Claiming Your Place at the Fire: Living the Second Half of Your Life on Purpose

To claim one's place at the fire means to live ones life on purpose. When we claim our place at the fire, we enter into the circle of vital elders who have been the source of wisdom in society since time immemorial. We do this by courageously reexamining and rediscovering who we are, where we belong, what we care about, and what our life's purpose is.
--from the introduction

If you're in, or about to enter, "the second half of life, " this practical guide will show you how to claim your rightful place among the "new elders"--men and women who "use the second half of life as an empty canvas, a blank page, a hunk of clay to be crafted on purpose." Through inspiring stories and thought-provoking exercises, you'll learn to ask, and answer, four key questions:

Who am I? How do I stoke the wisdom gained in the first half of my life to burn more brightly in the second half?
Where do I belong? What makes a place the right place for me in the second half?
What do I care about? Where do I want to use my gifts and talents in the second half?
What is my purpose? How do I leave a legacy that has real meaning for myself and my loved ones?

This book provides a new model for vital aging. It shows you how to age successfully by living on purpose.


Author: Richard J. Leider, David A. Shapiro
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Published: 09/12/2004
Pages: 168
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781576752975


Award: Independent Publisher Book Awards - Finalist


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 09/06/2004

About the Author
Richard J. Leider is a founding partner of The Inventure Group, a coaching and consulting firm in Minneapolis. A National Certified Career Coach, he has been helping people to discover their life's purpose for more than thirty years.
David A. Shapiro is Education Director of the Northwest Center for Philosophy for Children, a non¬profit organization that brings philosophy and philosophers into the lives of young people through literature, philosophical works, and group activities.
Together Leider and Shapiro have coauthored the bestselling books Repacking Your Bags and Whistle While You Work.