Welcome to the X.

I don’t know about you, but growing up, the loud and clear message was to work hard to be THE BEST. My father probably missed the day in Parenting Class where they talked about “giving it your best effort”… haha!  But he definitely was in…

As you know, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, I love nature and find a great deal of peace and contentment when I’m outside. The other day, I watched a hawk soaring, held aloft by unseen currents. It was a dance of…

I don’t know about you, but I took life for granted in my earlier days.  I felt I had a long runway and plenty of time to accomplish, succeed, and enjoy myself. I didn’t see an end. I do now. I think part of the…

In speaking with various men, I often ask how they pilot their days in retirement. Most tell me they plan their days in advance and that routine is important to staying focused on what they want to accomplish. I get it. I admit, I’m a…

During our working years, success was often something we could measure via clear metrics: income earned, business growth, promotions, recognition, or other benchmarks our professions deemed worthwhile. Measuring success in Chapter X, however, is more challenging. One might still try to apply familiar expectations: financial…

One of my biggest challenges is turning off my “doing” mode. Growing up with a workaholic father who constantly urged me to “do something productive,” I became really good at getting things done. But now, even though productivity still matters, I often find myself wrestling…

We recently took our children and grandchildren on a weeklong cruise to the Bahamas. I’m not usually a fan of massive cruise ships with their endless buffets and crowds, but it was a convenient, affordable way to get everyone together. During the time when the…

In coaching, one of the exercises I offer is this: Tell a story about your life that reflects who you are today. When I asked a client, Tom (not his real name), to do this exercise, he paused for a moment, then told me a…