Insights
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Many of my blogs close with a few optional questions—simple prompts to help you pause and reflect more deeply on the topic, if you wish. You’ll also find links to books and other resources that connect directly to each theme. Think of them as invitations, not assignments—tools you can use privately, in your own time, to carry the conversation further.
Live fully. Contribute wisely. Leave a legacy.
Love: The Engine of Wisdom
Ryan Holiday’s Daily Stoic email on February 13, 2026, included this: “love … gives purpose to wisdom.” These five words articulate something I have noticed over several years in relationships, families, and organizations, and that was at the core of my own most profound growth, though I could not...
STOP and REGROUP
A Practice that Builds Resilience, Relationships, and Performance In recent years, I frequently catch myself thinking, “I need to regroup.” Not push through, not shut down, but regroup. Over time, I realized this wasn’t just a throwaway line; it has proven an effective strategy. In my work with...
Elders as Ateliers
Somewhere right now, a mechanic is bent over an engine that either will run or will not. A painter stands before a canvas, revising a line that still does not look quite right. A parent is interacting with their adult child, helping them think through an important career discussion with their...
Better Together in the Third Period of Life
How Relationships Help Us Age Well The third period of life, roughly our sixties and beyond, invites a more searching set of questions. Less about achievement. More about endurance. Less about independence. More about interdependence. One of the most powerful questions is, who walks with us when...
Everybody Loves Betty: Courageous Acceptance, Holland, and a Life Lived Beloved
Everybody Loves Betty: Courageous Acceptance, Holland, and a Life Lived Beloved Last week, I reread the latest CaringBridge update from my friend Betty’s sister, Mary Jo. She closed with a simple line that has become a familiar refrain: Everybody loves Betty. Every time I see it, I pause; not out...
The Transformative Power of Turning the Other Cheek
“A feeling of lack is simply a call to give.” — Gene Plumstead “It will feel better when it quits hurting.” — Ron Searcy These two insights, one from Gene Plumstead, father of my friend, mentor, and professional colleague, the other from a man I love and admire, my father-in-law, Ron Searcy,...
Reclaiming Hope in the Midst of Chronic Illness
Recently, I’ve talked with friends and family dealing with chronic health issues, each of them strong, capable, and once very healthy. For all of them, the onset occurred later in life, an unexpected part of their sixties and beyond. Their stories are different, but they share a common thread: the...
Flourishing With Eyes Wide Open: The Real Story of Positive Psychology
Positive psychology is often misunderstood as a “feel-good” project centered on happiness and optimism. While this misconception is easy to repeat, it is far from reality. The field is deeply rooted in ancient philosophical traditions, grounded in rigorous science, and validated by measurable...
The Return to Possibility
There was a time, not so long ago, when I found myself standing at the edge of cynicism. I was not only standing but also moving toward it. After decades of leading, teaching, and believing in human potential, I had lost touch with the very qualities that once animated my work: optimism, faith...
Joy in the Third Period
Last week I wrote about walking with our elders, about listening instead of leading. That same posture of humility, patience, and attention is also the soil in which joy grows. As C. S. Lewis wrote, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.” It is not a feeling that depends on ease or circumstance,...
Coming Early 2026!
Is it possible to flourish in the final third of life?
Too often, aging is framed only as decline—marked by limitations, losses, and endings. This book challenges that narrative.
Blending research in positive psychology, neuroscience, and well-being with practical tools and lived experience, Along the Road reframes the final third of life as a season of growth, meaning, and contribution. It offers frameworks for navigating life’s later chapters, exploring how mind, body, and soul can remain sources of vitality. It provides practical approaches to cultivating generativity, resilience, optimism, and wisdom—while crafting a lasting legacy and achieving a fulfilling end.
The book is both roadmap and companion: a guide for anyone entering—or already in—their mid to later years who longs not just to endure but to flourish.
“Live fully. Contribute wisely. Leave a legacy.”
Gordon Parry is an author, consultant, and coach dedicated to helping people flourish at every stage of life. A graduate of Penn’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology program and co-founder of Authentic Impact and The Hesly Center, he blends research and practice to unlock human potential. MORE ABOUT GORDON
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Omaha, NE 68164
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Recent Posts
Love: The Engine of Wisdom
Ryan Holiday’s Daily Stoic email on February 13, 2026, included this: “love … gives purpose to wisdom.” These five words articulate something I have noticed over several years in relationships, families, and organizations, and that was at the core of my own most...
STOP and REGROUP
A Practice that Builds Resilience, Relationships, and Performance In recent years, I frequently catch myself thinking, “I need to regroup.” Not push through, not shut down, but regroup. Over time, I realized this wasn’t just a throwaway line; it has proven an...
Elders as Ateliers
Somewhere right now, a mechanic is bent over an engine that either will run or will not. A painter stands before a canvas, revising a line that still does not look quite right. A parent is interacting with their adult child, helping them think through an important...
Better Together in the Third Period of Life
How Relationships Help Us Age Well The third period of life, roughly our sixties and beyond, invites a more searching set of questions. Less about achievement. More about endurance. Less about independence. More about interdependence. One of the most powerful...
Everybody Loves Betty: Courageous Acceptance, Holland, and a Life Lived Beloved
Everybody Loves Betty: Courageous Acceptance, Holland, and a Life Lived Beloved Last week, I reread the latest CaringBridge update from my friend Betty’s sister, Mary Jo. She closed with a simple line that has become a familiar refrain: Everybody loves Betty. Every...
The Transformative Power of Turning the Other Cheek
“A feeling of lack is simply a call to give.” — Gene Plumstead “It will feel better when it quits hurting.” — Ron Searcy These two insights, one from Gene Plumstead, father of my friend, mentor, and professional colleague, the other from a man I love and admire, my...
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