It’s Not a Job, It’s an Adventure!

Half a century ago, when today’s Boomers where anywhere from toddlers to teens, the World’s Fair theme was, “It’s A Small World After All.” Today, this adage still rings true, but for very different reasons, says The Business of Aging publisher Lori Bitter. The silver tsunami and globalization have unified and compressed the world, so that “the population is now shaped more like a rectangle than a youth-heavy pyramid. And now, more than ever before, the most influential ideas, technologies, products, and services for seniors have gone global. They flow worldwide, sometimes in a matter of hours.”

This is good news, whether someone is considering downsizing to a senior community with a HECM for Purchase, or finding a job when you’re old, as David Allen Rivera baldly titles a recent LinkedIn blog post. Rivera, not yet 60, is hardly “old” by today’s standards, yet he considers his age a potential strike against his marketability. To counterbalance this he dove into social media, integrating a number of key platforms (LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter…) and cross-pollinating appealing profiles. He polished his resume. He writes,

“I feel it’s never too late to thrive. I don’t want to get a job where I’m tolerated; I want to work where I’m celebrated and appreciated for what I can do.”

Make Hay While the Sun Shines 

One of my great teachers is a beacon for Rivera and other Boomers who may feel they’re “aging out” of the workplace before they’re ready to retire: personal growth pioneer Louise Hay.

Hay launched Hay House, now a global media company, when she was nearing 60, and, in her own words, “never looked back”. She turned 90 last month, and continues to inspire people around the world. The birthday email she sent serves as a clarion call for seniors and reverse mortgage professionals alike, since LOs are often seniors themselves:

“I rejoice in each passing year of my life.”

“I’m going to be 90 this Saturday. I choose to see my life moving in different directions, all of them equally good. Some things are even better now than they were in my youth. My younger years were filled with fear; my todays are filled with confidence.

“My own life didn’t really begin to have meaning until I was in my mid-40s. At the age of 50, I began my writing career on a very small scale. The first year I made a profit of $42. At 55, I ventured into the world of computers. They scared me, but I took classes and overcame the fear. Today I have three computers and travel with my iPad and iPhone everywhere! At 60, I had my first garden. At this time, I enrolled in a children’s art class and began to paint. At 70 and 80, I was more creative and my life continues to get richer and fuller.

“I still write, I lecture, I teach through my actions. I am constantly reading and studying. I own a very successful publishing company and have two non-profits. I’m a dedicated organic gardener. I grow most of my own food. I love people and parties. I have many loving friends. I travel extensively. I also am still painting and taking classes. My life has really become a treasure chest of experiences.

“These can be the most rewarding years of your life. Know that your future is always bright, no matter what your age. See your later years becoming your treasure years.

“Instead of just getting old and giving up and dying, let’s learn to make a huge contribution to life. We have the time, we have the knowledge, and we have the wisdom to move out into the world with love and power.

“Step forward, use your voice, get out in the world, and LIVE!”

Septuagenarian Sing-along

Speaking of “using your voice”: a humorous greeting card shows two geriatric groups sitting on opposite ends of a sunroom, shouting at each other, “Stones!” “Beatles!” “Stones!” “Beatles!” Both sides would have celebrated in October, when the headline acts that defined a generation graced the same stage over the course of two long weekends.

Desert Trip was a concert extravaganza for the books. Dubbed, “Oldhchella” (a play on the name of an annual music festival that takes place in Coachella, California each spring), the line-up of legends included The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young and The Who — septuagenarians all — playing for an equally vintage audience. And lest anyone minimize the cultural influence of rock ‘n’ roll, coincident with these performances Dylan received the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature (the first musician ever to win the prize for literature) — before which, notes the LA Times, he was “merely the Shakespeare of our time.”

As Renaissance mentor and Boomer Bruce Cryer makes clear, aging is a state of mind. Louise Hay demonstrates how we can start when we’re already past midlife and create an amazing future that just keeps glowing brighter.

May your reverse mortgage clients and prospects move forward with faith, not fear, to create the beautiful tomorrows a HECM helps them envision. Because, as Oldchella confirmed, when Boomers rock, it’s with a guitar, not a chair!