Co-authoring two recent books and tag teaming on leadership, coaching, and life posts with my friend and colleague Will Keiper has been a major factor in my decision not to retire from my career, just yet.
I was all set to watch sports, play my guitar and laze around with family for a “living” when I reached out to Will to get his approval to use a part of one of his (now 10) books in my online coaching school.
Reconnecting with him had a powerfully energizing effect on me.
Although I myself had slowed down quite a bit getting into my 70s (“Who wouldn’t?” I thought), Will had not. He had the same eager passion for learning and research and spoke about his new ideas with the same enthusiasm and energy he’d had decades ago. Only his birth certificate would tell you he was “older.” His life force was and is that of an eager and ambitious 20-year-old.
After he sent me his manuscript for Untethered Aging, I became inspired by it. And by him.
So after a number of talks we decided to up the ante and write, together, an even more motivational book on creative aging called The Well-Being Bucket List. By that time, I was now as enthusiastic as he was about what we could do and who we could be in our later years of life.
Here are some of Will Keiper’s words from that book, to give you an idea of where he comes from: “If you are 75 and look ahead to turning 95, you have twenty years of opportunity to both do, and reflect. Another option would be to watch TV and simply wait for the years tick by to 95. Then what? Regrets, rather than celebrating your active enjoyment of those 20 years and the contributions made and wisdom acquired? It is all about perspective and believing that you are not winding down or checking out because you are 55 or 82. You have a life ahead that can count for something if you set the course. It does not have to be deep or complicated. It just has to be your own purposeful creation.”
These days Will is helping other people live into their full possibilities, no matter what age they are. His long background as a business leader and consultant gives him the depth and savvy to immediately relate to the problems people have running organizations, or just running their lives and careers. With him, there is no such thing as “stuck.
Unlike many other coaches, consultants, and teachers I know who hesitate to describe what it is they actually do for a living, when I asked Will about his work he said without hesitation, “I am an intuitive leader, coach, teacher, and transformational catalyst I love engaging in powerfully actionable breakthrough conversations with the committed. I love that I will absolutely, positively, co-create value every time.”
When you have experienced his impact as I have, you’ll know that his offer is nothing but the Truth.
[We also co-authored The Leader and The Coach: The Art of Humanity in Leadership]
#leadership #leadershipcoaching #businesscoach #coachingleaders #leadershipdevelopment #executivecoaching #leaderascoach
