Last week I posted about life expectancy, working and money as it relates to the Fourth Quarter of life. I pulled numbers and comments by the group known as "they". You know these guys: they said that you need a million plus to retire or they said you may live to be a 100. My concern about the collective "they" is that it's a fear based group. The Fourth Quarter is already a period in which you lose your parents and find that your knees start to ache. Couple that with a steady stream of hypothetical doom and gloom scenarios and the reaction is to hunker down against possible threats and limit your dreams.
The Fourth Quarter of life is like any other period of life. You will have your challenges, you will have your rewards and you will be required to work at being happy and fulfilled. The key difference in the Fourth Quarter and the previous three quarters is your accumulated life experience and your hard earned wisdom. Life is not about allowing "they" to form your life vision. As my friend Chad said, "There's a lot of ball to be played in the fourth quarter."
The Fourth Quarter can and I believe should be the most creative time of your life. It's the time in life for you to give yourself permission to pursue creative outlets that may or may not result in financial rewards. I've witnessed the biggest road block to most Americans following their passion is the inculcated belief that money is the only measure of a successful endeavor. No, I don't live under a rock, I need money to pay the bills but I know that following your passion can lead to financial success in some cases.
I have a real world example. My friend Kathryn can sew and has a wonderful way with people. In response to a request by her daughter's summer camp, she taught a group of girls to sew one summer. Her summer class has now evolved into the business Sewhampton. Think about it. Schools are no longer teaching Home Economics and this is a skill that many young people as well as older people would like to learn. As Sewhampton has grown other creative ideas have surfaced such as the memory ornament. It's a Christmas ornament to honor a lost loved one. Kathryn didn't start out to open a business, she started out to share a passion.
The Fourth Quarter is the time of life to work hard at something you love, spend time with family and friends and have some fun. What do you want the Fourth Quarter of your life to look like? Do you have a deferred passion that you want to act upon? What are your dreams for the future?
Hugs,
C