You have a busy schedule. Up at 5 o'clock, in the car by 6, stuck in traffic 'til 7:30 cursing those idiots that don't know how to drive, can't merge properly, slowing down when they should accelerate, cutting you off, all conspiring to make YOU late for work, you're thinking......I have to do this again TONIGHT Nooooooooooo!

So you find yourself dreaming of the day you will R...... can't go there! too young for that, plenty of time to think about it...... later....much later! Well I've got news for you "much later" is closer than you think!

WAIT! don't click off the blog just yet. I'm asking you to consider this:

You get up at 5 every morning from Monday to Friday and you are never home until 6:30 - 7 o'clock at night if you're lucky. Sounds familiar? You talk to your co-workers, see clients, meet with your boss and maybe even go for a drink with your friends from your department. Work in this case consumes 14 hours of your day (that's without socializing after work). What are you going to do with those 14 hours once you've R....... ?

"I have plenty of things to do" you say. "Play golf, travel, meet with friends, go for walks, read books I always wanted to read". REALLY! Now let's be realistic here. Can you play golf 14 hours a day every day of the year? or travel 365 days none stop? If you have a life partner who you barely see during the week, can you stand spending 24 hours a day, e v e r y d a y wih him/her for the entire second half of your life? (Careful there don't answer out loud just in case he/she is around)

Depressing??? Keep reading I promise it gets better.

Why not use the same Strengths that you discovered during Strengths Essentials to build your Retirement?

There! I said it! R E T I R E M E N T! It does not have to be negative! Au contraire mon ami! It could be the most exciting part of your life. Start thinking: How can I leverage my Strengths so I fill those 14 hours after I am retired? The beauty of this is you can be using your Strengths ALL the time.

You love researching, discovering new places, learning new culture, organizing. Have you consider becoming a "Tour Guide"? you know the person that goes with you on Tours? The person that oversees the trip. You get to go to places you never thought you would see at a fraction of the cost.

How about you love organizing, creating, fundraising. Join a charitable organization as a consultant to help them divise new news of raising money.

You get jazzed by building spreadsheets, even better, you can spend hours analyzing the data and come up with solutions to maximize the results. Become a mentor for small business owners so you can help them find the best use of their hard earned money.

I can go on like this but I think you get the point. Don't wait, start now thinking about ways to use your Strengths while you are retired. You can research the best ways to leverage your Sttengths, make connections with people who have done it, join clubs,associations so you can network. Get the word out that you would like to do this or that while retired. It's easy. Really it is if you start NOW.

Oh no! It's 6 am I've got to go Traffic is waiting for me!