Over-50

What's Old Is New Again - Maybe Not in the Book Medium

"Sales volume of print books sold in the United States in 2020 totaled 751 million units, according to NPD’s analysis, accounting for an 8.2 percent year-over-year increase from 2019. NPD reports that these figures account for the best year for print book sales in the U.S. since 2010." - Jon Gingerich, Odwyerpr.com, February 26, 2021.

Top sellers ranged from the inspirational "A Promised Land" by Barack Obama to the expose "Too Much and Never Enough" by Mary Trump. 

The sales driver was COVID-19. Not only were we locked in. There came a tipping point in how much screen time we could or would absorb. We longed to go old-fashioned and read. Sprawl on the couch. However, many public libraries were closed for walk-ins. Books could only be checked out in off-putting ways. So, sure, pop again to buy books. They arrived right at the door. 

However, businesses and individuals who assume they are savvy about trendwatching shouldn't rush into planning to do a print book. As that adage screams, the past isn't prologue.

When COVID-19 pulls out of town the pent-up demand for activities outside the walls of the home is bound to explode.

According to Deloitte, reports AP, the coming of vaccines has boosted planning for travel.

Bad news for Peloton, gyms could reopen. The message is out: Sitting is the new smoking. In the UK that could be in April 2021. Don't count on gym rats to bring a print book to read during a complex workout.

In "South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom," SCOTUS ruled the reopening of churches in California, with some guidelines. Religious organizations are social. The congregations will be out and about singing in the choir, doing good works and fundraising in innovative ways. 

Print books could return to being a fading medium.

The circling back to a downward trajectory could be accelerated by podcasting. Talk is easier to do than the intricate systems of the print medium. Also it's more fun. And it can be absorbed in a mobile way.

I published a major article on Odwyerpr.com about podcasting trends in 2021. Sure, Obama has out there a bestseller print book. But recently what has been his media magnet is his Spotify podcast with Bruce Springsteen. It's called "Renegades: Born in the USA." 

There's more than that, though, to marketability.

Also, companies and individuals have to be more engaging on social networks, be they LinkedIn or Twitter. That requires thought leadership or going beyond the platitudes, along with catchy headlines. Embed old-fashioned soul in posts. What's sincere has become the new pull force. 

E-books? Glutted territory. 

White papers. They're back. That's because they are data-rich, straightforward and being developed by blockbuster brandnames such as those in management consulting and think tanks. The template is standard. Lean into it, like an old shoe.

 Meanwhile, advocacy platforms such as Vice and Abovethelaw keep the tone of communications, both internal and external, from excessive arrogance. 

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Before There Were Counterculture Hippies, There Were the Beats: Lawrence Ferlinghetti as Culture-Changer

"Poet, publisher and bookseller Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who helped launch and perpetuate the Beat movement, has died. He was 101. Mr. Ferlinghetti died at his San Francisco home Monday, his son Lorenzo Ferlinghetti told the Associated Press on Tuesday. The cause was lung disease." - The Wall Street Journal (originally published by AP), February 23, 2021.

Even many Baby Boomers don't remember the Beats. But had not Ferlinghetti been a culture-changer, America wouldn't have been fully able to shake off the white-bread Eisenhower era. 

But shake it off it did. On university campuses in the west, then the midwest, we got it: Traditional Americana was oppressive.

Men grew their hair. Women got on The Pill. And many of us ducked out of graduate school before finishing our dissertations. We regretted not having gone to law school. Otherwise we could do more for consumer rights than just be a grassroots Nader Raider.

Then came the brutal economic downturn of the mid 1970s. Those of us who were going to amount to anything suited up for the career opportunities in Corporate America. Eventually, some of us did try law school but it was too late. I left Harvard Law as a 1L. That's a career path which must be embraced early in the game.

And now here we are fumbling for how to honor Ferlinghetti. After all, his medium was the book. Print. Now the culture-shapers like Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen are podcasting. For them it's a collaboration. It's hard to resurrect the ethos of the Beat Age. Come to think of it, it's difficult to time travel to the counterculture. Were we ever really so free? Internally did we question our lack of attention to careers? We who become ultra careerists? The money was in corporate. 

Now, we have shifted from working all the time to the oddball pleasure of post-career just-earning-a-buck. As in the counter culture days, we again can have fun while earning income, trust most of the co-workers and have no desire to "get ahead." It's a different kind of high than the counterculture.

But it is a high. During the long days of angling for those promotions our insides felt just like T.S. Eliot's "Wasteland." Now we can reimagine some versions of freedom. Meanwhile, unlike Millennials, we have Medicare and Social Security. Maybe even an investment fund. In the counterculture, crashing on someone else's waterbed, we had nothing. At least not that didn't fit in a VW Beetle. 

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Are You Doing a Serena Williams?

"Once again, Serena Williams came within reach of a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title, playing well enough to get to the closing days of a major tournament. And once again, Williams couldn't quite get it done — beaten 6-3, 6-4 by Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open semifinals on Thursday (Wednesday night EST)." - CBS News, February 18, 2021.

The world changes. The game changes. Upstarts struggle to become the new stars. We change. Yes, aging also happens,

Yet, the usual tragedy of fierce careerists is that we ignore all that. We decide to not to let go. 

In his breakthrough book "The Hero's Farewell," Jeffrey Sonnenfeld analyzed that syndrome. 

In my coaching of the over-50 the presenting problem is always: They no longer have what it takes to dominate their field. Usually it's a mix of decline in energy level, new forms of competition, inability to keep up with change and loss of creativity. 

One solution is a pivot to another phase of a career. The one-time innovation genius in communications can shift to administration or university teaching. Eventually Don Draper of "Mad Men" would probably have had to be the front man for a major advertising agency versus the hands-on Idea Guy.

Williams has many such options. They range from becoming a world-class coach to fundraising for the sport.

But, she may or may not have that moment of clarity: That part of my professional life may be over. And even if she has it, she may not surrender to that reality.

Instead of struggling to hang in there, there could be fresh kinds of success opening up. That happens through a willingness to discover another niche or a whole new vocation.

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Bob Dilenschneider - What Was He Thinking in 2019?

In this data-driven era public relations player Bob Dilenschneider made the decision to publish a non-data-driven guide about making decisions. That - "Decisions" - hit the market on December 31, 2019. Cute. Just in time to help the rest of us make our decisions for 2020.

That was probably not one of Dilenschneider's best decisions. Today, at a bit beyond noon ET, "Decisions" ranks 1,391,952 on Amazon. Not good. 

The subtitle includes the concept of "practical advice." Who the hell wants practical advice any more. We want to analyze algorithms which can provide unique insight about what was, what is and what can be. 

Just try to pass on some practical advice to Generation Z. They won't even put in the effort of rolling their eyes. 

Also, who gives a damn about the "23 men and women who shaped the world." That was yesterday. Actually more than a year ago. And the world doesn't seem to be in such great shape.

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

Aging and the Unfinished Business of Success

Embracing the traditional and rigid model of getting, holding and scaling success lifted our Baby Boomer generation into the middle class - and, yes, beyond. 

The first step - college - was universally available. Unlike now, tuition was peanuts. Part-time jobs were plentiful.

The post-War economy caught fire.  

And, The Pill allowed for limiting the size of families (previously a distraction from chasing success with everything we got). 

But as lawyers, medical doctors, head nurses, public relations experts, information specialists, career military and university professors look back in our 60s and 70s, we are analyzing what the hell that was all about.

For many of us, our careers had peaked. Although more of us are still working, it's more focused on income per se versus Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Last night, on a open Zoom discussion (https://zoom.us/j/99892265318) hosted by Tina Squire, minster at the Sky Island Unitarian Universalist Church, Sierra Vista, Arizona (6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. mountain time) both Baby Boomers and members of Generation X analyzed success. Among the issues were how perspectives on success might shift with aging and how Millennials as well as their parents currently rate its importance.

According to the book "Excellent Sheep," by Yale professor William Deresiewicz, the chase is still going on. And at a feverish pace, at least in the Ivy League. For success, those students are willing to conform as much as Baby Boomers did during the Eisenhower era. 

But, come on, there is that old cliche: On deathbeds no one regrets not working harder. But that might not be true. Some of the conversations during the Unitarian Zoom meeting indicated disappointment at not having been more successful. Obviously, that whole enchilada - how far our careers had taken us - remains for too many of us unfinished business. In my career coaching of those over-50, a dominant meme is the assumption that they could have been a lot more successful, if only ...

Of course, what factored in our revisiting our professional past were issues such as the role of failure and our own "human frailty." With aging comes a reaching in, noted Rev. Squire. And, you bet, both Baby Boomers and Xers are doing that. Inner life can no longer go uninspected.

Yes, yes, yes, there is a school of thought, especially among tech entrepreneurs, that professional life is nothing but an experiment. Most of those experiments don't pan out.

However, the tough nut to crack, at all stages of a career, is to accept that reality. Lawyers try strategies and tactics for both litigation and transactional work. The world, from the leadership in law firms to the media, watch. Failure isn't a private matter. Failure usually entails contracting with a top public relations agency for reputation restoration.

Likely the questioning by Baby Boomers and Generation X might have no influence on the value the next generations in America put on success. When some of us finally broke free we created the Generation Gap. That model continues to dominate. The different generations operate in silos.

Actually, unlike Baby Boomers, Millennials are a highly fragmented bunch. Some, reports INC., are impatient for traditional kinds of success. Among them are the majority of law-firm associates who are convinced they will be promoted to partner.

On the other hand, observes The Guardian, there are the Millennials who demand meaning from professional life. That is more important to them than the size of the paycheck. For that reason, in mission statements employers are hammering purpose. The buzzword "vocation" is back. In his LinkedIn posts digital marketing expert Paul Chaney explores how work can be sacred. His musings are influential. 

All generations are welcome to join the Unitarian discussions, usually based on a particular book (but, no, you don't have to read it), on Wednesday evenings.

At 10:00 a.m. (mountain time) there are a Zoom meditation sessions and discussions https://zoom.us/j/97417456265

My takeaway from circling back to my experiences as a careerist is that more failure came from following supposed expert advice on success than was necessary. Had I trusted my intuition I likely would have had more success and on my own terms. Success can be a beautiful journey. The financial security which sets in with aging can give us the courage to experiment in very different ways. And not default into regret.

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

You Probably Have Given Up Finding Work - But, You Can Grab Hold of Hope, Again

Bloomberg nails it. Since August 2020, 2.7 million jobs have been created and filled by those under-55. During the same time, only 28,000 55 and over landed work. Overall, about 2 million of those 55 and older have given looking for work.

Some of them have legitimate reasons for dropping out.

They may have feared contacting COVID - and dying.

They may have had it with the pressures of getting, holding and moving on to better work.

Perhaps they have to take care of a parent, spouse or offspring.

Or, they have just needed a nudge to take a retirement package. 

But most, I know from my coaching, just ran low on hope. After overcoming myriad obstacles in their career they assumed they could no longer jump through hoops. Not again. And what for. After all, as ProPublica documents, after losing those good job only 1 in 10 will move on to another which pays comparable compensation. 

Where hope can take root, even after severe disappointments, is where mindsets are open to a fresh start. There is that old adage which is on the money: Nothing gets you a job like a job. Here the aging have to shift from the traditional notion of a career path to the more simple concept of working for income. 

That kind of pivot liberates the 55 and over from the past. They can welcome new experiences, including learning new skills.

That aligns with the Future of Work vision of Willis Towers Watson: Careers are anachronisms. They are being replaced by putting together portfolios of experiences and skills. That process is unlikely to be linear. The security guard could parachute into being a leasing agent for a residential complex. Related? Maybe. But it doesn't represent the expected progression in what used to be career paths. What counts is that there is movement to better-paying, more enjoyable work.

So, how can the aging loop into hope?

What I hammer is this: Get work, any work. That's articulated, along with the how-to, in this book, a free download Download Outwitting ageism. 

The next step is: Don't settle in.

That work experience is simply a bridge to the Next. This is really nothing that new. In the ultimate job guide "What Color Is Your Parachute?" has documented since The Great Recession the shorter and shorter time any human being will be in any work situation. That is, reinforces the book, there will be a search for work from the get-go in high school or earlier to the day when permanent retirement is selected. 

So, it can comfort the aging that they aren't not the only ones who are caught in the nonstop search for work that brings income. The focus of the new reality is to be heading toward better-paying and a better fit of work.

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

Determined to Publish a Book? - Not So Fast

America's innovation often has come from the observation: There must be an easier way.

Currently, that applies more and more to the influence game and developing new business.

The not-easy way has become investing the time and money (ghostwriters like myself are expensive) in getting a book out there.

Sure, those with blockbuster brandnames can still hit it big with just the right book. Money can flow in, tool. 

Lots of folks mocked Sarah Palin but she produced bestsellers. They included "Going Rogue: An American Life." Along the way she became financially independent. Her net worth is estimated at $8 million. And, she has led political movements. Her daughter was able to piggyback on Mama Bear's personal branding. 

However, overall publishing a book has become a risky strategy for branding and marketing. The Time of the Book has passed.

The easier way is through smart leverage of social networks, special events via Zoom and podcasting. On O'Dwyer Public Relations I published this article about podcasting trends in 2021.

Also there is The Amazon Effect. A book with a low ranking on Amazon can pivot the authors into the corridor of shame. Their competitors and enemies often take great joy at the concrete evidence of lousy sales. Also there may be scant positive reviews. 

So, it's puzzling why the public relations player - Bob Dilenschneider - would decide to embrace book publishing at the end of 2019. Way back in the beginning of the 1990s he had a brisk seller. That had been on power and influence. Of course that had been a long time ago.

Dilenschneider published "Decisions." Today, it ranks 1,366,909 on Amazon. That could raise the question: Why did someone in the business of influence and marketing make the decision to do yet another book?

That niche tool had already peaked. I warn prospects who approach me about ghostwriting a book: Don't go into that space unless you can afford a proven publicist specializing in promoting books. That raw reality applies both to books published by an imprint and self-published. 

Of course, some kinds of lawyers and the majority of university professors may still require a book as the price of entry. Yes, they must put one or more out there. However, they should be prepared to invest in the niche skills of those with a track record for hawking books. In addition, they may simultaneously developing a paid newsletter on Substack. The revenue from those subscriptions could cover the publicity fee. 

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

January 31, 2021 - Bob Dilenschneider's Book "Decisions" Ranks 1,116,992 on Amazon

The book business has pivoted.

Primarily the shift is from book as a wonderful medium for sharing whatever to a business platform. On that platform the ambitious can promote a business, point of view, cause or personal brand. Yes, the book niche has become business. No longer it is the warm and fuzzy of a long legacy of literary arts. 

That's why it's puzzling that public relations player Bob Dilenschneider re-entered this arena on December 31, 2019, with his book "Decisions." It seems not to have been configured to be a business workhorse. Initially it didn't catch fire. Today it ranks 1,116,992 on Amazon. 

Therefore, the book seems not to be serving Dilenschneider's business objectives. Instead, as with so many published books which don't take off, it can throw shade on the brand. The Amazon rankings have become the metric for success and failure in the book category - and, by extension, professional life.

Next time, Dilenschneider might consider, instead of another book (he has published several) creating a comprehensive podcasting operation. Recently I published an article on podcasting in 2021 for O'Dwyer Public Relations. 

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Yes, You Could Have Afforded Ducking Winter Storm Orlena

100 million people in 20 states. If you are among them you probably are going to get hit hard by winter catastrophe Orlena. That will include bitter cold, heavy snow, and strong winds, reports Daily Mail.

But that didn't have to happen.

You could have relocated from where lousy weather is standard. Even on a budget. And with fear of being stranded in extreme loneliness in a new location. 

Yes, I have pulled off a relocation. On budget. And without tumbling into the hell of social isolation. Earlier in my life I had experienced the 2013 - 2014 polar vortex on the East Coast. And, more recently I dug out from the snow in the midwest. The equipment is still in the back of my car. 

How I exited The Horror was through comprehensive research. No, I didn't go with what the "experts" indicate are where to relocate when aging and receiving less income than we had in the peak years of our careers.

What I found had ranged from locations near the water in Alabama and North Carolina to the mountains in Arizona.

The next step was calling on the phone property managers with my questions about details. Those voice interviews ruled out lots of what I had assumed were choices.

Also I had to factor in a residential complex which was animal-friendly. My four-footer son LOV had been diagnosed with heart failure. The medication he was assigned would, research data indicated, gave him four to 14 more months. I was hoping for the maximum time. It turned out that he passed over about two and half weeks after we arrived in our new home. That was seven months post-diagnosis. But no way was I going to deny him one day on earth in which he could manage to stay alive. Our journey together west was full of motel rooms to sniff around, treats and the fun of truck stops. 

Another to-do was to purchase a car with I could afford and which would get me 1,000 or 2,000 miles away from the cold, snow and winds. For less than $8,000 I found a Smart car at Fischer Honda in Ypsilanti, Ohio. That included all the incidentals such as tax, registration and, of course, the car. At that price I was able to pony up the cash, not taking on a loan. The manager overseeing pre-owned cars Curtis Gambrell got me through all the motor vehicle red tape in all the COVID-19 blockages.

Before winter really kicked in, LOV and I were on the road to do the 2,100 miles to Sierra Vista, Arizona. It's an enclave still affordable, despite the diaspora from California. That flood of new residents from that state has driven up the cost of living in many parts of AZ. 

The WalMart in this town cuts the price for stables ranging from groceries to LED lamps.

The Friends of the Library bookstore on the main drag (Fry Street) stocks used books at prices ranging from 50-cents to five bucks.

The 99-Cents store a few storefronts down from the bookstore provides discounted merchandise whose quality and price, at least in my assessment, are better than Goodwill's. 

The Sky Island Unitarian  Universalist Church is a one-stop resource for just about every spiritual need. Its minister Tina Squire does personal outreach to newcomers like myself. For COVID time she has made available remote religious services, social get-togethers, meditation and book discussions. In-person there is hiking. That's informally overseen by a medical doctor who keeps everyone socially distant. 

The gym is open. There is free membership with my lease. During the week that's from 4 A.M. to 9 P.M. On weekends it's a wrap at 6 P.M. So that it stays open, we are vigilant about sanitizing before and after. 

A few days ago, there was snow. But not much. By early afternoon that was history. Yes, in the A.M., right now, a sweater is needed. But we run free without all that by lunch. 

Yes, we all know how difficult it is to make new friends as we age. However, on my first New Year's Eve here, my dance card was full. There were three invitations. Of course, we masked up. When I returned from the Vet after allowing LOV to pass over, a neighbor had me in for tea. Another slipped a pet-sympathy card under the door. A third listened. 

Trouble in Paradise?

The majestic mountains block the television signals I had had in midwest and east. I had to cave to subscribing to cable.

The relative remoteness fills me fear what will transpire if my Smart car breaks down. When I was having the oil changed in Jack Furrier I overheard an owner of a pickup complaining that he had to wait three hours for the tow truck.

The full-service city - Tucson - is an hour and 20 minutes away. To me, that seems far.

Of course, if your work isn't telecommuting like mine, this kind of solution for avoiding extreme weather won't be a fit. Here there aren't a lot of well-paying jobs, that is, if you are not associated with the military. Most of those thriving financially have their own businesses or are semiretired, with well-managed investment portfolios. 

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Embracing Aging - All of It

Aging is a complex rite of passage. Like all transitions, it's jam-packed with wonderful experiences, soul-wrenching loss and unknowns. 

A book which captures every aspect of that pivot is "When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple." You can order it here from Amazon. 

Edited by Sandra Martz before the "experts" began analyzing aging, the book contains poems, short stories and commentary by diverse authors. There are also photos of women who make no apology for no longer looking youthful. 

This kind of book allows you to explore aging without the imposition of oughts. That is, you ought to feel this or that about becoming older. You ought to be ready to earn less than you did in the peak of your career. You ought to adopt radical frugality. Yes, of course, you ought to sell the family home before the property taxes get raised again. 

After you do that kind of deep dive into space in which there are no oughts you are free to decide how you want to live your life now that you are over-50. 

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