Words of wisdom for this week.   

“Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy man has no time for.” Andre Maurois

Are you preoccupied with your age or the passage of years?  Do you constantly relate what you think, feel or do to your age and whether it’s appropriate, right or necessary?  Do you keep reminding yourself or others how old you are?  Do you focus on how little time you have left or the time you have had?  Do you live as if you are running out of time? I could go on with these types of questions but let me ask you one final one. Are you guilty of wondering what you will do with the time you have left?

I must admit that more often than I care to realize I have done all of the above and I have been asking myself a lot lately, why?

I don’t care whether it’s acting like a teenager when you are in your 80’s, dating when you are in your 70’s, running marathons when you are in your 60’s, starting a new career when you are in your 50’s, having kids when you are in your 40’s or any activity that many in your age group would say is inappropriate given their mindset about how people are supposed to act when they reach a certain age.

I have watched little old ladies in Argentina walking down the city streets wearing mini-skirts and high heels.  I have watched people in their 30’s act as if they were too old for something, anything.  I have observed people in their 80’s and 90’s live with passion and adventure and I have watched 20 year olds complain about pretty much everything.

Age is a mindset it is not the number of years you have been here.  Are is ageless as long as you have an ageless mentality.  Two of my favorite T-shirts that I have worn for years say – I refuse to grow up and the other one says - I am just getting warmed up.  I get more comments from people when I wear these than any of my other unique shirts that I have accumulated during my world travels.

There is nothing wrong with dressing sassy when you are older.  There is nothing wrong with acting like a youth when you are older.  There is noting wrong with enjoying life the way you want to without being overly concerned with the opinions of others in your age group and what they will think or say.

I love to watch the elderly having fun and enjoying life to the fullest.  I think it’s sad how many people let their age dictate their behaviors and attitudes with more concern for others opinions than having fun and relishing each of life’s precious moments.

So how old are you?

I was recently asked how old I was by a participant after one of my presentations.  So I asked them, how old do you think I am?  No response?  O.K.  How old would you like me to be?  Still no response?  Can you imagine asking someone in their 90’s, how young are you? One of my favorite quotes by my hero Mark Twain when asked how old he was was, "My age is none of my business."

Make Some Memories Every Day . . .

Author's Bio - Tim Connor, CSP

Tim Connor has a simple driving business purpose - To help organizations increase their sales and improve their management focus, direction and effectiveness. Tim is the author of over 65 books and spoken in twenty-one foreign countries. For more information, please visit his websites http://www.timconnor.com/

Our lives are full of many different paths. Some are obvious, and some are not so easy to find. It is the one's that we have difficulty finding that make our journey worthwhile. If everything was handed to us on a silver platter, what merit is there in that? Who can say, I did that, or this I have done? It's the anticipation of that discovery of one ones own destiny or many destinies that make this life an exciting journey.

Most of my life I believe I've always been striving for something. I've gone through a lot of periods of constant worry, and fear that I may not be able to accomplish what it is I set out to accomplish. And a lot of times, that very same mindset got the best of me, and thus I would close out early and not finish the race. I've gone through periods of masked depression, because I didn't know how to be happy in the present moment. It was a mixture of both past regrets, and not being able to see the future or touch the greener grass on the other side. And whenever I did accomplish a task, there was always something more that I wanted. I was never satisfied or complete.

It took me a while to realize that this whole life is a journey, and without something to pursue we become like a dead stick in the water; drifting with no purpose other than to pass the time of the ever changing currents. If I could only get my mind out of the past regrets, and instead learn from those mistakes, I could then hope and plan for a better a future.

But I've also realized that it's not about the future that makes my life worthwhile either, but "right now". Today in the present is where I can make the greatest impact on my life, and everyone else's life. We do need a goal to strive for; something we dream of how everything should be, and whether or not we make it there today or tomorrow, or in this lifetime should not matter to me. That's ultimately in God's hands. What matters to me is how I experience that journey toward that goal, or that dream.

So take comfort in the fact that yes its' true we may achieve a lot of our goals that we set out to accomplish, and when we do, we'll always experience that satisfaction of that achievement. And we'll also soon afterwards experience that tugging in our hearts, where God is asking "So... what do you want to do next?" Which means that yes we'll always desire something. Also, know that it's possible, that some goals may not be achieved, and some of it may appear to be failures to us on the surface. However we must not let that get us down. The fact that we're always striving to achieve our dreams is where our real happiness and success lives. Whether or not something comes into manifestation where or when you intended it to, it doesn't matter. Just redirect, and keep on striving, whether it's complete or not, keep striving. In essence, we become complete in our incompleteness. No matter what, we make each day count!

It's the journey that counts, not the destination. Chart your maps, set your compass, and get your mind fixed on your intentions - or desires - and lift up those sails and take off! Take off and head towards that goal as though you are heading for, and up against the storm of the century! We don't know if that goal is going to be there when we get there, nor do we know if this will be our last storm. What we do know is that we're going to make this the most exciting journey and adventure of our lives! Our journey becomes more of the inspiration than our accomplishments. So think it, dream it, will it, live it, and make it happen!

"Success in the progressive realization of a worthy ideal" ~ Earl Nightingale
"Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."
~Greg Anderson

"The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination."
~ Don Williams, Jr.

"To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping"
~Chinese Proverb

Author's Bio - Rob Clinton

Rob Clinton is the founder of 180 Career Coaching. He is a motivated visionary that specializes in guiding people who have a desire or need to re-enter the workforce. He has a deep heart for inspiring people to fully live their lives. He’s all about the self discovery and helping people to draw forth that inner self, or at least set them on a path for finding their own unique calling and purpose.

For more information, please visit http://www.180coach.com/