Giving Back

Stephen and I have been lucky enough to have ad successful businesses leading to a comfortable lifestyle. We have a strong need to ‘give back’ to those less fortunate. The Council on Philanthropy in Kansas City taught us that you should ‘send the elevator back down.’ Although we were active on nonprofit boards while employed full-time, we now have the flexibility to spend more time engaged in charitable endeavors.

We have found that the Destin Charity Wine Auction is an organization that raises money for multiple charities that benefit children in need. By focusing our time, talent and resources behind this one nonprofit, we can leverage our impact. Last weekend was our wine auction that raised over $850K. Our silence on the blog was testimony to the work effort required to make this a successful event. Although exhausted, we feel we tried to make a difference. Where can you give back?

Busy in 'Retirement'

Our friends were visiting last week during their children’s spring break. We loved seeing them since they are truly best friends. However, during their stay, we were constantly excusing ourselves since we had conference calls, wine auction board meetings, and some business or consulting work to complete. At one point, Terry asked if we were not TOO BUSY in our so-called ‘retirement.’

My immediate response was, “No!” Before we sold our main business, we had a rigid schedule from 4:30 am until bedtime daily. The difference is that we now wake up in the morning without an alarm (a true luxury after years of early alarms), and we choose what we want to do each day. Yesterday could have been a day on the computer, but we decided to go for a relaxed lunch with a nice glass of wine. Today, we took a five-mile walk allowing for exercise and ‘together time.’ Every day we decide how we want to spend our time. This truly is an age of choice!