The Baby Boomer generation is generally accepted as that 20 year slice of births between the years 1946 and 1965.
We know that it comprises the largest single demographic in North America and has many unique characteristics.
Moving beyond the music, clothing, and protests that marketers love to bombard us with to show they understand who we are, we can find two major subgroups of boomers that Gail Sheehy, author of "Passages," calls the Vietnam generation (1946 - 1955) and the Me generation (1956 - 1965).
As a member of the former, I can attest to the underlying description of my generation as I want to be different.
The younger decade can best be described for their lifelong ride to self discovery.
It comes to my attention that the former could and is, learning from the latter.
I have probably participated in more self-awareness programs than most in my group, but have recently discovered the true value in taking a deeper look inside.
Looking under the hood is a lot easier than it ever used to be and we do not necessarily need to pay psychologists and other experts to find out.
Here are a few tips that may help the early generation Boomer find a new or more rewarding path for the next stage of their lives:

• DO WHAT YOU ARE BEST AT.
  Successful people spend 90% of their time focussing on their strengths and most ignore their weaknesses.
  Many of us were raised to work on improving those areas that gave us difficulty.
  For instance, if we found math challenging, we were told that we must do extra work in that area, or if we were uncoordinated, we did various exercises to improve that area.
  While we were busy focussing on our weaknesses, the highly successful moved full steam ahead on their strengths and created a rich and fulfilling life.
  The rest of us can still do that but we need to refocus today.
  Find your top 5 strengths and build your life around them.
  
• GO WITH THE FLOW.
  This connects very nicely with the first tip but takes it a step further.
  When we find resistance to a particular action, then find a different action.
  Mostly this means getting to know yourself and taking a page from the younger boomers, the Me generation, and "looking under the hood.
  " Take a class in meditation and seriously spend about 15 to 30 minutes per day quietly getting in touch with yourself.
  This needs to be a time without the distractions of work, television, spouses and children - just you, all alone with your thoughts.
  There is incredible power and self knowledge in that half hour and the bonus is how refreshed and energetic you will feel afterwards.
  This is also where we find the answer to what action - going with the flow - we would be best to follow.
  
• BOOMER KNOW THYSELF.
  If you have never taken any personality tests then now is the time.
  You will get a general idea from some online tests that are available but whatever approach you take to find out this very important information, it will help create the person that has been lurking inside all these years.
  We often stay on the same route, same job, same friends, same rut and feel unfulfilled or restless.
  It is probably because we have been pointed in the wrong direction for a large part of our lives.
  We often work in the default position because we know how to do the job but in reality, happiness would be found elsewhere.
  A good personality profile will help reveal where that place is.
  

So, this is a start on finding our what the Me generation has known all along and it is not too late to create the life we want.
Members of the early boomer generation are now approaching 65 and we are healthier, more intellectually engaged and will generally live well into our late 80's and beyond so it is time to recreate the future in our image and likeness and make the next decades the best yet.
As a group we have the opportunity to live out the mandate, FINISH WELL.