2011: The Year of the 40

I'm not the the big bottles of beer people drink in the ghetto, but the year I turn 40. Most people either hide the fact they are 40, or dread it. Me, I'm excited about it. At 40, I still feel like I am 17 years physically. With certainty, I am in better shape and healthier than I was in my 20's. Not many 40 years olds can play and work at the pace I do. They don't have the opportunities I do. It is sad how many folks have let themselved deteriorate to where they are haggard and tired at only the halfway point in their lives.

Being healthy and happy at 40 is a big deal to me. My father and several uncles died of perfectly avoidable health issues way before their time, leaving many loved ones greaving. My son will only be 3 years old when I turn 40. I want him to have some time with his old man, an opportunity I was not afforded. Most importantly, I have seen too many people work hard their whole lives, run themselves into the ground with terrible eating, drinking and sleeping habits, compounded by the stress caused by chasing the "American Dream", where in the end they never get to enjoy their lives. It is sad, sad, sad! In the last 10 years of my life, I have attempted to change the paradigm for myself.

On my birthday, March 12, 2o11, I will reveal the 40 Adventures at 40. This will be 40 things adventures risked, skills acquired, fun had, habits altered and goals accomplished between March 12, 2011 and March 12, 2012. It will be on this blog, posted on Facebook and shared with anyone else who cares. I hope it will push me to sharpen myself, keep me strong, build relationships, teach me a few lessons, and prepare myself for a happy second half of life. If successful, I hope it will serve as an example many people approaching (or has already approached) this point in their life.

Plus, it will make me update this blog every once in a while!