Recently, a compadre in one of our MEA workshops said to me, under her breath, the quote that is the title of today’s post. I thought she was talking about the workshop not working well, but instead she was talking about being the lead actress in her script of life, a script that she did not author. She wasn’t enjoying the script, but she was doing a helluva job pulling it off.

I hit rock bottom at 47. My relationship was on the rocks. My adult foster son was going to prison. My friend, Chip, had taken his own life (and I was having suicide ideation myself…I lost 5 midlife male friends between 2008-2010). I was running out of cash as we were opening 15 boutique hotels in 21 months just as we were catapulting into the Great Recession. I felt handcuffed being CEO of this gargantuan company I’d created over the past two decades. I feared everything was going to crash and I dreaded the idea of being a public failure.

Retiring by 40 (RB40) has become a thrilling goal for many younger people, who see it as the ultimate life success. In contrast, older adults, often retiring by 60 (RB60) due to company age limits or layoffs, view retirement as the end of the road. The stark difference in these perspectives is rooted in varying mindsets, financial freedom, and personal values about work and impact.

Chip’s Note: Colleen has one of the finest minds I know and ever since her successful career as a corporate strategist, she’s focused her attention on how to help people to retire…or rejuvenate well.

“Rather than living every day as if it’s my last, I’ve shifted to a gentler approach of living every day as if it’s my first. I want to wake up and meet the day with the wonder of a newborn, to cultivate childlike qualities like curiosity and play.” - Suleika Jaquad

I despise the term “midlife crisis.” It’s laden with such cultural baggage.

"First you forget names, then you forget faces, then you forget to pull your zipper up; then, you forget to pull your zipper down." - Rob Reiner

I rarely get political in my daily blog, but this is a rare time. I wanted to share some wisdom with our two leading Presidential contenders, but - more importantly, to those of us who have not just the right to vote in the U.S., but have the right to advocate for better choices. Do what you will with these quotes, but just remember Abe Lincoln’s guidance, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

“And if travel is like love, it is, in the end, mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, not dimmed by familiarity, and ready to be transformed. That is why the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end.” - Pico Iyer

(The author “Madelyn” is a long-time, active member of the MEA community. Names and identifying details, including the author’s, have been changed.)