Halftime (Revisited

Many of us read Bob Buford?s book Halftime when it was published in 1994. However, a new, revised and expanded edition was published last year to continue the theme of moving from success to significance in the second half of life. To quote Buford, ?One of the most common characteristics of a person who is nearing the end of the first half is that unquenchable desire to move from success to significance. After a first half of building a career and trying to become financially secure, we?d like to do something in the second half that is more meaningful?something that rises above perks and paychecks into the stratosphere of significance.?

While we likely equate success with wealth, little in life brings more joy and happiness than the opportunity to help others succeed whether our effort is vocational or avocational. It is therefore through service to others that we find the essence of success that helps us become our authentic self, what Maslow called ?Self-actualization? and what Jung called ?Individuation.? When we truly know who we are, we have achieved the ability to live in peace and in harmony with our circumstances, whether or not we have gained material wealth.

Seeing the value that we represent may be one of our greatest difficulties. Again to quote Buford, ?Since you cannot go back and undo past mistakes, you really have only two options. You can dwell on them and become consumed with the effects they may have had on your family and career. Or you can come to terms with them through grace, accepting them as poignant markers from which you can learn something valuable for the second half.?