Over-50

Aging - You Were Hot, Not You're Not, Shot at Returning to Hot

Even youth has its the grim encounter with being hot, then not.

Remember climate change activist Greta Thunberg. COVID-19 stole her thunder.

More typical is the downward trajectory of child stars such as Maculay Culkin. 

But, when the loss of hot happens to an aging player the suffering can be profound. That's because they assume - wrongly - they don't have another shot at BigSuccess. 

In itself, that expectation that they're "finished" blocks their putting together an attention-getting Next. 

The reality is that the Next can be put in play for those who are open. For the new door to open the former one has to be shut. 

The prime example is Clint Eastwood. He was open to letting go of his signature action films. He embraced serious drama. Currently Eastwood is more known for films like "Million Dollar Baby" than his earlier work.

One-time tech innovator Bill Gates forged a next and even more fame than he had on this first round. The shift has been to philanthropist. That was right in time to be the voice of reason during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And, Betty White, in a Hollywood which discards women early in the game, carved out a fresh identity through being an advocate for the aging.

Here's what I recommend to those I coach who have gotten stuck:

• You are your story. Stop telling the one about being a vice president of communications at a Fortune 50. Focus the narrative on what you are now exploring. Through that story line you could attract help to reach your new goals.
• Shift the focus from maximizing income to acquiring the know-how in the new field. A former management consultant came to me desperate to match her previous compensation. I told her she would hit a wall unless she ditched that perspective. Once she did she eventually made her mark as an intuitive coach. Continually media outlets quote her. It's irrelevant to her how much she is earning, as long as she can make ends meet. 
• Prune the network. Those from the past can block the lanes needed to navigate to get to what could pay off big. The longer in our lives we work to earn income the more colleagues, superiors, subordinates, clients, customers and old college acquaintances we will have to ditch. A useful read in Henry Cloud's "Necessary Endings."
• Have no expectations. Just go out there and try new things. If money is low, grab a survival job. Actually that could be fun and you wind up less tightly wound. Here is my book, free to read, on how to land, hold, and move on to better work, at any age Download Outwitting ageism.

One more thing. Yes, there really is a phenomenon called the "late bloomer." You might not have made it big the first time but you could pull that off the second or third. Only as he matured did Frank Lloyd Wright attract fame and influence. An amazing book about the emergence of peak performance later in life is David Galeson's "Old Masters and Young Geniuses."

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Older Doesn't Opt You Out of Dependent Care - Help for Sandwich Generation

Aging was supposed to reduce all those responsibilities for dependents.

But that's not happening. More of those over-50 are becoming members of what's called the "sandwich generation." That is, you are accountable for both children or grandchildren and parents. 

Some good news is that your employer might be offering this benefit: Dependent Care Financial Spending Account. It allows you to transfer funds from your paycheck into the FSA. What's transferred will not be taxable. Here are more details from my article published today on Business.com. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

That Whole Aging Lifequake - Recall the Comfort of Story Time at the Local Library

"I don't know who I am."

That's how people in transition usually sum up how they feel.

But what would be more accurate and what would make moving forward less painful is if they noted "I need a new story."

We are the stories we tell about ourselves. Both professionally and personally. Way back when in a less chaotic era we used to call that the "elevator speech." In a sentence or two it summed up what we were about. If it concerned our professional identity, it could help our career. For instance, "I'm Joe and I help big companies sell a lot of products." 

In transition, that identity, once so solid, is shifting. In the interim and then longer term, folks can gain control of the process if they put together a fresh narrative. That tells the world where they are in their careers and personal lives. More importantly, it delivers the message to themselves that they are in-charge.

That's especially needed in what Bruce Feiler, author of "Life Is in the Transitions," has called "lifequakes" or seismic shifts. As MarketWatch reports, Feiler anticipates lifequakes to increase in number and intensity.

So, as folks sense a lifequake coming to rattle their lives to the core, a multi-dimensional tool could be conjuring up a new story.

The partner at a law firm gets it: The firm wants him out. He isn't bringing in enough new business or billing enough hours. The way to emotionally, socially, and professionally manage that experience is to capture it in a story that moves the process forward. An example? "I'm reviewing what could be Next. This is the first time in 30 years I looked up from my desk." 

A former star in public relations contacted me for a complimentary consultation on her career. She wanted another one. So typical she framed that in the narrative embedded in the past, in who she used to be. "At Corporation X, the world knew my name. I made a lot of money. The media quoted me." 

To have a shot at a Next, she had to extricate the story from the past to possibility. During four coaching sessions, she came to manage this lifequake with the story "I fix brands. That could be your personal or social brand. Or the brand of, say, Uber." That got people interested. Even before she had fully established her communications boutique she had business. 

In COVID-19, it's the rare professional, parent or retired who isn't being rattled by a lifequake.

How to start on the new story? 

Accept that what was is no longer. Then be ready to take the first few steps. Get those down in one or two sentences. Let language take charge. It's not what is happening. It's how people manage that whatever. Christians came up with the narrative of how the word was made flesh. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

U.K. - No More Civilized about Age Bias at Work than American Employers

Older workers in the U.K. are, just as in the U.S., targeted for unemployment during the pandemic. 

Forbes reports that the U.K. Office of National Statistics documented that, along with predicting a surge in the overall unemployment numbers in October. This week the U.K. will probably officially declare that it is in a recession.

There are all the usual suspects for this kind of bias. At the top of the list are:

Relatively high compensation for the years of experience

Employer perception of a lack of tech savvy - and no willingness to learn new software packages

Anticipation that outdated skills will be difficult to let go of - or overall inflexibility.

The organization's fear of higher medical costs (at least in the U.S.) associated with aging.

The typical mistake the older forced out workers make as well as self-employed whose businesses collapse is this: Chasing after work in that same career path, with anticipation of the same compensation, and the same status. As a result they could be unemployed for years and drift into involuntary retirement or semiretirement.

The smart move is the willingness to start over from scratch. That could mean investing funds in retraining or becoming certified in a growth area. 

A classic example is the professional who regears for blue-collar work. One man I coached had been forced out of a middle management position in a research corporation.

Eventually he took the leap across socioeconomic classes. He invested about $7K to train to become licensed as a long-distance truck driver. After the first year on the road he had the experience to negotiate for compensation and the preferred route. Because of what he had suffered financially and emotionally when unemployed he never looked back at the context of his previous worklife. When recession hit the trucking industry he regrouped again. That entailed retraining to be an addiction counselor. That's a growth field and he's still at it. 

Experts in the working aged also recommend certification for tech jobs in manufacturing. That can be picked up at the community college in nine months. Tech doesn't necessarily mean a big job in Silicon Valley. A little tech can go a long way. 

Meanwhile, while the older displaced worker is figuring out The Next, the bills have to be paid.

In my coaching I hammer: Grab work, any kind. Not only does a job or gig assignment get you another job or gig assignment. Equally important, the socialization of how to go to work and get ahead there doesn't fade. During unemployment, if it goes on too long, it's inevitable that you're off your game. That will show up in interviews.

Here, free to download, is my book on landing, holding onto, and moving toward better work, no matter your age Download Outwitting ageism.

Will the displaced older workers ever earn what they had in their previous employment? ProPublica documented that will happen to one out of 10.

Also shift the mindset has to be from career to the ability to pay your bills. 

Also, let go of memories of star performance in the former work situation. It's universal: They were hot. Then they were not. Sure, there could be future high-profile accomplishments. But at this stage of earning a living it's become more about simply bringing in income.

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

Forced Out: Minimalism as Bridge to The Next (possibly a whole new career path)

Opting out of the consumer economy might be bad for GDP growth. After all, the U.S. economy is about 70% consumer-driven.

But it has been the ultimate cool lifestyle, at least in some circles.

It has been actually fun to learn how to get by with a lot less materialism.

Not-spending evolves into a passion. The typical gush is: I live the way I used to when a student. Thanks to that, lawyer Erika Kullberg had been able to pay back more than $200k in student loans in two years. 

But now, because of the economic catastrophe of COVID-19, minimalism has become a necessity, reports Studyfind.org. In the survey sponsored by EnergyBot, 41% of households indicated they have embraced radical frugality because they have extreme trouble paying their bills. Many of them have already missed one payment. And, in America, the land of the free, the only thing we have to do is pay our bills. 

On the brighter side, many of those I coach who have been forced out jobs because of age have been able to make ends meet by taking the leap out of keeping up with the Jones and settling into minimalism. Once they get their financial house in order, then they are able to figure out how to add income from work - any and all kinds. Actually, that can blossom into a new career path.

One 58-year-old former school teacher I coached took part-time and gig assignments in call centers, loss prevention, product sampling, and as an apartment leasing representative. Grab work. That's exactly what I recommend in my book, which you can click on free, Download Outwitting ageism

By age 60, she had re-established herself as a full-time employee, with benefits, for managing a residential condo complex for the over-55 in southwest Arizona. That included marketing and sales as well as administrative tasks. 

Had she not significantly reduced her fixed expenses when nudged into early retirement from her teaching career she would not have achieved the calm to try out possible Nexts.

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

The Invisibles - So? (we fall asleep at night and stay asleep)

Who hasn't hunkered down with British television during shelter-in-place? And, since so few things have reopened, we are still clicking it on. 

Such premium entertainment. 

A past favorite had been "World on Fire," which focused in on a British and a Polish family during World World II.  Of course, part of the plot had been several poignant love stories. One did pan out. 

But, superior standard broadcasting doesn't insulate the UK from the unemployment woes Main Street America is experiencing during COVID-19.

MarketWatch reports that businesses in the UK indicate that about 33% of them will reduce the workforce this quarter. That data came through a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the Adecco Group. 

For the global economy such findings are a red flag. The profound suffering among some will increase.

Meanwhile, there are categories shielded from the worst of times.

Among them - which may surprise youth - is those of us who are older. Use the term "older." Don't tell us we are "old."

On the surface we over-50 are The Invisibles. Both in professional and in social life, we begin to be ignored "after a certain age." However, many of us are thriving. Some are even Late Bloomers.

We have a bit of investments. Those include our retirement funds. Currently there might be a ROTH IRA.

Either at the standard age of eligibility or early at 62 we filed for Social Security. That's regular income. 

But the absolute gift from the Universe has been Medicare. For some it's the first time in years there is health insurance. For others, even simply with routine care, it saves thousands of dollars annually. Just consider what the dental bills used to be without Supplemental Medicare Advantage coverage from AARP. 

In addition, more and more of us have made it our business to continue to bring in income. No, the source doesn't have to be prestigious such as a job on Wall Street or doing freelance assignments for the Fortune 100.

It can simply be working in loss prevention in a big box. Or setting up an online enterprise educating folks how to boost their rankings on search engines. After all, Google, not our websites, are our homepage.

Here, free to read, is my book on how to land, hold and move on to better work, no matter one's age Download Outwitting ageism.

Yes, our generation has been able to shake off the ego need for status in work - or even the notion of a career. #WhatIStoppedDoing is gushing about success.

Instead the new status symbol, at least in some circles, is the ability to fall asleep at night and stay asleep. Not enough reflect on how the struggle for peace of mind can finally be won as human beings become older. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

Being Older, Our Investment Portfolios and More - The Momo (momentum) Mob Is Right

Sure, U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening the funding of Social Security and Medicare.

And research documents that more than half of us will be forced out of our jobs (more and more during COVID-19) and only 1 in 10 of us will ever make comparable money, at least not from working for income. Soft landings are so 20th century. 

But, there is good news, for now, about our investment portfolios - and more.

Last week I made more from gains on equities in my Edward Jones account with Michael Hernan than I did from operating my two boutiques.

Earlier things were so good that I contacted Hernan to lock in those gains and sure, I would pay taxes on those which hadn't been housed in my Roth IRA. But even with that I created unexpected wealth. If I choose, I can ride into the sunset and semiretire in a few years. 

This could keep up.

On MarketWatch, there is the opinion that the momo (momentum) mob could have the day. They are optimists about equities. They forecast the good times in equities will roll, despite the gyrations of external events. Among the signs of two chickens in every pot, for those who invested in equities, is that Facebook could take over the TikTok space. That will keep pulling up its stock price and with it the overall market.

Companies like Apple which are doing well seem able to sustain that. 

Pockets of the legal sector are enhancing their brands. That attracts new lucrative business. For example, Paul, Weiss, through the vision of its chairman Brad Karp, has launched a presence in Silicon Valley. For those in the media who configure concepts about leadership in volatile times, Karp is the model to analyze.

Small businesses who have learned to pivot are scaling. Not every small business owner is on PBS tearfully recounting operating at a 10th of capacity or shutting down. Those I do marketing communications for have spotted the opportunity in the catastrophe. And exploited it.

And professionals predictably cut loose during COVID-19 times are regrouping. For instance, several lawyers I coached did forms of apprenticeships in marketable niches as a bankruptcy. At first, the compensation was peanuts or none. Now it's a fresh career path to travel. 

Reflection: Adversity opens new doors. That bunch of misfits who couldn't make it in the old country - the Puritans - set up their own economic system in the new land. That became the most profitable economy for centuries.

The same goes for building brandnames. After he had been fired from Ford, the guy primarily known only for marketing - Lee Iacocca - went over to Chrysler. He evolved into a global folk hero. 

After my industry collapsed post-9/11, I made it my business to parachute into digital. Me - an old-line print pro. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

The Price That Generation Might Have Paid for Their Gold-Plated Networks

You might be thinking: Thank havens, my family couldn't afford those elite private elementary and high schools.

The New York Post reports on yet another alleged school-for-scandal saga of sex abuse of a student by those whom were trusted.

The most recent expose allegedly went down at Saint David's, a K-8 based in New York City. Current annual tuition is $50,000. Among the alumni had been John F. Kennedy, Jr. (yes, of the famous Kennedy clan).

The alleged incidents were in those days when it was assumed that instructors were all versions of Mr. Chips and headmasters were firm but wise. 

Anthony Filiberti had been the second graduate to out alleged sexual misconduct. He filed a lawsuit, requesting $20 million. 

Filiberti claims three of those in the staffing loop had sexually abused him. They were, he contends, Rey Buono, Chuck Jones, and Charlie Rich. Then, the headmaster at the time David Hume allegedly "bought" silence from Filiberti by arranging a scholarship to the prestigious Choate Rosemary Hall. It was from there that U.S. President John F. Kennedy had graduated. 

Saint David's is only one on the long list of elite schools whose legacy has become sexual exploitation of students back in the days when the whole private school package seemed the unique blessing from the universe.

Not only did it guarantee the kind of education which catapulted graduates into Ivy League colleges/universities. What a gold-plated network had been acquired!

The plaintiff correlates his drug use with the sexual abuse. He had been tossed out of Choate because of that substance problem.

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Why Your Grandchildren Are Becoming DefLanders

COVID-19, not the Invisible Hand, is undoing centuries of the market dynamics in higher education.

Ever since the Puritans established Harvard on September 8, 1636, higher education has been a growth industry. That is despite its rising cost and questionable ROI in terms of career mobility and lifetime job security.

Also, anyone who has been a heavy consumer of academia has experienced the power administrators and professors have. Since transcripts are forever, it was not wise to challenge the systems. 

That was then. 

Look at the numbers bouncing around for DefLanders. About 20% of those accepted for the Class of 2023 have deferred.

It had been assumed that the elite institutions of higher education would be immune from this falloff in enrollment - and revenue. That assumption, reports Brandon Busteed in FORBES, was wrong. At Harvard, 340 have gone DefLand or about 20% of those admitted. In addition, only 25% of those who could live on campus have accepted the offer.

That reality, in itself, has serious implications.

At the top of the list is the financial one. Of course, Harvard is not going to financially collapse. But others with less of an endowment might. 

The next issue on the list is: What does this mean about the blind faith in education? Incidentally, that territory has already been covered in Boston Magazine. That was way back in January 2019. Even in the bucolic setting of New England, with all its old-line colleges and universities, institutions of higher education have been shuttering. Part of that was that parents and members of Gen Z were questioning the ROI. 

The story here is not DefLand. Not per se. Not even the part about the high percentage opting not to attend Harvard.

The story is: What are those in DefLand doing instead? And will that "instead" trigger never enrolling in college?

The world is a big place. That's what the DefLanders might discover.

Some might get a management trainee job in the grocery industry, like it, stay on, and later pick up a college degree online, with tuition paid by the employer.

Others might become entrepreneurs.

Some might embrace altruism and participate in an global initiative to construct irritation systems in wastelands. 

Will this shifting mindset about higher education seep into the ethos of professional schools, such as law, medicine, and business?

That could happen. 

Prediction: A power outage throughout the entire Academic-Industrial Complex. Power consists of everything from wealth to ability to set the rules for the masses. 

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

Post-COVID: We'll Be Back to Relocation to Lower Fixed Costs (Hello, Climate Change)

COVID-19 will be over.

And we'll quickly shift from raw survival wherever we are to creating a new quality of life somewhere else, at a significantly lower cost. For most of the aging, relocation is a must-do to maintain financial security. 

What we'll have to factor in when researching that relocation, warns Bill Gates in MarketWatch, is climate change. That didn't go away with the coming of the pandemic. And, hammers Gates, it could be more of a disaster for humans than the coronavirus.

A prime example is Mobile, Alabama. It seems like an ideal choice. The ocean is nearby. There is a high quality of life with fixed expenses such as homeownership and rent lower than where we might be now bunking.

But that location is subject to the more severe hurricane activity associated with climate change. Experts are predicting the 2020 hurricane season could be a whopper. 

In addition, the temperature there, as elsewhere, could keep rising. 

Also, climate change is triggering beach erosion. The ocean keeps swallowing up coastal areas. So, we may have to surrender the dream of buying that cute cottage which is waterfront. The insurance itself could be a killer.

The semiretired I coach about continuing to earn income from working are increasingly focusing inland for their Forever Next. Some have even researched the non-exotic midwest. Not that all parts of it represent bargains. The Chicago Metro area is expensive. However, much of Ohio, including economically healthy Toledo, still provides lower than average home-ownership expenses and monthly rents. 

In the midwest, for those yearning to set up a refuge from too many people, yes, there are rural spots, even hobby farms, which are affordable.

Much of the midwest is subject to a tornado now and then. But in general it hasn't been a target for mother nature.

If you intend to continue to work in your Forever Next, here, free, is my book on how to land, hold, and move on to better work, no matter your age Download Outwitting ageism.

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.