Live Every Day Golden [How to Grab Happy]

There is a whole generation of people who have this exact same sentiment. It’s the way it was…the way it has been for a very long time…and yet…

There is a whole NEW generation of people who are figuring out how to do what they want to do NOW while they are doing what they have to do in order to accomplish those “golden” opportunities.

It’s a whole new way of looking at the world – and it’s awesome!

Imagine…living for the week AND for the weekend because you are doing work you love while you are living a life that Lights You. Up!

Now, if you are currently in a job that’s not suited to your talents, sleepwalking through your week, then you may be wondering how you can possibly do what you want to do rather than trudge through another day of something you have to do.

It’s actually pretty easy because you have at least two choices:

First, you have the power to change how you feel about the work you do. I know, some occupations can seem, well, sort of boring or unimportant. But every person walking this earth is important. Has a purpose. Has the ability to change something, or someone, in small and big ways.

In fact, just this week I heard about a man who shines shoes for a living. He touched the life of his customer and when his story was shared, touched the lives of countless others.

What happened?

Something simple.

The shoeshine man asked his customer, “How are you doing?” to which the customer answered, “I’m good…how about you?”

Now, what the shoeshine man said next was simple. He won’t be receiving any sort of honor or award…in fact, he most likely didn’t think twice about the words that fell from his lips. He said:

Wow! Think about that…why CHOOSE anything else?

Second, you have the ability to choose something different for your life…right now. You don’t have to wait until some pre-determined date on your work calendar. You don’t have to wait for a gold watch (do they still give those?!)

You CAN make your “Now” years your “Golden” years.

Really! How?

If you’re in the wrong job then figure out what you need to change that. If you’re living in the wrong location, figure out what you would have to do to relocate. If you’re not surrounded with people who support your goals and inspire you to become the best person you can be, choose to surround yourself with different people.

Now, here’s the fun part!

If there is someplace you want to travel, something you want to learn how to do, or some activity you want to cross off of your bucket list…why wait until AFTER….

In fact, why “retire” at all? Maybe, we should all focus more on “re-calibrating” over and over and over again! Small adjustments as you journey through life.

Hmmmm….I’ll have to think on that one…

In the meantime, what kinds of things do folks wait to do until they “retire” and live their Golden Years. Take a look at this list, curated from various articles, and then I encourage you to grab one and go for it….or add a few of your own!

• Go into public service
• Spend time with friends
• Visit family more often
• Babysit
• Become a mentor
• Go back to school and learn something new
• Write a book
• Read books
• Start a blog
• Learn a new language

• Go Canoeing
• Go kayaking
• Go Surfing
• Go Stand-up Paddle Boarding
• Get in shape
• Learn to scuba-diving
• Fly a kite
• Learn to juggle
• Go Kitesurfing
• Draw / Paint pictures
• Create ceramics

• Write a memoir
• Make a quilt
• Record family memories
• Discover and record your family tree
• Cultivate bonsai trees
• Create an organic garden
• Raise chickens
• Become a beekeeper
• Learn to cook
• Learn to cook, better

• Fly an airplane
• Drive a race car
• Own a race horse
• Climb a lighthouse
• Bring clean water to a town that has none
• Build a school
• Teach a child
• Do random acts of kindness daily
• Carve a pumpkin
• Go whale watching
• Golf at Pebble Beach
• Go to Niagara Falls
• Hike the Grand Canyon
• Hike the John Muir Trail
• Like a big city of your choice for at least 3 months
• Go to the Super Bowl
• Parasail
• Give away a million dollars
• Read one book a week for a year

• Set a special table for an everyday dinner
• Eat seafood in Maine
• Have Thanksgiving in one of the original 13 colonies
• Camp in a Teepee
• Hike the Tahoe Rim Trail
• Join a club
• Start a club
• Read for children at the library

• Learn photography
• Join a band
• Sing
• Study interior design
• Create a comic book
• Knit / Crochet
• Needlepoint
• Design and make clothing / furniture / something else
• Stay in a 5-star hotel
• Ride a gondola in Venice

• Write more letters
• Join or start a book club
• Go on more picnics
• Meditate
• Make a pilgrimage
• Read the classics
• Write a classic
• Play chess
• Open a coffee shop
• Open a bar

• Ride in a helicopter
• See Andrea Bocelli in Italy
• See the Acropolis in Greece
• Build a boat
• Live on a boat
• Build a log cabin
• Live in the mountains
• Watch birds
• Become an amateur astronomer
• Stand in every continent: North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Australia, Antartica and Africa