Question-Week ending Sunday 06/22/03:
Regardless of your current age, take a moment "if you can" to reflect back when you were between the ages of 50 to 59 years old. How well would you say you took advantage of the Personal Development Opportunities (PDO's) that were within your reach during those years? Please read our Poll Commentary before taking this poll.
Pre-Poll Commentary:
Since I am 53 years old, this will be the last poll in this series that I will be able to participate in as a voter. It's been both fun and educational to reflect back on the PDO's that have crossed my path. I have tried to take advantage of as many PDO's as possible, but several have surely slipped by.
The key is to be able to identify an opportunity while it is occurring. You don't often get a lot of warning when opportunities will present themselves and most of the time you don't have a lot of time to decide on whether to take action or not. One financial opportunity that presented itself when I was in business was an opportunity to purchase another business. My partners and I learned about it on Friday and only had until Sunday to make a decision. There was no time for extensive due diligence. A decision had to be made almost instantly. We decided to move ahead with the purchase and it turned out to be very lucrative. You must trust your gut and wisdom in many cases or lose out on key opportunities.
Retiring from a hectic business career at age 50 has presented many opportunities for me to delve into personal development and meaningful growth at an even accelerated pace than before. Had it not been for diligent planning up to this point in my life, I surely would not have had the opportunity to write about and share my experiences on this website. My hope is that I could inspire others to find meaningful satisfaction in their own lives and begin sharing their experiences to enhance the lives of others. That's quite a high hope.
In this week's poll, we'll be reviewing PDO's in our next age bracket. If in fact these opportunities were available to you when you were 50 to 59 years old, how well did you take advantage of them? Keep in mind this is only a sampling. If you engaged in other similar activities, use them in place of this list when voting.
Educational Opportunities
- Did you seek out opportunities to continue personal development and growth in your life?
- Did you accelerate your reading to probably the highest levels in your life thus far?
- Did you delve into subjects to learn about that were out of your normal range of interests?
- Did you step up your travel for leisure and educate yourself about the places, people and cultures you visited?
Career Opportunities
- Did you take advantage of every opportunity to reach the top of your game in your career?
- Did you begin detailed planning for your transition from a busy career to a soon to be retired but fully satisfied individual?
- Did you keep a database or detailed list of your network of people you interacted with during your career?
Financial Opportunities
- Did hit your financial goals that you should have been setting over the past two decades?
- Were you able to purchase that second vacation home to run away to on the weekends to rejuvenate yourself in quiet splendor?
- Did you have a complete understanding of what it would take to be financially independent soon?
- Did you share your financial resources with others that were less fortunate than you?
Personal Relationship Opportunities
- Were you still enjoying your first loving relationship? Your second or third - or just really enjoying a loving relationship?
- Did you share your resources with your children or others, so that you could make a positive impact on their lives
Health and Well Being
- Did you step up your disciplines on exercise and your well being, knowing that it would have a direct impact on a longer and healthier lifespan?
- Did you become a student of modern medical advances and practice good preventive medicine.
It's never too late to learn more about what's good for you. There's unlimited knowledge at your fingertips today. There's no excuse for ignorance on any topic that can have a direct impact on your happiness and well being. Be proactive, learn, and live life to the fullest!
Let us know in this week's poll, how well you took advantage of those Personal Development Opportunities (PDO's) presented to you when you were between the ages of 50 to 59 years old.
This poll will end on Sunday 06/22/03, when the results will be displayed.
Our polls and commentaries are enjoyed by hundreds of individuals weekly, with previous polls featured in the top ten of search engines like Google and Yahoo.
Results:
- 35% voted taking advantage of 50-59 PDO's Good=85%
- 35% voted taking advantage of 50-59 PDO's Very Good=90%
- 19% voted taking advantage of 50-59 PDO's Excellent=95%
- 12% voted taking advantage of 50-59 PDO's Fair=75%
- 00% voted taking advantage of 50-59 PDO's Poor=65%
Post-Poll Commentary:
At least among our sampling of poll respondents, this age bracket (when 50-59 years old) has fared the most positive with respect to how they took advantage of PDO's during those years.
It's probably safe to assume that as you mature in life, you have a better appreciation of opportunities that come your way. You recognize them quicker and assess their value with greater confidence. That doesn't mean that you will take action all the time, but you may have a higher propensity to take advantage of the more PDO's.
Regardless of your current age, there will always be opportunities presented to you. George Burns was still taking advantage of the opportunities to make movies and perform live before audiences up to age 100.
Make each precious moment count in life. We never get another chance to relive the minute that just passed. Keep searching for PDO's that will enrich your life and make you and your loved one happy. Then take full advantage of those opportunities by executing your well thought out plans.
This poll series will resume on Sunday July 13, 2002