Life Begins at 40

Lifebeginsat40

My former pastor, Fredrick Russell preached a sermon years ago, titled “Life Begins at 40.” When I heard this, I was in my early 30′s and I really didn’t take much notice until I recently turned 40 on March 23, 2012.

After reading all my Facebook/Twitter birthday wishes I went to my home office and thought about my life–mistakes and accomplishments.   Here are a few takeaways:

  1. In my twenties I attempted to find myself- I went to college, dropped out, moved from job to job, place to place without a real purpose.
  2. In my thirties-I established myself.  Many people I associate with today are the people who know me from this decade. I started successful businesses, established my career as a tech/media guru,  got married, had 3 kids (all girls) and bought a house with a white picket fence-well not white, but I do need to get my fence stained soon, but I digress.
  3. So far my forties have begun with a new career in education. And the realization that my parents and my wife’s parents may not be around to see me when I am 50.  These are harsh realities that make me take account of daily decisions. The decisions to work smarter and not harder, the decisions to say no to some projects and yes to others.  I have also dedicated myself to teaching others what I have learned and being a mentor and teacher.

I don’t know what the next decade will look like for me, but I know one thing for sure, I will have three teenage girls in my house so I will be a very busy dad.  If life really begins at 40 like the sermon said, I’m about to be in for one wild ride.

At what age  does life really begin? Or does it begin when you find your purpose?

 

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About Chip Dizárd

Chip is a Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Photoshop Certified Trainer and is passionate about helping people leverage technology for business and communications. He’s done a bit of everything from video production, to web, and application development.
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  • Kay Murrell

    Thanks for putting things in perspective so eloquently. I think life begins even while you are in quest of your purpose. The mere idea that the sense of purpose is being experienced as something to look forward to suggests that life has already begun. Because of our different stages of growth and the fact that growth takes place at different rates should be an indication that the realization of our purpose will come earlier for some than for others.

  • Chip Dizárd

    @Kay Thanks so much for your comment. I appreciate your insight.  That is so true! 

  • DanielleJ

    I have spent my twenties and thirties wondering when life would begin for me. I see so many other people already established, and I’m still here floating about trying to find my way. If life begins at 40, I have two more years of wandering and soul searching to get through. Thanks for sharing this. I think I’m just a late bloomer. :-)

  • pierrequinn

    I’m 10 years behind you (30 is a good age too!) I’m getting started on my second career and settling into who I am. 40 seems so far away yet so close. Looking back over the different stages of my life sometimes I laugh, or cry, or shake my head in wonder at some of the choices I’ve made. I think life begins when we find (or accept) our purposee. Some of us do it earlier and some of us do it later.