Choices & Changes

For the past 6 months, I have been busy working on editing and publishing my new book, Choices & Changes...a positive aging guide to life planning. Initially, I had written a short workbook to help developers identify prospects for a new brand of "retirement community". The idea was to look beyond ones chronological age and finances to develop a plan around the values common to later life. Since the very first workshop about 4 years ago, I have had numerous opportunities to deliver the 90 minute, motivational overview to hundreds of older adults in Florida, Arizona, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia. This interaction with older consumer has been one of the most rewarding of my 30 year career in aging.

What made the experiences so rewarding was the positive reception I received after every presentation. Without exception, attendees came up to me afterward to say things like, "I haven't felt this young in years;" or "I fell like you opened the door to a whole to stage in my life;" or "Thanks you for allowing us to look at our own aging with a whole new and positive vision." My goal in the workshops is to help attendees understand how negative aging stereotypes affect us all and can literally erode our memories, health and well being. It is a message that is long overdue and eagerly welcomed by a population that has generally been perceived as frail, unproductive, dependent, or just "greedy geezers."

Choices & Changes provides those interested in getting the most out of life's second half with a road map. As our youth dominated culture continues to age in the coming years, we will need to rethink everything about retirement in America from fixing the Social Security system to preparing how to respond to a major workforce shortage that is less than 10 years away. The answers will not be found in the rear-view mirror because our nation has never traveled this road before. While the wisdom of an aging nation is ready to respond, it increasingly seems we have a scarcity of leaders with either the wisdom or integrity to begin working on a map or asking the aging travelers to put their unique wisdom and experience to work.

To order a copy of Choices and Changes from the publisher visit www.xlibris.com/Choices&Changes.html or www.amazon.com

Comments

[Boomer Myth Student]

Hi,

I've been looking through this blog for some time now and would like to introduce myself. I am currently a "Boomer Myth Student" and I've been doing some research on dispelling the myths about Baby Boomers. Essentially, I am a brand planner at an ad agency - who's name I will keep disclosed for now. But WAIT! Before you get the wrong idea, I want to let you know that I am FRESH out of college and am more of a student here at the agency than anything.
I've been reading article after article, study after study in hopes of getting a more, realistic idea of the Baby Boomers and how to make a true connection with them. One of our senior planners here felt that society as a whole has a distorted view of Boomers and wants me to find out how they REALLY feel. I assure you that I am not the stereotypical ad person, stuck in my ways about how I feel about Boomers; just as many Boomers do not fall into the stereotype of having a connection with 1960's spokespeople.
I am really writing because I have some questions about a couple of points you've made, as well as some points others have made to find out your thoughts.
First, in this Choices and Changes post, you mention responding to a major workforce shortage that is less than 10 years away. My questions for you is is this REALLY going to be a significant shortage saying as though recent research has stated that 80% of Boomers will continue working well beyond retirement age? I have seen people address both issues, however, I am confused on how they co-exist. It was my impression that because many of them are planning on working past 65, that the "mass retirement" will not be as significant as people are thinking. Especially considering that 10 years from now, the youngest Boomers still will not be at retirement age.
My second question is about an article I've come across which states that Boomers are not as large of a segment as people think they are. Many are claiming that the Baby Boomers are 76 Million Strong. Yet the census figures only show a 71 million population increase in 30 years (1940-1970 - yet supposedly 76 million were birthed from 1946-1964). More importantly, all other 30 year increments (1960-1990), (1970-2000) don't show significantly lower increases in population than the Baby Boom. Meaning the population growth during the "Baby Boom" does not seem significantly larger than other 30-year spans. How do you explain this? Do you agree or disagree with this theory? I think it's very interesting and would love to get your thoughts!