I remember when I was 10 years old thinking about life. I thought back then that anyone over 20 years old – was old. And then when I turned 20, I thought anyone over 30 – was old. And then when I hit 30, I thought anyone over 40 – was old.

When We Were Young We worked Hard and Played Hard because that’s what we men do…

And then when I hit 40 I thought – I’m not that old. So now that I’m about to turn 60 – I think to myself, “Man, Robert, you look just as good now as you did 20 years ago…still a lean, mean, fighting machine…”.

Over the years I have learned that the vision of anything on the horizon, is hard to see when you are miles for that horizon – before you and behind you. And once you reach what once was the horizon you realize that things are much different than they were when you first seen them.

Know what I mean?

To be honest, when you are much younger, if you are like me, over the years I have worked hard and I have played hard. And while I was at it I even looked at the horizon every now and then but didn’t pay it much mind.

And now that I have come this far….I wished somebody would have given me this advice 20 years ago that I am about to share with you, today.

Many of us worked and played too hard – and forgot one day we would be that old guy we saw at the horizon

As much as we don’t want to admit it many of us haven’t been keeping a good eye on the time clock.

What I mean about by that is – in our younger wage earning years

We worked hard

We played hard

And tomorrow what just another day to work hard and play hard…

But that’s cool. We come from an era of TCB. And that is what we did. We worked hard to take care of our obligations – personal and family. And that is a good thing, isn’t it?

The bible says

[2Th 3:10 KJV] 10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

And many of us played even harder than we worked. As it should be. Even the bible says we are to eat and be merry.

[Ecc 8:15 ESV] 15 And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.

And here some of us are – standing on the Horizon of our Someday. Do you like what you see?

Check this out, I’ve got something for you…

Take this short assessment to see how closely your NOW experience of your horizon resembles your THEN imagination of your horizon – just to see how closely they match.

Look back over the last 20 years of your life: can you place your hand on anything you gained or achieved over the last 20 years that you thought you would want to have 20 years ago?

Ok that’s the tangible look from the horizon. Now let’s take a look at the intangible look from the horizon.

Look back over the last 20 years of your life: can you say you have developed an ability, skill or gained specialized knowledge over the last 20 years that you didn’t have then, that you can use now, to further your life over the next 20 years?

There are some but not many that will have an affirmative answer for their tangible and intangible achievements over the years. And if that’s not you – it’s Ok. That just means your are almost there…

Starting Now is always a good time to start preparing to face the challenges of our later years

Let’s face it Brothers as we get older, life gets more and more challenging. Whether you know this or not – or you believe this or not: there are biases always in play against us. A few of the major biases we will eventually encounter, if you haven’t already are (in no certain order):

RACE BIAS

EMPLOYMENT BIAS

AGE BIAS

MEDIA BIAS

It is what it is. And the fact is these prejudices do exist. Some of us have been facing them for years – they will get in the way but they wont stop us if we don’t let them.

I remember when I retired out of the Army at 46 and the first time I encountered age and employment bias. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I learned years ago how to navigate around the race thing. My motto was and still is:

“I will go where they say I can’t go to do what they say I can’t do…because I am somebody”. rlpjr.

However when I wasn’t hired in a management position I was expecting – the excuse – I’m sorry (still a little salty about that one) the explanation I was given was : my military experience didn’t meet the culture of leadership they were looking for. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

At every turn I would hear: You are too qualified for this and too qualified for that…which is code for too old. I almost got discouraged because I didn’t think it would be like this on the horizon when I first looked at it.

But I hung in there and kept at it – to eventually go where they told me I couldn’t go and did what they said I couldn’t do…because I am somebody.

I didn’t think I would face all of this when I reached this point of my life. But I’m here and to tell you if you are nearing this point of life and you haven’t set things up for yourself – tangibly and intangibly – now is the time to get serious. Because it’s serious up here. It really is.

And fussing and fighting about it won’t change anything – just your willingness to get dedicated and focused to the cause, and stay dedicated and focused cause…

What is the Cause you ask? Its You of course – because you are somebody….

You are still young enough to make Life Improvements that means more to you now than it did before…

The writer said:

God makes three requests of his children: Do the best you can, where you are, with what you have, now http://www.searchquotes.com/search/African_American_Success/#ixzz5koaDe3XY

This wise writer – dont know if he/she is old so I’ll leave it there – gives you and I advice which, in many ways, is vital elements of successful for anybody and at any age – but particularly for Black Men over the age of 40.

His advice is to:

Do the Best You Can – Now

Doing the best you can is the objective of any life endeavor. Woulda, Shoulda and their little sister Coulda the Hindsight Sisters – will always tell you should have done it this way, and you should have done it that way and you could have done it another way. But that doesn’t matter as long as you do the best you can – now…not then.

Do the Best You Can Where You Are – Now

Life has a way of placing you where you are for a reason. I remember some advice I received from an Old (40 something) Sergeant when I was a young (20 something) Airmen stationed in Germany: If you don’t like where you are…you are not going to like where you are going to be. I took that to mean I needed to make the best of the situation that I am in – until I change…not my location. Find enjoyment by doing the best you can where you are – now…until things change.

Do the Best You Can Where You Are With What You Have – Now

The life that you have lived up to this point, whether it was easy or hard – resulted in a lot of lessons learned. Use what you have now and build on it. If you haven’t increased your tangible holdings up to this point – make a plan to do so. If you haven’t improved your non-tangible assets up to this point – make a plan to do so. But above all do the best you can where you are with what you have – now..

We may not be getting younger – but that’s alright – we’ll stay forever young.

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” Unk