Living Your Life Using The ROAR Principle

The global pandemic has awakened people of all ages to just how fragile and finite life can be. This reality likely disproportionately impacted midlife individuals. Because, midlife is a pivotal time to assess career goals, relationships, and lifestyles, to challenge ideals set earlier in life.

“So many people I’ve talked to have no idea where they are going or want to go once they hit their mid-forties,” shares Michael Clinton, author of the new book, ROAR into the Second Half of Your Life - Before It’s Too Late.

These past 1-1/2 years, often called “The Great Pause,” has made us ask:

What is important in my life?
Am I on a path that is satisfying?
Do I have a lot of unlived moments that cause me regrets?
Do I have a clear view of my future and what I truly want?

If you’ve asked yourself these questions, it’s time to ROAR proclaims Michael. ROAR is his new concept that is simple, understandable and can be followed by anyone willing to follow the ROAR principles:

Reimagine yourself

Own who you are

Act on what’s next

Reassess your relationships to get you there

“To ROAR is to contradict and challenge all of what you thought about getting older, to have the imagination, the self-awareness, and the self-confidence to start anew,” explains Michael. “It doesn’t matter where you come from or what your life has been like up until this point, with courageous thinking and a bold vision, you can source unlimited opportunities,” he adds.

In his book, Michael demonstrates the ROAR principles through his own examples, along with tips, resources and true stories from over forty people who didn’t let their age or other setbacks stop them.

Read this wise, instructive and insightful, must-have playbook. This guide for making the second half of your life the best it can be is incredibly timely.

Michael Clinton

Today, Michael shares these additional insights with us:

Question: Had the pandemic not caused "The Great Pause," what percentage of people do you believe would not have engaged in the self-reflection you mention in the book?

Michael: The phenomena of so many people reflecting on their second half was already happening, The Great Pause only added fuel to it...amplifying the sense of urgency to address it. Like many things brought on by the pandemic, it put a sharper focus on the need for a plan!

Question: Life layering is intriguing. Why is it so important within the realm of ROAR?

Michael: When you add the life layering concept into your life, I like to say that it builds a big, delicious cake that represents the richness of a life well created. The key is to always cultivate an established layer, then add another one and cultivate both of them and a third one and cultivate all three of them. You'll find that you will create a constant state of the ROAR concept...always reimagining, owning your new pursuits, acting on them with a plan and reassessing the world around you to get those new layers in place.

Question: How do you recommend readers in each of these three age groups engage most effectively with the book – readers in their 30's, 40's and 60's?

Michael: For those in their 30's, they get a great head start on what a reimagined life might look like for them. They get to hear the wisdom of the 40 people interviewed who have already made major changes in their lives.

For those in their 40's, they are at the point where they are ready to act on a new plan, whether it is career, lifestyle or personal. They are at the cusp of the second half.

For those in their 60's, they will be inspired that it is never too late. The inspiration of ROAR is that fighting self-imposed ageism is the path to take. At 60, you can start a new career that will last for 20 years, launch a business, create a new lifestyle or relationship. If you are 60 and healthy, you may live another 30 years! That's a lot of living with great potential.

Michael Clinton is the former President and Publishing Director of Hearst Magazines and is currently the special media advisor to the CEO of the Hearst Corporation. He is also a writer and photographer who has traveled to over 120 countries and has run marathons on seven continents. He has appeared in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Town and Country, O, the Oprah Magazine and other national media. Clinton is the Founder of Circle of Generosity, a nonprofit that grants random acts of kindness to those in need and serves on multiple nonprofit boards.

You can follow Michael at @maclinton on Twitter and @macglobetrotter on Instagram.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

Seven Ways To Stay Motivated

To learn how to stay motivated, read High-Profit Prospecting , by Mark Hunter . It's a powerful read that includes counterintuitive advice and cutting-edge best practices for sales prospecting in today's business world. Today, I share one of my favorite sections of the book where Hunter describes his seven things motivated people do to stay motivated : Motivated people ignore voices in their lives . These might be people in the office and friends who have bad attitudes. They're out there, and if you're not careful, they'll control you, too. Motivated people associate with highly motivated people . Just as there are negative people in the world, there are also positive people. Your job is to make sure you spend as much time with the positive people as possible. Motivated people simply look for the positive in things . Positive people count it an honor to live each day, learn from others, and impact positively those they meet. Positive people take...

29 People Who Taught Us Life Lessons In Courage, Integrity And Leadership

The 29 profiles you will read in Robert L. Dilenschneider’s new book, Character , are about people who are exceptional exemplars of character. They’re inspirational because they used their abilities at their highest levels to work for causes they believed in. Because of character, they influenced the world for good. The dictionary defines “character” as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual, the distinctive nature of something, the quality of being individual in an interesting or unusual way, strength and originality in a person’s nature, and a person’s good reputation. “But beyond these definitions, we know that character is manifested in leadership, innovation, resilience, change, courage, loyalty, breaking barriers, and more,” explains Robert (Bob), “Character drives the best traits in our society, such as honesty, integrity, leadership, and transparency, and it drives others to exhibit those qualities.” Profiled in the book ar...

How To Be A More Human Leader

“To be most effective in today’s environment, leaders must be human leaders. Human leaders must be able to lead not only with their heads but also with their hearts and souls,” says veteran executive coach Hortense le Gentil , author of the book, The Unlocked Leader: Dare to Free Your Own Voice, Lead with Empathy, and Shine Your Light in the World . She adds, “In addition to being respected, seen, and valued, employees also seek leaders who feel human, not distant and perfect beings with whom they can’t connect.” Additionally, leaders need to put the collective interest before their own and work hard to make other people’s good ideas happen. “And although the book focuses on leadership at work, each of us is a complete individual, not a sum of separate, isolated parts. As such, the process presented in the book applies to all areas of your life,” shares the author. She further explains that becoming a human leader is a journey, not a desti...

Important Questions To Ask Your New Hires

In Paul Falcone ’s book, 75 Ways For Managers To Hire, Develop And Keep Great Employees , he recommends asking new employees the following questions 30, 60 and 90 days after they were hired: 30-Day One-on-One Follow-Up Questions Why do you think we selected you as an employee? What do you like about the job and the organization so far? What’s been going well? What are the highlights of your experiences so far? Why? Tell me what you don’t understand about your job and about our organization now that you’ve had a month to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Have you faced any unforeseen surprises since joining us that you weren’t expecting? 60-Day One-on-One Follow-Up Questions Do you have enough, too much or too little time to do your work? Do you have access to the appropriate tools and resources? Do you feel you have been sufficiently trained in all aspects of your job to perform at a high level? How do you see your job relating to the organi...

Leading Business Transformation That Lasts

David Shaner's compelling, The Seven Arts of Change , shows business leaders that transforming a business only happens when each employee equates organizational change with the process of deep personal growth. "The bottom line is that, despite how technological and automated organizations have become, at their core they remain a collection of human energies that are merely being applied in an organized environment," explains Shaner. "Resurrecting and guiding that human core of your organization is the secret to leading and sustaining change," he adds. Shaner pulls from his vast professional and personal experiences, including having been a member of the Olympic Valley USA Ski Team and a former Harvard University teacher, to lay out a seven-part "spiritual guide" for change: The Art of Preparation (Assessment) The Art of Compassion (Participation) The Art of Responsibility (Accountability) The Art of Relaxation (Clarity, Focus, Visibility)...

Chick-fil-A Serves Up 11 Leaders On May 6

On May 6 , the quick-service chicken restaurant chain, Chick-fil-A will serve up more than chicken. Because, that's the day when the chain's President and COO Dan Cathy brings together 10 influential leaders during a one-day leadership " Leadercast " available at hundreds of locations around the U.S. and overseas. "We desire to influence leaders at every level within an organziation. Whether you are leading a team of 2,000 or just yourself, the Chick-fil-A Leadercast is designed to help you use your voice to create positive change," explains the organization. I am a big fan of Chick-fil-A because of its customer service. It is also known as a company that has built its success on core values and its focus on developing leaders . I also like that employees respond with "my pleasure" instead of "no problem" when customers say "thank you." Chick-fil-A says leaders can express themselves with five voices (described below i...

Looking Back: Best New Leadership Book Of 2016

Flashback to 2016... After reading nearly 30 new books about leadership this past year, my pick for 2016's best new leadership book is, Mastering the Challenges of Leading Change , by H. James Dallas . Technically, the book came out in the fall of 2015, but gained its popularity and momentum in 2016, hence my selection as my 2016 pick. Virtually every business is undergoing change. And, one of the most difficult things for a leader to do is to successfully lead a change initiative. And, change is what most employees fear most. That's why, says Brown that on average nearly 75 percent of change initiatives fail. What's more... When the rate of external change exceeds the rate of internal change, the end is in sight. Fortunately, Brown has written what I consider to be one of the most straight-forward, practical and timely books on how to lead a transition through change effectively. H. James Dallas More specifically, Brown covers much more than tasks, timing and te...

Be A Visible Leader

If you are a manager in a small business or not so large department, it's probably easy for you to be visible to your employees and co-workers. If you manage a large business, department or organization , you'll want to make a conscious effort to be visible. Don't spend your days behind closed doors or constantly in meetings. Walk around. Make conversation with your team members. It's important that you maintain visibility with your employees. That also means associating with employees at all levels. Don't limit your time for only your direct reports. The benefits for your employees are that they get to know you better and feel that you are more in tune with what's going on. The benefits to you are that you'll build a stronger rapport with your team, and you'll undoubtedly hear about good things and bad things through casual conversation that you would have missed if you had been less visible.

How to Be a Leader – 9 Principles from Dale Carnegie

Today, I welcome thought-leader Nathan Magnuson as guest blogger... Nathan writes : This is it, your first day in a formal leadership role. You’ve worked hard as an individual contributor at one or possibly several organizations. Now management has finally seen fit to promote you into a position as one of their own: a supervisor. You don’t care if your new team is only one person or ten, you’re just excited that now – finally – you will be in charge! Unfortunately the euphoria is short-lived. Almost immediately, you are not only overwhelmed with the responsibilities of a team, but you quickly find that your team members are not as experienced or adroit as you. Some aren’t even as committed. You find yourself having to repeat yourself, send their work back for corrections, and staying late to fill the gap. If something doesn’t change soon, you might just run yourself into the ground. How did something that looked so easy ...

Why Your Middle Managers Are So Important

The book, Power To The Middle , shows how managers are the crucial link between a company’s ground floor and top brass. “Too often company leaders view middle managers in a negative light as expendable employees who can slow down productivity and overall strategy,” explain the book’s authors and McKinsey partners Bill Schaninger , Bryan Hancock , and Emily Field . “However, new KcKinsey research reveals that this outdated perspective needs to change and that well-developed managers are the strategy that companies must prioritize to succeed today,” they add. Most importantly, by the end of their book, the authors sum up their insights and provide a playbook that will help senior leaders let go of the command-and-control mindset that has hobbled their managers for so long. The authors define middle managers as the people who are at least once removed from the front line and at least a layer below the senior lead...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog