By Dr. Gayle Carson
How exciting! You’re midway through your life, you’ve put some money away, you’ve successfully raised your family and you’re left your own mark on the world.
What?? You haven’t?? None of these things describe you? You need extra money? You aren’t close to anyone? Time has passed you by?
Well, this is YOUR time! You can be anything you want to be.
Would you like to be an interim CEO? Take over a company and turn it around? Be the one responsible for a company’s second chance? If you’ve had a successful career as head of a company or division, you just may be the one. Some organizations need someone strong in sales and marketing, while others need someone with financial and operational skills. Others need a strategist and someone who can put the right people in the right places.
Turn around specialists are hard to find and if you’ve done that in your past life, this may be your chance at a whole new kind of career.
Perhaps there is something fun on your list that you could never do because of all your responsibilities. You cannot believe the educators, retired execs, business owners, scientists etc., who I have met, who are now driving shuttle vans, acting as tour guides and greeters, simply because they meet interesting people, have fun and little responsibility except for insuring people are treated well.
Some of you have been pursuing hobbies both difficult and intricate, and have become insanely proficient at them. Are those things you can turn into a part-time business or something you can teach at neighborhood community centers. Perhaps you can write a column for the local paper or do a talk show on it if it appeals to the public. Things like gardening, cooking, woodworking and auto repair are things that the public really likes.
Perhaps you always wanted to have a particular career, and because of circumstances and responsibilities you weren’t able to accomplish it. Now’s your chance. It’s the perfect time. I know people who went to law school at 50, or went back and got a college degree and even moved to a different part of the country or world!
You may not want to work at all, but go on adventure trips, have a second home in an exotic locale, or spend time with grandchildren.
It doesn’t matter! This is your time. Make the most of it.
I know you’ve heard this before, but it really does work. If you could wave a magic wand and have or do anything you wanted—what would it be?
Do you realize that most people can’t answer that question because they’ve never stopped long enough to sit down and think?
Do that now! Be quiet. Breathe and relax. Let your mind just be. Visualize how your special day will look. How do you want to spend each and every day? You will start to become aware of what works for you.
Visualization isn’t easy for me, but verbalizing is. People have come back to me at various times and commented to me “You always said you wanted to……” and it’s something I am now doing. If you are clear enough and can see it yourself, your sub-conscious mind will see that you get it.
So if you come to that mid-life crisis or beyond, start your plan. Get the skills to make it happen if you don’t have them. Figure out a time frame that works for your situation. Then work your plan.
Now there are some of you who are already putting up road blocks. “I don’t have the money.” “I don’t have the energy.” “I have too many responsibilities.” “Other people depend on me.” Those are your roadblocks. And you can make them go away. It depends on what you want more.
All those other things that interfered with your desires can still be hanging on if you let them.
You’ve paid your dues. You’ve raised your family, paid your bills, taken care of others and gone the extra mile.
It is your time. Some of you will go for it—and others won’t. I am always re-inventing myself. People think I’m crazy and should be staying home, retired and doing all the things I’ve always wanted to do.
The only thing they don’t realize is that I have always done what I wanted. That’s why I don’t have regrets and continue to thrive.
Dr. Gayle Carson CSP CMC is the author of “Healthy, Wealthy and Fabulous: The 9 Secrets to Living Regret Free and Feeling Alive at Any Age,” is winner of the Best Seller Quill Award, and was inducted into the National Academy of Best Selling Authors. She can be reached at gayle@gaylecarson.com and www.livingregretfree.com
