Finishing Strong – A Manifesto and Call to Action

Don’t read this if you were born after 1960

Is the door closed?

Are the whippersnappers safely out of the way?

Are they distracted with their iPhones and Tweets?

Good! Because it is time for us grownups to have a serious talk about life. I don’t mention it much but my tag line here at RCB  is ‘Finishing Strong‘. Today I want to tell you what it means to me and find out what it means to you.

We are no longer controlled by biology

At this stage in our lives, we have been through all the biologically controlled activities. We have rutted. We have procreated. We have nurtured. We are pretty much through with those pressures and our life is what it is. We have kids – or not. We are married – or not. We have pretty much made our beds so to speak. We now have the rest of our lives to lie in them.

Now What?

So here we are, no longer at the mercy of biological forces but with nearly half of our life left before us. What do we do with it? Let it dribble away like our parents and grandparents or make it into a glorious adventure? Most of us don’t have good examples to help us finish strong. Society doesn’t expect much from us beyond indulging the grandkids and puttering around the yard. There are a few examples of people who finished strong but mostly finishing strong is a road less traveled. I would like to change that and I am looking for others who want to take that less traveled road with me. It won’t be easy. It will be a challenge. Every step along the way, however, even the missteps will be part of a glorious adventure and I am looking for adventurers to share every step.

Sharing my less traveled road

I am living my adventure and sharing it here and at my other blog. Ralph Carlson Blog focuses on skills and vision for the journey and Job Optional Blog on developing an entrepreneurial mindset, creating a lifestyle design and exploring vehicles to make it happen. Everyone’s path will be different. I think that the definition of finishing strong will be different for each person. But everyone choosing this path will share a commitment and desire to learn and grow every day.

My Mission

I want my remaining years to be rich and full. I want to enjoy the beauty of the world and the people in it. I want to learn constantly and become better at communication and leading. I want to share that adventure with others who want to finish strong – however they might define it. Right now I am traveling solo. I could move faster with companions to reinforce my strengths and compensate for my weaknesses. I know that whatever it takes, I will finish strong but I know that with a team of leaders the future is unimaginable bright and the possibilities unlimited.

What will your mission be?

Do you want to finish strong? Do you want to explore the idea? Do you have ideas of your own about what finishing strong means? Have you already y started your own adventure? If you have continued to read to this point, I know that somewhere in your brain, there is a tingle. Don’t let it die without finding out more. Join me by putting yourself on my email list. Join me by reading my story. Join me by adding your comment or question. Join me by preparing a guest post with your story. Join me by coming back to learn more. Don’t let the rest of your life dribble away to nothingness. You have so much left to give even if you don’t know it yet.