If our average life expectancy is 79 (U.S. data), then we need to stop thinking about the second half of life the way we do.

You are past the midpoint at 40 (and have already peaked physically in your 30s). The wild ride has hit its apex, and you’re coasting down to the end of the line.

Yet, we act as if the ride will last forever and waste so much of our…

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How much have you changed throughout your life?

I’m not the same person I was in my 20s. Heck, I’m not even the same person I was several years ago.

I’ve noticed that my life seems to change about every 10 years.

• The world changes.

• What I want for my life changes.

• And I pivot, adapt, and grow.

I used to think that was strange. Why couldn’t I choose a pa…

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We just spent two weeks in Mexico in an apartment in Puerto Vallarta. I can confirm what the article below references. No, you cannot flush toilet paper.

The local plumbing rarely supports it. Instead, they usually provide a small trash can in the bathroom for the used paper. You can read the article to learn why this is the case, but I recommend the so…

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Sometimes, experiences are richer when shared with someone else. However, there are times—believe it or not—when an experience is better solo.

But, the worst experiences, hands down, are the ones you avoid because you don’t think you deserve them or feel silly doing them alone.

I can still remember the first time I:

• Watched a movie in a theater alone.

• T…

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17 years ago, I woke up after the usual holiday excess and committed to recovering my health and wellness. I started…

• Lifting weights daily

• Hiking, running, or skiing weekly

• Eating healthier (e.g., cutting out a lot of fast food garbage)

• Maintaining a much better sleep schedule

I lost over 40 lbs and soon felt better than I had in decades. I’m literally str…

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What do you want to achieve in your personal life this year?

Today, I’m asking my career coaching and business coaching clients to brainstorm their goals for 2026. I think it’s a great time to ask you what you want for your life this year, too.

On the one hand, many of us in America are just trying to survive the chaos and uncertainty of what it’s like t…

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I’ve had moments in my life when I was worried about my drinking habits. There was a particularly dark time in my very early 20s when I had kind of given up on things. So, I was drinking a lot. I mean, a lot. Like starting my mornings with vodka and orange juice before going to work.

I had dropped out of college that year, and my close friends were just…

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Here’s some counterintuitive health advice:

DISCLAIMER: This advice isn’t for everyone, of course. Your back issues may be different from mine. I am not a medical professional or a certified trainer. Please consult your doctor before starting any exercise program.

Okay, no…

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And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin’ home, son
And I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then, Dad

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If that sounds like you, you know you can’t keep burning the cand…

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I recently had a fun conversation with about:

• Dealing with empty-nest syndrome

• How your marriage changes in that quiet home

• How parenting evolves as your children become adults

• Career shifts and exciting new opportunities as we grow older

• And more! Check it out below ⬇️

Small Talk

Surviving Empty Nest Syndrome

One minute you’re helicoptering your kid to games and recitals, nagging them about their messy room. Then you look up one day, and they’re gone. An empty bedroom. An empty chair at the dinner table…

Listen now

8 months ago · 13 likes · 3 comments · Jonathan Small

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My focus for the community is holistic empowerment coaching, not just career coaching or business coaching (I al…

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Someone recently posted that “reality felt underwhelming because a perfect video was always one swipe away online.”

I’m sorry, but I couldn’t disagree more, since I have experienced the opposite. I am increasingly bored with all the fake, over-edited stuff (don’t get me started on AI crap). It’s made me crave more real-world experiences.

The more I expl…

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How often do marriages end in divorce? Well, the statistics show us that:

• 43% of first marriages end in divorce

• 60% of second marriages

• 73% of third marriages

Given these horrific failure rates, you might think we would help young people navi…

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Even as a child, this is what I wanted. A small, simple, cozy cabin in the woods.

It is what I envisioned as my final destination when I eventually escaped the hustle and bustle of modern society. No more noise, commotion, and …

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Four people stood next to me, looking at my bare backside.

That’s the last thing I remember before drifting off to dreamland when the anesthesiologist pushed the plunger that fed into my IV. This would be my third colonoscopy in the last 10 years.

Why so many tests?

Well, 10 years ago, a surgeon found a precancerous tumor during my very first colonoscop…

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Spending time with the dead reminds me to live.

I was recently exploring a cemetery in Alaska. Some deaths dated back to the early 1900s. It got me thinking about their lives. Thinking about the worries they must have felt (that no longer matter at all). Now, they are just a few words on fading tombstones.

It was a reset moment for me. A poignant reminde…

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It was a cool, gray morning the other day. I knew moments like that wouldn’t last much longer. I can sense the looming change of season that will be here all too soon.

So, I’ve been enjoying my morning journaling and hot coffee while the season still permits. All too soon, my mornings on the deck will no longer be possible. I live in Northern California…

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Seeking perfection is a fool’s errand.

The ideal does not exist in reality. Yet, people can’t stop trying to find it.

When I was a boy, I remember daydreaming about creating the perfect life, pursuing the best career, and finding my ideal home. I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy at that age, which didn’t help. My mind was full of wild possibili…

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This is my “Why.” What is yours?

Having a family like this is the life I dreamed of having when I was a young man. They are why I worked so hard to finish my Ph.D. in the months leading up to the birth of our first child.

Why I worked so hard to build my first business when we had two little ones to keep happy, healthy, and safe. Why I swallowed my pride…

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