The question used to be What do you want to be when you grow up? But now you are all grown up, and like it or not, you are coming face to face with yet another new phase of your life. We haven’t come up with a good name for this yet. It is the time between 50 and 80 years of age when many people are continuing to work either because they need to financially or because they want to emotionally. It is *a new phase* between middle age and old age.

 

There are many new terms for it - Second Acts, Encores, Middleage-less, and My Timers are some examples. The concept of finally retiring and doing nothing except to play golf and move to a sunny place is fading quickly.

From the store greeter to the head of a philanthropic foundation, experienced, wise and energetic seniors are affecting our economy and society in myriad ways every day. For many, the big difference is that they are finding wonderful things to do that

  • bring them joy
  • fulfill a long-held dream
  • make a meaningful contribution to their community
  • use a newly discovered talent (or a long hidden one)
  • or are just plain fun to do.

Marc Freedman, author of Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life, presents the theory that this infamous group of us who are approaching the classic retirement age are capable of considering many new possibilities for work that can tackle some of society’s major problems and actually create positive change in this country in the next 20 or 30 years.  Whether we continue to work for others, start our own businesses, or develop non-profit organizations, we can make work that is good for us and the world around us.

There are no rules for this gap stage of our lives and we are free to write our own stories now.  As a member of this group, I find this exciting and challenging.  I will be creating a separate section on my web-site for the “boomers” and developing some ideas for tele-classes and workshops to help you find ways to live this part of life to the fullest.  Stay tuned…….

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