Posted: Aug 1, 08 12:15pm

For those of you who have had the pleasure of reading Mr. Buffett's bestseller, you know that he shared with his fans his thoughts on his life and luck just prior to turning the big five-oh.

I turned fifty a few years ago and I have been pondering life and living. Mine has been a robust life and this year's trip around the sun has been pretty good so far. I am working on getting my words down on paper (does anybody do that anymore? or do we get words down digitally?) with several writing projects important to me. Some fiction, some not.

I digress. The point of this discussion is twofold: what is the one thing you really want to accomplish after you hit fifty and what was your single best accomplishment before you hit fifty? If you have not reached this milestone, share your thoughts anyway where ever you are on the yardstick of time.

I'll go first.

Wish to accomplish now that I am past fifty: I want to get my novel finished. Not necessarily published (I don't control that), but at least get it done. So far I have written millions of words for clients and employers -- but never seem to get my words for me complete. I was published in a couple of periodicals here and there (including, I say with great pride, Rolling Stone Magazine) but I want to wrap up my several planned novels. (on my profile I note I am working on my second novel; I gave up on my first!)

That I accomplished before I was fifty: I was a blue water sailor and I cruised the South China Sea to Hong Kong. Nothing like the salty air and motion of the ocean. It was an adventure that still resonates in the core of my soul. The people and places I touched are with me now -- even though decades of time and thousands of miles separate me from that memory.