Yet taking the time to fast-forward, or what I call Future Forwarding gives you the perspective needed to focus on your most meaningful - even profound - goals of your life. Only then will you have created the opportunity for a great leap forward for yourself, your business, your loved ones and y(our) world.

The New Sixties: Hope and promise on the horizon

Invest in what matters.
--	American Century Investments

The New Sixties has already arrived. Coined by ODE magazine in its U.S. launch issue, I've fallen in love with this new label. I happily will call myself one of the New Sixties. We are a fast growing group with the power to influence great change... we can usher in a new transformative energy so we can rebalance and leap frog old paradigms. We are all experiencing and creating this new structural shift together. Together we can make a difference. We already are.

Welcome to this Silver Age; a time of quick silver change and a growing desire for meaning, authenticity and contribution. Whether you are a 37 yr old wanting to change lanes or 64 looking for a new on-ramp to the future, we can and will have significant impact on our future with our commitment to peak performance and peak experience. We are striving not only for greater financial freedom and security, but greater meaning and possibility. We will not only get what we are after, we will also give back to the max. These times require that we tell the truth as fast as we can-especially to ourselves-- or we'll get brought down by the next curve of change.

Purpose is a funny thing, most of us are not aware of what ours is. By the time we've "arrived", most of us have don't remember what moved us in the first place. Or we realize that what used to juice us doesn't do so any longer. Watch out, here comes those sexy red convertibles in our driveways.

The number of women over 45 purchasing speed machines is up 248 % in the past five years.
--	R. L. Polk

It used to be that only our men were caught and derailed by the Sirens of mid-life. But not so today, we women find ourselves spiraling into midlife crises in much the same ways as the men in our lives. Cornell University sociology professor Elaine Wethington, a researcher with the ongoing Midlife in the United States project reports that 26% of American women and men report having a mid-life crisis.

Without warning youthful flashbacks come roaring into our desires! Even the most successful of us are driven by a fear that they are going to be found out... or they're getting to be too old by 40 and over the hill by 50. Fed by these untruths, purpose is pushed to the bottom of the priority list!

As soon as you turn 45, you find yourself Googling "hang gliding" and "Nepal hotels" late at night. You periodically dial the number of the local Botox clinic and hang up at the last second. And you can't get your eyes off that ad for the redesigned Ford Mustang.
--	Jean Chatzky MONEY Magazine

Yet more than ever, this is when we need to dig for our renewed purpose. It doesn't matter if we are leading major organizations, running fast growth small businesses or taking our family business to the next incarnation. The future doesn't wait. Suddenly your 40, 50, 60 or 70 asking, "How'd I get here so fast?" With no time to waste, right now is the time to reclaim what matters most in your work and your life. Isn't it the perfect time for all of us to take stock and maximize our time on the planet by becoming masters of our own future?

Leading Ahead of the Curve. It's All About the Future
Staying ahead of the curve of change is the only hope we have of sustaining our way of life on the planet. Certainly this applies to your personal life plan as well as to your professional and/or business mission and future planning. Purpose is like the stick shift that kick boosts us to another level as we get upended or make a wrong turn. No matter what comes at us, having a hold on your purpose for yourself, your business or work will keep you fueled for the long winding road ahead.

"Many a businessman feels himself the prisoner of the commodities he sells; he has a feeling of fraudulence about this project and secret contempt for it. Most important of all, he hates himself, because he sees his life passing him by without making any sense beyond the momentary intoxication of success."
--	Erich Fromm

Purpose has moved to center stage in ads for retirement planning and product marketing. US advertisers like Ameriprise and Fidelity are on the right track when speaking to us "Silvers". Sporting a "purpose" driven marketing theme isn't a bad thing when it comes to raising awareness and shifting corporate and consumer spending towards serving a "purpose driven life". Today going "green" or depicting a commitment to greater social and planetary "awareness" is the name of the game for every positioning statement and marketing campaign. It's what will make the difference in buying behavior by consumers at every level. The "conscious consumer" will make or break our businesses over time.

Every company and organization needs to re-evaluate their purpose and re-dedicate themselves to becoming a leader in their field or industry. For our old behemoth organizations, it may be time to go back to the founder's purpose or recast a new company wide reason for being to turn our tired workforce - all seeking meaning in their personal lives and work - into mighty forces of innovation and productivity. For newer firms, don't take things for granted. Make sure your entire team is on the same wave length, committed to a universally held purpose-driven end-vision.

What will separate the winners from losers will be a unifying purpose, passion to succeed and a commitment to a greater future. With the intense and ever mounting competition from Asia and our energy rich foes like Iran and Venezuela it is imperative that we find some greater purpose as individuals, citizens and leaders that puts us way ahead of the curve. It is my core belief that the greater purpose that will catapult us ahead of the curve is a commitment to social responsibility and sustainability, which has evolved our profit driven focus towards the new Triple Bottom Line: People, Planet & Profits.

Finding Purpose at Midlife

Am I nobody going nowhere? Or, am I anybody going anywhere? Or, am I somebody

"Midlife Crisis" is something that happens to many of us at some point during our lives (usually, at about 40, give or take 20 years). The warning signs are easy to spot:

• Stuck in a rut
• Sure that you've lost your edge
• Bored to the max
• Living the "good life", but missing something important…as yet unclaimed.
• Lost and confused.
• Ready to roar but not sure about what.

We all want to respond with a resounding YES! But most of us can't do so honestly. But some can, because they've stepped back from the demands of their life just long enough to be truly honest about their lives, their relationships and their work.

When we take a closer look, it's clear that although success is of value to all of us, many of us are now seeking more. We are looking to actualize our greatest selves. Psychologist Abraham Maslow taught us through his "hierarchy of needs" that when our basic desires are met, we then long for self-actualization and later, transcendence. Thus the current ground swell for bringing the Soul to work and the overwhelming receptivity to new models like "EQ" and "SQ"…all indicators of the rising call for more meaningful work and purposeful profits.

And we as leaders are no different than the rest of our cohorts. We want to make a difference and inspire greatness in those we lead, serve and love.

Midlife is a critical call for self actualization and transcendence. And those of us who are in mid-life are seeking to lead and contribute in ways that respond to the challenges of our times.

We are in the midst of a quiet revolution, an evolution of consciousness. Multi-millions of us are mid-lifers who are seeking greater authenticity and purpose, and we are also bringing our deeply held commitment to making a better world and a greater future. As we yearn for an actualized life, we express our talents and gifts in all we do. We actualize ourselves and we actualize a greater future.

Midlife is a natural part of our maturation. "Midlife Transition" is a fluid process occurring from age 35-70. Although most of us will feel its greatest pull around the age of 50, it can (re)occur with different emphasis at any point in this developmental age range. What is a "crisis" at age 38 will perhaps have a different emphasis at age 58 or 62. For everyone, however, there are recognizable stages and profound internal changes that take place. This maturation common in mid-lifers and now apparent in younger generations, is moving us all towards a more positive future and potentially more compassionate and enlightened leadership.

In midlife, most of us long for something new. The True Self awakens.

However, the shift to the True Self is not always easy. It can lead to discontent, restlessness, and uneasy questions. You, or those around you, may feel like the earth is shaking beneath your feet. Or perhaps, there will be small barely perceptible seismic shifts.

And as you attempt to come to terms with the changes, you may find yourself making poor or irrational decisions that you regret at a later date- e.g., changin careers or spouse and discarding everything that once worked for you; including, all that you have accumulated in the first half of your life and career. You want to be sure you take the next steps that will lead to a more positive future for all involved.

As leaders, we can seize the chance for greater self actualization in our families, our workplace, community and the world. It's time to revolutionize our thinking. Midlife can be a springboard to true greatness as leaders or our future guided by a thirst for actualization.

The journey starts with YOU! Let's face it: If you can't lead yourself, how can you hope to lead your team, organization or your family into a greater future?

Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
--	Harold Thurman Whitman

One of the key tasks of any major life transition and developmental stage, especially in midlife, is to evoke and recommit to your driving life purpose. When we are in sync with what matters most at our deepest core, everything else falls into place. With our purpose intact, we can more readily re-discover and rank our heart-felt life goals and values, including legacy goals, so that our life plan will support our true aims for our remaining time on the planet. As a result, we'll become inspired and ultimately take more ownership of our plan, because of its relevance to our life and the greater future we envision!

The Road to Midlife Greatness is Best Traveled in the Right Lane
My purpose is to provide you with a road map; to describe routes to the future that are open to you and the likely conditions you will encounter along the way to greatness.

Although I can speculate about how the road and road conditions will intersect and influence one another in the future, I can't offer firm predictions. But you can determine whether you travel by a 21st century super highway or end up at a dead end or off road in a ditch.

Purpose In Business Business with a Higher Purpose - Can Business Schools Lead the Way? Read complete article

The 21st century success factors are: the willingness to understand the challenges ahead, to embrace change rather than attempt to ward off the forces of change and to live and lead with greatness.

If you pay attention and make the effort to upgrade the facets of your life and work that need revamping or retooling, you will be able to stay on track in the fast lane and lead others to their greatness. I can't make midlife easy-so I decided to make it less hard.

Put the Future In Your Own Hands!