# The Fourth Quarter of Your Life  ## Metadata - Author: [[Allen Hunt and Matthew Kelly]] - Full Title: The Fourth Quarter of Your Life - Category: #books ## Highlights - Self-deception, avoidance, and denial lead to fourth quarter fumbles that can make the whole difference. TWO OF THE BIGGEST FOURTH QUARTER FUMBLES ARE: 1. Denying natural limitations. 2. Pretending that our self-made faults are natural limitations. ([Location 80](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=80)) - THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRACTICAL GUIDE IS TO HELP YOU… • Live the fourth quarter based on proven life principles • Clearly establish meaning and direction for your life • Develop the clarity necessary to make good decisions • Identify your hopes and dreams • Establish what you need and want most at this time in your life • Learn to say no ([Location 87](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=87)) - Intentionality is the key to successful fourth quarter living. People don’t accidentally age gracefully. People don’t accidentally die peacefully. And people don’t accidentally leave behind legacies of hope, love, and encouragement. ([Location 99](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=99)) - It is time to sift the vital few from the trivial many. It is time to discern what matters most. It is time to dedicate ourselves to what is essential. ([Location 104](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=104)) - Whether you are sixteen or sixty, the rest of your life is ahead of you. You cannot change one moment of your past, but you can change your whole future. Now is your time. THE RHYTHM OF LIFE ([Location 106](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=106)) - How long will you live? We ran through some life expectancy averages in the introduction. They are helpful because they drive intentionality. It’s helpful to have a sense of where you are in the journey. But nobody is promised tomorrow. ([Location 116](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=116)) - HOW LONG DO YOU HAVE LEFT? The greatest predictor for most people is the age their parents passed. How old were your parents when they died? If your parents are still living, how old are they? How old were your grandparents when they died? ([Location 119](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=119)) - Make time for prayer and reflection as this time approaches for you. ([Location 124](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=124)) - When death approaches, the person you have become meets the person you could have been. This is a humbling encounter. Don’t wait for it. Meet with the person you are capable of becoming for a few minutes each day. The more time you spend in these meetings, the less you will fear death. Use your thoughts, words, choices, and actions, to close the gap between who you are today and who you are capable of being. This is the path that leads to a deeply fulfilling fourth quarter. ([Location 134](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=134)) - Our culture is obsessed with the myth of staying young. It makes sense. Modern popular culture is an atheist. And not only does it not believe there is a God, but it also doesn’t believe human beings have souls. From that mistaken perspective, it makes sense to obsess about youth and the body. ([Location 147](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=147)) - But for those of us who believe that God exists and that human beings have eternal souls, the second half of life, and the fourth quarter in particular, are about letting go of the cultures delusions and embracing God’s vision for this life and the next. ([Location 149](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=149)) - Trying to relive the third quarter when you are in the fourth quarter is a significant error. Trying to relive your college experience during mid-life is a mistake. Seasons have reasons. Each stage of life has a purpose. ([Location 155](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=155)) - Let the young have their physical beauty. Elevate your pursuits to wisdom and soul beauty. Fill your days with wisdom, live that wisdom by aging gracefully, share that wisdom with the people who cross your path, and the beauty of your soul will shine for all to see. ([Location 162](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=162)) - these five signs are universal markers: Physically Active Lifestyle; Mental Stimulation; Social Engagement; Meaning and Purpose; and Spiritual Vitality. ([Location 167](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=167)) - Honest self-assessment is a critical life skill in the fourth quarter. ([Location 209](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=209)) - Who are you? Even if you have been unclear your whole life, now, in your fourth quarter, it is critically important that you get clear about who you are. ([Location 225](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=225)) - A good person strives to be honest, humble, generous, responsible, empathetic, selfless, patient, kind, moral, courageous, ethical, and grateful. These are the twelve qualities of a good person. ([Location 231](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=231)) - You are not what has happened to you. You are more than the worst thing you have ever done. Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. Don’t let your past rob you of your future. ([Location 241](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=241)) - Now is the time to flood your life with goodness. Flood your mind with goodness by reading books that elevate you. Flood your soul with goodness by developing the habit of prayer and other spiritual practices. Flood your relationships with goodness by embracing the twelve qualities above. And unleash a tidal wave of goodness in this world every chance you get by creating Holy Moments. ([Location 244](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=244)) - The good we do never dies! It lives on forever–in other people, in other places, and in other times. Let goodness be your legacy. ([Location 247](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=247)) - We are not here to do. We are here to be and become. So, what should you do with the rest of your life? Only those things that help you become. Beyond that, we think that the answer to this question is always changing. It isn’t. The answer to this question is the same at every time in our lives. And it is the same for every person. ([Location 259](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=259)) - “A Holy Moment is a single moment in which you open yourself to God. You make yourself available to Him. You set aside personal preference and self-interest, and for one moment you do what you prayerfully believe God is calling you to do.” ([Location 264](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0BN6WC8VP&location=264))