Wednesday, December 9, 2009

30 Years and It's Just Halftime!

Entrepreneur and successful businessman Bob Buford is well known for founding not only the Leadership Network but the Halftime® organization. Halftime was founded on the principle that successful individuals often have a deep desire to have a second half life rich in eternal significance.

The Halftime® organization is, in essence, a community of individuals together seeking to support, encourage, learn and accelerate the attainment of a life that is truly significant. People who in this category are not alone: More than 12,000 people turn 50 each day in America, and a Harvard-Met Life study shows that more than half of these individuals want more meaning and significance in the second half. But this is still a very new phenomenon. Along with a companion organization, SuccesstoSignificance, the two groups help marketplace leaders redefine success and reorient their priorities, they can make an enormous impact on their communities and the world at large.

But this post is not about the second half of life as described above – it’s about the second half of marriage. Loosely defined, that would be the time of marriage after children have left home and begun their journey into adulthood. It’s also characterized by elderly parents needing more attention for health and lifestyle issues.

When children begin leaving the nest, and a couple’s parents need care, marriages change. Like many times of change, couples are often unprepared for those changes.

Having just celebrated thirty years of marriage, and just beginning to enter into the scenarios described above, I thought it very worthwhile to investigate this stage of marriage. Tomorrow, I will start a two-day look at a great resource for couples who find themselves getting ready for the second half of marriage.

It's going to be an interesting journey!

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