In This Issue:

•	Retirement: How Prepared Are You?
•	Ministry or Business?
•	Honey – the Key to Life Balance
•	Leadership: Everyone Has a Title
•	What is Life Coaching About?
•	New Subscriptions Welcome!

•	Mapmaker Coaching

Retirement: How Prepared Are You?
There are 15 factors that determine whether your retirement will be successful and happy according to findings of Dr. Richard P. Johnson, noted gerontologist, author, and speaker, who has studied retirement for over 25 years.

Just how well prepared are you to make your retirement the most satisfying phase of your life?

What will you do with your retirement -- for many a period of 30-40 years?

The Retirement Success Profile (RSP), a scientifically designed and validated assessment tool developed by Johnson, measures your current level of preparation for each of the 15 factors.

With what you have learned about yourself from the RSP, you can begin taking proactive steps to become better prepared or to improve your retirement life. And you have quantitative information about yourself that will allow informed decisions about the multitude of retirement options available to you.

Financial preparation, the focus of nearly all help available for retirement planning and preparation, is only one of the 15 success factors. Those of us who have reached our “first retirement,” and over 50% of Americans have before age 57, intuitively know that more is needed. We just are unsure what the other factors are and how to get a handle on them. The RSP gives us that handle.

I have just become one of the first coaches certified to administer and interpret the RSP and to provide retirement coaching based on the RSP. Previously this service has only been available through outplacement companies. The Retirement Success Profile combined with the Retirement Options program that I offer is the most advanced retirement life planning solution available.

Call me at 713-557-3968 to register to take the RSP online on your own computer. As an introductory offer for newsletter subscribers good through July 31, I’ll deduct the RSP fee for individuals or couples from your first month’s retirement coaching fee.

Ministry or Business?
Are ministry and business "either/or" things? Or can what you do to make a living also be ministry?

We all know people whose profession is ministry. Church and non-profit staff members are employed specifically to provide ministry. Others, generally in a people-helping profession, often consider their vocation as ministry. For example, I’ve specifically designed Mapmaker Coaching to be both my profession and ministry. In some other professions, we may have a more difficult time making the linkage between how we generate income and providing ministry.

Is it important to you that your work also be ministry? Or, for you, do you feel it best if the two remain distinct?

If you want your work to have a ministry component, can you do that in your present position? How? With whom? When? Where?

If not, and having work that incorporates ministry is important to you, can you visualize transitioning into a position that fulfills this need? When? Where? How? What obstacles and fears would you have to overcome? What kind of support network would you need in place?


Honey – the Key to Life Balance
No, I’m not promoting a nutritional supplement as the cure to life balance issues. If only it were that easy!

But Proverbs 25:16 presents an easily applied principle. “When you find honey, eat just enough; too much will make you vomit.”

I hope your life is blessed by finding honey in many things you do. If not, you really should spend some effort searching to find some!

When we find honey in our work, our play, our learning, and even in our ministry and service, it becomes so easy to over-consume. And, there are consequences. They may show up in our health or in our relationships or in any of dozens of other ways. Simply, too much of a good thing brings bad results.

We naturally know the signs of over-consumption. But we can choose to ignore them and push right on. We can even generate some convincing arguments for doing so. “It’s the right thing to do right now.” “I just don’t have any choice.” “Others just need to understand how important this is.”

If you’re hearing these phrases come out of your mouth, it’s time to re-evaluate and make some changes. Time to go back and reflect on your values and priorities, consider what’s important vs. what’s urgent, and realign your actions. Coaching is extremely effective in helping individuals move toward healthy life balance.


Leadership: Everyone Has a Title
Sometimes simple actions have profound effects! Such is the case with a senior adult Bible class in Dallas, where the leader gives every member of the class a title.

New members are given the title “Greeter.” Over time, depending on their individual interests and talents, each member will take on a new title that describes a role he or she performs as a member of the class. For example, one man who loves research and writing is the Historian.

Is it any surprise that this class is now bursting at the seams?

Giving everyone a title does so many good things. It provides a real, ongoing sense of belonging. It provides recognition for individual gifts and skills. It gives everyone a feeling of importance within the group because everyone has a role. It defines what kinds of things each individual does to contribute to the group. It builds community. And I’m sure you can think of many more.

Just imagine the effect on a visitor walking into this class. Everyone has a nametag with his or her title. You can’t help but be impressed, start to ask questions, and become attracted to joining the group.

Giving everyone a title is free, and it’s easy to implement. No committees, programs, or policies need be involved. You can just do it!

And it’ll work for all kinds of groups in all kinds of organizations. Want to see more involvement and a stronger sense of ownership in your church, your non-profit, or your business? Giving each person a meaningful title is a great place to start!



What is Life Coaching About?
I love helping others in the second half of life achieve their visions for significant, joyful living.

I do this by working closely with a limited number of private clients who are passionate about achieving their visions for their lives. It's affordable, and it's convenient, because we do our work together by phone and email.

As my client, you will reach your goals faster, with fewer false starts and diversions, because together we clarify your vision, create achievable plans, and implement them step-by-step. As your coach, I help you stay focused, upbeat, and productive.

Here's how the coaching process works:

First we work to help you better understand yourself and where you want to be in life.

Then we consider the options available for making the journey and construct a plan for getting there – the map.

Finally, we make the journey together, step-by-step until we reach the destination.

Email me and tell me about the kind of journey you want to take. We'll set up a time to talk by phone to see how working together will help you reach your destination faster with fewer false starts. (This initial consultation is always free and without obligation.)


New Subscriptions Welcome!
Your response to the first "Living the Second Half" newsletter has been gratifying.

Many of you have mentioned specific articles that you found helpful or mentioned that you have forwarded the newsletter to others.

New subscribers are always welcome. Folks can subscribe by sending an email to
ltsh-subscribe@topica.email-publisher.com or by clicking on the link below.

I use a secure, double opt-in list manager service, so you are always asked to confirm your subscription.