Don and Steve are executive coaches who specialize in working with clients approaching their “second half’ to create what is next in their lives. Sometimes this takes the form of starting new business ventures. Sometimes it has to do with preparing for post-retirement transitions. Now I know that ‘coaching’ has become a term all kinds of folks are selling (and not always with sufficient education or experience) but these guys are among the best. Don will be contributing to this blog in coming weeks.

All three of us have noticed a shift that occurs as people mature in their careers and approach retirement—a change from looking for ‘productivity and status’ to looking for ‘satisfaction and contribution’. It turns out this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Whether one is in corporate management or working in a home environment, most of us have mastered organizing our lives around the needs and wants of others. In fact, most people are hooked on ‘doing’ and don’t have a lot of practice or support for learning to just ‘be’ themselves, which is what satisfaction is all about.

Good coaches know that what makes coaching happen is the commitment and vision of the people they coach—not what the coachee wants and wishes for, and certainly not the knowledge of the coach. When it comes to creating breakthroughs (which is what coaching is all about), advice, mentoring and formal education aren’t likely to make much difference. What is required is a coachee who is willing to ‘go for it’ in whatever areas of life are important to them, who is willing to trust the coach as someone who can listen for and observe what is missing for their commitments to be realized.

In the case of mid-life transitions, what is usually missing is people really seeing the possibility of reinventing themselves and their lives and taking on a different kind of work—the kind that accompanies passion and love of what we do and that, most importantly, makes a real difference in the world and the lives of other people.

Not everyone has the opportunity to work with a pro like Don or Steve. But everyone has the ability to choose to draw a metaphorical line in the sand and commit themselves to having the second half of their lives (which I define as whatever we have left) be ‘outside the box’. That is, the second half can be  more satisfying and fulfilling than they could have imagined—with more possibility, power and passion than they believed could be experienced.

As the saying goes, a vision without action is just a dream. The other side of the coin, however, is that action without a vision is a nightmare—simply going through the motions of living.

We invite you to share your vision with us by sending us your story or by submitting a comment on this post. Your sharing might inspire someone else to see a possibility for themselves. Mine is on the left side of this blog under ‘Vision’.