Joseph Campbell likened the Arthurian grail quest to the seeking of an authentic life. I am convinced it's possibility exists at every stage of living and that this fifth stage is where the fruits of every stage can be engaged for one's peak participation... if they are willing to answer their call. It can be a scary, euphoric time.

Having worked more than thirty years as an employee I was now an employer of one. No more supporting others, I was it. No more asking engineering for technical assistance, I was it. No more having publications create manuals and support materials, I was it. "You're It", a favorite game of my youth, had become my career as solitaire. Fourteen years later – some great, some thin – I had flown in enough planes, slept in enough hotels, eaten in enough restaurants, to fold the business.

The Book of Ecclesiastes covers it well. There is a time for everything. It was time for me to move to the next stage, but I knew not what it would be. All I knew for sure was that this one had run its course.

How about you? Did you feel your professional career had come to an end, that there was something else ahead after, but you did not know what? If so, welcome. If not, its important to remember that this model is purely theoretical.

Leading to Segue 6: Realization