In our last issue of WealthNotes we introduced the objective and concept of Doug Smith’s message, “Living and Leading in the Second Half of Life.” You will recall Doug believes in order to have a profoundly successful life, there is a transition between the “two halves of life.” Throughout the transition, the soul becomes our primary focus and our lives and our leadership take on a very different character. Below we share with you principles which ultimately allow us to live with greater joy for the benefit of ourselves and everyone with whom we come in contact.

Living in the 2nd Half of Life
In terms of living, those who transition most successfully learn to let go of grievances (both real and perceived) of the past. We learn to forgive others and ourselves and to live with an incredibly deep sense of gratitude. We learn that much of the stress in our lives arises from our fixed notion of the future and our inability to adjust to the merry diversions the universe will invariably throw our way. To cope with an uncertain future we learn skills such as faith, optimism, flexibility and openness to what fate has to offer. We learn to trust the universe will bring us what we need, not necessarily what we want. With this ability to better integrate the past into our lives and to accept what the future offers up, we learn to live and relish the present – to actually be in the present and thereby live with greater joy. We learn to care for ourselves honoring our minds, bodies and spirits, we learn to be more generous, to value cooperation more than competition and we become more certain about who we were meant to be and increasingly focus on fulfilling that mission, rather than being distracted by the cravings of the ego. Finally, we learn to better value, nurture and cherish relationships. These skills lead to a life of greater peace, confidence and joy; we are happier.

In our final issue of 2015, we will share with you valuable “food for thought” for the new year, the final teachings of this lesson: Leading in the 2nd Half of Life. It is throughout this transition we become more inspired than driven as our leadership becomes increasingly centered on love.

Smith, Doug. “The Leap of Faith, Living and Leading in the 2nd Half of Life.”