Me, without words? How could this be? I talk, coach and write for a living and for fun and in all my days I’ve never been short on words but… as stand on the precipice of my next 5o years, I am a bit speechless, well almost.

I’d like to say my life is exactly as I would want it to be at this juncture but that would be an overstatement. I’d like to say that I have a clear set of goals and dreams, both personal and professional for the next 50 years but that too would be an overstatement.

Over the last 6 months, on the run up to 50,  I’ve organically and I think healthily spent some quiet time checking in with myself and doing a bit of personal inventory. The intention has been to get an honest sense for where I am at in order to gain some perspective on what my life up to this point has been about and more importantly, to identify what I hunger for in the next chapter and what the path of continued growth looks like moving forward.

What I’ve come up with  (as one might expect) is a mixed bag. The bag is filled with copious amounts of radically rich joyful experiences, sweet loves, love losses, meaningful life-long friendships, a long list of daunting trials, some almost knock out punches most of which I could have never predicted at 20, 30, or 40 and… plenty of mistakes.

In a non-linear fashion for the sake of open hearted disclosure and more importantly, to perhaps share a sliver of insight, here are some things I remembered through my introspection that I think are worth sharing.

1. Hope lies in connecting
2. God, however you think of her, is much, much bigger and better than we imagine
3. Being of service is central to a satisfying life
4. Dance whenever you can and there is no such thing as a bad dancer
5. Notice whose around you when you’re down and there are the people that love you the most
6. When in doubt pick up the phone and call
7. Our wounds really are the places where the light gets in
8. If someone likes kids, puppies and nature they are probably a really good person
9. There is great honor and value in admitting when you’ve made a mistake and then trying to do better in the future
10. Hold hands
11. Home cooked meals, as a general rule, are way more nourishing than the food you get at a restaurant
12. Don’t judge, you never have all the information you need to really know
13. Love is the best stuff on the planet
14. Sing out loud often
15. Walk barefooted in nature when you can
16. Be less concerned about what you want from life and more concerned about what life is asking of you
17. Always do your best
18. It’s ok to cry
19. It’s ok to be mad
20. Forgive often
21. Exercise daily
22. Never, ever give up
23. Live with love

So dear fiends do what you will with my incomplete list. Thanks to each of you who have touched me directly and thanks to each of you who do your best to make the planet better which eventually touches me directly as well. Know that you are loved, appreciated and worthy as you are.

Friendship, Strength and Honor,

Spike D.