“But why do you want to know your second half calling?”

It’s a question I’ve been asking – in so many words– the past 4-5 years as I help men and women figure out their next season of life, their second half calling. The impetus for asking it came from an ongoing conversation I was having with Paul McGinnis, who is currently a certified Halftime coach and the COO of the Halftime Institute. At the time, he was enrolled at the Halftime Institute and I was coaching him.

You see, Paul and I were working on a theory …

The reason behind Halftimers wanting to figure out their second half calling is “discontent”. We landed on that word because when I told Paul that the years leading up to my Halftime experience back in 2005 could best be described as “smoldering discontent,” it resonated deeply with him.

Smoldering discontent.

I can’t think of a better phrase to describe my life from age twenty-five to forty. From the outside looking in, I should have been the happiest guy in the world. A beautiful wife, three healthy kids, a successful management consulting career, a dream home in Colorado, three horses to ride on our property and in the adjacent national forest, a ski house in Breckenridge, and a group of close friends.

But something was still a little “off.” Your situation may be different from mine, but that gnawing feeling of discontent is probably familiar to you.

Something in the back of your mind and deep in your heart that says things aren’t quite right with your life. You do your best not to show it, but you know it is there, despite your practiced routines to hide it—or worse yet, to ignore it.

In my coaching, as I press the subject further with Halftimers, I ask “If you figured out your calling, then what would you hope to experience?” The answers range from peace to fulfillment to contentment, and most often, joy. It was something I was personally getting a glimpse of nine years into my Halftime Journey.

This insight launched me into an analysis of why I was being blessed with this taste of joy.  It also launched me into researching the behaviors and attitudes of Halftimers I had coached over the years who were experiencing it well.

When our relationships get rocky, work becomes a drag, our investments tank, or the kids start misbehaving, happiness evaporates. Joy, on the other hand, continues despite the circumstances.

I believe this type of overarching, all-pervading joy is available to each of us, and I want to share the secrets of experiencing it.

Ultimately, my discovery resulted in a simple book that our founder Bob Buford, our CEO Dean Niewolny, and our Board of Directors kindly encouraged me to write:  The Joy Model: A Step-by-Step Guide to Peace, Purpose, and Balance.  The book is available right now at a pre-launch discount price by clicking here.thejoymodel second half

Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some of The Joy Model with you via email and the Halftime Institute blog. Our mission is to enable more high capacity marketplace leaders to discover their God-given calling and live into it in their second half, to make a contribution of eternal significance, and in the process to disover JOY.

Here are some ways you can dive in more deeply in your JOY discovery:

  • Download the first 4 chapters of The Joy Model for FREE. Click Here.
  • Buy the book and it will ship or download to your e-reader or be ready for audio this Tuesday, Oct 18. Click Here.
  • Check out the Joy Model Blog to read my personal real-time reflections on Joy. Click here.
  • Learn more about the Halftime Fellows Program. Click Here.
  • Learn more about the Halftime One on One Program. Click Here.

Here’s to the joy Christ’s followers are promised!

 

Jeff Spadafora
Jeff Spadafora is a Master Certified Halftime Coach and a Lead Faciliator for The Halftime Institute. He spent 20 years as a leadership and executive development consultant for Fortune 1000 companies such as Ford Motor Company, Easter Seals. Compassion International, Compuware, Domino’s Pizza, Visteon, Northern Trust Bank, and Helene Curtis.

In 2005, Jeff was inspired by Bob Buford’s book Halftime and began his journey of discovering God’s true purpose for his second half. As he worked with his Halftime coach, it became clear that his calling is to help other people discover their calling.

He has coached over 130 men and women through the Halftime Journey and continues to make this a primary part of his ministry. As the leader of The Halftime Institute’s global coaching staff, he is also responsible for recruiting, training, and managing Halftime Certified coaches throughout the world.

Jeff served on the staff leadership team for ten years and was the lead designer of the Halftime curriculum and one of the primary facilitators of workshops for groups of people embarking on the Halftime journey. Jeff also writes and speaks globally about the issues of life purpose, joy, and kingdom impact.

His latest book, The Joy Model: A Step-by-Step Guide to a Life of Peace, Purpose, and Balance, is the result of a decade of personal growth, life coaching, coach leadership and study. WWW.THEJOYMODEL.COM

Jeff lives in Evergreen Colorado with his wife Michelle and has 3 children. He enjoys fishing, hunting, skiing, mountain biking and everything else the great outdoors of Colorado has to offer.

“Too many people focus the better part of their lives on the wrong things: the company’s agenda, other peoples’ ideas of success . . . money. Over time, this leads to frustration and emptiness. True freedom comes as a people discover their God-given design and pour themselves into service for others.” –Jeff Spadafora


Checkout Jeff's Articles:
The “Cowboy” Approach to Your Second Half Just Doesn't Work
What Should I Do With My Life?
I Lost My Heart
A Journey
An Ancient Halftimer

Listen to his podcasts:
Eternal Leadership - Coaches Corner
Eternal Leadership - Smoldering Discontent
Knowledge for Men
Theology of Business
Professional Christian Coaching Today
iWork4Him - Joy and Happiness