4 posts tagged “halftime”
On October 29, 2007 I heard Rick Warren speak about the P.E.A.C.E. plan. If you are not familiar with concept, click on this link to watch the video. Rick states that the church is the world’s largest organization with over 2.8 billion members, the only organization large enough and growing fast enough to combat the effects spiritual emptiness, poverty, disease, illiteracy, and corrupt leadership.
However the church can’t do it alone. Rick believes it will take a partnership of the Church, business and government to make a dent on the problem. Rick feels called to release the pent-up, latent energy in the church–to turn spectators into participators. To make a lasting difference in the world.
The P.E.A.C.E. acronym stands for Promoting reconciliation, Equipping servant-leaders, Assisting the poor, Caring for the sick, and Educating the next generation. Rick believes it’s the same plan Jesus used, so it’s time tested. I believe it’s a good framework and the kind of vision that will spark the imagination of Christian leaders worldwide. It’s the kind of idea that can get people out of their comfortable pew and look outward to see how they might make a real difference in the lives of others outside of their comfort zone.
I’m working with another organization, Halftime, founded by Bob Buford. Like Rick Warren, Bob is called to awaken the latent energy in Christianity, especially those that have had a measure of success in corporate America. If Rick represents a catalyst in the Church, Bob represents the catalyst in the business community. I have personally seen many people experience a Halftime and are actively pursuing Life 2.0 with a renewed and passionate vision to change the world in some way. Lloyd Reeb, the director of Halftime says, “One of my jobs is to rescue people from the golf course.” There’s a truth to that statement.
The PEACE plan is a logical next step from his popular book, Purpose Driven Life. First, you need to realize you have a unique purpose. Once you figure out your unique purpose, you need to go do it. If your purpose involves solving one of the BIG problems in the world, it would be nice to not have to go it alone. If your church is doing PEACE, you can surround yourself with some expertise and experience, multiplying your efforts. If this happens on a global scale, we might make a dent in the world's problems.
I believe the major purpose of PEACE is to equip the church to become the efficient distribution network for the world's philanthropy. If even a fraction of the 2+ billion Christians got involved in this effort, it would be the largest distribution network in the world.
How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free
By Ernie Zelinski
"To fear retirement is to fear life." This is one of the strongest themes of the book, which focuses equally on who you want to be as well as what you want to do in retirement and life.
- It is a great opportunity to pursue your goals and dreams while you are still young, energetic, and healthy enough to enjoy them. In addition, retirement may be your last shot at being the person you would like to be. (p. 23)
- Some people opt for semi-retirement because they like the field that they're in and the people they work with. Writing & consulting were listed as options that fit this profile well.
- Work part time as a transition strategy, mainly for enjoyment.
- It takes courage to retire early, especially if you don't have to. (p. 35)
The Main Point: This is NOT an investment book. If you're looking for financial advice, read something else. If you're looking for advice on what you need to really enjoy the years AFTER you need to work for a living, then this is a book for you.
Retirement may be your last shot at being the person you would like to be. (pg. 23)
LEISURE
- The degree to which you can handle leisure will determine the overall quality of your retirement.
- "Leisure consists in all those virtuous activities by which a man grows morally, intellectually, and spiritually. It is that which makes a life worth living."
- The endless pursuit of status, power, wealth, and fame by achievement-oriented individuals begins and ends in unhappiness.
Affirmation for the Connoisseur of Life
"I am now a Connoisseur of Life. I am too prosperous to work long and hard hours. I have earned my prosperity and deserve the right to enjoy a creative and satisfying lifestyle. I am too spiritually evolved to have an identity based on my work, possessions, and net worth. Instead, my identity is based on more profound things, including my creativity, my generosity, my spontaneity, my sense of humor, my peace of mind, my passion for new experiences, my happiness, and my spirituality."
- The more people are satisfied with the purpose and meaning in their lives, the easier they feel retirement is. As is to be expected, personal and emotional life are greatly enhanced when there is purpose and meaning to one's existence.
Ernie's Worldview
Many people have rejected the idea of retirement for the sake of idle pleasure. Ernie would actually agree with that. This book parallels Halftime and Success to Significance by highlighting the importance of pursuing your calling in the last 30 years of your life. For example, Ernie writes:
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"A major purpose can take the form of a personal mission, a true calling, or a passionate pursuit." pg. 50
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"Being involved in activities with a major purpose will not only keep you mentally and physically active, it will also provide you with emotional and spiritual fulfillment." pg. 57
- Ernie quotes from Richard Leider's book, ..Heeding your Life's Calling. He says people can find their calling by answering the following questions:
- What gift do I naturally give to others?
- What gift do I most enjoy giving to others?
- What gift have I most given to others?
FRIENDSHIP
I found one of the most profound parts of the book on page 144-145. Ernie writes:
"The University of Michigan researchers found that solid social support was the dominant factor in determining whether retirees were happy and satisfied four years after leaving the workforce. The people who were most pleased with their retirement years had sixteen friends or good acquaintences that they could rely on compared with fewer than ten that were typical of the unsatisfied retirees. Unfortunately, many retirees, men more so than women, don't have many solid friendships to fall back on once they quit working. All things considered, happiness is one of the chepest things in the world when we secure a good part of it through friendship. Indeed, even ten minutes in the company of a good friend will make any extremely difficult and depressing day worth living. To retire happy, wild and free, virtually every one of us needs friends with whom we can interact personally, philosophically, and spiritually."
In short, this is a book for men to help them discover the unique thing God has called them to do and in discovering this, they will come to know God and be known by God. Life is a journey during which we begin to live in eternity and influence certain others around us to do the same. Those certain others are people that God puts in our path that know us and are known by us. Those that are drifting in life have chosen to abandon the journey or have been detoured by things that are not part of their unique calling.
The main point of this book is that the need to be known is one of the driving forces for both God and man. God is a communicating Spirit. And by creating us to be communicating spirits, God has created a being in the universe who needs to be known. But if that is true, then God also needs to be known. (pg. 44)
Page 214 sums up the book this way:
1. The reason you are restless and you struggle to live a life of significance in that the quest in already in you. It will continue to churn until it is engaged, and it will reject all other paths.
2. You cannot complete the quest by yourself. You need certain other people and you must know how to recognize them.
3. The quest to be known is in every other person around you. They may not know it, but you do. This knowledge will allow you to help them.
4. Your task in this life is to till the soil in other people's lives--and most often, in certain other people. Money, fame, or power will never give you the kind of satisfaction and significance you will find in doing your thing.
5. The purpose of this life is to allow you to mature into a fully functioning child of God--a son.
COMPARISON TO Success to Significance
Restless Journey is designed to inspire you to get in the game of life with any vision. Halftime's goal is to inspire the reader to move from success to significance. In the companion book, Success to Significance, the author Lloyd Reeb takes a practical approach to helping you discover your thing--your unique calling--in the second half of your life. After going through the steps in Lloyd's book, I was able to put together a personal mission statement (To recruit and equip eternal investors) that ultimately helped me discover the thing I'm now doing as part of my unique calling. As a reader of Restless Journey, I would be inspired to find my unique purpose in life, but unlike Lloyd Reeb, Marcus Ryan gave no practical steps on how to actually find your unique calling. Success to Signifiance is about managing specific transitions in your life, especially the mid-life journey of men. Restless Journey is not about specific transitions or specific steps, but about inspiring you to see that intimacy with God and certain people can lead to the most fulfilling life possible.
Halftime by Bob Buford (4 stars).
Bob took over his family’s cable company business and sold it for millions. He was looking & planning the second half of his life when he got a phone call saying that his 24-year old son, Ross, had drowned in the Rio Grande river near Laredo, TX. That event changed his life and forced him into his second half. He ended up starting a ministry to leaders of large ministries called the Leadership Network.
Part of the Leadership Network is the Halftime organization led by Lloyd Reeb. Lloyd Reeb has taken the theme of Halftime and written a book called From Success to Significance. This book applies the principles of Halftime into a step-by-step journey.
Halftime has spawned a movement. It has given us a taxonomy about that period in our life where we're contemplating "what should I do with the rest of my life." Most men experience this in their 40's. Bob's book targets the audience who has achieved a certain amount of success and is looking for significance in their second half.
One of things Bob suggests is that you transition into half-time by borrowing some stuff from your first half. In my case, rather than completely cutting myself off from Penton, I took a job as a writer/speaker/consultant, which got me out of the management responsibilities and significantly reduced the stress. It was good for me and Penton. I did this for a year, which provided a good transition in half-time.
I got a chance to meet Lloyd in March 2005 in Dallas. The event was the Halftime coalition. I got a chance to share my story and Bob Buford walked up afterwards and we talked for about 20 minutes. We can relate about being forced into halftime by the death of our kids. It's something that only those of us who have lost kids really understand.
Both Bob Buford and Lloyd Reeb have mentored me and helped me discover my calling for my second half. I am grateful for the organization and am now giving back to the Halftime community in many ways, especially through the lawfirm I work for at Brown & Streza in Irvine, CA.
