So I am at a point in my life where I am trying to figure out where to go from where I am. Though sometimes the good Lord has you where you should be and we should just accept it and be content.
And that is great, but for some, there is this constant nudge that there is something else you should be doing that can make one feel somewhat unsettled.
So I came across a book called: Boundless Potential by Mark S. Walton that is a wonderful book. It talks a great about individuals who have actually been successful in their lives, but have come to a crossroads between mid-life, retirement, and what to do next.
So in reviewing this publication, it first talks about the delusion of trying to get back into the workforce or even just trying to volunteer to offer some of your professional talents only to realize that they may not be as welcomed as you would have expected. Ahhhh yes! The world has changed.
So in this day of age, we have to become more creative and innovative with our skills and talents as many mature workers have already discovered, the new retirees now have to really etch out their own new niche. Is this a bad thing though? Not really, but it is definitely a reawakening. The corporate gurus were so busy being successful that they did not see or get to plan for the next phase of their life.
According to Mark S. Walton (author), he was able to interview a few retired executives in that next phase of their lives and he realized after interviewing some retired great minds that we all have the potential to use our innate creativity, it just takes some perseverance and energy to stick to our guns and be lead into our next great life.
Walton does not believe that all retirees are headed to dementia city nor are they ready to go find a Lazyboy rocking chair and a remote control. Walton gives some great examples of mature seniors who have continued go on the do great things into their latter years. These individuals include but are not limited to:
- Elliot Carter at 100 years celebrated his birthday with a concert at Carnegie Hall that included 40 musical works he had written since age 90.
- At 95, Nobel Laureate Dr. Rita Levi-Montalcini established a neuroscience research institute in Rome and oversaw its work until her death at 100 years.
- At 91, Frank Lloyd Wright completed his design of the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
- At 92, Dr. George W. Comstock, regarded by his peers as the world’s foremost expert on tuberculosis, oversaw community based research on cancer and heart disease at the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Research.
These are just to name a few and there are many others. Mr. Walton begs the question: After a career of 20, 30, and 40 years, am I a done deal?
Is success only a younger person’s game?
Might there be more potential within each of us than we’ve been led to believe?
This book makes a wonderful read. If only it sparks a thought or a conversation. It is truly an inspiration for those of us in our second phase of life.