When
I turned 40 a decade or so ago, I rejoiced that I still had half of my life in
front of me and that I had made pretty good use of the other half that had
already taken place. A few years back, I again used the same refrain in
celebrating the 50 years that had passed and the "other half" of my
life that lie ahead. Last week, however, I turned 52 and I realized that
I couldn't necessarily convince myself that I could envision myself at
104. It was then that I remembered my friend, Ken Lichtenstein, speaking
about what he called the "last third" or "final third". Not finding those labels particularly
enticing, I thought that reflecting on the “3rd Third” would be more
palatable.
As
I consider how to design “the rest of my life” (including reduced usage of
quotes in my writing), I look at three areas of contribution that I’d like to
focus my efforts and time on. Even
though I see the first third of life as time to “till the soil” and the second
third accentuates our “sowing” years, I believe that my later years should
focus on giving as well as “reaping” from the investments that I have made over
the years.
The
first area that I’d like to allocate time toward is in my local community. When we moved to California almost thirty
years ago, I continued my investment of discretionary time toward non-profit
efforts and easily found organizations dedicated to both educational and
at-risk youth causes. Starting in the
early 90s, welcoming our girls to the world meant that our time would be
altered to focus on their schools and sports, from pre-school through high
school and club teams in soccer, basketball, field hockey and softball. Now that the girls are both in college, my
pro-bono hours are mostly in professional arenas, although I am still working
with an educational foundation in the addition to my efforts with startup
entrepreneurs. I’ll have to do some
design with Joy to figure out where we can make an investment as a couple to
the betterment of the community that we call home.
In
addition to nurturing our home village, I want to give back
professionally. I have been fortunate
(and more than a bit lucky) to have three careers that have both nurtured and
exercised me over the past 30 or so years.
Product design and commercial roles made up my operational years and I
now consult to companies in the cultural and team dynamics. While I have heavily invested in these
domains over the years, the style and locus of my efforts seem to need some
reconsideration going forward.
Lastly,
I am looking at how I can contribute to the ecosystem that has so graciously
supported me over the years. I
have contemplated and planned my efforts to do so over the years, working with
entrepreneurial groups around the Bay Area and beyond, as well as
organizational development associations.
Now, with the “3rd Third” framework, I have a new lens to
observe and consider my time going forward.
I
look forward to conversations with many of my friends and colleagues as I move
forward with this project; please let me know if I can be helpful in your
design time regardless of what “third” you find yourself in.
“Carpe
Diem!”
