My friend Marc owned a successful auto parts business. By age 35 he had opened his second location and the company was continuing to grow. One of his largest competitors took notice and offered to buy Marc’s company for a large sum of money.Within 60 days Marc had gone from a successful busy business owner to an early retiree. 

After he'd been retired for just a few months, he told me “You can only vacation, golf, and fish so long before it gets old.” Because the transition from busy worker to young retiree happened so fast, he'd never thought about what to do next.

In his book Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance, author Bob Buford  addresses that transitional time  many of us go through toward the “second half” of our life.

It’s a time when we begin asking, “What do I want to do with the rest of my life?”  Whether it's the loss of job, loss of a spouse or other major life change, it's important to consider what’s next. The book challenges the reader to consider developing a new vision for the second half of life that is rewarding and results in a life of significance.

While some may argue that you have to be in “full time ministry” to live a life of significance, I would strongly disagree. Many of the business coaching sessions I get to have with clients often include discussions on how they can create companies of significance.

One of our clients, because of the success in his business, provided funds for ALL of the sewing machines that we distributed on our recent mission trip to Honduras.

Another client regularly sponsors students through annual college scholarships.  There are a number of ways to begin living a life, and creating a business, of significance. Questions to consider include:

What do I want to do?

What is most important to me?

What do I want to be remembered for?

My friend Marc decided age 35 was too young to retire – at least for him. He now spends his time as a broker working with business owners to develop a “life after the business” plan before they sell their companies.

At Fulling Management & Accounting, we help our clients prepare for, and manage, halftime strategies. Whether it's someone like Marc or our client Mel who just started a new business at the age of 72, we love helping people reach their goals!