NEW AGE WAVE BLOG

Retirement Planning Is a Family Affair

Over the years, the boomer generation has received some flak—often characterized as being selfish, irresponsible, and self-indulgent. Whether or not that’s true in general, it’s certainly not true when it comes to the way they think about and feel about their family. In fact, as this massive generation moves into and through retirement, they are often putting the well-being of their children, grandchildren, and even their parents before their own.

Re-Thinking Purpose in Life’s Third Age

In the mid-1990s I had the good fortune of getting to know legendary feminist Betty Friedan after the publication of her book The Fountain of Age. One night over dinner, I asked Betty what her purpose was in writing The Feminine Mystique back in 1963. She told me that she had felt the time had come when women should no longer be measured by the metric of men - either how well they could please a man or how they might compete with men generally.

Breaking the Chain on End-of-Life Unpreparedness

It often takes a tragedy to inspire action, and we witnessed that during the COVID-19 pandemic. One-third of U.S. adults (33%) report that the pandemic triggered conversations with close family members about their end-of-life plans and preferences.

The Importance of Leaving a Legacy for Family and Community

Saying goodbye to the old year and hello to the new is always a time of reflection. For me, it’s also a time to consider my evolving legacy and to set new goals for what it can become in the years ahead. Over the last decade, I’ve come to understand the importance of leaving a legacy in one’s personal and professional life, which is informing much of the advocacy I’m doing today about living with purpose, passion, and curiosity.

Ageism in Advertising: Bad for Business, Bad for Everyone

For far too long, American marketers have been in love with youth, and uncomfortable with older adults, directing nearly all of their attention to Millennials and Gen Z. But those cohorts are coming out of COVID strapped for cash, time-constrained, and are not proving to be loyal to anyone’s products and services.

The Age Wave is Coming

Throughout 99% of human history, the average life expectancy was under 18 years. Dramatic breakthroughs in medicine, public health, and lifestyle management have caused two unprecedented trends: declining fertility and increasing longevity. The average life expectancy has vaulted from 47 in 1900 to around 78 today (albeit with some temporary backsliding during COVID-19) and a new, uncharted longevity is emerging.

My Journey from Newark to Big Sur to Davos to Elderhood

In the late 1960s, I discovered my passion for human potential and our enormous untapped reservoirs of humanity, creativity, intelligence, and physical abilities. As I relocated from Newark to Big Sur and switched my studies from physics to psychology, I was also captivated by a body-mind relationship that was for more interconnected and engaged than what was accepted by modern medicine and psychology at the time.