Worship

Tonight ushered in one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen on Cayuga Lake.  That’s saying A LOT.  Whether you’re a west sider, who favors the sunrise, or an east sider, who prefers to watch the sun go down, everyone around here is pretty smug about our window on the sun god’s glorious retreat into the horizon.  Another perk of living in the Finger Lakes – nice big vistas and gorgeous sunsets over rolling hills.

The glory of this particular sunset made me smile, realizing that we often refer to our “golden” years as the sunset of our lives.  Smile, because, just as the sun falls below the horizon, its rays permeate the heavens with the most radiant shades of salmon, orange, and red, only to fade to night before us, and a new day to those on the other side of the world, as well as a new dawn for us only hours later.

Likewise, in mid-life, we have the opportunity to leave something – our jobs? – with panache, and still awaken the next morning with equal majesty.  Are you thinking about your morning after the glory of a setting sun?  Life after retirement?

So many Baby Boomers are reinventing themselves in mid-life.  After years of working for “the man,” some are deciding to work for themselves, at work for which they have a grand passion.  Some want to make a difference in the world.  Some want to own their own business.  Some are going back to school.

How are you planning to spend your golden years?  Will your work life set like the sun, only to rise again the next morning?  Baby Boomers are changing the way people think about retirement.  To many, their retirement is only a leave from their current employer – not from work itself! 

For those of you who own your own business , the options can be unclear – like the sun that sets over one continent, concurrently rising above another.  To many entrepreneurs base their decisions about retirement solely on money.  “Will the sale of my business provide me with the same lifestyle to which they are currently accustomed?  How will I replace the high, or the status, of being top dog?  What do I want to do with my LIFE?  What will it be like to sell my business and work for the owner through an employment agreement, even if it only for the next two years?”

All of these questions, and more, are important to consider when approaching midlife as a business owner.  It’s important to seek out advisors who will actually be interested enough in YOU that they will pose the tough questions you like to avoid.  And who will advise you independently of their practice’s best interests to keep you as a client, should you retire, and sell the business.  

If your sun is beginning to set,  do you have a vision for what comes next?  If not, remember how the sun comes up the next morning, fully prepared to meet a new day.  Take the steps now to begin consciously looking at your life after the business – what kind of sunset do you want to experience?  What will the next day’s sunrise look like?

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