Larry Freeborg
Larry Freeborg is a life transition coach and inspirational speaker focused on working with people in the “Bonus Years” of their lives. His unique experiences working with businesses in strategic planning, business development (marketing & sales), leadership and personal development are blended with his training in life coaching, equine guided coaching, and his personal experiences with loss to form the foundation of his coaching practice, Living The Good Life on Purpose. Larry is available for speaking engagements with his popular “Refire, Don’t Retire!” and “Life Purpose Primer” programs. Contact Larry at larry@steppingthroughthegate.com
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Five Choices to Make Today to Live Your Life On Purpose
To live life “On Purpose” is to fully utilize your natural gifts and talents to earn necessary income, contribute to your community, and become an active player in the lives of your children and grandchildren. Anyone with a desire to live a more fulfilling, satisfying life at any age can start today by making 5 simple choices. 1. Choose to succeed in your naturally gifted and talented areas. Most of us were taught that the path to success is to learn a specific set of skills, get a good job using those skills, work in that job for thirty or more years, and then retire from the need for those…
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Jack of All Trades, Master of None
When I was 27 I received some excellent advice which I’ve been following throughout my career. One evening a fellow Toastmaster announced he had just been promoted to be the plant manager of a major manufacturing plant in the city I worked in. After the meeting I went up to congratulate him on his success and found the courage to ask him ”What do you attribute your success to?” His response has stuck with me to this day. He said, “You know Larry, I’m not a very smart guy. In fact I didn’t finish high school. Oh, eventually I got my GED when I was in the service, and…
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A New Kind of Hero to Guide Us
As kids, we are taught to look up to the heroes in our community such as the police officers and firefighters who keep us safe. Some of us also immersed ourselves in the world of comic book superheroes – characters with superhuman powers who always managed to do the right thing and come out on top. Today’s post is about a new kind of role model: the “Bonus Years” Hero. What’s a “Bonus Years” Hero? Over the years, I’ve met people in their 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s who are vibrant, alive, and doing interesting things. In spite of – or perhaps because of – the wisdom in their years, they…
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Do You Want to Work for More Than Just a Paycheck? Here’s How.
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Excerpt from The Summer Day by Mary Oliver We are always at choice, including the decision we make about earning an income for ourselves and those who depend on us. When making a choice about how to create your livelihood, I encourage you to ask yourself: What are the possibilities for my one life given that there aren’t any “do overs”? Do I want to do work that will leave me feeling satisfied and fulfilled? Since I am always at choice, what do I want to create for my life beyond simply the…
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Five Steps to a Rock Solid Business Foundation for Solo Entrepreneurs
“An accurate plan poorly implemented is more successful and effective than a vague or generic plan implemented with brilliant precision.” — Author unknown Just about everyone in the business world agrees that planning is important and has some value. Before you can decide on an approach to planning, however, it’s important to think about who is asking you for your plan and what purpose it will serve. For Example: If a loan officer at the bank asks to see your plan, he is primarily interested in reviewing your financial projections to make sure you can repay your debt. If a venture capitalist asks to see your plan, she is…
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Stepping Through the Gate to Your New Life
“I always wanted to get into another field where I knew I would be more fulfilled but for some reason I was never able to get past the gate. You empowered me to step through the gate to get to the other side so I could have a more fulfilling and satisfied life.” — comment from a client at the conclusion of an equine-guided coaching session with me For today’s post, I invite you to go on a journey of the mind with me. Imagine yourself standing in the middle of an arid, earthen-colored and perfectly ordinary field. As far as the eye can see, the land is flat, scrubby,…
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Let Horses Be Your Guide
When I first started working as a business development specialist, there were two primary areas that I focused my efforts on: 1) helping people get clear about what they wanted to create and 2) helping them take the actions necessary to create results. By applying problem-solving facilitation techniques, I quickly realized that I could help most people get clear about what they wanted to do, but when it came to implementation many people simply did not have the body for action. With this in mind, I began my search for a better way to help people eliminate the friction of inaction that holds them back. I decided to learn…
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Selling 101: People Do Things for Their Reasons, Not Yours
Whether you recognize it or not, you are in sales. In our day-to-day lives, we are all selling in some way. If this notion conjures up negative feelings or discomfort for you, you might be confusing selling with manipulating. Selling does not mean getting someone to buy or do something that isn’t a good fit. Selling means being aware of what is important to the customer. Selling is helping people make the best choice based on what our service or offering will do for them and expressing these benefits in a way that resonates with the person we are helping. As a business consultant and coach, I have found that people new to…
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Check For the Smile in Their Eyes
Taking Volunteerism to New Heights: Bonus Years Hero Joanne Miller When I think of my new friend Joanne Miller, aged 77 years, the three words that come to mind are service, energy and clarity. She is the walking, talking image of the ideas that I share at my “Refire Don’t Retire” talks, and I thought it would be a wonderful idea to feature Joanne in today’s blog post, the second in a series on Bonus Years Heroes. Joanne has been recognized as Volunteer of the Year in Eau Claire, Wisconsin by two organizations since she retired twenty two years ago at 55. The two organizations are Visit Eau Claire and Friends…