where to start??

What do people do all day? I remember reading that book to my kids when they were young. A fascinating book by Richard Scary about all kinds of occupations and what all they entailed. It was actually quite interesting.

When we go to school, we're taught to think in terms of a life's vocation. What do we want to be when we grow up? Why do we have to choose? And, why then?? That has to be the worst time for most of us to decide-what do we know at that time of our lives? We didn't even have the benefit of Richard Scary's book when I was growing up. All we know for sure is 1) we want to get out of our parent's homes and be on our own, and 2) we don't want to be like they are.

It's not until we get knocked around a bit that we finally figure out what is really important-if even then. Some people never figure it out. (I have heard some actually have it figured out right away but I haven't met many.) Luckily, by the time we have it down, we are at that time in our life when opportunities open up...the place I mentioned before, that "second half". Today's Over-40's are living longer, healthier, more active, and wealthier lives than ever before. They: * Own more homes than any other demographic age group* Purchase 41% of all new cars* Spend 74% more on a typical vacation than younger age groups* Enjoy more than $900 billion in income* Exercise at least three times per week (taken from "Secrets of Successfully Advertising to Seniors")

This is an exciting time of life if we just realize the potential and grasp it with both hands and DON'T LET IT SLIP AWAY, ONE BORING MINUTE AT A TIME. One of the reasons I stopped watching TV was because my entire evening was eaten in 30 minute increments, and I was left with nothing to show for it. There is So Much To Do, to Try, to Experience! (My kids learned early to never complain to me they were bored!)

By this point in your life, you know what kind of person you are--do you like being around people all day or do you prefer to be in your own world? Are you service-oriented, meaning, do you like helping others? Do you like working with THINGS as opposed to IDEAS? If you do something, what part of the process do you like the best-the planning, the execution, the marketing? For instance, I absolutely love planning new things. I have spent days coming up with brief, "wouldn't it be neat if--" ideas and talking about them to my friends, even going as far as drawing up business plans, just to put them away. People may think I'm a quitter, that I don't follow through, but in reality, I love the planning, not the execution. Let someone else DO the thing, I just like working out the kinks and knowing it would work. But...how do you find out what your passion is?