Bob Buford shows Half Time of life is perfect chance to reassess priorities: Bird Lovegod

Here we can decide what to do in the second half, how to live, and what to attempt. Do we continue in a gradual decline, or do we initiate something new, and in doing so, have a second half quite different to the first?

To distill the book into a single phrase; First half success, second half significance.

I'm wondering what has more value to us, success as the world defines it, or significance? And how do we personally define significance?

When we think of success, especially in a business context, we tend to conjure up images of money, wealth, family, holidays, big house, silly car, and so on.

It’s all about goals, winning deals, climbing career ladders, promotions, growth, rewards, and so on. These identifiers of success, which may or may not be authentic, drive the efforts of the first half.

The book goes on to explain how the second half should, ideally, not be like this.

The second half is a time for altruism, deeper meaning, social impacts, humanitarian works, and rather than a focus on the cliched markers of success, it instead is measured by the deeper line of significance.

Success tends to be about oneself. Significance is about others. Success is short lived. Significance endures. Success is about ownership and acquisition, significance is about giving.

A couple of points to add in here. Firstly, one can move into the second half at any time, it’s not an alternative to a mid-life crisis, although it may be the answer to one.

Secondly, it can be a gradual transition, and perhaps needs to be, for practical reasons.

But as a concept, a clue as to how to actually live in the world, I think it’s relevant and applicable. I find myself chewing on a half time orange, and considering the second half, and what that should look like.

Sometimes it’s helpful to take a break from doing, and even whilst still doing it, consider why, and if one is still on the path of one's own choosing, to assess one's own motivation, and desires, to make sure one isn't cruising along on auto pilot waiting for the end of the road to come into sight before realising you’ve been asleep at the wheel for the last few decades.

The search for significance is also inherent in us, I think. To achieve something meaningful beyond the scope of our families and jobs. To have significance, positive impact.

The author of the book had experienced a dire tragedy, the death of his only son, aged 21, and I think perhaps this was part of his own need to live a life of significance to others, to help raise more lives. Having an encounter or close encounter with death can do that, should do that, should awaken our sense of shortness of time. We are the sand in the glass and before we know it half has gone and we realise the glass itself is fragile and can be broken at any moment and the game finished. Significance. This is what we truly seek.

Bird Lovegod is MD of Ethical Much