Retirement scares me. I know it should be something you look forward to but it still scares me. I like work and I like the interaction with people and the sense of accomplishment you feel when you have tried your best on a project. It is also all I have known since I became an adult.

There was a study done by Merrill Lunch and Age Wave in 2013 that really got my attention. They asked people before they retired “what will you miss the most when you retire?” the number one answer (38%) was reliable income. When they asked people that have already retired “what they miss most after they retired?” the number one answer (65%) was the social aspects and mental stimulation of work.

If you have already retired and are reading this I think the answer lies in finding something meaningful to be involved in that challenges you and keeps you mentally engaged. If you have not retired and are reading this, I think the answer is to not be in hurry to reach a destination, rather be completely in the moments of your life.

I know one person who retired and literally when home and got in a recliner and ceased to live an active life. It did not turn out well for that person. Retirement can be a beautiful thing if it is planned for in advanced. I am told that of all the life changes, retirement can be the most difficult to adjust to.

It is like driving down a road we all have to go down. Some people pull off early and some pull off late but we all have pull off at some point. I am guessing it is everyone’s choice to achieve retirement age because the opposite is to not to live long enough.

I suppose the point I am making is that regardless of the life stage you are in, recognize how very special life is and never take a day or a sunrise for granted. Never miss an opportunity to share a kind word or an uplifting compliment or make a positive impression on those around you. Use your opportunity to leave a legacy for your family and friends because that can only be done while you are among the living. KT

PS: if you want to watch a good movie about living long and strong, watch the movie Secondhand Lions with Robert Duvall and Michael Caine.

Something to do, someone to love and something to hope for.

Alexander Chalmers lived from 1759 to 1834 and was educated as a doctor but left the profession to become a journalist. He wrote extensively and the above statement is attributed to him.

We all could point fingers and make additions or subtractions to this statement but in the most general sense, this statement is pretty correct. Yes, it would be good if it had a little gospel in it but for the most part, it is accurate.

Let’s break it down. Something to do, means some meaningful work or volunteer effort that engages our minds in a purpose. Someone to love, means having people in your life that you love, cherish, want and need to spend time with. We all need people in our life that we can trust and that love us back. Something to hope for, means we need something to look forward to in our life and it is that hope that is essential for the enjoyment of life. People who commit suicide have usually lost hope in their life.

In my personal opinion, Hope for the future is one of the most important emotions we will ever have or ever experience. Hope is the will inside of us to see a future and to have the expectation, desire and plans for that future. It is what drives you to get through today and look forward to tomorrow. I know that sounded a little churchy but I want to say it again. Hope is the will inside of us to see a future and to have the expectation, desire and plans for that future. It is what drives you to get through today and look forward to tomorrow.

So the advice is to always have something to do that interests you, someone to love who needs you and something to hope for that moves you. KT

There is a state park in Georgia called Vogel State Park which is located in the north Georgia mountains. When Elaine and I started dating, her family would go camping every 4^th of July week. Early in our marriage we started going as well and would spend the week with 15-20 other families that would go the same time and we all became very close friends. Many times we would only see our our camping friends at Vogel. All of our kids grew up knowing each other and we all developed deep friendships during the annual camping trips at Vogel.

15 years ago all these families got together and decided to bury a time capsule under home plate at the Vogel ball field. We are supposed to open the capsule this coming Monday July the 4^th 2016. The idea at the time was to bury a time capsule that hopefully many of us would still be alive to see it opened.

What is really humbling is that I can remember standing on the ball field 15 years ago with my family like it was yesterday. At the time, my oldest daughter was a junior in high school and my youngest was in the 9^th grade and Elaine and I were in our early 40’s. Now 15 years later my two daughters have graduated high school, graduated college, gotten married, got jobs and we have two little granddaughters. All this has happened in what I would consider a blink of an eye.

Many of our friends that were there 15 years ago will not be there Monday because of life changes, moves, and in some cases, they have passed away. When we open the capsule and take out the pictures, writings and notes it will be a humbling moment. I believe I remember writing some meaningful things for my daughters to have should I not be there 15 years later. What a thought.

I suppose the point is to look at each day for what it really is. It is a moment in time that you will never have again. Hopefully you will have similar days but never a day exactly like today. If you miss the opportunities today, you may never get another chance. If you forget today to tell your loved ones that you love them, you may not have tomorrow. Look at each day and make a decision to fully be in that day and to fully be in those moments. The older you get, the years go by before you even know it and you look up and realize 15 of them have somehow slipped by.

Use your moments and your days to be all you can be for your family. There will come a day when you and I will no longer will be here to give advice on life issues and to hug them and tell them we love them. When that happens all they will have is the memories of you and what you did with your life. The bible says to make your election and calling sure. My main calling is not to be a salesman. My main calling is to be a husband, father, daddy and grandparent. Those are the only life titles that I care about and the only titles that will stand the test of time. KT

Sometimes the best people are not chosen first. Has that ever happened to you? Many times people are overlooked because of the opinions of “other” people.

I want to tell you a little football story:

There are only three NFL quarterbacks that have won 4 Super Bowls. Joe Montana, Tom Brady and Terry Bradshaw. Terry Bradshaw was the 1st round draft pick and won 4 super bowls with the Pittsburg Steelers. He lived up all the expectations of the experts. With Terry, the experts got it right.

Joe Montana was the 82^nd draft pick and won 4 super bowls for the San Francisco 49ers and Tom Brady was the 199^th draft pick and has won (still playing today) 4 super bowls for the New England Patriots. These are the only 3 quarterbacks to have won 4 super bowls in the history of the NFL.

I want to focus on Joe Montana and Tom Brady. Experts considered Joe Montana to be too small, too slow and couldn’t throw the ball very far and was viewed as weak and frail. Joe Montana’s real gift was the calming effect he had in the huddle. He had a way about himself that relaxed his players when they got stressed. He was said to have been one of the best ever at reading a defense and he just worked harder than everyone else. It wasn’t his skill that made him one of the greats in football, rather it was his hard work and how he studied the game that enabled him to quickly read a defense and adjust his offensive play.

The experts said Tom Brady had slow foot speed, too skinny, had a weak arm and couldn’t throw a tight spiral. Before he retires, Tom Brady (38 years old) may set the record for the longest successful football career of all time. His slow foot speed forced him to be a pocket passer. Not an easy thing to do. He worked hard to develop the quick release he is known for. Since he was slow, he had learn how to be the best at taking a snap and getting planted in the throw position quicker than his competitors. It was this focus he learned that overcame his other faults and enabled him to lead a team to the Super Bowl 6 times, which is more than any other quarterback in the history of the game.

Why am I giving you this football lesson? It is simply that we should never rely on the “experts” to determine our self-worth. Additionally, never let other people dictate our limits of success. Joe Montana’s real gift was reading the defense and keeping his guys calm. Tom Brady’s real gift was staying in the pocket and releasing the ball quicker than anyone else. When you step back from this and really look at it, many times it is the small overlooked and seemly insignificant things that make the person great. By all standards of perceived greatness and ability, Joe Montana and Tom Brady should never have been NFL quarterbacks. They were too slow and weak and simply did not have the skill set to be great quarterbacks. It is the small details and the small abilities that can make all the difference.

Don’t let anyone limit you and tell you what you can become. That’s up to you, not them. KT