"Finishing Well"

My friend David Oaks recently began sharing a series of email communications entitled "Finishing Well." Here's a portion for your inspiration:

"Think about it...It’s not how you start that defines you. It's how you finish.

According to David, The conventional vision looks like this:

• Work hard.

• Save enough money.

• Retire.

• Do nothing.

Maybe play some golf. Travel a bit. Then fade away.

"That’s not a vision—that’s a cliff edge.

And it’s the exact opposite of a finishing well mindset.

Your fourth quarter isn’t about decline.

"You can start now. Ask yourself:

• What might YOUR Power Quarter look like?

If you could design your most impactful season—the one where everything you’ve learned converges—what would you be doing?

• Who would you be helping?

• What legacy would you be building?

Because here’s what I believe with everything in me:

Your best days aren’t behind you. They’re ahead. And everything you’re experiencing until now? It’s preparation.

"It’s not how you start that defines you. It's how you finish."

That's really powerful thinking, David! I see this Power Quarter being lived out each day as I spend time with a bunch of retired folks who find time to spend their most impactful season building Mobility Carts.

Our Power Quarter Bunch makes the world mobile. They use life skills which they have developed over a long and multi-experienced lifetime. These are men and women who know what truly matters and they express it in their happiness.

Arthur Brooks, author and teacher, gives us 4 daily practices for happiness that are all based on love:

• Take care of your spiritual life, standing in awe of something bigger than yourself

• You need family... the deep, unchosen relationships, nurtured over time.

• Friendship. Real friendship. Not deal friends who are useful, but real friends who are useless. The people to whom you can say, " I don't need you, I just love you!"

• Your work. Creating real value by serving other people.

What does your own Power Quarter look like right now?

Have you settled for passive decline when actually you're just reaching the ultimate era of purpose and contribution? Or, are you dedicating energy to something beyond personal comfort?

Are you growing real friendship by working alongside others as "real friends"—not for status or utility, but for shared camaraderie?

Are you utilizing decades of accumulated skills not for a paycheck, but to create tangible, life-changing value for people in need?

How is retirement going for you?

If you're looking to make your fourth quarter your most impactful season yet, here is how you can get involved today:

• Visit the Shop: Drop by 12 Price Rd, mornings, Monday through Saturday, to see Mobility Cart building in action.

• Lend Your Skills: We need builders, assemblers, communicators, and organizers.

• Sponsor a Cart: Can't join in person? Fund the raw materials for a cart at https://givebutter.com/Lets-Make-the-World-Mobile

Your best days aren't behind you—they're right now!. Join us.

Read more "Finishing Well" from David Oaks on Substack