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The crossroad is directly in front, staring me in the face. It’s time to decide. Time to take the next step. Do I turn left or go right? Wandering further up the same road I’m on is not an option. It hasn’t taken me to where I wish to go. A new road is the only choice.

I hesitate. Which path is the best way? I don’t know, and time is running out. The time left on the yardstick of life shortens each day.

Fact is, it really doesn’t matter. Right, left, up, down, or sideways… it really isn’t important. What is important is to decide and commit. And make the most out of any direction I choose. Successfully.

It’s time for a change… time for the next step.

The Challenge

It’s time for Thrive After Fifty to change. In truth, I’ve felt like giving up. Chucking it all and flushing the whole idea into the “just-another-pipe-dream-that-didn’t-materialize” cesspool of so-called “good” ideas.

But giving up when the going gets tough was my old way of doing things. So many things started that were never finished. Do this too much and it becomes an imprinted handicap within the belief system. The makings of becoming a dabbler. Dabble here, dabble there,.. moving on to something else when the going gets tough.

It’s still a struggle at times. Especially when undertaking new task and challenges that I know very little about.

Like running an internet website.

But the idea and vision for Thrive After Fifty didn’t come as a fluke. I was led to it. I believe it can offer some real help and benefits to others. Especially those who’ve been beaten up by life, are looking for change, and believe there’s got to be more than what’s been dished out to them.

As well to those who still feel life’s creative urge tugging, clawing, and yearning to get out and express itself. To create your own definition of freedom. To celebrate your life force.

Consequences

Why should we care about this at our age? Why should we give a damn?

Because if you don’t, you’re going to die. If not physically it will happen spiritually, emotionally, and/or intellectually. And at some level deep within, whether you acknowledge it or not, you’re going to regret that you never tried. You’ll take this blessed life force that resides within you to your grave, never having let it truly flourish, bloom, and grow.

Complacency is contagious. Believing our best days are behind us begins to kill us slowly. We start giving up. We begin to compromise ourselves and our lives. We pick up bad habits or continue on with unhealthy ways of living. We no longer take care of our bodies, mind, and spirit in beneficial ways.

For many of us the process started decades ago. Unfulfilling work, a challenging marriage, and money issues. Not enough time to do what we truly wish to do, children to nurture, feed, and educate, aging parents that need help. The list goes on and on.

Along the way we stop taking care of our bodies and minds. We stop exercising. We eat food that’s known to kill us over time. Our bodies start hurting. Pain becomes part of everyday life. We sit in front of a television/computer for hours on end totally mesmerized, slowly wasting our lives away.

We let ourselves get old. All of us age, but getting old is something we have some control over.

And we get cranky. We believe we’ve been victimized by life and others, short-changed along the way.

The on-going drama of the world captures our attention. We are fed it in large portions everyday by the media, everywhere we turn. We let fear rule our lives rather than love.

We begin to give up, not caring about what’s going on in our aching world, choosing to believe that something or someone else will solve it’s problems. We become armchair critics, doling out opinions, judgements, and critiques at others who have acted and are trying to make a difference.

We’ve become entrapped in our own small comfortable world, never venturing out or risking to grow, to try something new. We’ve become expert isolationist, choosing to live in our heads rather than out in the world.

The good news is that it’s not all your fault. We’ve been living our lives the way we were told and taught by others. Go to school, spend a fortune on college and get a degree, work your butt off for 40 years while climbing the ladder of success, save for retirement and then be happy when you retire. And, along the way be sure to buy a house, get married, have 2.5 children, and start them on the same treadmill you’ve been on.

Fact is, we’ve been brainwashed. We’ve ignored and been led away from what really makes us happy. Most of us don’t know what our true voice is.

TAF

So the TAF site is going to change. My job is to acutely focus, visualize, and create this big dream of mine. Then have it designed, programmed, and hire some great help. Getting help is crucial. I’m too slow at, and dislike what I don’t like doing. I’d rather give that job to someone else.

So if you know of anyone who loves to write, let me know. Same thing with running an internet business on a daily basis. If you know of someone who loves to keep things organized and run social media, let me know that too. Internet research? Same thing.

I need to get a team together.

Writing articles is tough for me. It’s a time consuming task for me to put out an article that I believe is respectable. Usually days. I’ll eventually get better at it. One, on the list of many.

I refuse to journal about me and/or talk about the drama in my life. No one needs to hear this. We all have our own plates full.

Another is preaching. No one likes to be preached to or told what to do. I know I don’t. Want to turn people off? Preach to them. Tell them what they need to do or the path they need to follow to find success. It’s not a way to win friends and influence people. I’ve been guilty of this many times.

Also, believing I have something meaningful to share or teach is a challenge. Who am I to be instructing or teaching others? What makes me so special?

Nothing. I’m just a guy who is testing his strength, stamina, and the universe to become something he’s proud of. To create something that helps others. What keeps me going are those moments when I’m on FIRE with ideas, visions, and beliefs of what I can really become and create.

And have fun doing it…

It has to be fun.

It’s these moments of bursting energy and clear thinking that lights a fire under my ass and makes everything seem possible. This feeds my soul and creates passion in every cell of my body. It’s then I feel incredibly alive… loving life, alert, and powerful.

And I want to ignite this same energy force in others.

The Next Step

My next step is to sign off for a while. I need time to redesign the website, get a team together, and start working towards the next plateau.

Truth is, I’m scared and question if I can do it. I’ve never done anything like this before. Pushing that comfort zone can be so uncomfortable! But it’s the rewards that lie on the other side that keep me going. The key is to keep myself in a peak state of mind, body, and heart.

In the meantime, I expect all of your sweet butts out there to continue thriving towards your own unique goals. This isn’t a dress rehearsal as the saying goes. It’s the real thing. There’s no second chances. Start NOW or risk regretting later.

Don’t limit yourself. Too many of us aim low or have small goals. There’s no limits except for the ones we believe we have. Remember Henry Ford’s quote:

“Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’re right”

Lifting ourselves above our limiting beliefs and consciously creating new exciting ones is the challenge.

And never give up!

That’s a good rule. Another one of those items on that long list…

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