Gerber launches Forward From 50 initiative to help people over 50 to pursue purpose

It has been quite some time since I have done any serious blogging on this platform. That’s because I am focusing my attention on launching a new platform called Forward From 50.

I came up with the idea when talking to a business partner in August 2021. I wanted to do something to put my skills, talent and abilities to work helping other people and to give me a reason to get up in the morning.

You see, I had struggled with purpose for several years. After shutting down my former business, RV Daily Report, in June 2019, I was burned out in my career and felt there were a limited number of options for me to pursue. That began a long, dark period in my life.

Then, during a phone conversation, a friend and business mentor suggested I was not alone. Many people over 50 found themselves forced out of jobs they loved or evaluating their own lives and wondering, “Is this really all there is to life?”

Many people over 50 seem to lack purpose or passion in their lives. That feeling often accelerates as they grow older. Living in a retirement community in Arizona, I see the devastating effect lack of purpose has on people.

They get up in the morning, enjoy in a round of golf, return home to watch television for hours, take a nap and wait for the early-dining specials to kick in around 4 p.m. Then they return home for a few more hours of television or mindless web surfing before turning into bed by 9 p.m.

It’s the same routine day after day.

Is it any wonder that lack of purpose kills men shortly after retirement, often within three years?

That’s why I decided to launch Forward From 50 – to help men and women over the age of 50 to enjoy purposeful lives by pursuing things they are passionate about. That platform will be significantly different from this one. It will include:

• A website with a blog that is already up and running at www.forwardfrom50.com.
• A podcast called Passionate Purpose where I am interviewing people over 50 who are actively pursuing new direction for their lives. The first episode will be released in May 2022.
• An online community of people who will support and encourage each other while offering suggestions on ways to pursue their new purpose.
• Online courses to help people identify a purpose and rekindle the passion they have long suppressed.
• A system to connect people who are experienced in certain areas with people who either want to learn more about that topics or need help to do it themselves.
• A system to help people leave a legacy by sharing their life lessons with generations who follow them.

Think back to your youth and the things you really wanted to do with your life. Yes, it may be too late to become an astronaut, but I suspect there were things that really got you excited. However, well-meaning friends and family members discouraged you from pursuing them because “you can’t make a living doing that.”

Yet, if that’s what God created you to do – and equipped you with the skill, talent and desire to do it – perhaps now is that time to embrace that destiny.

Most people want to leave a legacy by knowing their lives mattered and that they made a difference in the world.

Yet, endless rounds of golf only go so far in bringing joy and happiness for many people. You need a purpose for your life that goes beyond recreation.

Forward From 50 is going to help people rekindle their passions and encourage them to step into an amazing adventure of purpose. It will also connect them with resources to evaluate their lives and seize upon new opportunities.

More importantly, it will introduce people to others over 50 who have changed their lives by pursuing things they’re truly passionate about. People will realize they are not alone and that there is still a lot left for them to accomplish with their lives.

So, I’ll keep the GregGerber.com platform as an active outlet for sharing my faith and offering information to build the faith of others. But, going forward, most of my effort will be spent helping people discover their purpose and pursuing it.

If you’d like to subscribe to my free new weekly newsletter, Moving Forward, you can do so — and download a free copy of my latest book Restore Joy to Your Life: 28 Suggestions for Renewing Your Mind. Moving Forward includes feature stories of people who are pursuing their purpose and other inspirational articles to help you identify yours.

You can it out by clicking here. Don’t worry, if it’s not for you, you can unsubscribe any time.