Over-50

No Level Playing Field for First-Generation College Students - A Baby Boomer Reflects How It Was and How It Hasn't Changed

The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) confirms it: First-generation college, as we are called, have poorer career outcomes than those with at least one college-educated parent. Also, law school graduates who have a parent who is a lawyer enjoy a career advantage. 

All that circles back to the primary task in life. That is eating.

Around the table (we ate in the kitchen, not a dining room) the conversation in a family with an educated parent probably will be qualitatively different than what I heard around mine.

Blue-collar immigrant families like my extended one were locked into a survival mode. They didn't have the knowledge, experience, or personal energy to guide my generation on how to make it big.

It had been our guidance counselors at the public high schools (not prep schools) we attended who steered us toward at least acquiring a college degree.

However, how could they clue us in on what really are the prerequisites to getting ahead? They couldn't. My graduating class at Henry Synder High School had about 500 of us. It had never dawned on my family to seek out a scholarship for my sisters and myself to attend a boarding school. That would have gotten us off the mean streets of pre-gentrified Jersey City, New Jersey.

Mostly we had to learn on our own what to do and what not to do on a career path. That, of course, wasn't efficient. Also, making mistakes and having to live with the consequences (like going for an unmarketable advanced degree) wore down our soul.

Along the way, there were generous mentors in my early corporate jobs. I will always be grateful to them. One was actually straight with me. He said: Your children, if you have them, will have an easier time than you have had. His father was a prominent estates attorney in Boston. He was quite aware the career playing field isn't level. 

Well, I did make it to Harvard Law School in my early 40s. However, by that time I was so depleted that I decided to pull the plug. We do that often, don't we first-generation college. In my orientation group everyone except me had spent the summer not working. I had worked up to the day I left for Cambridge. There was a brutal ah-ha moment. I felt that I didn't belong. And didn't deserve to.

I had left Harvard Law and returned to my moderately successful career in communications. I never lost my love for thinking about legal matters and operating this blog since 2006 has created a force field of joy that I had never experienced from any other pursuit. 

If the Biden Adminstration really wants to change America for the better it will create a formal well-funded initiative to provide intensive coaching for those who will probably wind up as first-generation college students. I needed help. Lots of it. The tragedy was that I didn't know it. We don't know what we don't know about professional success.

Marketing communications. It’s about results. Not quantity. Not clickbait. Not even influence. Together we will get those results. Clients range from American Express to industrial accounts. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.

We Could Have Been Colinford Mattis and Uroof Rahman - Circling Back to Radicalism of the Counterculture

After taking a plea for a single count of possessing or making a destructive device, lawyers Colinford Mattis and Uroof Rahman face up to 10 years in prison. Their sentencing will be Feb 8th by U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan. They are in their early 30s. And, obviously their lives and, of course, their careers have gone poof. At least for a long time.

As many remember, as the nation was absorbing the death of George Floyd while apprehended by police, the two were associated with a Molotov cocktail.  

Those from the old-line Counterculture radicals might feel great distress about this play-out.

I, for one, had been caught up in that force field. It seemed like a sacred calling to take action against so many factions in the establishment. Somehow I did not cross the kinds of lines which would have sent me to prison for years.

The worst that had happened was when I had joined a walkout on behalf of more black admissions to the university. I lost a part-time job. However the organizers got it back for me. Eventually, when the universities conceded, the Viet Nam war ended, and the severe recession of the mid 1970s took hold, most of us circled back to being ordinary liberal Democrats. And that was that.

That won't be that for Mattis and Rahman. Both have expressed regret for their conduct. But, come on, they will be paying a high price for what to them might have seemed to be doing the right thing.

This could be a time of compassion. Not a lust for "teaching them a lesson." We human beings are so myopic.

Marketing communications. It’s about results. Not quantity. Not clickbait. Not even influence. Together we will get those results. Clients range from American Express to industrial accounts. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.

Dental Tourism - The Way Baby Boomers Can Afford Extensive Dental Work

Yesterday I made my journey into dental tourism.

That was the 90-minute drive from my residence in Sierra Vista, Arizona to Nogales, Mexico. That's right across the border from Nogales, Arizona. Most folks just park their cars on the US side and walk across to Mexico. 

I was kind of a "local."

But in the waiting room at Arizona Dental, there were those from long distances.

One couple traveled in their RV over 400 miles from New Mexico. That was to cut down the bill of $24,000 for dental procedures, estimated by a U.S. dental practice. They were staying in the area, as a kind of vacation, to have all the work completed. They were kind of giddy about all the money they would be saving.

Another couple was from California and had managed to adopt a puppy while in Nogales, Mexico. We all cooed about the little guy. 

I was there to downsize an estimate of about $2,500, none of which was covered by my U.S. dental insurance. I have ditched the dental insurance and plan to have even routine work like fillings, cleanings, and X-rays done in Mexico. 

Yes, at Arizona Dental there is a free connection to the internet. The staff helped me set it up. Therefore, I was able to do work during the several hours I was going to be there.

From the get-go, I felt in safe hands.

Everything was approached in a methodical manner.

First was the panoramic X-ray. The cost was $15, versus the $100-something a dental specialist in the U.S. usually charges at the front end. 

That was first reviewed by a general dentist, then passed along to a specialist for root canals. 

I waited.

Next was a conference with me. Since the whole area surrounding the capped tooth remained infected (I had been on antibiotics) a root canal might not hold. Also, the tooth was cracked. That could have happened through biting down hard. (Avoid that.)

I had been in that pickle about 17 years ago with another capped molar. The pricey root canal didn't do the trick. Back then the extraction by an oral surgeon cost about $1,500. Yeah that was about 17 years ago.

The dentists showed me the X-rays. They explained what I should be seeing on it.

I decided to go with their recommendation: extraction. That would cost $125. That included the numbing. Since Arizona Dental is full-service, it could be done right there. And that afternoon. Hurrah. I did not have to drive back. But had I gone with a root canal and ordering a new crown, there is a lab in town which could produce the crown overnight.

When that was completed, I was shown the cracked tooth and the infected tissue which had been removed. There would be no need for additional antibiotics. However, I could have had the prescription filled steps away from Arizona Dental. In the area are several pharmacies. They also fill prescriptions from the U.S.

With instructions for aftercare, I was on my way.

The dental facility is about 10 steps from the border. Also there are vendors all around hawking colorful trinkets and interesting looking snacks. It was fun to shop.

All I needed to return to the US was to show the border guard my driver's license. No passport needed. Yes, border patrol asked what I had purchased.

I had parked on a side street in Nogales, Arizona so there was no fee for that. 

Will medical tourism be next for me? That's possible.

Also possible is eventually relocating to Mexico. Currently at the Sierra Vista public library I am talking a course in conversational Spanish. When I retire in about four or five years Mexico could provide a comfortable and affordable lifestyle. 

Marketing communications. It’s about results. Not quantity. Not clickbait. Not even influence. Together we will get those results. Clients range from American Express to industrial accounts. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.

The Long Long Holiday Season - Probably Lots of Inspirational Messaging from Bob Dilenschneider (with help from trusty assistant Joan Avagliano)

It kicks off on Halloween. And will go into early January. 

That's the holiday season in America.

Usually a busy bee then is public affairs player Bob Dilenschneider.

His MO has been to crank out inspirational content for each and every public holiday. Usually their platform is a conservative ethos. Yes, let's praise famous men (and woman) who have made our nation great with policies like ...

With the midterms coming and 2024 whatever already in play, Dilenschneider will probably amp up the passion in the messaging. After all he has to strengthen his professional networks. The big brandnames on it - Roger Ailes, Jack Welch, and Larry King - have died. And in public affairs you are your network.

Fortunately, Dilenschneider has help from his long-time trusty assistant Joan Avagliano. She's a hard-working gal from my hometown Jersey City, New Jersey. Plenty loyal too. Here is my profiling of Avagliano.

Marketing communications. It’s about results. Not quantity. Not clickbait. Not even influence. Together we will get those results. Clients range from American Express to industrial accounts. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

 

Prestige - Do We Boomers Regret Chasing It?

Yes, yes, yes. The extreme work culture, in service of the prestigious career path, is being questioned. 

The cool meme is to damn all that:

" ...  the price you pay for a longer-term reward of power and prestige in big-name, big pay-cheque institutions." Meredith Turits, BBC, April 27, 2021.

"The desire for prestige and money is why we: 1) spend an outrageous sum of money on education, 2) kill ourselves at jobs we don’t like, 3) put up with colleagues and bosses we despise, 4) never pursue our dreams, 5) neglect our children, and 6) eventually fill our hearts with regret." - Financial Samurai, September 25, 2021.

In his book "Excellent Sheep," former Yale Professor William Deresiewicz captures how emotionally, socially, and cognitively paralyzed young people are by their pursuit of the prestigious career path.

However, there is no shortage of youth chasing after opportunities in businesses considered "prestigious." For instance, Bloomberg, a powerhouse brand, has received about 20,000 applications for a few hundred jobs in Europe. 

Also, 55% of law schools have overenrolled 1L classes. A JD could be the ticket to a a position at Skadden or Cravath. There could be tremendous ego satisfaction informing everyone that's where one works. 

And, although The Office has been vilified, associates are complying with mandates to return (at least right now). There may not be The Massive Attrition. Too much prestige is at stake.

Sure, in a Bloomberg Law interview, Paul Weiss Chairperson Brad Karp warns that the legal sector has to push the brakes on that whole always-on ethos.

But, come on, how many lawyers read that and said to themselves: Time to ease up, even if that limits upward mobility.

In my previous role as an academic counselor and currently in coaching I have found that the majority of talented human beings truly believe they can hold up and thrive, no matter how punishing the work demands.

On the other hand, there really is a You Only Live Once (YOLO) movement. Establishment media The New York Times describes how successful professionals in prestigious jobs are exiting the long, soul-crushing hours and pressure. Among them had been Brett Williams, a partner in a large law firm. He downshifted to a no-brand career path.

On Financial Panther, a lawyer who identifies himself as Kevin chronicles his journey from making all the right moves for a prestigious job in a large law firm to his current path. He is employed at a non-profit, making $70,000 less than he had in the prestige box.

No one, of course, can predict what value system about work will harden into the standard.

However, what I am noticing is this: Concrete results are counting more than brandnames.

Prospects for my marketing communications services don't seem to care that I had done assignments for the American Expresses and Edelmans. Their criteria for selecting a vendor are based on what had been achieved for other clients. And, how good would be the fit. 

Intuitive guidance about your career. Drop your story line and open to extreme possibility. Sliding Scale Fees. Please make an appointment for a complimentary consultation at janegenova374@gmail.com.

Vanessa Bryant - Can Psychiatry Unravel the Strands of Grief?

"Vanessa Bryant is being asked to undergo 'a physician-ran test on her mental state' to assess and 'evaluate' the extent of her alleged emotional distress regarding the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash images." - Daily Mail, October 17, 2021.

Essentially the defendants are attempting to discern if Bryant's suffering is the result of the original trauma of the death of her husband and daughter or is primarily related to what she contended in her lawsuit "Vanessa Bryant v County of Los Angeles, et al."

She claims that the photos of the dead had been distributed among law enforcement. As a result, she is accusing those in authority loop of negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and the invasion of her husband's right to privacy.

Previously, she had refused a psychiatric evaluation requested by the plaintiff. Also, as many know, psychiatry does involve subjectivity. On the popular series "Chicago Med," the respected psychiatrist Dr. Charles admits that the science is an imperfect one. He is a humble man and and equally humble member of the healing profession.

Also, grief is a complex force field. How can even a trained expert separate out its parts?

During the first week of January, just a few weeks after my four-legged son LOV and I arrived in Arizona from the midwest, he could no longer hold up in his battle with congestive heart failure. One overcast Sunday morning I allowed the vet to let LOV go.

To today I am overwhelmed with sadness. And there isn't a day that I live that I don't remember a joy we had shared together. 

My pain of loss is my pain. Bryant's pain of loss is her pain. But understanding it may be beyond the imperfect science of psychiatry. 

This blog passes along wishes for strength for the Bryant family.

Nostalgia - From Don Draper's Kodak Presentation to Gen Z

The hunger for what was.

On "Mad Men," Don Draper captured that in his presentation for the Kodak carousel.

His specific pitch was the pain and confusion of transitioning from childhood to teenage years. So, there is the reaching back to the known. Here is that iconic pitch.

Now, in real life, reports Axios, Gen Z is experiencing that same pull force. TikTok is in sync with that. Yesterday's brandnames and fashions are, for example, back again. 

What youth most crave is the slower pace of a very different time.

Maybe they're onto something big. And they're not alone. In an interview with Bloomberg Law, it was the chairperson of elite law firm Paul Weiss Brad Karp who put it this way:

“'We have to push the brakes in today’s world to deal with the mental health and emotional stability of our community,' he said. 'It is probably the most important single issue I’ve grappled with during the pandemic.'”

The slow movement is, of course, not new. It originated in Italy in 1989. The meme is that faster isn't necessarily better.

One major way it has seeped into Americana had been through the embrace of eastern philosophy, especially Buddhism. Its central practice - meditation - slows down humans' "monkey mind" so that its workings can be observed. Those in that kind of trance get it: So, that's how I'm thinking and why I'm going wrong.

Every Thursday evening, the Tucson, Arizona Shambhala Buddhist Center provides a no-cost reading of text (often from the writings of American Buddhist nun Pema Chodron), a 20-minute meditation session, discussion, and another five minutes of meditation. Then there is a chant for the well-being of all sentient creatures.

Marketers are no slouches when it comes to leveraging trends into platforms for promotions. Expect plenty of yesterday to be featured during this holiday selling season. 

Marketing communications. It’s about results. Not quantity. Not clickbait. Not even influence. Together we will get those results. Clients range from American Express to industrial accounts. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.

Yes, We're Saving - Up to $2.7 Trillion

The mindset among so many of us has become: Don't dip into savings. 

And that's how the nation piled up $2.7 trillion in hoarded cash. Many of us have no intention of shaking that loose. After all, we could live until age 100 or more. 

That's exactly why I have made decisions such as going to Mexico (Dental Tourism) for dental procedures. That will save me about 60 percent of what it would have cost me to go to a U.S. dental specialist. And I won't have to go into savings.

There's also the fear of inflation. We baby boomers had lived through times when it was wild. In this turbulent economy it could become wild again. It's not unthinkable that could leave us homeless.

Also, I have put off retirement for about four more years. Emotionally, I need income coming in.

Have we become our parent's The Great Depression oddballs when it comes to money? Could be.

Marketing communications. It’s about results. Not quantity. Not clickbait. Not even influence. Together we will get those results. Clients range from American Express to industrial accounts. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.

We've Shaken Off the Fear - Management Is Reeling, Clients Might Not Find a Vendor

"This year’s bold career move is walking out the door." - Kathryn Dill, The Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2021.

Between April and August of this year, according to federal data, 20 million had done just that.

Those of us who are self-employed have gone bold in other ways. At the top of the list is downshifting from how much work we will take on. Even if that means less income, that's okay. 

COVID may be easing up but this disruption in the attitudes and behavior of the workforce could just be getting started.

Notice something? That traditional emotional set among those who have to earn a living - fear - is fading. Fearlessly, employees at Deere went on strike.

Maybe this is because we are less hooked on maximzing earning power. And, come on, we know we can find work. Even with incredible age bias, those of us over-65 are getting, holding, and moving on to better work. (Here is my free guide on that Download Outwitting ageism)

A chill should be going through the corridors of management in every sector. 

The Great Resignation, along with downshifting, shows no signs of abating. Fearlessly, we know that the odds are good that we can make a living.

And, that's what it is being recognized as, that is, working is about making a living. The extreme hustle ethos traditionally embedded in work is losing its glam. In fact, when talking with Bloomberg Law, Paul Weiss Chairperson Brad Karp hammered the necessity of "pushing the brakes" on work as it's configured today. At risk is emotional stability.

So, what could be the solution for business leadership to accommodate the post-COVID workforce? JayRothman, Chief Executive Officer of law firm Foley & Lardner, had hit on something in his interview about attrition with Law.com. He observed that law firms have to give employees a reason to come into work. That is, there has to be a connection.

I interpret that as creating and nurturing human touchpoints.

Yes, care.

In the worst of times, that is as society had been adjusting to the Industrial Revolution, novelist Charles Dickens fingered the milk of human kindness as the way through that. People should be kind to one another. Management, as Ebenezer Scrooge learned, should be kind to workers.

Essentially that's how Dickens defined what it means to be human. And, that's what so many of us former hustlers are striving for: to circle back to our humanity. Mine got crushed during my doctoral studies at an elite university.

Of course, business can be downright ham-handed in the attempt to be kind. For example, in announcing the reopening of offices next month gigantic law firm Kirkland & Ellis noted that there would be free eats. Those will include breakfast, lunch and snacks. But to associates deeply resenting being back in the office that could be experienced as a "Let Them Eat Cake" gesture. 

Kindness policies require putting a human in charge of creating and implementing them. That's the rub right now: Trying to find a human being to lead a business function. 

Intuitive guidance about your career. Drop your story line and open to extreme possibility. Sliding Scale Fees. Please make an appointment for a complimentary consultation at janegenova374@gmail.com.

"The Last Duel" - Storyline for "Law & Order SVU," But Set in 14 Century

"The Last Duel" takes up the soul-wrenching decision of a woman, along with her husband, to disclose her rape by a powerful well-connected man. Here is a video excerpt. 

Yes, that storyline could be the plot line for an episode of "Law & Order SVU."

However, it's set in the 14th century. As often happens in  "SVU," one takeaway is if that the price of truth could be too high. So, think carefully about going out there to proclaim the "truth" of what you perceive your experience. Interestingly, the producer uses a Rashomon style screenplay. The audience is presented with different scenarios of what could have happened.

In asserting her claim of rape by squire Jacques Le Gris, Marguerite eventually is responsible for involving her husband Jean de Carrouges in a duel. A true story, that was the last official duel in France. If her husband doesn't win, the law has it that she will be stripped and burned to death. That process could take about 30 minutes of suffering before she died. Right before the duel she questions her decision. 

The husband does win. And Marguerite goes on to live a long happy life with her son. He might have been conceived during the rape. Before that during five years of marriage, she didn't become pregnant. Her husband, a skilled soldier, died a few years after the duel in the Crusades. 

Another meme in this film is that power and religion beliefs can derail justice. The duel wouldn't have had needed to have been if the legal systems hadn't been controlled by the existing power structure. Also, the orthodoxy had been that many legal verdicts  would be handed down by God. It had been religious dogma that if a woman contended rape and her husband couldn't prove that she would be burned alive. 

What the film neutralizes is the current rage over the current legal system. For instance, The Wall Street Journal exposed that many federal judges hadn't recused themselves from presiding over cases in which they had a financial interest. That is prohibited by federal law.

Jusstice was also highly flawed in the 14 century.

Religion complicated that.

English majors might remember The Pardoner in Chauer's "Canterbury Tales." He sold fake indulgences which he promised would erase all sins on one's soul and facilitate a straight trip to heaven. Another pilgrim had been the lawyer who feigned being hyper-busy. That could have attracted new clients with a kind of "false advertising."

In addition to the takeaways, another reason to pop for the movie ticket is that array of stars. They include Ben Affleck.

Intuitive guidance about your career. Drop your story line and open to extreme possibility. Sliding Scale Fees. Please make an appointment for a complimentary consultation at janegenova374@gmail.com.