me means –  tranquility, balance, solace, contentment, harmony, simplicity, acceptance.